Cardline articles from January 2002

Cardline archives from January 2002

CHICAGO CUTS BACK ON SMART CARD TRANSIT PROGRAM.(Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago, Illinois)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... The Chicago Transit Authority, the city's public transportation agency, plans to issue about 100,000 smart cards by next Thanksgiving through its corporate transit check program, Chung Chung Tam, the CTA's revenue systems engineer, tells...

CUBIC WINS CONTRACT FROM CTA VENDOR.(Cubic Transportation Systems, Chicago Transit Authority vendor Kiewit-Delgado AJV)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... Kiewit-Delgado AJV, a Chicago Transit Authority vendor that is rehabilitating 8 of 11 stations on the Douglas branch of the CTA's elevated train and subway line, has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems a $3.3 million contract to install of...

EFUNDS EXPECTS LOWER FOURTH-QUARTER NUMBERS.(EFunds Corp. lowers earnings expectations)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... EFunds Corp., the Scottsdale, AZ-based electronic payment-services processor, announced today that its fourth-quarter results will be below it previous guidance. EFunds said it expects diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter ending...

MBNA EXPECTS TO MEET FOURTH-QUARTER EARNINGS ESTIMATES.(MBNA Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... MBNA Corp., a leading card issuer, said recently that it expects to meet earnings per share estimates for the fourth quarter and the year. The Wilmington, DE-based card issuer reported that for the fourth quarter through Dec. 18, loans...

MANUFACTURERS PRODUCED 26 MILLION CHIP CARDS IN U.S., CANADA.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... Card manufacturers produced 26 million smart cards in the U.S. and Canada last year, according to a survey released by the International Card Manufacturers Association. This is up from 19 million in 1999, the ICMA reports. In 2000,...

CITIGROUP'S JAPANESE PARTNER GETS OUT OF CARD BUSINESS.(Nikko Cordial Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... Nikko Cordial Corp., Japan's third-largest brokerage firm, announced recently that it is getting out the credit card business as part of a company-wide restructuring. New York City-based Citigroup Inc. owns 20% of Nikko. The two companies...

COURT SHUTS DOWN CANADIAN TELEMARKETER.(U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York; Quebec Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York has shut down a Montreal-based telemarketer that solicited credit card numbers mostly from the elderly. The court acted at the request of the Federal Trade Commission which filed a...

CERTAPAY TO LAUNCH P2P PAYMENTS IN CANADA.(CertaPay Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... CertaPay Inc., a Toronto-based software company, will launch a person-to- person, e-mail money-transfer service throughout Canada in early 2002. The P2P service will involve four of Canada's five largest banks, a CertaPay Inc. spokesperson...

CHIP CARDS ACCOUNTED FOR MORE THAN 75% OF DOLLARS IN 2000.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... Although chip cards represented 18% of the cards produced worldwide, they accounted for 75.2% of the dollars on a global basis in 2000, according to a survey released by the International Card Manufacturers Association. Magnetic-stripe or...

CARD MARKETERS URGED TO CHANGE PACKAGING.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Card marketers are going to have to change the way they package their direct-mail solicitations if they want to be successful in the post Sept. 11 environment, says Andrew Davidson, vice president of competitive tracking services for Tarrytown,...

CIBC TO PAY OUT C$30 MILLION TO CARDHOLDERS.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Canada's largest Visa issuer, will pay out more than C$30 million this year to CIBC Dividend and Dividend Platinum Visa cardholders, a CIBC spokesperson tells CardLine today. The payouts, which will appear...

MBNA CONTINUES TO SCORE SPORTS ENDORSEMENTS.(MBNA Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... MBNA Corp., a leading affinity card issuer, said it has received endorsements from 33 additional sports teams and organizations this year. The Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and the PGA Tour signed...

AMERICANS SUPPORT GIVING CARD DATA IN WAKE OF SEPT. 11.(terrorist attacks on U.S.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans are overwhelmingly in support of giving the federal government and law-enforcement agencies access to consumers' confidential files, including credit and debit card transaction data,...

BANKER NAMED TO PAYPAL'S BOARD.(John C. Dean)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... John C. Dean, chairman of Silicon Valley Bancshares and Silicon Valley Bank, has been named to PayPal Inc.'s board of directors, PayPal said in a statement. Prior to being named chairman, Dean was CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. PayPal is Palo...

PROVIDIAN TO ELIMINATE ANOTHER 800 JOBS.(Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Providian Financial Corp. announced this morning that it is eliminating approximately 800 jobs in California and Kentucky by the end of next week. The San Francisco-based issuer is taking the action because it is dropping some of its products,...

CARD PORTFOLIO SALES DECLINED IN 2001.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 4, 2002... Credit card issuers sold 25 Visa and MasterCard portfolios in 2001, down from 36 portfolios in 2000, says Robert K. Hammer, CEO of R.K. Hammer, a Thousand Oaks, CA-based bank advisory firm specializing in card portfolio sales. Hammer blames the...

OBERTHUR UNVEILS SOFTWARE FOR VISA SMART CARDS.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... French card vendor Oberthur Card Systems has developed software that allows cardholders to store personal data on their smart cards. Called Convenience Storage, the applet is designed to work with the Visa Framework for smart cards that Visa...

FIRST DATA PURCHASES REMAINING 50% OF CARDSERVICE.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... First Data Corp. announced Tuesday that it has purchased the remaining 50% of Cardservice International that First Data did not own. First Data bought the remaining half of Cardservice's business from the Burtzloff Family Trust for undisclosed...

FIRST DATA NAMES FOTE CEO.(Charles T. Fote)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Charles T. Fote took over Tuesday as CEO of First Data Corp., a spokesperson tells CardLine today. Fote, who has been been First Data's president and chief operating officer since 1998, replaces Henry C. "Ric" Duques, who will remain as...

LOYALTY APPLICATION PLANNED FOR AUSTRALIAN CREDIT CARD.(ANZ Banking Group Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Melbourne, Australia-based ANZ Banking Group Ltd. will add a loyalty application to its chip-based credit card. Axiomatique International, the Asia Pacific subsidiary of loyalty software provider Welcome Real-time, will supply the loyalty...

SUSPECT IN ATM THEFT FOUND DEAD.(Michael B. Schwartz)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... The man who allegedly stole $5 million in cash though his ATM companies was found dead in Florida. Michael B. Schwartz, of Jersey City, NJ, was the main suspect in the ATM theft from Humboldt Bank, based in Eureka, CA, according to the FBI....

CITIGROUP TO DISCONTINUE SUPPORT FOR VISA TRAVELMONEY.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Citigroup Inc., a leading supplier of Visa TravelMoney, Visa International's prepaid ATM card designed for international travel, will discontinue offering the product March 30 after supporting it for more than four years, a Citigroup official...

DEFENSE REJECTS CENTRALIZED CONTROL OF PURCHASING CARDS.(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... The Department of Defense has rejected centralized control of its purchasing card program despite abuses at the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Systems Center and the Navy Public Works Center, the General Accounting Office...

DEFENSE RAISES PURCHASING CARD LIMITS RELATED TO TERRORISM.(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... The 2002 Department of Defense Authorization Bill has dramatically raised card limits on micro purchases for products related to biological and chemical terrorism and other terrorist acts, reports Rep. Stephen Horn, chairman of the Subcommittee...

CARD ISSUERS PREPARE FOR POSTAL RATE INCREASE.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Card issuers would be hit hard in their wallets June 30 if postal rates go up another 3 cents to 37 cents for a first class letter, according to a deal being negotiated between the U.S. Postal Service and major mailers. The increase would raise...

GIFT CARD BREWS UP A STRONG BOTTOM LINE FOR STARBUCKS.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Starbucks Corp., which launched a stored-value gift card for the Christmas holidays, said today the card kept its coffeepots percolating. "Response to the newly introduced Starbucks Card has exceeded our expectations, with over 2.3 million...

EURO CONVERSION SPARKS HIGHER THAN EXPECTED ATM USAGE.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... ATM transaction volume remained high today four days after 12 European nations switched to the euro unified currency. Industry sources in Europe tell CardLine that Eurozone consumers are using their debit cards at ATMs to convert local...

FEDERAL RESERVE NAMES CHAIR OF CONSUMER ADVISORY COUNCIL.(Dorothy Broadman)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2002... Dorothy Broadman, who will become director of corporate citizenship at Capital One Financial Corp., has been named chair of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council. The Council advises the Fed on the exercise of its...

SUPER-PRIME PORTFOLIOS SOLD FOR AN AVERAGE OF 22% OVER BOOK.(R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 11, 2002... Card issuers sold super-prime portfolios of the most creditworthy cardholders at a weighted average of 22% over book value during the past 36 months, Robert K. Hammer, chairman and CEO of R.K. Hammer, tells CardLine today. In 2001, the average...

MASTERCARD HOLIDAY GROWTH UP 20%.(MasterCard International Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 11, 2002... MasterCard International's U.S. gross dollar volume grew 20% between Nov. 23 (the day after Thanksgiving) through Dec. 24, 2001 compared with the same period last year, according to a release from the Purchase, NY-based association today....

MEMBER ACCESS JOINS THE CO-OP NETWORK.(Member Access Illinois)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 11, 2002... The Member Access Illinois credit-union network will become a member and a shareholder in the Co-op credit- union electronic funds transfer network, officials of both organizations announced today. Member Access Illinois, ranked 28th in EFT...

EURONET SELLS EFT NETWORK.(electronic funds transfer network sold to Alltel Information Services)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Euronet Worldwide Inc., a Leawood, KS-based provider of secure electronic financial transactions, has sold its so-called Dash electronic funds transfer network to Alltel Information Systems, of Little Rock, AR, for an undisclosed price, Euronet...

NOKIA'S NEW PHONE TO FACILITATE MOBILE COMMERCE.(Nokia Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Nokia, the world's leading cellular-telephone manufacturer, announced today that it will soon roll out its Nokia 6340 cell phone that will facilitate mobile transactions tied to credit cards. The 6340 will contain an electronic wallet for...

NACHA TO STUDY ONLINE FRAUD.(National Automated Clearing House Association)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... NACHA's Internet Council announced today that it is initiating two projects designed to provide merchants and financial institutions with resources for managing risk in Internet payments, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. One project will...

11 HIJACKERS USED CARDS AND ATM WITHDRAWALS.(September 11th terrorist attacks)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks used credit cards and ATM withdrawals to live on and to pay for flight training, according to today's edition of The Washington Post. The hijackers charged to credit cards or withdrew from...

AMEX, AOL-TIME WARNER STRENGTHEN ALLIANCE.(American Express Co.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... American Express Co. and AOL Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, today announced a multi-year marketing agreement that involves all of AOL Time Warner's properties. The alliance consolidates existing agreements AOL Time...

REVOLVING CREDIT BREAKS OUT OF ITS FUNK.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 11, 2002... Revolving credit grew at a 9.4% annualized rate in November to total $694.6 billion, the Federal Reserve Board reported this afternoon. November's growth lifted revolving credit, at least temporarily, out of its recent slow- growth mode. In...

AMERICANS WANT TO PAY OFF DEBT, BUT...(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Twenty-eight percent of Americans said their New Year's resolution was to either pay down or to pay off debt, according to Cambridge Consumer Credit Index's latest monthly survey. But like a lot of New Year's resolutions, many of those same...

AUTHORITIES RECOVER CLOSE TO $3 MILLION IN STOLEN ATM CASH.(Humboldt Bank)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Some $2.9 million of the $5 million in stolen ATM cash was recovered Friday, an FBI spokesperson tells CardLine today. The cash, all in $20 bills, was stolen from Eureka, CA-based Humboldt Bancorp. The money was found some time over the weekend...

TURKS EARN CASH FOR USING CHIP-BASED CREDIT CARD.(Akbank T.A.S.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Akbank T.A.S., an Istanbul, Turkey-based bank, has launched a chip- based credit card that has real-time rewards and cash-back features. The Axess card can be used at more than 2,500 retail locations. Participating merchants are offering a...

MASTERCARD SITS DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH ZAGAT.(MasterCard International Inc., Zagat Survey form alliance)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... MasterCard International today announced a marketing agreement with Zagat Survey, a provider of consumer survey-based dining, lodging and leisure information. As part of the alliance, MasterCard will get a presence on the Zagat Survey Web site,...

ECONNECT EXPANDS TV ADS FOR AT-HOME POS TERMINAL.(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... EConnect Inc., which Dec. 28 launched a television commercial in the Los Angeles market to promote its eCashPad at-home payment terminal, today began airing the commercial in New York. The spot also will air in Philadelphia, Miami and Chicago,...

CIBC TO ISSUE AMERICAN EXPRESS CARDS.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Canada's largest Visa issuer with 3.9 million cardholders, announced today that it will begin issuing three cobranded American Express Co. credit cards throughout Canada as a member of AmEx's Global Network...

VISA CANADA NOT HAPPY WITH CIBC'S DECISION.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce partners with American Express Co.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's decision to partner with American Express Co. in Canada disappointed The Visa Canada Association, its partner of 34 years, Christine Croucher, CIBC'S executive vice president, said at a news conference...

CIBC'S DECISION DOESN'T VIOLATE DUALITY.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce joins American Express Co.'s Global Network Services)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's decision to join American Express Co.'s Global Network Services does not violate The Visa Canada Association's operating rules concerning duality, Rick Pyves, the association's senior vice president of...

CIBC/AMEX PARTNERSHIP WILL ISSUE CANADA'S FIRST SMART CARD.(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will begin issuing Canada's first national smart card Tuesday in partnership with American Express Co., the two firms announced today. The CIBC/AmEx smart card will come with a 32- kilobyte chip and magnetic...

JUNIPER POSSIBLY COULD ISSUE A COBRANDED AMEX CARD.(Juniper Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... MasterCard International issuer Juniper Financial Corp., which is 51% owned by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, possibly could play a role in CIBC issuing a cobranded American Express Card in the U.S., says Christine Croucher, executive vice...

LONDON ORDERS 4 MILLION TRANSIT SMART CARDS.(Transys orcers from SchlumbergerSema and Giesecke and Devrient)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... The consortium upgrading London's bus and subway system has ordered 4 million smart cards as London moves toward rolling out one of the largest chip card-based fare-payment systems in the world. Transys, a consortium led by Plano, TX-based...

CARD BONDS EXPECTED TO REACH $75 BILLION THIS YEAR.(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Issuance of securities backed by credit card receivables is expected to set another record this year, increasing by up to $7 billion to $75 billion, Joseph Sheridan, managing director of asset-backed securities for Standard & Poor's, tells...

HOCKEY TEAM TESTS AN UNEMBOSSED PREPAID MASTERCARD.(Bridgeport Sound Tigers)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... MasterCard International and Swift Gift Ltd. this month launched a three- month pilot during which certain fans of the Bridgeport (CT) Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League will receive a total of 8,000 prepaid MasterCard debit cards on...

ISSUERS SEND A RECORD AMOUNT OF MAIL IN OCTOBER.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 11, 2002... The threat of anthrax poisoning did not dissuade card issuers from sending out a record number of acquisition letters in October, with 477 million offers flooding mailboxes, according to Mail Monitor, the mail tracking service of Tarrytown...

PROVIDIAN'S STOCK UP ON BUYOUT RUMORS.(by Household International Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Providian Financial Corp.'s stock jumped 13% today amid heavy trading on rumors that Household International Corp. may purchase the struggling company, according to financial news wire reports. But a card-industry consultant, Michael Auriemma,...

MBNA'S 2001 NET INCOME UP 31%.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... MBNA Corp., the Wilmington, DE-based pure-play issuer, today reported 2001 net income of $1.7 billion, or $1.92 per share, up 31% compared with $1.3 billion last year. For the year, total managed loans reached $97.5 billion, up 10% compared...

PULSE REPORTS THAT DEBIT CARDS BEAT THE RECESSION.(report on debit card use)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 11, 2002... The recession apparently had little impact on growing consumer use of debit cards for point-of-sale purchases, reports Pulse, the Houston-based electronic funds transfer network. The use of Pulse's offline debit product, although much smaller...

MCDONALDS TESTING BIOMETRIC PAYMENT METHOD.(developed by Indivos Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... McDonald's Corp. began a pilot Dec. 26 of the biometric Pay By Touch system developed by Oakland, CA-based Indivos Corp. McDonalds is conducting the test at one of its restaurants in Fresno, CA. Diners use a touch-screen kiosk in the restaurant...

ILLINOIS BILL WOULD REQUIRE RECEIPT TRUNCATION.(Senator Lisa Madigan introduces credit card truncation bill)(Brief Article)
January 11, 2002... Illinois State Sen. Lisa Madigan, a victim of identity theft involving her Visa card and a Democratic candidate for state attorney general, Wednesday introduced a bill to truncate card receipts. The bill would require retailers that accept...

VISA INTERNATIONAL SAYS OPERATIONS ARE NORMAL IN ARGENTINA.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Visa International says its card-processing network is operating normally in Argentina, despite growing media reports that retailers and ATMs are rejecting credit and debit cards as the South American country struggles through its financial...

EUROPAY REPORTS A 50% INCREASE IN CROSS-BORDER TRANSACTIONS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... Europay has recorded 5 million cross-border card transactions in the first eight days after the euro was introduced, a 50% increase in volume compared with the same period last year, Dominique Bichut, Europay International's euro program...

DISCOVER REVAMPS REBATES.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... After May 1, Discover card holders will be able to do more with their Cashback Bonus awards, a spokesperson for the Riverwoods, IL-based credit card issuer tells CardLine today. Instead of having to wait a year to receive charge- volume...

ANN TAYLOR TO SELL CARD PORTFOLIO.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Ann Taylor Stores Corp. announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement to sell its proprietary credit card portfolio to an undisclosed buyer, executives of the New York City-based women's retailer announced Thursday. Ann Taylor expects to...

CITIBANK, EXPERIAN TO OFFER COLLEGE STUDENTS CREDIT REPORTS.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Citibank and Experian Inc., the credit-reporting agency, have teamed to offer college-going Citi cardholders a free copy of their credit reports. Students will receive an access code number in the mail that they can use with their card account...

VISA TESTING DUAL-CHIP PHONES FOR MOBILE COMMERCE.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Visa and Nokia, the world's leading cellular-telephone company, are conducting trials involving dual chips for card transactions on mobile phones in Europe, a spokesperson for the Mobey Forum tells CardLine. The London-based Forum, whose...

AMEX JOINS MOBILE-COMMERCE FORUM.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... American Express Co. has joined the Mobey Forum, a London-based organization whose mission is to set standards for financial services conducted on mobile devices, an AmEx spokesperson tells CardLine. "We wanted to get involved in an...

ARGENTINA ORDERS CARD RECEIVABLES IN PESOS.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Argentina's Central Bank has ordered card companies to begin issuing receivables in pesos instead of dollars for the country's cardholders, Juan De Mollein, associate director of Structured Finance for Standard & Poor's Latin American Group in...

CIBC TO USE AD BLITZ IN MARKETING AMEX CARD AT SUPER BOWL.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cobranded American Express credit cards)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce won't be shy about getting the word out on its new cobranded American Express Co. cards. CIBC plans to spend "in the double-digit millions" to advertise on the Super Bowl and popular television series such as...

FLEET LAUNCHES CARD TARGETING HISPANICS.(Fleet Credit Card Services)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Fleet Credit Card Services is reviewing responses to its Acceso platinum credit card targeting the U.S. Hispanic market, Gregg Rosenfeld, vice president of emerging business, tells CardLine today. Horsham, PA-based Fleet launched Acceso in...

OHIO CREDIT UNION SELLS CARDS TO MBNA.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Akron, OH-based Buckeye State Credit Union said today that it sold its credit card portfolio of $4 million in receivables and 3,400 accounts to MBNA Corp., the second-largest bank card issuer. MBNA submitted the best of five bids for the Visa...

CANADIAN TIRE'S CARD BUSINESS IS ON A ROLL.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., Canada's largest non-bank MasterCard issuer, says its strategic plan to grow its MasterCard business is paying off. The Toronto- based retailer signed up 450,000 new MasterCard cardholders in 2001, bringing the total...

WILCOX JOINS FORMER BOSS AT PROVIDIAN.(Warren Wilcox, Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Warren Wilcox joined his former boss Joseph Saunders at San Francisco-based Providian Financial Corp. today as vice chairman, planning and marketing. Wilcox had been executive vice president of planning and development at Horsham, PA- based...

ALLIANCE DATA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH WILLAMS-SONOMA.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Dallas-based Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced today that it has signed a five-year agreement to provide a private-label credit card program for the Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids, two retailers owned by San Francisco-based...

ARGENTINA'S ISSUERS CAN EXPECT HIGH DELINQUENCIES, LOSSES.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Argentina's financial crisis will leave American Express Co. and bank members of the Visa International and MasterCard International associations with high delinquencies and chargeoffs in a few months, predicts Juan De Mollein, associate...

PROVIDIAN TO MARKET TO PRIME CONSUMERS.(Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Providian Financial Corp. will aggressively market to prime consumers to build its receivables beyond its current $32 billion, Warren Wilcox, the company's new vice chairman of planning and marketing, tells CardLine today. Providian, the...

MOTORISTS IN SAN FRANCISCO CAN PAY PARKING TICKETS ONLINE.(Bay Area Interactive offers CityServices web site)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Motorists in San Francisco can now pay their parking tickets online with their credit cards, says Bill Cull, general manager of the Bay Area Interactive, which operates CityServices, San Francisco's official e-commerce Web site, tells...

TSYS POSTS BIG PROFIT GAIN.(Total System Services Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... Columbus, GA-processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) today reported fourth-quarter net income of $29.5 million, up 36.6% from $21.6 million in 2000's fourth quarter. TSYS reported revenues of $170.8 million, up 9.5% from $156.0 million in...

TSYS TO PROCESS CARD TRANSACTIONS FOR CHARMING SHOPPES.(Total System Services Inc., Charming Shoppes Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) has signed a multi-year contract to process 13 million private-label card accounts for Charming Shoppes Inc., TSYS announced Monday. Bensalem, PA-based Charming Shoppes' proprietary card accounts for 34% of...

U.S. BANCORP EXPANDS MARKETING TERRITORY FOR STRATUS CARD.(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... The marketing territory of an ATM card designed for unbanked employees and backed by Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp is being expanded. The Stratus ATM Card will be marketed in Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado where U.S. Bancorp has...

U.S. BANCORP'S PAYMENTS BUSINESS GROWS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, the nation's largest bank commercial card issuer and a major merchant acquirer and ATM owner, today reported fourth- quarter credit card fee revenue slipped to $192.2 million, down 8.8% from $210.8 million in...

CHASE TO BUY PROVIDIAN PORTFOLIO.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said today that it will buy an $8.2 billion Providian Financial Corp. master trust with about 3.3 million card accounts from the financially struggling San Francisco-based issuer. The portfolio consists of $7 billion...

SMART CARD CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON SECURITY.(Smart Card Alliance)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... Employing smart cards for use as secure personal identification devices will be a major topic of discussion when The Smart Card Alliance, a New York-based association of manufacturers and users opens its two-day quarterly conference Feb. 5,...

CAPITAL ONE SHOWS ITS WILLING TO SPEND TO PROMOTE BRAND.(Capital One Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... The recession didn't stop Capital One Financial Corp. from digging deep into its corporate pockets to find money to spend on advertising and marketing, according to the company's financial statement released today. The Falls Church, VA-based...

CAPITAL ONE'S 2001 NET UP 37%.(Capital One Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... Capital One Financial Corp. today reported 2001 net income of $642 million, or $2.91 per share, up 37% compared with $469.6 million, or $2.24 per share in 2000. For the fourth quarter, Falls Church, VA-based Capital One reported net income of...

METRIS' PROFITS RISE, BUT SO DOES BAD DEBT.(Metris Companies Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... Pure-play credit card issuer Metris Companies Inc. today reported strong earnings, receivables and account growth, but its stock fell on Wall Street nonetheless because more bad debt could pinch the company later this year. Minnetonka, MN-based...

FIRST USA REPORTS 143% INCREASE IN FOURTH QUARTER NET INCOME.(First USA Bank)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 18, 2002... First USA today reported net income of $326 million in the fourth quarter, up 143% compared with $134 million in 2000's fourth quarter. The issuer attributed the growth to higher net interest income, lower expenses and the $7.4 billion...

NATIONWIDE SIGNS 5-YEAR DEAL WITH KASH N' KARRY.(Nationwide Money Services Inc., Kash N'Karry Food Stores Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 18, 2002... The Nationwide Money Services Inc. ATM independent sales organization announced today that it has entered into a five-year deal with the Kash n' Karry convenience-store chain. Nationwide will provide ATM equipment, transaction processing...