Cardline articles from April 2004

Cardline archives from April 2004

PROCESSOR SETTLES WITH FTC FOR NEARLY $4 MILLION.(Electronic Financial Group Inc. settles with U.S. Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Federal Trade Commission today said payment processor Electronic Financial Group Inc. has settled charges involving alleged assistance to fraudulent telemarketers on terms that include a $3.9 million payment for consumer redress. In a civil...

DUNKIN' DONUTS DOLES OUT DEBIT.(Dunkin' Donuts Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Dunkin' Donuts is mulling plans to expand its rechargeable debit card this summer in the New England area. Randolph, MA-based Dunkin' Donuts already has added about 30 stores to the 53 stores in Maine and two counties in New Hampshire that...

COLLECTIONS FIRM TO CLOSE CALL CENTER IN HAWAII.(Penncro Associates Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Debt collector Penncro Associates Inc. reported it will close its call center in Hilo, Hawaii and lay off all 172 employees. The center has 150 collectors, 19 managers and three administrative staffers. Paul J. Crowley, Penncro's founder and...

S&P NOW RATES PROCESSORS, COLLECTORS.(Standard & Poor's Corp)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Standard & Poor's Corp. has expanded its Servicer Evaluation in the last several months to include credit card processors and debt-collection agencies. Firms receiving an average or better ranking are placed on S&P's Select Servicer list....

CARD DEBT SWIRLS IN SOUTH KOREA.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... South Korea's 19 banks suffered a dramatic drop in net profits in 2003 largely due to their exposure to credit card and household debt, according to wire-service reports. Korea's Financial Supervisory Service reported that the banks posted...

COLLECTOR WILL COMPLY WITH FTC DEMANDS.(Capital Acquisitions and Management Corp)(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Capital Acquisitions and Management Corp., a buyer of distressed debt, says a consent degree it entered into with the Federal Trade Commission reaffirms the company's commitment to "intensive compliance with the many and complex state and...

MICHIGAN CU TEAMS WITH NYCE.(Michigan Credit Union League, NYCE Corp)(.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Michigan Credit Union League will market all of Montvale, NJ-based NYCE Corp.'s electronic funds transfer services to the league's 467 credit-union members. The League will market NYCE's EFT network, ATM driving services and PIN- and...

CORRECTION.(Correction Notice)
April 2, 2004... CardLine incorrectly reported in last week's edition information about Total System Services Inc.'s (TSYS) business relationship with Providian Financial Corp. Providian switched its statementing services and plastic card personalization...

BRITISH POST OFFICE TO OFFER CREDIT CARDS.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The British post office today announced that it has formed a joint venture with the Bank of Ireland to offer credit cards and unsecured personal loans. The joint venture will begin issuing credit cards within 18 months, according to the BBC...

U.S. WIRELESS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY.
April 2, 2004... U.S. Wireless Data Inc., the New York City-based wireless transaction processing company, Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy several months after it said it needed to secure additional financing to continue operations. The company is one of...

WEST VIRGINIA SUES CROSS COUNTRY BANK.(Rocco A. Abessinio charged)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw has sued card issuer Cross Country Bank, its collection agency, Applied Card Systems, and the businesses' founder and owner, Rocco A. Abessinio. McGraw recently filed the lawsuit that charged Cross...

CONCOCOPHILLIPS OFFERS TRI-BRANDED MASTERCARD.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... ConocoPhillips Co., an integrated oil company based in Houston, is offering cardholders a new MasterCard that features the Conoco, 76 and Phillips 66 brands on one card. Citibank, the card's issuer, will mail in the next several months the new...

DEBIT CARDS DOMINATE THE EUROPEAN UNION.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Mintel International Group Ltd., which recently released a report on cards in the European Union, said spending on debit cards in 2003 was three times higher than spending on credit cards. According its study, "European Credit Cards," consumers...

RETAILER MAPCO JOINS GENPASS.(MAPCO Express Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Fort Washington, PA-based Genpass Inc., the EFT transaction processor and ATM driver, says Irving, TX-based MAPCO Express will join the Genpass' MoneyPass surcharge-free network. Sixty of MAPCO's convenience stores offer Union Planters...

MORE JAPANESE CONSUMERS ARE OPENING CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... UFJ Holdings, Japan's fourth-largest issuer, said 10% of customers who opened a new bank account also applied for credit cards during the 12 months ended this month. This compares with 4% last year, according to wire-service reports. UFJ and...

AMERICAN EXPRESS WILL ISSUE CARDS IN CHINA.(Industrial Commercial Bank of China partners with American Express)
April 2, 2004... American Express Co. and Industrial Commercial Bank of China, China's largest card issuer, announced today in Beijing that they have formed a partnership that will lead to ICBC issuing either an AmEx-branded revolving credit card or an AmEx...

TRANSFIRST BUYS PAYMENT RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Processor TransFirst announced today that it has purchased Payment Resources International, adding about $1.8 billion in annual processing volume and 7,500 merchant contracts. The deal was effective on March 1. Terms weren't disclosed. The new...

WEST VIRGINIA CAN USE AFFADAVIT OF A FORMER CROSS COUNTRY EXECUTIVE.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... A West Virginia Circuit Court judge has ruled that the state's attorney general can use an affidavit from a former Cross Country Bank executive in West Virginia's lawsuit against the card issuer, its collections agency and the companies' owner....

MMI ACQUIRES NEW JERSEY CREDIT-COUNSELING AGENCY.(Money Management International)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Houston-based Money Management International yesterday said that it has acquired Consumer Credit Counseling Service of South Jersey, an agency with seven offices serving six counties between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Terms of the...

ISSUANCE OF RETAIL CARD BONDS DROPS.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Issuance of securities backed by private-label card receivables fell to a 10-year low of $848 million in 2003 after three consecutive years of record growth, according to Moody's Investors Service. That was an 89% drop from 2002's level of $7.8...

BANK OF THAILAND CRACKS DOWN ON CARD USE.(services)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Bank of Thailand, Thailand's central bank, has ordered credit cardholders to make minimum payments of 10% on the outstanding balances beginning in April instead of the current 5%, according to wire-service reports. The bank's announcement is...

EFUNDS, CO-OP NETWORK EXTEND RELATIONSHIP.(contracts)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... EFunds Corp., the Scottsdale, AZ-based electronic funds transfer transaction processor and ATM operator, announced last week it will continue its contractual relationship with the Ontario, CA-based CO-OP network of credit unions Funds will...

MCDONALD'S TO END CHICAGO SPEEDPASS TEST.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... McDonald's Corp. will stop accepting ExxonMobil Corp.'s contactless radio-frequency Speedpass transponders for payment as of June 30, CardLine has learned. The Oak Brook, IL-based fast-food chain began testing Speedpass acceptance in the...

NEW YORK CITY MANDATES THAT TAXIS ACCEPT CARDS.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, which licenses the city's cabs, yesterday mandated that New York's 12,187 cabs begin accepting debit and credit cards by November 2005. The commission did not specify what type of card-accepting...

THE DONALD ROLLS THE DICE ON A COBRANDED CARD.
April 2, 2004... Bank One Corp. today launched a cobranded card for customers of three Atlantic City, NJ hotel and casino properties controlled by flamboyant real-estate tycoon and new TV star Donald J. Trump. The Trump Rewards Visa card, however, could get...

MCDONALD'S NO LONGER INTERESTED IN RFID TECHNOLOGY.(radio-frequency identification)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... With its decision to discontinue accepting ExxonMobil Corp.'s Speedpass transponder for payment at its Chicago-area restaurants (CardLine Special Bulletin, 3-30), McDonald's is closing the books on efforts to accept payments initiated with...

CHINA OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES GIANT SMART CARD PROJECT.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... At a ceremony Monday, China's Ministry of Public Security officially began issuing a smart card as a national identification document that all 900 million Chinese adults will carry by 2008. Ren Gao, the project manager, said the ministry will...

JCB SAYS MORE MERCHANTS IN TURKEY CAN ITS ACCEPT ITS CARD.(JCB International Credit Card Company Ltd.)
April 2, 2004... JCB International Co. Ltd., Japan's largest card issuer, said today that the number of merchants who accept JCB cards in Turkey will increase to more than 100,000 now that its direct licensee has signed a sublicensing agreement with a large...

MITSUBISHI TO ISSUE CARDS.(Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Ltd., Japan's largest bank by market value, will begin issuing its own credit card for the first time beginning next March. The Tokyo-based bank currently issues cards through a subsidiary, but new regulations...

BANK ONE SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH ALLPOINT.(AllPoints Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Allpoint, the no-surcharge ATM network, will provide surcharge-free access for Bank One Corp.'s Direct Card, a prepaid Visa-branded debit card. Direct Card is used for payroll disbursements, university financial aid, scholarships and grants....

CANADIANS SOON TO BE ABLE TO USE DEBIT CARDS IN THE U.S.(marketing agreements of YCE Corp. and Acxsys Corp)
April 2, 2004... Participating Canadian issuers' customers this fall will be able to shop with their debit cards in the U.S. under an agreement scheduled to be announced tomorrow, CardLine has learned YCE Corp. and Acxsys Corp., whose eight shareholding...

MASTERCARD PROGRAM PUSHES DEBIT, CHIP AND PIN.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... MasterCard International announced today a program aimed at promoting sales of payment terminals that accept smart cards and MasterCard's Maestro debit brand. In a release today, MasterCard officials said three terminal manufacturers would...

ABN AMRO ISSUES PREPAID CARD FOR DELAYED KLM PASSENGERS - ABN AMRO ISSUES PREPAID CARD FOR DELAYED KLM PASSENGERS.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... ABN AMRO, an international bank based in the Netherlands, is issuing a prepaid Maestro-branded card for KLM, the Royal Dutch Airline. KLM employees give the KLM Cash Card to passengers who either have been bumped from their flights because of...

CONSULTANT PREDICTS BIG GROWTH FOR CONTACTLESS CARDS.(Dreifus Associates Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Lake Mary, FL-based Dreifus Associates Ltd. projects fourfold growth in the worldwide sales of contactless smart card chips by 2008. Analyst Ivo Zlatinov tells Cardline 622 million contactless smart card chips will be shipped in 2008, compared...

REGULATORS UPDATE RETAIL PAYMENT INFO - REGULATORS UPDATE RETAIL PAYMENT INFO.(rules of Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... For the first time since 1996, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council has updated its primer about risk and related issues involving retail payment systems that is used by bank examiners as well as bankers. "It's well overdue...

HOUSEHOLD NAME WILL BE DEEMPHASIZED.(Household International)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... HSBC Holdings Plc, which purchased Household International in 2002, will de-emphasize Household's name on its bank cards, but Household's private-label cards will not be affected. HSBC will replace Household's name with its own name "over time,...

ASIA PAY SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.(Asia Payment Systems Inc., Sunkart Investment Management Co. Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Asia Payment Systems Inc., a China-based card processor and merchant-services company, today announced that it has signed an memorandum of understanding with Beijing Sunkart Investment Management Co. Ltd. to investigate the possibility of...

INTERBANCO BUYS CITIBANK'S CARD BUSINESS IN PARAGUAY - INTERBANCO BUYS CITIBANK'S CARD BUSINESS IN PARAGUAY.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Interbanco, a Paraguayan bank, has purchased Citibank's Paraguay credit and debit card portfolio for around $30 million, the companies recently reported. The deal included all of Citibank's Visa and MasterCard business. Citibank is selling off...

LOYALTY CARDS THAT CAN BE USED AT MULTIPLE AIRLINES ARE BOOKING MORE PASSENGERS.(Universal Air Travel Plan Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Loyalty cards that offer air miles are growing faster than traditional airline cobranded cards, Alan Schultheis, director at banking consultant Edgar, Dunn & Co., warned at the Universal Air Travel Plan Inc. (UATP) annual conference yesterday...

SMART CARDS REMAIN ON TRACK, SAYS VISA EU EXEC.(Hans van der Velde, Europay, Mastercard and Visa )(Visa International)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... By the end of the year, a "majority" of European payment cards and terminals will comply with EMV, the international standard for chip-based credit and debit cards, Hans van der Velde, president of Visa International's European Union region,...

BRAZIL MOVES SMARTLY TO CHIP CARDS.(conversion of credit cards to smart cards)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Brazilian issuers are well on their way to converting their credit and debit cards to smart cards, which will account for two-thirds of the country's 571 million payment cards by 2008, predicts a new report from United Kingdom-based Euromonitor...

JCB IS TESTING CONTACTLESS CREDIT CARD IN JAPAN.(JCB Co. Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... JCB Co. Ltd., Japan's largest card issuer, yesterday announced that it is piloting a contact and contactless credit card at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The so-called e-METI JCB Business Card's dual-interface...

TRM BUYS U.K.-BASED ATM ISO.(TRM Corp. acquires Inkas Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... TRM Corp. today announced that it has purchased Inkas Financial Corp., a leading ATM independent sales organization in the United Kingdom, for an undisclosed price. Inkas has 450 ATMs under contract in U.K. retail locations. As a result of the...

CARD SECURITIES' PERFORMANCE WAS MIXED IN FEBRUARY.(securities of banking industry)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The performance of pools of securitized bank card receivables was mixed in February, with yield, excess spread and delinquencies improving, but losses and payment rates slightly deteriorating, according to Standard & Poor's Credit Card Quality...

HONORED BALI BOMBING INVESTIGATOR NAMED MASTERCARD VICE PRESIDENT.(Tim Morris promoted by MasterCard International Asia and Pacific Region)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Tim Morris, a former Australian Federal police officer who was recognized for his work in investigating the terrorist bombing in Bali, Indonesia, yesterday was named vice president and regional head for MasterCard International's Asia and...

VISA INTERNATIONAL REPORTS 2003 CARD SALES VOLUME OF $2.9 TRILLION.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Visa International today reported that its 2003 worldwide card sales volume was $2.9 trillion, up 10% from 2002, but the card association suffered a setback in its Asia Pacific region because of the well-documented credit-quality problems in...

COMPUTER PROBLEM CAUSES DOUBLE AND TRIPLE BILLING OF WAL-MART CUSTOMERS.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc., First Data Corp., service error)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Processor First Data Corp. said a computer hardware glitch led to double and triple billing of 800,000 credit and debit card transactions at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. First Data's First Data Merchant Services, which processes card transactions for...

EUROPEANS CUT INTO CARD FRAUD.(analysis)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The business case for smart cards has gotten harder to make as card fraud has declined the past few years, both in Europe and globally, thanks to other security measures. Smart cards have been touted as a fraud-prevention measure. Figures...

RBC WANTS TO SERVE CANADIANS WHO FLY SOUTH FOR THE WINTER OR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.(RBC Centura Banks Inc., Publix Super Markets Inc., contract)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... RBC Centura Bank, Royal Bank of Canada's U.S. subsidiary, has signed a deal with Publix Super Markets that allow RBC debit cardholders to use all 850 of Publix's ATMs surcharge-free.The agreement is part of RBC Centura's so-called snowbird...

SIMPAY SELECTS ENCORUS AS ITS TRANSACTION PROCESSOR.(First Data Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... International mobile-commerce firm Simpay has selected First Data Corp.'s Encorus as its transaction processor in a multi-year deal, the two companies announced today. First Data disclosed late this afternoon that it would take an undisclosed...

METAVANTE CERTIFIED FOR ALLPOINT ATM CONNECTION.(AllPoints Systems Inc., contracts)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Metavante Corp., the electronic funds transfer processing network, is now certified to connect with Allpoint's surcharge-free ATM network if Metavante clients desire to do so, a Metavante spokesperson tells CardLine today. "Metavante has over...

BANK OF AMERICA, FLEETBOSTON DEBIT CARDHOLDERS CAN USE EACH OTHERS ATMS.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial Corp. debit cardholders have surcharge free access to each others ATMs now that BofA and FleetBoston have completed their merger.The combined bank has 16,500 ATMS. FleetBoston's ATM brand will be...

KEYBANK RENEWS STAR AGREEMENT, BUT SYNOVUS DOESN'T.(First Data Corp., Synovus Financial Corp., KeyBank Corp. )(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... First Data Corp.'s Star network won a major contract renewal today but lost a medium-sized financial institution to rival Visa USA. Cleveland-based KeyBank Corp. announced it will continue using Star as the preferred network switch for the...

BANK-ISSUED GIFT CARDS WILL OVERTAKE RETAILER GIFT CARDS, REPORT PREDICTS.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... A report released today by TowerGroup, a research business operated by MasterCard International, suggests that bank-issued prepaid gift cards, because of their added benefits and protections, eventually will overtake the issuance of retailers'...

CONTACTLESS PAYMENT COMPANY SECURES FUNDING.(Smart System Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Smart System Technologies Inc., which supplies contactless smart chip-based payment and marketing systems, secured $6 million in its latest round of financing, the company announced today ew York-based SST's PowerPay system is deployed at the...

VISA SEES "MUTED ENTHUSIASM" FOR CONTACTLESS.(Visa U.S.A., credit cards services puts emphasis on acceptance of magnetic-stripe credit and debit cards )(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Visa U.S.A. is more focused on extending acceptance of magnetic-stripe credit and debit cards at fast-food restaurants than in promoting contactless, pay-with-a-wave chip cards, Tolan Steele, vice president of product development and...

MINI CARDS ARE BIG IN LATIN AMERICA.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... In Latin American countries where it's available, Visa's mini card is big. Since the mini card, which is half the size of a regular credit card, was launched in July 2003, nearly 1 million of the cards have found a place on cardholders' key...

NYSCUL BECOMES A MEMBER OF CO-OP NETWORK.(New York State Credit Union League)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The New York State Credit Union League, which operates the CU24 network that serves 140 credit unions in New York and New Jersey, has become a member shareholder of the CO-OP Network, ending nearly two years of negotiations between the...

MEDCOM TO USE HYPERCOM PRODUCTS.(MedCom USA Inc., contract)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... MedCom USA Inc., a processor of card and check payments for the health-care industry, will use Hypercom Corp.'s T7Plus terminal and software and MegaNAC 180 controllers, the two companies announced today. Phoenix-based Hypercom manufactures and...

INVESTOR PUSHES FOR MAJOR BOARD CHANGE AT MBNA.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... A major MBNA Corp. investor is urging fellow shareholders to vote for its resolution that two-thirds of the issuer's directors be independent of the Wilmington, DE-based issuer. The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement...

EXPERIAN REPORTS CREDIT SCORES FOR 20 MAJOR CITIES.(credit card industry)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Minneapolis and Boston have the highest average credit score of 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas, according to Experian Consumer Direct's National Score Index. Irvine, CA-based Experian is a provider of online direct-to-consumer credit reports...

AUDI'S REWARDS CARD ALLOWS DOWN PAYMENTS.(Audi Bank, Bank One Corp., contract)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Audi Bank USA, the financial arm of the German car manufacturer, announced today that it will begin offering in May the Audi Visa Signature Card with Bank One Corp. Approved applicants will receive an instant reward of up to a $5,000 line of...

REVOLVING CREDIT'S GROWTH PACE SLOWS IN FEBRUARY.(credit card industry)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Consumer revolving credit grew at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2.5% in February, well off January's robust 12.6% revised growth rate, the Federal Reserve reported this afternoon. February ended with an estimated $754.8 billion in...

CONSUMERS HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT CREDIT, SURVEY SAYS.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index today reported that Americans continue to have mixed feeling about using credit. Residents of states in the West and Midwest are inclined to use more credit this month, but their brethren in the South and...

ABA NAMES AURIEMMA PRESIDENT DIRECTOR OF ITS CARD SCHOOL.(American Bankers Association, School of Bank Card Management)(Michael Auriemma)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The American Bankers Association this week said it has named Michael Auriemma, president of Westbury, NY-based Auriemma Consulting Group Inc., to its new position of resident director of the ABA's School of Bank Card Management. Auriemma has...

UTAH JUDGE REVERSES ORDER CONCERNING CREDIT- COUNSELING AGENCY.(Scott McCagno)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... A Utah court yesterday returned control of embattled Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Utah to Chief Executive and President Scott McCagno, one week after a judge stripped McCagno of his authority. The Utah Division of Consumer Protection...

CIBC WILL PROTECT CARDHOLDERS IF AIR CANADA LIQUIDATES, CEO SAYS.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, John Hunkin)
April 9, 2004... John Hunkin, president and CEO of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, says the bank will do something to protect CIBC's Aerogold Visa cardholders' bonus points should Air Canada and its Aeroplan LP frequent-flier program liquidate. During a...

CARDS WILL TAKE OVER AS GOVERNMENT PHASES OUT PAPER FOOD STAMPS.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The federal government this summer will complete its phase-out of paper food stamps because all states soon will be using PIN-based debit cards, CardLine sister publication ATM&Debit News has learned. By June 15, California expects to have...

GE CONSUMER FINANCE EARNINGS RISE.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... General Electric Co.'s GE Consumer Finance subsidiary, the unit that includes GE's big private-label card operation as well as other businesses, posted earnings of $602 million in the first quarter, up 10% from $542 million in the year-earlier...

HONG KONG BANKS SIGN AGREEMENTS WITH CHINA UNIONPAY.(Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp., Standard Chartered PLC, Bank of East Asia and Hang Seng Bank)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Four Hong Kong banks Tuesday announced that they have signed agreements with China UnionPay enabling them to issue Chinese yuan- denominated credit cards, according to wire-service reports. The banks are - Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp.,...

TSYS EXTENDS CARD-PROCESSING AGREEMENT WITH FIRST HAWAIIAN.(Total System Services Inc., First Hawaiian Bank)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) and First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii's largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard products, yesterday announced that they have extended their current card-processing agreement by five years. The companies' contract will...

CREDIT UNIONS SELL THEIR CARD PORTFOLIOS.(Fiscal Credit Union, Members First Credit Union of New Hampshire, InfiCorp Holdings)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Two credit unions have sold their card portfolios in recent deals arranged by AssetExchange, a Portland, OR-based credit card consulting and brokerage firm. Members First Credit Union of New Hampshire, which is based in Manchester, sold its...

PSCU PAYS $11.7 MILLION IN DIVIDENDS.(PSCU Financial Services)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... PSCU Financial Services, the St. Petersburg, FL, credit-union service organization, recently announced that it paid $11.7 million in dividends to its more than 500 members. "Despite the soft economy in early 2003, we were able to add 1.2...

SAM'S CLUB WILL STOP ACCEPTING VISA AND MASTERCARD CREDIT CARDS APRIL 21.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... Sam's Club, the second-largest U.S. warehouse club chain, will end its pilot to accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards April 21, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. Sam's Club, however, will continue to accept Visa debit cards, according to...

METRIS GETS SECOND OCC SUBPOENA.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
April 16, 2004... Subprime credit card issuer Metris Companies Inc. received another subpoena April 1 from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency stemming from an investigation first disclosed last year, Metris said today in its annual report filed with...

JACK HENRY WILL BUY SOFTWARE COMPANY.(ClassicSystems Inc)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... Jack Henry & Associates Inc., a debit transaction processor for financial institutions, today announced it will purchase e-ClassicSystems Inc. of Norwood, MA -Classic is a major provider of software products that manage ATM portfolios,...

PSCU SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE MERCHANT PROCESSING FOR MEMBERS.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... PSCU Financial Services, the St. Petersburg, FL-based credit-union service organization, has signed a one-year contract with TermNet Merchant Services. The agreement allows PSCU members that have changed their charters so they can offer credit...

DELTA AIR LINES OFFERS REWARDS DEBIT CARD IN COLOMBIA.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... The nation of Colombia is the home to the first Delta Air Lines SkyMiles debit rewards card program, Delta Air Lines and Lloyds TSB Bank, partners in the venture, recently announced. Qualified applicants can receive either a platinum, gold, or...

JCB WANTS CARDHOLDER TO BOOK A COUPLE OF NIGHTS AT STARWOOD HOTELS.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... JCB Co. Ltd., Japan's largest credit card issuer, has formed a partnership with Starwood Hotels and ResortsWorldwide Inc. to promote tourism among JCB cardholders, according to JCB. Cardholders who make a reservation at any hotel in the...

EURONET SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH CITIBANK IN INDIA.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... Euronet Worldwide Inc., a Leawood, KS-based electronic payments provider, recently announced that it has signed a multi-year ATM outsourcing and deployment agreement with Citibank India in Mumbai uronet will install 100 off-premise ATMs for...

PROXY FIGHT BREWS AT INTERCEPT.
April 16, 2004... A major investor in processor and bank technology provider InterCept Inc. late Monday said it will nominate a slate of four opposition candidates for election at InterCept's upcoming annual shareholder meeting. If elected, the four would give...

U.S. BANK WILL ISSUE A LUXURY CARD.(Stratus Rewards)
April 16, 2004... U.S. Bank soon will begin issuing Stratus Rewards, a Visa-branded, invitation-only credit card that's not just a card but a door to a more glamorous lifestyle, its backers say. Stratus cardholders-there aren't any right now-will be able to use...

CITIBANK'S NEW CARD BRINGS EVERYDAY PURCHASES HOME.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... Citibank today launched a rewards card that allows cardholders to apply up to 1% of their annual purchases to the principal amount due on their home mortgage. Additionally, cardholders can use the Citi Home Rebate Platinum Select MasterCard to...

HSBC NAMES MEHTA HEAD OF WORLDWIDE CARD OPERATIONS.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2004... HSBC North America Holdings today announced a reorganization in which Household International Inc. group executive Bobby Mehta has been named a vice chairman of Household. In his new position, Mehta will be responsible for Household's consumer...