ATM & Debit News articles from May 2003

ATM & Debit News archives from May 2003

Concord Net Income Up 43%.
May 1, 2003... Concord EFS Inc., the Memphis, Tenn.-based processor and network owner, experienced a first-quarter revenue jump, but there are signs that growth in one of the company's core business areas is slowing. Concord revenues for the quarter grew 23%,...

UMB Joins Pulse Network.
May 1, 2003... UMB Bank has joined Pulse, expanding the Houston-based electronic funds transfer network's presence in the Midwest. The Kansas City, Mo.-based bank deploys about 600 ATMs and operates 160 banking centers in six Midwest states. As part of the...

Diebold's Vance Dies In Crash.
May 1, 2003... Wesley B. Vance, chief operating officer at Diebold Inc., the North Canton, Ohio-based ATM maker, was killed last weekend when the private plane he was piloting crashed near Columbus, Ohio. Vance, 45, was named COO in 2001 and handled Diebold's...

MasterCard Settles With Merchants; Visa Negotiating.
May 1, 2003... Participants in the debit card industry long have expected that the merchant class-action lawsuit challenging Visa U.S.A.'s and MasterCard International's "honor-all-cards" policies would have far-reaching operational implications. They are not...

Check-Truncation Proposals Upset Consumer Groups.
May 1, 2003... Most financial institutions routinely recredit consumer accounts within days after discovering a mistake or fraud involving a customer's paper check. And industry observers believe such practices would not change if paper checks become...

Concerns About ID Theft Are Stronger Than Fears Of Losing One's Privacy.
May 1, 2003... Consumers appear to care more about having their identities stolen than being required to present private information to prevent it, the results of a recent survey suggest. Conducted by the Star electronic funds transfer network, the survey of...

NYCE Network Ups Ante On POS Debit Interchange.
May 1, 2003... Interchange rates applied to PIN-based point-of-sale debit card transactions continue to climb. The Montvale, N.J.-based NYCE electronic funds transfer network on July 1 will begin assessing higher acquirer-paid interchange rates for PIN-based...

Check Truncation Backers.
May 1, 2003... * Federal Reserve Board * American Bankers Association * America's Community Bankers * Consumer Bankers Association * Financial Services Roundtable * Independent Community Bankers of America Source: ATM&Debit News....

Hypercom Reports Net Loss.
May 1, 2003... Point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp. on April 25 reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.03 million on revenues of $55.7 million, which compares with a net loss of $24.4 million and revenues of $70.8 million in the year-earlier period,...

EFunds Hires NYCE's Bleicher.
May 1, 2003... Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eFunds Corp. has hired Eric S. Bleicher as vice president of national sales for its electronic funds transfer solutions division. Bleicher formerly was vice president of independent sales organization business...

Pulse, Collocation Sign Pact.
May 8, 2003... The Houston-based Pulse electronic funds transfer network on May 7 announced the completion of an agreement with Collocation Solutions LLC, a data center infrastructure service provider. Dallas-based Collocation will provide data center...

Loomis, Fiserv Join Forces.
May 8, 2003... Houston-based Loomis, Fargo & Co. and Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv Inc. have formed an alliance to market their combined services to financial institutions. Fiserv provides back-end electronic funds transfer transaction-processing services,...

Rate Gap Narrows As Visa, MasterCard Settle With Retailers.
May 8, 2003... Only time will tell how the recent settlements in the merchant class-action lawsuit against MasterCard International and Visa U.S.A. will affect the use of debit cards. Two things appear certain, however, that will affect both debit card...

Visa, MasterCard Not Yet Out Of The Legal Thicket.
May 8, 2003... Though Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International last week settled in the merchant class-action dispute, their legal troubles are not over. Home Depot Inc., Toys "R" Us Inc., Giant Eagle Inc. and Meijer Stores Limited Partnership opted out of...

Check Imaging Could Bolster ATM Use, New Consumer Survey Results Show.
May 8, 2003... Pending legislation, called the Check Truncation Act, would enable electronic check images to replace paper checks and, promoters believe, would open the door to wider use of ATMs for making deposits. Check imaging at ATMs can take place now,...

Small Retailers Unsure Of Effect Of Suit Settlements.
May 8, 2003... Leading up to the merchant class-action antitrust case against Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International that was settled last week, not all merchant groups expressed a positive outlook for small retailers should the merchants succeed in their...

How Regional Shared Network Interchange Compares.
May 8, 2003... (part 1 of 2) Network Withdrawal Inquiry Deposit Star 46cents-54cents 20cents-25cents $2-$2.25 NYCE 38cents-55cents 25cents $2-$2.25 ...

How Regional Shared Network Pricing Varies.
May 8, 2003... 2003 ATM 2002 ATM 2003 POS Network Switch Fee Switch Fee Switch Fee Star 3cents-8cents 3cents-8cents 2cents/3.5cents NYCE 3.5cents-12cents...

TSYS Acquires Gift Card Firm.
May 8, 2003... Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, says it has purchased Enhancement Services Corp. for an undisclosed price. Roswell, Ga.-based Enhancement Services provides targeted loyalty consulting and travel, as well as gift card and merchandise reward...

CashWorks Offers Payroll Card.
May 8, 2003... CashWorks Inc., a Houston-based provider of automated ATM check cashing, has launched a "check-to-card" product that enables payroll check values to be loaded on to prepaid debit cards using CashWorks' PayPort product. PayPort uses existing...

TCF Objects To Visa Debit Deal.
May 15, 2003... TCF Financial Corp. May 13 filed an objection to the $2 billion settlement Visa made earlier this month with merchants represented in the class-action suit led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. In its complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in...

FDC Resubmits Concord Papers.
May 15, 2003... First Data Corp. says it has resubmitted its application for regulatory approval of its plans to acquire Concord EFS Inc., a Memphis, Tenn.-based transaction processor and network owner. FDC says the refiling will give U.S. antitrust regulators...

Settlements Costly, But They May Create New Opportunities.
May 15, 2003... A debate is emerging on whether the glass is half empty or half full for debit card issuers in the aftermath of expected sweeping changes in pricing policies. The changes will come about as a result of agreements by Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard...

MasterCard, Visa Seek To Overturn DOJ Case Ruling.
May 15, 2003... With Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International having entered into settlement agreements in the merchant class-action lawsuit challenging their "honor-all-cards" policies, the card associations May 8 turned their attention to another case, this...

New Service Enables Clerks To Give Balance Info For Visa Prepaid Cards.
May 15, 2003... When Visa U.S.A. first rolled out prepaid cards carrying its brand mark, association officials believed consumers would embrace the plastic because it could be used anywhere Visa is accepted. This differs from merchant-issued cards, where...

More EFT Networks Are Switching To Tiered Interchange Rate Systems.
May 15, 2003... Not long ago, the nation's leading PIN-based debit networks had simple interchange rate structures. All of their member financial institutions paid the same rates when their cardholders used someone else's ATMs. And the networks set flat rates...

Fiserv, CCBT Strike Card Deal.
May 15, 2003... CCBT Financial Cos. Inc., a South Yarmouth. Mass.-based financial institution, has selected Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv Inc. to administer its Easy Pay payroll debit card program. Fiserv's FSV Payment Systems, which focuses on providing...

NYCE Promotes Judd To EVP.
May 15, 2003... NYCE Corp., which owns the Montvale, N.J.-based NYCE electronic funds transfer network, has promoted James S. Judd to executive vice president. Previously a senior vice president at NYCE, Judd's responsibilities include managing NYCE's network...

To Our Readers.
May 22, 2003... Because of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, ATM&Debit News will not be published on May 29. You will receive your next issue on Thursday, June 5. Please have a safe and wonderful holiday! Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

PNC Switches To Voice ATMs.
May 22, 2003... PNC Bank Corp. in Pittsburgh will have equipped 49 ATMs with voice-guidance technology by the end of May, and 200 of the bank's 3,600 ATMs will be voice-activated by the end of 2003, says James Walker, PNC senior vice president. PNC had...

KeyBank Debuts KeyMiles.
May 22, 2003... Cleveland-based KeyBank recently launched a cobranded debit card called KeyMiles in which users of the debit MasterCard earn Continental Airlines OnePass air miles. KeyMiles cardholders pay a $30 annual fee. They earn one OnePass air mile per...

Co-op Dumps Policy Limiting Links To No-Surcharge Groups.
May 22, 2003... What was believed to have been the first exclusivity arrangement involving participation in a surcharge-free ATM network will not come to fruition. Ontario, Calif.-based Co-op Network, which planned to forbid members from participating in...

More Issuers Are Increasing Their Foreign-ATM Rates.
May 22, 2003... Debit card issuers over the past year were more inclined to raise fees charged for using other financial institutions' ATMs than they were for customers' other card-related activities, new ATM&Debit News survey data suggest. Of the 26...

Coinstar Drops Nonpersonalized Card, But Debit Still Important To Its Strategy.
May 22, 2003... Two years ago, Coinstar Inc., which deploys over 10,000 supermarket-based kiosks that offer coin counting and other electronic services, launched a pilot with DataWave Systems during which customers instantly could receive a nonpersonalized...

Visa Says It Could Have Won Case, But Settlement Fair.
May 22, 2003... Visa U.S.A. officials believe the card association would have prevailed in the "honor-all-cards" class-action lawsuit, but Visa settled because the outcome was years away, the legal costs would have become even more substantial and the...

How Customer Fees Vary Among PIN-Based Debit Card Issuers.
May 22, 2003... (part 1 of 3) Proprietary ATM Bank 2001 2002 2003 BB&T 0 0 0 Bank One ...

Key Co-op Network Facts.
May 22, 2003... Member Credit Unions 1,165 Debit Cardholders 12 million* Network ATMs 16,500** Transaction Volume 640 million*** Source: Co-op Network. *As of February 2003. **Includes more than 7,000 off-premise...

EFunds Snares ISO Contract.
May 22, 2003... Convenience-store chain owner Mac's Convenience Stores Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Quebec, Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tarde, will use Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eFunds Corp. as its stores' primary provider of ATM services, according to...

NCR Gets Money Box Order.
May 22, 2003... Dayton, Ohio-based ATM maker NCR Corp. has secured a contract to supply 250 ATMs for deployment in the Netherlands to Money Box LLC, one of the largest independent ATM operators in Europe. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...