ATM & Debit News articles from May 2006

ATM & Debit News archives from May 2006

Changes At MasterCard, Visa.
May 4, 2006... Visa USA members last week approved the addition to its board four independent members. The four are Visa's first independent directors. Visa also added a board seat for a financial institution member with less than $1 billion in annual Visa...

MasterCard Financials Up.
May 4, 2006... MasterCard International, just prior to its upcoming initial public offering of stock, reported net income for the first quarter of $127 million, up 36.6% from the $93 million reported for the first quarter of last year. Net revenue for the...

Offline Debit Again A Target In Fee Lawsuit.
May 4, 2006... It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same in the battle over interchange between the two major debit associations and their issuers and merchants who pay issuers for debit card purchases. In April 2003, MasterCard...

New-Breed Kiosks Dispense, Accept Cards.
May 4, 2006... Financial institutions may consider themselves dominant local financial centers for consumers. But local convenience stores, using new, high-function, ATM-like kiosks, may be nipping at the heels of many financial institutions in the near...

Wells Settles Into Branch Sales Of Gift Cards After Trial Year.
May 4, 2006... It may be a bit early to even think about holiday sales of prepaid debit cards promoted as gift cards. Most studies show that the vast majority of sales of prepaid debit cards sold as gift cards come in the months of November and December. ...

Are Banks Players In Kiosk Game?
May 4, 2006... Financial institutions may be forfeiting future customer relationships and transactions to retailers by not investing in their own financial self-service kiosks, according to a new study by the TowerGroup consultancy. According to...

A Sale For Global Axcess?
May 4, 2006... Global Axcess Corp., the Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based parent of the Nationwide Money Services ISO, may be up for sale. Global Axcess, in a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reported a 2005 net loss of $700,000. Its 2005...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
May 4, 2006... So-called "deconversions" among credit card issuers was the leading cause of First Data Corp.'s 5% decline in first-quarter revenues in its financial institution segment. ATM&Debit News, in its April 27 issue, incorrectly reported that...

MasterCard IPO This Month.
May 11, 2006... MasterCard Inc.'s initial public offering of stock is scheduled for May 24, according to several analysts, including Howard K. Mason of Bernstein Research. Mason reports that MasterCard executives are meeting with potential investors....

Diebold Faces Inquiry, Suits.
May 11, 2006... Diebold Inc., in a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, indicated that it was being investigated by the SEC. "The company was recently informed that the staff of the SEC has begun an informal inquiry relating to the...

Small Banks See Prepaid Future.
May 11, 2006... A new survey by The Independent Community Bankers of America shows community banks expect to be strong players in the prepaid debit card-issuing business. About 27% of ICBA members currently issue network-branded gift cards. About 55% will...

Departure At EFunds Raises Eyebrows.
May 11, 2006... When Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eFunds purchased prepaid debit card processor WildCard Systems last July, the $228.8 million acquisition represented a turning point for the firm. EFunds had sold off its unprofitable ATM-management business to...

Issuers In Golden Age Of Debit Rewards.
May 11, 2006... Debit card rewards are coming of age, with a growing number of banks doling out points, miles, discounts, cash refunds or gift cards to entice customers to use plastic instead of cash or checks. About 36% of issuers reward debit card use,...

ATM ISOs Find ATM Numbers And Transactions Down, Losses Up.
May 11, 2006... Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.-based Global Axcess Corp. and Portland, Ore.-based TRM Corp have several things in common. Both firms are top-10 ATM independent sales organizations and both are losing money. TRM, in a late, end-of-the year filing...

Gift Gas Cards Prove To Be Hot Item.
May 11, 2006... The red-hot rise in gasoline prices in recent weeks, beyond $3 a gallon in most locations, appears to be igniting additional use of network-branded, prepaid debit cards. The Conshohocken, Pa-based prepaid debit card firm Ecount Corp....

Firms Blend Health Card, Data.
May 11, 2006... First Data Corp. announced a deal with Medem Inc. to offer what the firms call an "iHealth" prepaid debit card for health accounts. The card combines health payments with health plan eligibility verification and key health data. Medem sells a...

New Diebold Diagnostics Tool.
May 11, 2006... North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc. announced the development of new, remote ATM diagnostic and trouble-shooting software, called OpteView, to operate in conjunction with Diebold's Opteva ATMs running its Agilis software platform. (c)...

Interlink Volume Up 40.2%.
May 18, 2006... Visa USA reported that transaction volume in its Interlink point-of-sale, PIN-debit network grew by 40.2% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Visa reports 800 million transactions volume amounting to sales volume of...

BB&T Likes Benny Cards.
May 18, 2006... BB&T Corp. has selected Evolution Benefits Corp.'s Benny health-benefits card as part of BB&T's health care program for its employees and customers. The bank will offer the Benny card to employees who hold debit cards attached to tax-deferred...

Sovereign, Cardtronics Ties Grow.
May 18, 2006... Sovereign Bank will expand its ATM-branding links with the Cardtronics ATM ISO from 900 to about 1,400 Cardtronics ATMs. The ATMs, all in CVS drug stores, will be use-free to Sovereign cardholders (c) 2006 ATM&Debit News and SourceMedia,...

Community Banks Plan Big Splash In Prepaid Cards.
May 18, 2006... Smaller community banks, it seems, are ready to greatly expand into such products as prepaid debit cards. But offering check-imaging at ATMs is not a function many community banks plan to offer. Those are some of the conclusions of a recent...

Fed Check System To Shrink: What Next?
May 18, 2006... The Federal Reserve Board, recognizing the major shifts underway in how consumers make purchases, is drastically consolidating its check-processing system. Indeed, Fed studies show that paper check use is shrinking and being replaced by...

Web-Type Transaction Messages Set For ATMs Using New IFX Standard.
May 18, 2006... Financial institutions may finally be able make their ATMs look and act like the rest of their banking channels using unified transaction-messaging standards instead of proprietary messaging protocols in use since ATMs were first deployed. ...

Study: A Mixed View Of Contactless.
May 18, 2006... Contactless debit cards and credit cards are making their mark as a possible payment option for some consumers. But having a contactless payment card doesn't mean consumers will use the contactless feature much. Those are the results of a...

UK Good To Cardtronics.
May 18, 2006... Cardtronics Inc, which acquired Bank Machine Ltd., a UK-based ATM deployer, said in a new report the company's UK ATMs are more productive than its U.S.-based machines. Cardtronics saw an average of 380 transactions a month at all its 26,000...

M&T To Do Windows On ATMs.
May 18, 2006... M&T Bank has purchased 390 of NCR's Personas 77 models and NCR's Aptra software to run the machines. The deal represents the replacement of about a quarter of M&T's fleet of about 1,500 ATMs. Andy Orent, NCR vice president, said the purchase is...

To Our Readers.
May 25, 2006... Because of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, ATM&Debit News will not be published on June 1. You will receive your next issue on Thursday, June 8. Please have a safe and wonderful holiday! (c) 2006 ATM&Debit News and SourceMedia, Inc....

Fifth Third Eyes Contactless.
May 25, 2006... Fifth Third Bank is testing MasterCard International's Paypass contactless payment card feature for a possible debit card rollout. Jon Groch, vice president of debit cards for the bank, told participants at SourceMedia Inc.'s Card Forum in...

MasterCard Pulls IPO Trigger.
May 25, 2006... Public trading of MasterCard Inc. stock began today. MasterCard shares were selling at about $44 a share Thursday morning, which is somewhat more than the previously set $41 to $43 target price in MasterCard's initial public offering filing....

New Rules Likely With Higher Fraud Losses.
May 25, 2006... Signs abound that debit cards are in for a bumpy ride, jolted both by growing actual fraud and increased cardholder fear of fraud. The combination could lead to a new round of transaction security regulations and industry rules. A new...

ADN Survey: Some ISOs Are Shrinking.
May 25, 2006... Last year, several major ATM independent sales organizations saw a decline in ATM transaction volumes, and, as a consequence, profits (ADN 05-11-06). A new ATM & Debit News survey shows how ISOs responded: by shutting down poor-performing...

Casino ATM Operator's Stock Rises, Large Cash-out In The Works.
May 25, 2006... Global Cash Access Holdings Inc., the largest ATM operator and transaction processor for casinos, went public less than a year ago, but some stockholders are already looking to cash out. The company announced this month it was offering up to...

Visa CEO Promises Security Focus.
May 25, 2006... Debit card issuers, merchant acquirers, consumers and even competing payment networks are likely to be hearing more from Visa USA over payment card security issues. John Coghlan, president and CEO of Visa USA, during a recent interview at...

AGlobal Axcess, TRM Sell Units.
May 25, 2006... Two ATM independent sales organizations that experienced financial downturns of late have sold parts of their businesses. Global Axcess Corp. has sold 50% of its South Africa subsidiary, Cash Axcess Corp., to the Industrial Electronic...

New Cash For Debitman.
May 25, 2006... The Debitman debit network for merchants announced a partnership with HSBC Retail Services, a unit of HSBC bank, that includes an infusion of funds. HSBC plans to offer Debitman technology to its retail card clients, according to HSBC. (c)...