ATM & Debit News articles from November 2003

ATM & Debit News archives from November 2003

Elan To Combine EFT Networks.
November 6, 2003... U.S. Bancorp's Elan Financial Services electronic funds transfer processing subsidiary is combining its Minibank and Fastbank EFT networks with the intention of expanding Elan's network services, says Janet Estep, Elan executive vice president....

Cardtronics Will Use Diebold.
November 6, 2003... The Houston-based ATM independent sales organization Cardtronics Inc. has signed a deal to use the ATM maintenance-service division of North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc. Cardtronics announced that Diebold will maintain and service about 20%...

Issuers Are Facing A Quick-Changing Debit Card Market.
November 6, 2003... The U.S. debit card industry is in the midst of major change. While eventually the dust will settle, financial institutions are having to rethink their strategies, and their decisions could have broad, long-term implications. Visa USA and...

Technology Needs Of Banks Create Rise In ATM Sales.
November 6, 2003... There are signs that financial institutions may be replacing ATMs at a quickening pace, driven by regulatory changes and the availability of new technologies. And the two leading suppliers of bank ATMs in the U.S., Diebold Inc. and NCR Corp.,...

Study Finds Linking Bill Payments To Debit Cards Makes Loyal Customers.
November 6, 2003... More Americans today are using their bank's online bill-payment service, which automatically pays billers on the dates assigned by the consumer, often electronically via automated clearinghouse funds transfers from their checking accounts. But...

More States May Sue To Improve ATM Access.
November 6, 2003... The conversion to voice activation so the visually impaired can access ATMs is still largely limited to tests. And while such major banks as Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have promised to make hundreds of their ATMs voice...

Key Survey Findings.
November 6, 2003... * 26% of U.S. households use a debit card for recurring payments. * 48% of households would consider using debit cards for additional recurring payments. Source: MasterCard International. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All...

Mosaic To Aid New Atiam Card.
November 6, 2003... Atiam Technologies Inc. plans to use Mosaic Software's Postilion software to support its new stored-value insurance-payment access card called InsPac. Eddystone, Pa.-based Atiam will promote the card to client insurers as a lower-cost option to...

EFunds' Net Income Drops 15%.
November 6, 2003... EFunds Corp. reported third-quarter net income of $9.1 million, down 15% from $10.7 million for the same three-month period last year. Net revenues for the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based electronic payments company were $133.1 million, down 8% from...

Elan Offers Data Warehouse.
November 13, 2003... Elan Financial Services, the card-issuing and processing arm of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, on Nov. 10 launched eQuest, a Web-based data-warehouse application designed to enable client financial institutions to do ad hoc queries so they can...

Visa Modifies Defection Bylaw.
November 13, 2003... Citing antitrust concerns, Visa USA reportedly began notifying its members this week of a change in a bylaw that took effect in June that imposes heavy financial penalties on issuers that defect to other brands to avoid assuming their share of...

Interchange Rates To Stay Put.
November 13, 2003... Mastercard will not alter its reduced interchange rates for debit MasterCard purchases on Jan. 1, sources tell ATM&Debit News. MasterCard agreed to lower the debit rates by about a third from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31 as part of its settlement in the...

Triton Targets Banks To Counter A Flat Off-Premise Market.
November 13, 2003... For more than eight years, Triton Systems has led the market in sales of cash dispensers deployed in merchant locations. Its original 9600 ATM series, with a single cash cassette and monochrome menu display, became ubiquitous in mom-and-pop...

MasterCard Offers Advice, Research With New Services.
November 13, 2003... If you're looking for advice on how to make your financial institution more profitable, MasterCard International says it now is able to give it. And if you're interested in research to help make your own decisions, MasterCard says it now can...

As The Holidays Approach, MasterCard, Visa Seek To Pump Up Card Spending.
November 13, 2003... When consumers shop this holiday season, their choice to use a signature-based debit card to initiate the payments will qualify them to win one of two holiday sweepstakes. If they use a debit MasterCard, they might win a trip to Universal...

Short On Cash, Visa Makes A Discount Pitch To Members.
November 13, 2003... Visa USA, in a cash crunch as a result of its $2 billion settlement in May of a class-action lawsuit brought by millions of merchants over interchange acquirers pay to accept signature-based debit transactions, appears to have been rescued by...

Triton At A Glance.
November 13, 2003... Parent: Dover Industries Inc. Installed ATM Base: 100,000* Assembly Plant: Long Beach, Miss. Main Market: Retailer Cash Dispensers Original Product Line: Ocean Buoys Source: Triton. *Includes U.S., Canada and...

Nationwide Adds 2 Credit Unions.
November 13, 2003... The Nationwide Money Services ATM independent sales organization has struck deals in which Roanoke, Va.-based Freedom First Federal Credit Union and Lynchburg, Va.-based Beacon Community Credit Union will brand as their own 24...

Wincor Buys Rest Of AutoTell.
November 13, 2003... The Wincor Nixdorf ATM manufacturer has acquired the remaining 49% interest in Wincor AutoTell LLC, of which Wincor purchased a 51% share in 2000. AutoTell produces open-source ATM software that Wincor has integrated into its ProCash U.S. ATM...

Banks To 'Test' AmEx Cards?
November 20, 2003... Howard Mason, a senior analyst at New York-based Sanford C. Bernstein Inc., told participants at the Bank Administration Institute's Retail Delivery Conference and Expo in New Orleans Nov. 19 that Visa officials have told him they expect some...

No-Surcharge Network Formed.
November 20, 2003... Genpass Inc., owner of the MoneyMaker and MoneyBelt electronic funds transfer networks, has created a selective-surcharge ATM network. Participants in the MoneyPass network can waive surcharges on each others' debit cardholders. The initial...

More Organizations Bolstering Networks To Better Compete.
November 20, 2003... Bubbling beneath the surface of the power struggle between Concord EFS Inc.'s Star network and Visa USA's Interlink and Plus networks over large debit card-issuer contracts are major changes being made by smaller networks owned by...

Consumers See Little Need For Multifunction ATMs.
November 20, 2003... Bank customers rely heavily on ATMs to access funds from their bank accounts. But so far, consumers do not see much of a need for functions other than withdrawals from the machines, and most deployers appear uninterested in adding new...

Fee-Revenue Drop May Prompt Looks At Business Debit Programs, PIN Fees.
November 20, 2003... Both Visa USA and MasterCard International have informed processors that they will extend into next year their reduced interchange rates for signature-based, or offline, consumer debit cards. Subsequently, issuers are now faced with finding...

RFID Passes, And Nets Some Major Gains.
November 20, 2003... The use of radio-frequency identification transponders to initiate "card" payments may be about to escalate. MasterCard International on Nov. 17 announced plans to roll out its PayPass RFID system as a standard available feature for issuers of...

EFunds, Oasis Complete Deal.
November 20, 2003... EFunds Corp., the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based transaction processor and ATM operator, has completed its $30 million purchase of Oasis Technology Inc., which produces ATM transaction-switching software. The software allows eFunds for the first time...

MasterCard Files For Patent.
November 20, 2003... MasterCard International says it has filed to patent its new debit MasterCard hologram. In a news release, MasterCard says the patent would "relate to the use of holograms to visually identify a type of payment device." In its settlement in the...

Key Bank Choice Factors.
November 20, 2003... Service Quality 99% Convenient ATMs 92% Inexpensive Check-Writing 88% Convenient Hours 87% Bank Branch Sites 83% Online Banking 56% Source: Results...

To Our Readers.
November 27, 2003... Because of the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, ATM&Debit News will not be published on Thursday, Dec. 4. You will receive your next issue on Thursday, Dec. 11. Please have a safe and wonderful holiday! Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc....

Chase To Acquire Citicorp EFS.
November 27, 2003... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. announced Nov. 26 an agreement to buy Citicorp Electronic Financial Services Inc. for $380 million. A Chase spokesperson says the deal is expected to close by the end of December. Citicorp EFS is the leading contractor...

Judge Hears Bylaw Arguments.
November 27, 2003... U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones Nov. 25 heard lawyers' arguments over MasterCard International's complaint against a Visa USA bylaw that imposes heavy fines on Visa check card issuers if they defect to MasterCard. Jones says she will need...

Vendors Gear Up To Offer ATMs With Multiple Functions.
November 27, 2003... The bells and whistles of new ATM hardware and software were resonating throughout the Bank Administration Institute's Retail Delivery Conference and Expo 2003 in New Orleans last week. And most vendors seemed optimistic about the market...

Checkless Account At Citibank Targets The Unbanked.
November 27, 2003... Many unbanked individuals do not open an account because they fear checks. They either may not know how to fill them out, or they dread the fees they face if they overdraw their account and a check bounces. Moreover, the financial risks...

Surveys Find More Consumers Are Buying, Receiving Prepaid Gift Cards.
November 27, 2003... Consumers over the past few holiday seasons have continued to buy more prepaid gift cards. And they plan to buy even more this season, the results of two recently released surveys suggest. A survey of 6,551 consumers conducted Nov. 6-12 and...

Subsidized ETAs Are Attracting Few Unbanked Takers.
November 27, 2003... While Citibank is launching a low-cost account designed to appeal to underserved populations, a 4-year-old program that provides banks financial incentives to offer accounts so unbanked individuals may receive government funds electronically is...

Prepaid Gift Card Market Grows.
November 27, 2003... 2003 2002 Aware of gift cards 92% 79% Bought gift card* 45% 23% No. of cards bought** 5.6 4.6 Source: ValueLink. Results based on survey of 1,023 U.S. adults over age 18. *Over previous 12...

New IFX ATM Protocols Created.
November 27, 2003... The Interactive Financial Exchange Forum has published its software-messaging protocols for ATM transactions. Called IFX Version 1.5, the new open-source language enables ATM software vendors to create products that give debit card-accepting...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
November 27, 2003... A news brief in the Nov. 20 issue incorrectly suggested that Visa USA officials had told analyst Howard Mason that it expects some Visa issuers to test American Express Co. debit cards. Rather, Visa expects some Visa credit card issuers to test...