ATM & Debit News articles from February 2005

ATM & Debit News archives from February 2005

Fiserv's EFT Volume Spikes.
February 3, 2005... Fiserv Inc. this week reported that its electronic funds transfer division processed a record 4.2 billion transactions in 2004, up 14% from the division's 2003 volume total. Fiserv's shared ATM and point-of-sale network, Accel/Exchange,...

ISO, PNC Bank Strike ATM Deal.
February 3, 2005... The Cardtronics Inc. ATM independent sales organization will own and operate 150 ATMs branded by Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank in Walgreen stores in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the companies announced this week....

Chase Is Planning A Big Expansion Of Its ATM Fleet.
February 3, 2005... In the late 1990s, Bank One Corp., which now is owned by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., abandoned plans to deploy thousands of off-premise ATMs and become the nation's largest ATM owner. Indeed, the bank, hit by tens of millions of dollars in losses...

Canada Appears To Have High PIN-Debit Losses.
February 3, 2005... Canada and the U.S. have substantially different debit card payment systems, with the bulk of U.S. point-of-sale debit transactions originating from signature-based debit cards. In Canada, all debit payments require a PIN. PIN-debit...

Marketing To Hispanics Picks Up Steam As Debit Players Make Their Moves.
February 3, 2005... Already one of the largest ethnic groups in the U.S., Hispanics also are among the nation's fastest-growing population segments. As such, there is a growing push to promote the use of debit cards to immigrants from Mexico and other Hispanic...

How PIN-Debit Fraud Compares.
February 3, 2005... Country Losses U.S. $43.1 million Canada $44.0 million Source: American Bankers Association and Interac Association. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com...

Wimsett Retrieves Some History With A Processor Buy.
February 3, 2005... Shortly after Tom Wimsett retired as president and CEO of National Processing Co., a leading merchant processor, he formed Iron Triangle Payment Systems LLC in March 2003. Funded by GTCR Golder Rauner LLC, a Chicago-based private equity...

Chase's ATM Growth.
February 3, 2005... ATMs* 1/04 6,325 12/04 6,650 12/05** 7,650 Source: J.P. Morgan Chase. *Includes Bank One ATMs. **Chase Projection. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com...

NCR Report 55% Profit Growth.
February 3, 2005... ATM manufacturer NCR Corp. reported a 55% jump in fourth-quarter net income, to $124 million from $80 million in the same period of 2003. NCR's revenues for the quarter rose 12.5%, to $1.8 billion from $1.6 billion in 2003's fourth quarter....

Firm Touts Triple DES Upgrade.
February 3, 2005... The ATM Exchange Inc. is marketing a new, Triple Data Encryption Security upgrade product. The product, called 3DESPlus XP, is designed for use with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

Hypercom Restates Revenues.
February 10, 2005... Phoenix, Ariz.based Hypercom Corp. point-of-sale terminal maker, will restate its revenues for the first three quarters of 2004 following discrepancies involving 3,200 sales leases originating from Hypercom's United Kingdom subsidiary, Hypercom...

Debit MasterCard Up 12.1%.
February 10, 2005... MasterCard International reported 2004 gross dollar volume, which includes purchase and cash volume, of $1.5 trillion, up 15.4% from $1.3 trillion in 2003 when calculated in U.S. dollars. In 2004, offline debit programs accounted for dollar...

BofA Ends Fees For Its SafeSend Cash Transfer Card.
February 10, 2005... U.S. debit card issuers have a long way to go to compete in the money transfer business against the remittance giant Western Union owned by Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data Corp. But competing with Western Union is not the main...

Murky Triple-DES Policies Worry ATM Suppliers.
February 10, 2005... Some top ATM suppliers are doing a brisk business in replacement machine orders with some reporting double-digit increases in ATM revenues and shipments for 2004 compared to 2003. However, such sales growth in ATM upgrades for deployers...

Star Makes A Bid For Broader PIN Use And Restructures Its Interchange Policy.
February 10, 2005... For some years, some of the largest PIN-debit networks have tiered their interchange rate structure based mainly on transaction volume, with merchant acquirers for the largest retailers in certain categories, such as supermarkets and petroleum...

SafeSend At A Glance.
February 10, 2005... Issuer Bank Of America Network Marks Visa Plus, Visa Electron Use Cash Transfers To Mexico Cards Issued N/A Source: Bank of America Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

Vcom Kiosks Tie Tax Checks To Card.
February 10, 2005... Tax preparer H&R Block is testing the waters to offer customers a convenient way to cash refund checks. The tax-preparation firm announced Jan. 26 that it is working with a leading convenience-store chain to provide 24-hour access to a...

Genpass Reaches Agreement.
February 10, 2005... Fifth Third Processing Solutions, Fifth Third Bank's processing arm, has reached an agreement with the Fort Washington, Pa.-based Genpass Inc. to process Genpass's MoneyPass surcharge-free ATM network transactions. Under the terms of the...

Rhode Island Signs ATM Deal.
February 10, 2005... The Westerly, R.I.-based Washington Trust Co. has gained a three-year ATM contract with Rhode Island to deploy ATMs in all Rhode Island state buildings, including the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

Regions Expands Star Use.
February 17, 2005... Union Planters Bank and Regions Bank, both subsidiaries of Regions Financial Corp., have renewed and expanded their contracts for the Star debit network to be both financial institutions' primary electronic funds network for ATM and debit card...

Hypercom Lawsuits Pile Up.
February 17, 2005... At least 10 law firms have filed lawsuits against Phoenix-based Hypercom Corp. The suits allege the POS terminal maker is violating federal securities law. The suits follow Hypercom's recent announcement that it would restate its financial...

Networks Foresee Biggest Growth In Small-Value Debit.
February 17, 2005... Visa USA and MasterCard International both report respectable growth in global debit transaction volumes recently. But the fastest-growing growth sector for debit - small consumer purchases - is far from reaching its full potential. "At the end...

Some ATMs May Need Changes For New $10 Note.
February 17, 2005... Typically, a change in U.S. currency design is not a big deal for ATM manufacturers or deployers. A new $20 bill, for example, was designed and distributed a few years ago and there were few reports that the new notes would not work in...

Visa Moves To Prevent Bypassing VisaNet For On-Us Transactions.
February 17, 2005... Visa U.S.A. is tightening its merchant processing rules in what some industry observers say is a preemptive strike against bypassing the use of the association's VisaNet processing arm. Visa is banning Visa issuers and merchant acquirers...

Visa's Growth Markets*.
February 17, 2005... Category Growth Quick-Service Restaurants 67% Small Tickets 25.3% Bill Payment 24.7% Business-To-Business 23.9% Government 15.6% ...

Mag-Stripe Battles With Chip Cards Over WIC Program.
February 17, 2005... Magnetic-stripe debit cards and the point-of-sale terminals that read them are the standard for processing debit card payments. But mag-stripe cards are rarely used to transfer non-payment data. However, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service...

New $10 Note At A Glance.
February 17, 2005... * Circulation In Late Fall * ATM Makers Will Get Test Bills * ATM Testing Begins In March Source: U.S. Bureau Of Engraving. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com...

TNS Revenues Grow 3%.
February 17, 2005... Reston, Va.-based TNS Inc. reported fourth-quarter revenues of $63.4 million, up 3% from $61.4 million in the same period a year ago. Net income was $2.4 million, up 175% from $883,000 in fourth quarter of 2003. Revenues for the firm's...

Chase Picks Visa For Debit.
February 24, 2005... New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will begin its conversion of Bank One debit cards into Chase cards in April and will use the Visa check card brand on most of Chase's debit cards, says a spokesperson. Visa's check card is already used on...

Interac Chip Migration Set.
February 24, 2005... The Interac Association, Canada's shared debit transaction network, will migrate Canada's single national debit network from a magnetic stripe-based payment system to one that accepts chip-based cards by the end of the decade. Interac's board...

Branded Gift Cards Are In Crosshairs Of State Regulators.
February 24, 2005... A legal battle emerging over fees on branded, prepaid gift cards is casting a shadow over the otherwise bright future for these cards in retail locations. Most recently, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against Simon...

Debit Options For Tax Refunds Are Proliferating.
February 24, 2005... Leading tax-preparation firms H&R Block Tax Services Inc. and Jackson Hewitt Inc. over the past few years have rolled out programs that enable customers to have their income-tax refunds deposited into stored-value card accounts. Now, a leading...

PIN Debit Gradually Making Gains, But Is Unlikely to Replace Offline Rival.
February 24, 2005... It is an enduring debate in the debit world on whether PIN-based debit will eventually eclipse, and possibly replace, signature-based debit. Indeed, most of Europe's financial institution issuers and merchants are already building a PIN-only...

Rush Tax-Refund Card Fees.
February 24, 2005... Service Fee* Card Activation $9.95 Card Purchase $1** ATM Withdrawal $1.50 Source: Rush Communications. *Fees charged to Intuit customers for Rush prepaid debit cards used for tax refunds. Does...

PIN Debit Not Suitable In Some Areas.
February 24, 2005... Despite increasing acceptance of PIN-based debit at retail locations, there are many payment markets where PIN-based debit cards are not likely to have much of a presence. Those markets include bill payments over the telephone, Internet-based...

Simoncards At A Glance.
February 24, 2005... * Visa Branded * Purchased In Malls And Over The Internet * Issued By Bank Of America Source: Simon Properties, New York Attorney General's office. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved....

Diebold Financing Goes Global.
February 24, 2005... Diebold Credit Corp., a subsidiary of the North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc. ATM maker has been renamed Diebold Global Finance Corp. to reflect a sharper focus on financing ATM and other hardware purchases in foreign markets, according to...

ABA Links With Travel Firm.
February 24, 2005... The American Bankers Association is partnering with the Travelex Corp. foreign-exchange firm to promote a branded, prepaid Visa debit card program for ABA member banks. The program will include Visa TravelMoney cards and Visa Gift Cards in...