ATM & Debit News articles from November 2005

ATM & Debit News archives from November 2005

Cardtronics Reports Loss.
November 3, 2005... Houston-based Cardtronics reported a third-quarter net income loss of $200,000 compared to net income of approximately $2 million for the third-quarter last year. Cardtronics reported revenues of $71.7 million, a 13.3% increase from $63.3...

Green Dot In, Next Estate Out.
November 3, 2005... Next Estate Communications, which claims to be the largest provider of network-branded prepaid debit cards sold in retail locations, is changing its name. Next Estate will now be known as Green Dot Corp., according to its CEO, Steve Streit. The...

ATM Prices Rise Along With Recent Fuel Increases.
November 3, 2005... The impact of recent fuel hikes stretches far beyond commuters shelling out extra to top up their tanks. Armored car companies and ATM manufacturers are feeling the effects of recent prices as well. What's more, some analysts predict...

Rewards For Gas Purchases Could Boost Debit Use.
November 3, 2005... With gas prices at historically high levels, it is hardly surprising that many motorists are seeking any way they can to cut what they pay at the pump. For many years, credit card companies have offered discounts on gasoline purchases for...

IP Connections To ATMs Grow In Use, But Banks Slow To Make It Pay.
November 3, 2005... More financial institutions appear to be making the switch from leased telephone lines to Internet Protocol connectivity. ATM owners who use Internet Protocol-based communications see some noticeable advantages. Transactions and data...

Cards Gain The Most With Bill Payments.
November 3, 2005... There is ample evidence that cards are replacing paper check payments. Card-based payments are the most popular way consumers pay recurring bills automatically, which now surpasses paper checks as the most popular method for paying...

Austin Ventures Invests in PreCash.
November 3, 2005... Houston-based PreCash Inc. distributor of network-branded prepaid debit cards, is getting a financial boost. Austin, Texas-based Austin Ventures, a venture capital firm, announced it will invest $10 million to fund an international expansion of...

Provident Renews With Star.
November 3, 2005... First Data Corp. announced that Provident Bank has renewed its use of FDC's Star EFT network on the bank's debit cards. Provident reported having 258,664 debit cards in circulation as of December 2004, according to ATM&Debit News' EFT Data Book...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
November 3, 2005... The Oct. 27 edition of ATM&Debit News incorrectly stated that Thomas Swidarski replaced Gregory Geswein as president and chief operating officer and that Kevin J. Krakora replaced Eric C. Evans as chief financial officer. Swidarski replaced...

Big Changes For Visa Board.
November 10, 2005... Facing attacks from merchants on its interchange policies, Visa USA is seeking a broader cross section of senior-level experts from business, academia, government and elsewhere as it plans to remake its board of directors, says Elizabeth Buse,...

Texas-Sized WIC Rollout.
November 10, 2005... Texas is planning a statewide rollout of its smart-card-based Women's, Infants and Children's, or WIC, nutrition program by 2007. Michael Montgomery, director for the state's Nutrition Services, on Monday told participants at the EBT: The Next...

Recurring Fees Still Evolving For Card Reloads.
November 10, 2005... Several firms are ramping up their national exposure to distribute reloadable, network-branded prepaid debit cards. These firms anticipate that millions of consumers will pay to turn cash into plastic for a variety of uses, such as paying bills...

Funds Holds Inflame Buyers Of Gasoline.
November 10, 2005... Deployers of ATMs by law must inform consumers of any fees they will be charged for using the machines. There are no similar rules for notifying consumers about fees they will incur for using debit card for retail purchases. New York State...

Wells Bonds With Blue Cross For A Future In Health Debit Accounts.
November 10, 2005... It's not every day that financial institutions have a chance to offer a new banking product. But one such new product is the bank-issued health debit card, which is playing a growing role in health payments and insurance reimbursements. ...

Cardtronics Expects UK Adventure To Make Its ATM Service Future Bright.
November 10, 2005... Cardtronics Inc. appears to have swapped short-term losses for future gains. This year, the Houston-based ATM independent sales organization, the nation's largest, sought growth through several acquisitions. Those acquisitions, it seems, were...

S1 Reports 3rd-Quarter Loss.
November 10, 2005... S1 Corp., an Atlanta banking software firm that produces the Postilion debit transaction software, reported a third-quarter net income loss of $7.5 million compared to a net income gain of $3.2 million in the third quarter of 2004. Total...

Debit Leads MasterCard.
November 10, 2005... MasterCard reports its U.S. cardholders initiated 2.14 billion purchases in the third quarter, up 14% from 1.88 billion during the same three-month period last year. Total value of the transactions also was up 14%, to $151.4 billion from $132.9...

FDC Tags PIN, Signature Costs.
November 17, 2005... A First Data Corp. study of financial institutions shows that the cost of managing PIN-debit programs for issuers is about half the cost of managing signature-debit programs. The study, which examined debit card costs at 11 financial...

New MasterCard Travel Card.
November 17, 2005... MasterCard International announced it will start rolling out its first prepaid travel card product in the U.S. early next year, in collaboration with London-based foreign exchange specialist Travelex. MetaBank will issue the cards, and they...

Moneypass, Fastbank To Merge.
November 17, 2005... GenPass Inc. and Elan Financial Services announced a merger of the MoneyPass and Fastbank Free surcharge-free ATM networks. The planned merger would create a national surcharge-free network with nearly 10,500 ATMs located in 48 states. Elan,...

WAMU Throws In The Towel Over ATM Surcharging.
November 17, 2005... While ATM transaction volumes continue to fall, more machine owners are scrambling to find ways to combat the slumping numbers. One popular strategy is to offer surcharge-free ATM access. Cardtronics Inc. and Mastercard International in...

WIC Program Sparks Interest In Smart Card Use.
November 17, 2005... The Women's, Infant and Children nutrition program would not seem to be a medium for significant changes in acquiring transactions at point-of-sale locations. But the WIC program is becoming a fault line over the use of smart cards and...

Wincor Takes Aim At Diebold, NCR Lock On U.S. Shipments To Banks.
November 17, 2005... NCR and Diebold have a solid grip on the bank ATM market in the U.S. But ATM manufacturer Wincor Nixdorf is seeking to carve out a third slot alongside the two giants. The Germany-based ATM manufacturer enjoys significant market share among...

EBT May Have Multi-Use Future.
November 17, 2005... Clarence Carter, deputy administrator for the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service, in a speech at the recent EBT: The Next Generation conference in Reno, Nev., promised to break down government barriers to make better use of the well-established...

Diebold Wins Biometrics Deal.
November 17, 2005... Diebold Inc. is rolling out ATMs in South America that use fingerprint scans to verify the identity of a user. Diebold announced at the Retail Delivery Conference and Expo in Orlando, Fla., that it has garnered a new contract with an unnamed...

Network Switches Processors.
November 17, 2005... The Tallahassee, Fla.-based Credit Union 24 EFT network plans to replace Fiserv EFS with Fifth Third Processing Solutions as the network's PIN-debit transaction processor. Credit Union 24, which has about 400 credit union members, switches...

To Our Readers.
November 24, 2005... Because of the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, ATM&Debit News will not be published on Thursday, Dec. 1. You will receive your next issue on Thursday, Dec. 8. Please have a safe and wonderful holiday! (c) 2005 ATM&Debit News and...

Debit Cards In Holiday Lead.
November 24, 2005... Debit cards for gift-buying during the holidays remain the favorite of consumers while the use of credit cards is declining, according to a National Retail Federation-sponsored consumer survey. The survey of 7,128 consumers, conducted by...

Wincor Captures Wells Deal.
November 24, 2005... German ATM manufacturer Wincor Nixdorf confirmed that it has captured the ATM servicing business of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co., which ranks fifth among U.S.-based ATM owners with 6,275 machines, according to ATM&Debit News' 2006 EFT...

ATM Outsourcing In Mainstream Among Banks.
November 24, 2005... Independent ATM managers have long eyed financial institution deployers as future business partners. These managers for years have argued that they can operate ATMs more efficiently than bank ATM owners can. Now, two major bank ATM...

Indiana Opts For Prepaid Cards And No Direct Deposit.
November 24, 2005... States using prepaid debit cards for payments, such as those involving court-ordered child support, usually offer payment recipients a choice. They can either sign up for direct deposit into a checking account or receive a prepaid debit card....

Payroll Cards Offer Issuers A Range Of Profitable Possibilities.
November 24, 2005... Jennifer Tescher says the most common flaw she sees in marketing payroll card programs is an issuing bank that fails to recognize half of its potential customer base. Tescher, director of the center for financial services innovation says too...

Study Shows The Cost Side Of Debit Cards.
November 24, 2005... Most card issuers pay close attention to transaction volume among their own debit cardholders to calculate how much revenue their debit cards bring them. But the total cost of managing card programs plays a big role in determining how...

NCR Sells More 7-Eleven Vcoms.
November 24, 2005... 7-Eleven Stores and NCR Corp. have signed a contract to more than double the deployment of NCR advanced-function ATMs in 7-Eleven stores, NCR announced at the BAI Retail&Delivery Expo in Orlando, Fla. last week. Currently, 7-Eleven has about...

Free 7-Eleven ATMs For Co-Op.
November 24, 2005... Co-Op Network has announced an agreement with 7-Eleven to offer surcharge-free access for Co-Op members at more than 5,000 7-Eleven locations before the end of the year. Beginning Dec.1, ATMs located in the convenience stores will be...