Cardline articles from February 2003

Cardline archives from February 2003

PROVIDIAN REPORTS FOURTH-QUARTER PROFIT.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Providian Financial Corp. Thursday afternoon reported 2002 net income of $218.2 million, up 461% compared with 2001's $38.9 million. "As a result of a successful completion of our restructuring initiatives in 2002, Providian is now a much...

FIRST NATIONAL OF OMAHA ISSUES SMART CARD.(smartOne Visa smart card)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... First National Bank of Omaha has joined four national banks in issuing a Visa smart card in the U.S. First National calls its card smartOne, and it is being promoted on the bank's Web site. The platinum card offers a 1.9% interest rate for the...

VISA CANADA IS OKAY WITH TORONTO-DOMINION'S SALE.(American Express Bank of Canada)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A Visa Canada executive says the card association is not concerned about Toronto-Dominion Bank Financial Group's sale of its corporate and commercial card portfolio to rival American Express Bank of Canada (CardLine 1-30). "In terms of...

CREDIT CARD LENDING STANDARDS UNCHANGED.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Despite all the hullabaloo about subprime lending, most loan officers report little change in their standards for approving credit card applications, according to the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending...

WASHINGTON MUTUAL TO OFFER SURCHARGE-FREE ATMS IN THE EAST.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Washington Mutual Inc ventually will drop surcharges for all of its ATM users, including noncustomers, at its ATMs in the New York City area, including New Jersey, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. ATM surcharges will be eliminated for all...

AMSOUTH INTRODUCES PAYROLL CARD.(AmSouth Bank)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... AmSouth Bank has introduced a Visa-branded payroll card for its commercial customers, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. "We want to increase the number of businesses that directly deposit their payrolls with us," the spokesperson says....

SAN FRANCISCO RENEWS OFFICIAL PAYMENTS' CONTRACT.(Tier Technologies Inc.'s Official Payments Corp.)(renewed its contact with the city and county of San Francisco)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Tier Technologies Inc.'s Official Payments Corp. recently announced that it has renewed its contact with the city and county of San Francisco. As a result, San Francisco-area residents can continue to pay with credit cards taxes, fines and fees...

GOTTSCHALKS SELLS CARD PORTFOLIO TO HOUSEHOLD.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... West Coast retailer Gottschalks Inc. today said it sold its card portfolio Friday to Household International Inc.'s retail card unit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Gottschalks said in a news release that the sale increased its...

CREDIT-REPORTING AGENCIES MAKE SETTLEMENT OFFER.(TransUnion L.L.C.)(Equafax)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Two of the nation's three major credit-reporting agencies may be a step closer to settling a class action lawsuit challenging the accuracy of their consumer credit files. The 1.6 million-class members accuse the three bureaus of applying...

MASTERCARD DISTRIBUTES TAX-PAYMENT INFORMATION.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... MasterCard International has distributed 21 million statement inserts to its member financial institutions that educate cardholders on using their cards to pay their taxes, the Purchase, NY-based association reported today. MasterCard will...

ALLIANCE DATA SIGNS CARD AGREEMENTS WITH 7-ELEVEN STORES.(Alliance Data Systems Corp.)(7-Eleven Inc.)
February 7, 2003... Alliance Data Systems Corp. today announced that it has signed two agreements with 7-Eleven Inc. to provide stored-value and loyalty card programs. Alliance Data has signed a three-year agreement to provide a stored-value program for the new...

ECHO RENEWS FIRST MERCHANT SOLUTIONS' CONTRACT.(Electronic Clearing House Inc.)(First National Bank of Omaha's First National Merchant Solutions)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Electronic Clearing House Inc. recently renewed its contract with First National Bank of Omaha's First National Merchant Solutions, officials of both companies announced. The agreement between Agoura Hills, CA-based Echo and First National...

OBERTHUR, ENTEL ANNOUNCE ROLLOUT.(Oberthur Card Systems)(Entel Movil Bolivia)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Oberthur Card Systems and Entel Movil Bolivia, a wireless operator, recently announced deployment of the first GAIT smart card in Latin America. The service, based on Oberthur's SIMphonic TDMA Access smart card, allows Entel subscribers to...

SAFE3W HIRES VP OF ENGINEERING.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Safe3w Inc. has named Moshe Elgressy vice president of engineering. Prior to joining Safe3w, a Garden City, NY-based company that provides authentication for secure online access, Elgressy was CEO of First Access, a provider of contactless...

E*TRADE BUYS 4,000 CIBC ATM CONTRACTS.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... E*Trade Group Inc.'s E*Trade Access will take over 4,000 more ATM contracts, representing a 30% ATM expansion for E*Trade Bank's independent sales organization *Trade today said it has purchased 4,000 Xtra Cash ATM operations contracts owned by...

SPIEGEL TO LIQUIDATE BANK CARDS.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Spiegel Inc. will liquidate its MasterCard and Visa portfolio and First Consumers National Bank if Spiegel is unable to sell FCNB by April 30, a spokesperson tells CardLine. Financially struggling Spiegel put FCNB on the block May 15, 2002. "I...

NASDAQ DELISTS BILLSERV.(Billserv Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Billserv Inc., one of the smaller players in the electronic bill payment and presentment market, has lost its fight to avoid delisting from the Nasdaq National Market, the favorite stock exchange of tech companies. San Antonio, TX-based...

BLACKBOARD SEES AN ADVANTAGE IN SA CASH.(Student Advantage Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Student Advantage Inc., a Boston-based company whose SA Cash stored-value product is used at 23 colleges and universities, has sold the majority of its SA Cash assets to Blackboard Inc. for $4.5 million, the companies announced. Washington,...

MYFICO COMMERCIAL SCORES AFTER THE SUPER BOWL.(Fair, Isaac and Co. spent an estimated $2 million to air a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Fair, Isaac and Co. spent an estimated $2 million to air a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl, which had an immediate impact in driving inquiries to Fair, Isaac's direct-to-consumer Web site. The number of visitors to Fair, Isaac's...

DECEMBER'S CHARGEOFFS REACH SECOND-HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 1992.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Standard & Poor's is reporting that December's credit card chargeoff rate was 7.5% of receivables, the second-highest loss rate since 1992 when S&P created its index to track securities backed by card receivables. December's rate compares with...

COMPUCREDIT REPORTS FOURTH-QUARTER NET INCOME.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... CompuCredit Corp. Monday afternoon reported fourth-quarter net income of $17.8 million compared with 2001's fourth-quarter net loss of $33.2 million. Fourth-quarter total managed loans were $2.8 billion compared with September's $3 billion and...

SEARS CANADA WILL EXPAND ITS NEW MASTERCARD.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Sears Canada is expanding the Sears MasterCard into other parts of Canada after a successful pilot that started last September in Ontario, Scott Laitinen, national manager of new business development and financial services, tells CardLine...

HOUSEHOLD PAID NEARLY $103 MILLION FOR GOTTSCHALKS CARDS.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Household International Inc.'s retail card unit paid $102.8 million in cash to buy retailer Gottschalks Inc.'s store card portfolio, according to a Gottschalks filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Gottschalks used $73.2...

MASCO CHOOSES FIFTH THIRD.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions has signed a merchant-services contract with Masco Corp., one of the largest manufacturers of brand-name consumer products. Fifth Third will provide processing for Visa, MasterCard, American Express and...

DEFEATED BANKRUPTCY BILL TO RISE FROM THE ASHES.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will be "looking to take up bankruptcy-reform legislation in the next couple of months," a committee spokesperson says. Card industry-backed bankruptcy reform died in Congress last November...

HEARTLAND INTRODUCES PAYDAY CARD.(Heartland Payment Systems Inc.)(Visa-branded payroll debit card)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Heartland Payment Systems Inc. Tuesday announced that it has introduced a Visa-branded payroll debit card that's targeted to the unbanked, but the card also is finding a market Heartland executives never anticipated. The North Olmsted, OH-based...

MASTERCARD MAKES IT TO BROADWAY.(MasterCard International has been named Clear Channel Entertainment's Broadway Across America official payment brand)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... MasterCard International has been named Clear Channel Entertainment's Broadway Across America official payment brand, a MasterCard spokesperson tells CardLine today. Broadway Across America is a national touring production company of Broadway...

CO-OP REPORTS 34% JUMP IN 2002 VOLUME.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... CO-OP Network has reported a 34% jump in 2002 ATM transaction volume. Ontario, CA-based CO-OP provided 640 million transactions compared with 477 million in 2001. The transactions include those made by CO-OP cardholders on ATMs operated by the...

FIFTH THIRD PROCESSING UNIT SUPPORTS DEBITMAN.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A new PIN-based point-of-sale debit network called Debitman, in which merchants issue debit cards and receive interchange when their cards are used at other retailer locations, soon will be offered to all 100,000-plus merchant clients of...

AMERICAN EXPRESS USING BIOMETRICS FOR BUILDING ENTRANCE.(fingerprint identification readers)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... American Express Co. has installed fingerprint identification readers at high-security entrances to its New York City world headquarters, CardLine has learned. Bioscrypt Inc. is supplying the fingerprint scanners that the card issuer is using...

ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST AMERIDEBT.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan Thursday filed a lawsuit against the credit counseling company, AmeriDebt. Madigan charged that the Germantown, MD-based company does not have an Illinois business license, and although AmeriDebt says it...

FIRST DATA'S EULA ADAMS LEAVING.(resignation)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Eula Adams, First Data Corp.'s executive senior vice president and president of First Data's card issuing services, today resigned and will leave the Greenwood Village, CO-based processor March 1. First Data did not give a specific reason for...

CANTREX CHOOSES VISA DESJARDINS.(Cantrex Buying Group)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Montreal-based Visa Desjardins has signed an agreement with Cantrex Buying Group, Canada's largest furniture company. The agreement will make consumer furniture purchases more affordable, Visa says. Visa Desjardins started offering in 1997 in...

PULSE RELEASES ATM STUDY.(ATM use could be improved by better educating users)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A study by the Houston-based Pulse EFT Association network, suggests that ATM use could be improved by better educating users and minimizing network brands. Pulse's survey of 1,000 ATM and debit card users shows that 45% of the 758 respondents...

CASHWORKS RAISES CAPITAL.(automated check-cashing company)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... CashWorks Inc., the Dallas-based automated check-cashing company, has raised $5 million in venture capital funding to invest in the company's process of using point-of-sale terminals and ATMs to cash checks. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media...

REVOLVING CREDIT SHRINKS AT A 14% CLIP.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Some disturbing news for credit card issuers came this afternoon from the Federal Reserve, which reports that consumer revolving credit contracted at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 14% in December. The month ended with $711.2 billion...

GET SMARTER ABOUT SMART CARDS, GAO SAYS.(General Accounting Office pushes for easier smart card use)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... A congressional review criticizes the agencies responsible for promoting smart cards in the U.S. government and recommends several steps to make it easier for federal agencies to issue smart card IDs to their employees. The report by the...

HYPERCOM LOOKS TO PROFITABLE FUTURE.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Hypercom Corp., which has experienced financial woes the past couple of years, may have turned the corner. The Phoenix-based manufacturer of point-of-sale terminals today reports net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 of $1.2 million...

CONSUMERS WOULD USE TAX CUT TO PAY OFF CARD DEBT.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Cambridge Consumer Credit Index today released a survey in which 19% of those surveyed said they would use the refund from President Bush's proposed tax cut to pay off credit card debt. "Consumers are in such a cautious mood that most people...

FEDERAL RESERVE TO STOP CHECK PROCESSING AT 13 OFFICES.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... The Federal Reserve Banks' Financial Services Policy Committee Thursday afternoon announced that its banks will cut 400 jobs in their back-office check-processing operations and reduce their check-services operating costs by $60 million in 2005...

MORE FIRMS COLLECTING COLLECTION AGENCIES.(mergers and acquisitions in the collections industry)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... There were 57 mergers and acquisitions valued at $745 million in the collections industry last year, says Michael Ginsberg, president and CEO of Kaulkin Ginsberg Co., a Bethesda, MD, consulting firm. That's the second-busiest year since 1999,...

OFFICIAL PAYMENTS SIGNS DEAL WITH NEW YORK CITY.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Official Payments Corp. Thursday revealed that it has signed an agreement with New York City that enables residents to pay real-estate taxes with a credit card New York City authorized Official Payments to collect real-estate taxes this year...

VISA, MASTERCARD COULD BE FORCED TO REFUND FOREIGN FEES.
February 14, 2003... Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International today said they will appeal California Superior Court Judge Ronald M. Sabraw's preliminary decision concerning Visa and MasterCard's foreign-exchange conversion rates, if it becomes final and forces the...

HF FINANCIAL TO DISSOLVE CARD UNIT.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... HF Card Services LLC sold its $2.9 million card portfolio for $500,00; furthermore, HF Financial Corp., HF Card Services' parent company, said it will dissolve the unit this quarter because of mounting losses. HF Financial Friday afternoon said...

ECHO POSTS PROFIT ON OPERATIONS, LOSS ON ACCOUNTING CHANGE.(Electronic Clearing House Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Agoura Hills, CA-based merchant processor Electronic Clearing House Inc. (ECHO) today reported operating income of $527,000 for its first fiscal 2003 quarter ended Dec. 31 compared to an operating loss of $76,000 in the year-earlier quarter. A...

COMDATA TO ISSUE A GIFT CARD FOR MARCUS THEATERS.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Comdata Corp. Friday announced that it will issue a stored-value gift card for Marcus Corp.'s Marcus Theatres. Moviegoers can purchase The Marcus Theatres Entertainment Gift Card in various denominations. The cards can be used to purchase...

CO-OP TO MARKET FALCON FRAUD MANAGER TO MEMBERS.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... CO-OP Network today announced that it is introducing the Falcon Fraud Manager system to its member credit unions to assist them in fighting debit card fraud. Falcon Fraud Manager, a Fair, Isaac and Company Inc. software program, prevents losses...

CARDTRONICS HIRES NEW CEO.( Jack Antonini )(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Cardtronics, the Houston-based specialty provider of automated teller machine products and services, today named Jack Antonini president and CEO. Antonini, who starts his job immediately, is replacing Ralph Clinard, the company's founder....

SELECTS EXEC.(CO-OP Network's Service Centers Corp. names Richard Ellisa sales manager)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... CO-OP Network's Service Centers Corp. has named Richard Ellis sales manager for shared branching llis joined SCC after serving for seven years as director of sales and marketing for TransAlliance-EDS in Bellevue, WA. CO-OP has more than 15,000...

BRITAIN SAYS MASTERCARD'S INTERCHANGE FEES ARE TOO HIGH.
February 14, 2003... Britain's Office of Fair Trading today issued a preliminary ruling that the interchange fees MasterCard International's United Kingdom banks charge retailers for acceptance of MasterCard's credit and charge cards are a tax that results in...

MASTERCARD SAYS DON'T FIX A SYSTEM THAT ISN'T BROKE.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... MasterCard International responded to the Office of Fair Trading's preliminary ruling that the card association's United Kingdom interchange fees are too high, with a stern warning that the OFT is sowing the seeds of disaster. "Reducing or...

CERTEGY, THE PEP BOYS SIGN AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Processor Certegy Inc. recently announced that it has signed multi-year agreement with The Pep Boys--Manny, Moe & Jack. Certegy will provide check warranty and collections for The Pep Boys' 629 stores in 36 states and Puerto Rico. Pep Boys is...

GARRET BENDER, IBILL'S CEO, LEAVES THE COMPANY.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Troubled processor InterCept Inc. today announced that it has amended its 2002 purchase agreement of subsidiary iBill, and that Garrett Bender, iBill's president and CEO, has left the company "to pursue other interests." A $10.5 million escrow...

IDINE PROSPERS.(revenue up)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Miami-based iDine Rewards Network Inc. today reported net income of $4.7 million for the fourth quarter, more than quadruple the $1.1 million profit the discount-dining program provider made in 2001's fourth quarter. Operating revenue grew 66%...

T.G.I. FRIDAYS SELECTS FIFTH THIRD PROCESSING.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... T.G.I. Fridays Inc. today announced that it has selected Fifth Third Processing Solutions Inc. as its card processor. Cincinnati-based Fifth Third will provide card processing for Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards....

HOUSEHOLD, LEVITZ RENEW AGREEMENT.(Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. and Household International Inc. )(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. has renewed its private-label card partnership with Household International Inc., both companies announced today. Household will continue to produce a private-label card for Levitz Furniture, Seaman's Furniture and...

KEYBANK TO LAUNCH DEBIT REWARDS PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... KeyBank in May expects to launch a rewards program that will offer participating debit MasterCard cardholders one Continental Airlines air mile for each dollar spent using either a signature or a personal identification number to initiate a...

INFICORP BUYS $31 MILLION CREDIT UNION CARD PORTFOLIO.(Financial Partners Credit Union sells portfolio)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Financial Partners Credit Union today announced that it has sold its $31 million MasterCard and Visa credit card portfolio to InfiCorp Holdings Inc. for an undisclosed price. The portfolio sale, which closed Jan. 31, is one of the largest by a...

TSYS' DE MAYO TO RETIRE.(Richard de Mayo to retire as chairman from TSYS Debt Management)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Richard de Mayo, a prominent collections attorney and chairman of TSYS Debt Management (TDM), will retire as chairman March 31 and return to private law practice, TDM parent company Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) announced today. In 1999,...

FIRST ASURTEE OFFERS ANTI-SKIMMING SYSTEM.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Hypercom Corp. has teamed with First Data Corp. subsidiary First aSuretee LLC to market an electronic transaction and identification-verification system to reduce card skimming and the cloning of data from point-of-sale terminals, the companies...

PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES REPORTS FINANCIALS.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Debt collector and manager Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc. Monday reported fourth-quarter pro forma net income of $3.3 million and 2002 net income of $11.4 million. The results compare to 2001's pro forma fourth-quarter net income of...

MASTERCARD, TRAVELOCITY RENEW AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... MasterCard International and Travelocity, the online travel Web site, today announced that they have renewed their strategic alliance to promote travel. MasterCard and Travelocity will market cruises, vacation packages, hotel stays, car rentals...

FIRST SUPERMARKETS TO ACCEPT SPEEDPASS.(Greater Boston Stop and Shop supermarkets )(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Three Greater Boston Stop & Shop supermarkets are piloting acceptance of ExxonMobil Oil Corp.'s Speedpass transponders, the companies announced today. Stop & Shop is the first supermarket chain to accept Speedpass, which when waved in front a...

ISAACSON NAMED CO-CEO AS CONCORD REALIGNS MANAGEMENT.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Concord EFS Inc., the Memphis, TN-based payment processor and owner of the Star electronic funds transfer network, today announced a realignment of senior management dward A. Labry III, Concord president and acting CEO who was to become...

MASTERCARD UPS T&E ANTE WITH VIVENDI DEAL.(multi-year marketing alliance)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... MasterCard International announced today a multi-year marketing alliance with Vivendi Universal Entertainment, making it the official brand and preferred card at all Universal properties, including its theme parks, resorts, movies, music and...

VISA INTERNATIONAL SETS SALES AND PROCESSING RECORDS.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Visa International Wednesday reported that on Dec. 24 it set a sales record. Visa reported that on Christmas Eve Visa cards' global sales volume was $5.7 billion. VisaNet, Visa's payment processing system, also processed a record 4,704...

CO-OP NETWORK SEEKS TO PREVENT DEBIT CARD FRAUD.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... CO-OP Network has begun marketing Falcon Fraud Manager to CO-OP's 1,165 credit-union members to prevent debit card fraud, Gene Polito, CO-OP Network's president, tells CardLine Wednesday. "The number of fraud incidents actually have declined...

PSCU SET TO MEET WITH WEST COAST CREDIT UNIONS.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... PSCU Financial Services President David J. Serlo will lead a team of key executives on a West-Coast tour beginning Tuesday to get the payment-services organization's name out to credit unions and to promote PSCU's services to them, a...

APAC'S PROFITS AND REVENUES DECLINE.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... APAC Customer Services Inc., one of the largest telemarketing and third-party customer-service providers used by the card industry, Wednesday afternoon reported fourth-quarter net income of $410,000, down 86% from $2.96 million in 2001's fourth...

DIEBOLD TO PARTNER WITH ISRAELI FIRM.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2003... Diebold Inc., the North Canton, OH ATM manufacturer, is partnering with a satellite communications company to offer high-speed ATM transactions and support services through a broadband connection. Diebold announced recently that it has signed a...

UNITED NATIONS VISA CARD TAKES OFF.(United Nations Federal Credit Union's Visa Platinum Access card)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... The United Nations Federal Credit Union has launched its $50 Visa Platinum Access card that gives UN employees and retirees access to VIP airport lounges, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. Cardholders have access to more than 400 VIP airport...

NAVY FEDERAL JOINS CO-OP NETWORK.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Navy Federal Credit Union, the world's largest credit union, today announced that it has joined CO-OP Network, the nation's largest credit-union ATM network avy Federal, which has more than two million members and $17 billion in assets,...

CANADIAN TIRE'S CREDIT CARD KEEPS THE BUSINESS ON A ROLL.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Retailer Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. Thursday announced that its credit card division reported 2002 fourth-quarter earnings before taxes of C$27 million, up nearly 137% compared with 2001's fourth quarter. The success of Canadian Tire's Options...

ANALYSTS FIND WEAK SPOTS IN CONCORD'S BUSINESS MODEL.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Concord EFS Inc.'s management shakeup (CardLine 2-13) represents an underlying weakness in the company's business model, say financial analysts. The shakeup comes at the same time Concord's share price has dropped to $11.47 in morning trading...

TSA POSTS HIGHER PROFIT ON LOWER REVENUES.(Transaction Systems Architects Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Omaha, NE-based Transaction Systems Architects Inc. Thursday reported net income of $3.0 million for its first fiscal 2003 quarter ended Dec. 31, up 24% from $2.4 million in the year-earlier quarter. Revenues, however, fell 15% to $62.5 million...

AMEX ADDS HOME DEPOT TO MEMBERSHIP REWARDS PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... American Express Co. Thursday announced several new partners have joined its Membership Rewards program, including The Home Depot. Membership Rewards allows AmEx cardholders to earn one point for every dollar charged to an eligible card. ...

NATIONAL PROCESSING, CERTEGY SIGN DEAL.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... National Processing Inc.'s National Processing Co. and Certegy Inc. Wednesday signed an agreement in which Certegy will offer full-service check processing to NPC's clients, the companies said. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

HACKER GRABS EIGHT MILLION ACCOUNT NUMBERS.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International are notifying members that a hacker gained access to eight million account numbers, including 2.2 million MasterCard and about 3.4 million Visa accounts, the associations reported today. The account...

CONCORD'S REVENUES RISE BUT PROFITS FALL.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Profit margins did not keep pace with transaction growth and revenues in 2002 at Concord EFS Inc., according to a financial update today from the Memphis, TN-based payment processor and owner of the Star electronic funds transfer network....

EXPERIAN BUYS TWO AFFILIATES.(Credit Bureau of Southern Utah and Centroplex Credit Reporting and Collections Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Costa Mesa, CA-based Experian announced today that it has purchased the consumer credit assets of St. George, UT-based Credit Bureau of Southern Utah and Kileen, TX-based Centroplex Credit Reporting and Collections Inc. The collections unit of...

FIRST DATA FLY-AROUND STARTS.(First Data Corp. looks for replacement for Eula Adams)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... First Data Corp. President and CEO Charles T. Fote tells CardLine today that he is leading a transition team overseeing the card-issuing services division of the Greenwood Village, CO-based processor. The team is searching for a successor to...

MEIJER PICKS GE FOR FIRST STORE CARD.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Fast-growing retailer Meijer Stores L.P. has picked General Electric Co.'s GE Card Services to issue the 69-year-old company's first private-label credit card, GE Card Services said Monday. A GE spokesperson would not predict how many accounts...

NY BLOCKS ONLINE GAMING.(banks block credit card transactions)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced last week that 10 more banks have agreed to block online gaming transactions attempted by their New York cardholders. The banks also agreed to pay the state $335,000 to cover the cost of its...

METRIS SHARES RISE 21%.(Metris Companies Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Shares of battered subprime credit card issuer Metris Companies Inc. are up about 21% on the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of a report today showing somewhat improved credit quality. In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission...