Cardline articles from January 2003

Cardline archives from January 2003

BOFA CHARGED OFF $12 MILLION IN AIR FORCE TRAVEL CARD PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Bank of America has charged off more than $12 million in the U.S. Air Force's travel card program, the General Accounting Office is reporting. The GAO also reported that 6,300 Air Force personnel attempted to pay off their card balances by...

SHOPPERS CHARGE SIGNS PHILADELPHIA JEWELER.(Jack Kellmer Company Jewelers )(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Private-label card issuer Shoppers Charge Accounts Inc. reports that it has signed Philadelphia-based Jack Kellmer Company Jewelers as a store card client. Dan Kellmer, whose grandfather founded the company in 1936, tells CardLine that his firm...

SWEDISH BANK PARTNERS WITH GOLF FEDERATION TO ISSUE CARDS.(Foreningsparbanken)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... The Swedish Golf Federation, which has 560,000 members, teamed with Swedish bank Foreningsparbanken, to test two types of chip-based payment cards targeted at the federation's members. "The bank saw the card as a good way to reach golfers,"...

CARD-BACKED RECEIVABLES REACHED $67.3 BILLION IN 2002.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Issuance of securities backed by credit card receivables in 2002 increased 3.7% to $67.3 billion over 2001's record high of $64.9 billion, according to Barclays Capital. MBNA Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Household Credit...

CELENT STUDY NOTES PAYROLL CARD GROWTH.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Celent Communications found that 13.2% of the U.S. population in 2002 was unbanked, or without transactional bank accounts, and about 25% of unbanked households used payroll cards. On average per month, Visa payroll card users are paid $980,...

ELDERLY CHAPTER 7 FILERS HAVE LITTLE INCOME, HIGH CARD DEBT.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Elderly people who filed for Chapter 7 no-asset bankruptcy had average gross monthly incomes of $1,544, more than one-third below the average income for Chapter 7 filers, according to an Executive Office for United States Trustees' study. Their...

INTERCEPT HIRES FORMER NOVA PRESIDENT.(John M. Perry)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Card processor InterCept Inc. has hired John M. Perry, the Atlanta-based company recently announced. Perry, Nova Information Systems' former president and chief operating officer, will focus on InterCept's merchant services ova employed Perry...

PINAULT PRINTEMPS COMPLETES CREDIT CARD BUSINESS SALE.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... BNP Paribas, the Paris-based bank, has completed its 90% purchase of Pinault Printemps-Redoute's Facet credit card business for $908.96 million, a spokesperson for BNP Paribas tells CardLine today. Facet, which has 2 million store cards, is the...

SIGNATURE DEBIT VOLUMES CONTINUE TO MOUNT.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Holders of debit MasterCard International and Visa U.S.A.-branded debit cards in the U.S. initiated 5.92 billion signature-based purchase transactions during the first nine months of this year, up 23.3% from 4.8 billion the same period a year...

ILLINOIS APPROVES INTERIM "DO NOT CALL" LIST RULES.(Restricted Call Registry Act)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... The Illinois Commerce Commission this month passed interim rules establishing the state's do-not- call list for telemarketers, but credit card issuers may be able to circumvent the law if they have an existing business relationship with the...

BOFA SAYS ONLINE BILL PAYMENT BUSINESS IS GROWING.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Bank of America is reporting that its online bill payment service is doubling in size just as it reduces its stake in CheckFree Corp., the company it uses to provide the service. BofA announced today that 1.8 million of its customers would pay...

MASTERCARD, CLEAR CHANNEL ANNOUNCE DEAL.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... MasterCard International's MasterCard Canada and Clear Channel Entertainment, a Toronto-based live-events marketer, have signed an agreement that allows MasterCard cardholders to purchase show tickets in advance. It also gives MasterCard...

EURONET SIGNS LONG-TERM AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Euronet Worldwide Inc. has signed a long-term ATM network-participation agreement with Poland's Przemyslowo-Handlowy PBK, which is also called BPH PBK. BPH PBK's customers are now able to use Euronet's 430 ATMs in Poland without being charged...

GOLD BANK JOINS PULSE EFT.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Gold Bank of Kansas, the state's fourth-largest bank, has joined PULSE EFT Association, both companies announced recently. Through the use of PULSE's Pulse Pay, Gold Bank customers can not use their debit cards to make purchases and get cash...

DISCOVER TO RING IN 2003 AT NEW YORK'S TIMES SQUARE.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Discover Card tonight will ring in the New Year by attempting to set a Guinness world record for synchronized bell ringing, company officials announced yesterday. Discover is inviting the public to join in the bell ringing in New York City's...

BANK ONE SETTLES TELEMARKETING COMPLAINT.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Bank One Corp.'s First USA card unit has agreed to implement changes aimed at eliminating misleading telemarketing practices by third-party enhancement vendors working with Bank One, according to a settlement announced today by New York State...

COMDATA ROLLING OUT MULTIFUNCTION CARD FOR BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Comdata Corp., a Brentwood, TN-based transaction processor, next month plans to roll out BusinessLink that will enable businesses to support multiple functions using a single card, CardLine has learned. Businesses will be able to choose, based...

TSA SAYS RE-AUDIT NOT COMPLETE, SEEKS DEADLINE EXTENSION.(Transaction Systems Architects Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Transaction Systems Architects Inc., parent of the ACI Worldwide supplier of Base24 transaction-authorization software, has requested another extension, until Jan. 13, from the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc. to complete a re-audit of its financial...

FRONTIER AIRLINES OFFERS CREDIT CARD-ACTIVATED TV.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... With a swipe of a credit card, passengers of Denver-based Frontier Airlines can enjoy satellite cable television from DirecTV as they fly to their destinations. The carrier has equipped three of its new 132-seat Airbus A319 aircraft with small...

CHASE OFFERS CONTINENTAL CARD FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is issuing a version of its Continental Airlines cobranded card to small and mid-sized businesses, a Chase spokesperson tells CardLine today. Continental Rewards MasterCard cardholders can earn one mile for every dollar...

FIFTH THIRD NAMES NEW HEAD OF PROCESSING.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Fifth Third Bancorp's Fifth Third Bank has named Robert A. Sullivan executive vice president for its renamed Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions, officials recently announced. Sullivan is replacing Barry L. Boerstler, who is retiring. Fifth...

CARD PORTFOLIO SALES REACHED $23.8 BILLION IN 2002.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... R.K. Hammer, the Thousand Oaks, CA-based credit card advisory firm, today reported that 37 card portfolios worth more than $15 million were sold in 2002, compared with 25 in 2001. Robert K. Hammer, the firm's chairman and CEO, said in a...

CMS AGREES TO SETTLE FTC CHARGES.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Certified Merchant Services Ltd. has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the Federal Trade Commission to settle charges of unfair and deceptive practices brought by the FTC against the Plano, TX-based independent sales organization last...

CONSUMERS OVERCOMING ONLINE FEAR FACTOR.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Card executives often bemoan fear of fraud as the main drag on the growth of Internet payments, but survey results released today show that consumers are becoming more comfortable with making financial transactions online. Results from the...

JACK HENRY BUYS NATIONAL BANCORP DATA SERVICES.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Jack Henry & Associates Inc. today announced that it has purchased National Bancorp Data Services LLC for an undisclosed price. Streamwood, IL-based NBDS provides data-capture services for 14 banks in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Jack Henry...

MASTERCARD TO TARGET SMALL-TICKET ITEMS.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Contactless payment cards for small-ticket items show the most promise for growth in 2003, Ruth Ann Marshall, president of MasterCard International's North American group, tells CardLine. "It's a great replacement for cash and checks," Marshall...

BABYMINT, NATIONAL SCRIP CENTER FORM PARTNERSHIP.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... BabyMint Inc. and National Scrip Center have formed a partnership combining their retail loyalty programs, William Koleszar, BabyMint's chief marketing officer, tells CardLine-CardFax today. The two organizations will share 40 brick-and-mortar...

SHOPPERS OFFERS CASCIO STORE CARD.(Shoppers Charge Accounts contract with Cascio Interstate Music )(Brief Article)
January 3, 2003... Shoppers Charge Accounts has been issuing a private-label credit card for Cascio Interstate Music since November, Ed Fechner, SCA's senior vice president, tells CardLine today. Cardholders can use the Interstate Music Players Card for in-store,...

BALKAN STATES WILL TEST AN INTERNET SMART CARD.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... A group of banks, processors, and vendors will test an international electronic purse smart card on the Internet beginning in the second quarter. The $4.8 million trial is called the Balcard Project, and the European Commission is paying for...

CONSUMERS GIVE BIOMETRICS A THUMB'S UP.(survey shows consumer support for use of biometrics in credit card transactions)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... A major consumer survey finds broad support for using biometrics, such as finger-imaging or iris recognition, to make card transactions more secure. According to the survey, 85% of respondents consider it acceptable to use biometrics to make...

CARD SOLICITATIONS MAY HAVE HIT 4 BILLION IN 2002.(data for direct mail credit card solicitations)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Credit card direct-mail acquisition letters totaled 375 million pieces in October, the second highest monthly total last year behind June's 379 million, Mintel's Comperemedia reported today. As a result, Chicago-based Comperemedia is estimating...

FTC DETAILS CMS SETTLEMENT.(Federal Trade Commission fraud case)(Certified Merchant Services Inc.)
January 10, 2003... Independent sales organization Certified Merchant Services Inc. must pay an undisclosed amount of money to defrauded merchants over an unspecified time, the Federal Trade Commission said today in releasing terms of a settlement between it and...

CITIGROUP, CHINESE BANK PLAN TO DEVELOP CHINA'S CARD MARKET.(Shanghai Pudong Development Bank partnership)
January 10, 2003... Citigroup Inc. and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank will use their new partnership to develop China's emerging credit card market, according to today's edition of Asia Pulse, a Sydney, Australia news service. Citigroup and SPDB plan to organize...

CONCORD SELECTS TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS.(Concord EFS Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Transaction processor Concord EFS Inc. Thursday announced the election of two new board members and one board member's resignation. Ronald V. Congemi, Concord's Star EFT network's president, resigned his seat after serving since February 2001....

JACK HENRY SELECTS NEW BOARD MEMBER.(Jack Henry & Associates Inc. appoints Joseph J. Maliekel to board of directors)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Jack Henry & Associates Inc. has named Joseph J. Maliekel to its board of directors. Maliekel, a certified public accountant, will serve on the company's audit committee. Jack Henry provides integrated computer systems and processes ATM and...

PROVIDIAN LEADS CARD PACK; METRIS TRAILS.(stock data for Providian Financial Corp., Metris Companies Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Former subprime card issuer Providian Financial Corp. was the top credit card stock tracked by Citigroup Inc.'s Salomon Smith Barney investment unit in 2002 while Metris Companies Inc. trailed the pack, according to a SSB report released...

VISA REPORTS LATIN AMERICAN DEBIT GAINS.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Visa International today reports that, as of the end of September, its Latin American and Caribbean financial institutions had issued 93 million Visa debit cards, up 12% from 83 million cards a year earlier. For the four quarters ended last...

CITIBANK GOES BACK TO SCHOOL.(sponsor of class on building credit at Portland State University)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Students at Portland State University are educating their peers on how to build a good credit history through a class sponsored by Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank. "Peer-to-peer marketing is the most effective means of getting through to members of...

ONLINE GAMING LOOKS FOR NEW PAYMENT METHOD.(River City Group)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Online gaming in the U.S. may be worth as much as $6.1 billion this year, up from $4 billion in 2003, according to St. Charles, MO-based River City Group. Players pay predominantly with credit cards even though Citigroup Inc., Bank of America,...

CREDIT TOOLS WEB SITE SURPASSES 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS.(Experian Consumer Direct )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Experian Consumer Direct now has 1.25 million subscribers of its online direct-to-consumer credit report, credit score and analysis group, Ed Ojdana, president of the division, tells CardLine. Costa Mesa, CA-based Experian bought Ojdana's...

BANKS CHARGE RANGE OF DEBIT CARD PAYROLL FEES.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... The Boston-based Celent Communications consultancy has identified fees ranging from 40 cents to $10.50 for payroll debit card services paid by employees. In a December Celent report on payroll cards, Celent shows a $10.50 payroll debit card...

CALIFORNIA BANKERS ASSOCIATION ENDORSES ELAN.(Elan Financial Services )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... The California Bankers Association has endorsed to its members Elan Financial Services for debit and credit card issuing services. In a recent statement, the CBA said it selected Elan because of the range of cards it offers business and...

NEXTCARD ASSET AUCTION SCHEDULED FOR JAN.15.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Auction house DoveBid Inc. today says it will hold an in-person and Webcast auction Jan. 15 of NextCard Inc.'s fiscal assets. Interested companies and individuals will be able to bid on servers, routers, computers, furniture and telephone...

AMEX PUTS ITS CHIP CARD'S CHIP TO WORK.(American Express Co. promotes internet services)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... American Express Co. is promoting an Internet convenience add-on for its Blue card that takes advantage of the little-used chip on the smart card. Consumers can download ID Keeper software to the Blue card and use it to store their favorite Web...

PAYCHEX SWITCHES TO VISA FOR PAYROLL CARDS.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Paychex Inc., which since 1996 has offered a MasterCard International-branded payroll card to its client businesses, has switched to Visa U.S.A.'s payroll card program. The Rochester, NY-based company recently completed the reissuance of 10,000...

BIG EUROPEAN TRAVEL FIRM STRIKES DEAL WITH VISA.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Paris-based Accor Group and Visa International today announced a marketing deal in which Accor will provide promotional rates and other perks to Visa cardholders. Accor, which has 147,000 employees in 140 countries, owns the Sofitel, Novotel...

LAW FIRM FILES CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CREDIT STORE.(Finkelstein & Krinsk )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... San Diego law firm Finkelstein & Krinsk said today that it has filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District for the Southern District of California against bankrupt subprime card issuer The Credit Store Inc. In its Dec. 27 filing, Finkelstein...

NEW BOFA CARD TAKES AIM AT CHILD ABUSE.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Bank of America today introduced a Visa gold credit card in which the bank will donate a portion of all purchases to the Geddes Philanthropic Trust for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The card's face will feature four designs by Anne...

TRANSFIRST HIRES TWO EXECUTIVES.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Transaction processor TransFirst today announced that it has named Jim Stewart vice president of the Dallas-based company's agent-bank services division. Stewart is a founder of the MoneyMaker Network, an off-premise ATM network. TransFirst...

FEDS ISSUE CREDIT CARD LENDING GUIDELINES.(Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council regulations )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Federal banking regulators late this morning issued their long-awaited guidance on credit card lending. The guidance is perceived by Wall Street to be issuer-friendly as shares of troubled subprime issuer Metris Companies Inc. and Capital One...

BANKERS CAN LIVE WITH NEW REGS.(credit card lending regulations)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Federal regulators showed flexibility in issuing their new credit card lending guidance for bank examiners, says Paul Smith, senior counsel for the Washington, DC-based American Bankers Association. "It liberalizes in some areas where we have...

GETTING OUT OF DEBT NOW CARRIES EQUAL WEIGHT TO WEIGHT LOSS.(Cambridge Consumer Credit Index survey)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index today reported that an equal percentage of Americans now rank getting out of debt as important as losing weight. Islandia, NY-based Cambridge reported that 29% of Americans give equal weight to both concerns....

NOVEMBER'S REVOLVING DEBT CLIMBS 4% COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... The Federal Reserve today reported November's revolving debt reached $722.1 billion, up 4.4% compared with November 2001's revised $691.9 billion ovember's 2002 revolving debt compared with October's figure of $723.7 billion, the Fed says. More...

ONLINE HOLIDAY SPENDING UP 25% IN 2002.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Consumers spent $13.7 billion gift shopping online during the holidays, up 25% from $11 billion in 2001, according to the latest eSpending Report from The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Harris Interactive, and Nielsen-NetRatings. Shoppers surveyed...

MASTERCARD, DISCOVER WILL PASS ON THIS YEAR'S SUPER BOWL.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Visa U.S.A. will have two 30-second spots in the Jan. 26 Super Bowl, but competitors MasterCard International and Discover Card Services will sit this one out. Visa, a National Football League sponsor, says advertising agency BBDO New York...

TSA RECEIVES ANOTHER NASDAQ RE-AUDIT EXTENSION.(Transaction Systems Architects Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Transaction Systems Architects Inc., parent of the ACI Worldwide supplier of Base24 transaction-authorization software, says it has received another extension, until Jan. 13, from the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc. to complete a re-audit of its...

CONCORD EFS TO BUY CREDIT UNION 24.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Concord EFS Inc., owner of the Star electronic funds transfer network, this afternoon announced the signing of a non-binding letter of intent with Credit Union 24 Inc. to purchase Credit Union 24's member-owned ATM and point-of-sale network...

FEDERAL REGULATORS DROP SUBPRIME PROPOSAL.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Federal regulators Tuesday quietly dropped a proposal that banks include their subprime card programs' statistical data in quarterly call reports. Instead, the agencies decided that subprime consumer lending should be monitored through...

INTERCEPT CUTS OUTLOOK, TAKES A BEATING.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Atlanta-based transaction processor InterCept Inc. this afternoon cut its earnings outlook. InterCept took the step because of poor performance in its merchant-acquiring division and lower than expected volumes in the recent holiday season that...

ASSETEXCHANGE HIRES VISA INTERNATIONAL VP.(Gary Barth)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... AssetExchange has hired Gary Barth, a former Visa International vice president in Visa's consumer market and segment-development group, as senior vice president. Barth, a 12-year credit card veteran who also worked for Household International,...

SMITHSONIAN SIGNS AFFINITY CARD AGREEMENT WITH MBNA.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Smithsonian Institution's Smithsonian Business Ventures has signed an agreement with affinity card issuer MBNA Corp. Wilmington, DE-based MBNA will issue a credit card bearing Smithsonian's name and logo, company officials announced Wednesday....

CIBC MAILS CASH-REBATE CHECKS TO CARDHOLDERS.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Canada's largest Visa issuer, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, has mailed annual rebate checks to its Dividend and Dividend Platinum Visa card holders, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. Toronto-based CIBC said active cardholders received...

CANADA SAFEWAY RENEWS ALLIANCE DATA CONTRACT.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2003... Canada Safeway Ltd. says it has renewed its contract with Alliance Data Systems Corp.'s The Loyalty Group to continue as a Canadian Air Miles Reward Program sponsor. Chuck Mulvenna, Canada Safeway's president and chief operating officer, said...

MERCHANTS, CARD GROUPS ARGUE FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT.(antitrust class action suit against Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Lawyers for both sides in a class-action antitrust case that challenges Visa U.S.A.'s and MasterCard International's "honor-all-cards" policies today gave oral arguments supporting their calls for summary judgment before U.S. District Judge...

TARGET MUST HIT THE BULL'S-EYE FOR SMART CARDS TO GROW.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Target Corp. will have to show its smart cards make customers more loyal or other U.S. payment card issuers will put off introducing chip cards, says analyst Aaron McPherson of Framingham, MA-based research firm IDC-Meridien Research. "If they...

MASTERCARD TO BUILD NEW BACK-UP PROCESSING FACILITY.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... MasterCard International this afternoon announced plans to build a new back-up processing facility in Kansas City, MO, that would replace its current back-up facility in suburban New York. MasterCard estimates the cost of the new site, which...

INTERCEPT'S STOCK DROPS AGAIN.(InterCept Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... InterCept Inc.'s stock faced heavy selling pressure after an analysts' conference call this morning failed to assuage nervous investors. Yesterday, the stock of the transaction processor dropped nearly in half after InterCept announced lower...

FIRST HORIZON HITS THE SLOPES WITH MCMS ACQUISITION.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Memphis, TN-based First Tennessee National Bank's First Horizon Merchant Services unit Thursday announced that it has acquired nearly all of the assets of Merchant Card Management Systems, a Laguna Hills, CA-based independent sales organization...

U.S. BANK DROPS INTRODUCTORY CARD RATES TO ZERO.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... U.S. Bancorp's U.S. Bank has dropped to 0% for six months the introductory interest rate on its consumer and some business cards, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. The 0% introductory rate available through Feb. 28 is designed to attract new...

PULSE'S 2002 VOLUME INCREASED 34%.(Pulse EFT Association's transaction volume)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Houston-based Pulse EFT Association's network's debit transaction volume jumped 34% in 2002 compared with 2001, the network says. Pulse processed about 955.5 million debit transactions, including ATM, PIN and signature-based point-of-sale...

NEW ENGLAND STATES TO USE SMART CARD FOR BENEFITS PROGRAMS.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Hitachi Ltd.'s subsidiary Hitachi America Ltd. has won New England Partners' contract to provide a hybrid magnetic-stripe and smart card to an estimated 10,000 participants as part of a six-state, 21-month pilot program. Beginning August 2004,...

PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS JOINS CO-OP NETWORK.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Co-op Network today announced that it has signed an agreement with the Publix Super Markets chain that owns 800 ATMs in 741 of its stores. Ontario, CA-based Co-op will provide surcharge-free access for Co-op member cardholders to Publix's ATMs,...

IACOBUZIO JOINS MASTERCARD.(Theodore Iacobuzio )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Longtime industry analyst Theodore Iacobuzio is leaving TowerGroup to join MasterCard International as vice president of its Advisors group, Tower announced today. MasterCard created the in-house Advisors group in 2001 to provide consulting...

CITIBANK, MICROSOFT FORGE MERCHANT PACT.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Citigroup Inc.'s U.S. merchant-acquiring arm, Citibank Merchant Services, and software giant Microsoft Corp. today announced a pact to provide joint services to small and mid-sized businesses using Microsoft Retail Management System software...

AFFLUENT OHIO TOWN PROMOTES ITS OWN PRIVATE-LABEL CARD.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... The Hudson, OH, Chamber of Commerce is promoting the Hudson City Card, a private-label, rechargeable stored-value card that is designed to encourage 50% of the residents of the affluent Akron suburb to patronize local businesses. Hudson...

ALLIANCE, BEBE SIGN AGREEMENT.(Alliance Data Systems Corp. to provide payment authorization and gift card services to Bebe Stores Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Alliance Data Systems Corp. today announced that it has signed a three-year agreement with bebe stores inc. Dallas-based Alliance will provide payment authorization, settlement and gift card services for the more than 170 bebe's stores in the...

CARD TECHNOLOGIES & SERVICES HIRES VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Copyright c 2003 Thomson Media. All Rights Reserved. Card Technologies & Services has hired Christopher F. Sincock as vice president for business development New Haven, CT-based CTS manufactures cards requiring custom artwork,...

IRS UNVEILS OFFSHORE VOLUNTARY TAX COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... The Internal Revenue Service today said that U.S. citizens who obtained debit, credit and charge cards from offshore banks to avoid paying federal income taxes have until April 15 to come forward in order to escape civil and criminal...

MBNA OFFERS TRAVEL REWARDS CARD FOR CARLSON WAGONLIT.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... MBNA Corp. is offering the first travel rewards card for Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates, the Minneapolis-based travel service, a Carlson spokesperson tells CardLine today. The Visa-branded product is called the Carlson Travel Rewards card....

BANK ONE DOUBLES UNITED MILEAGE PLUS MILES.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Bank One Corp. announced today that United Mileage Plus Visa card holders can earn double miles at selected retailers through a new year-long More Miles program. In January and February, cardholders earn double miles for purchases at...

BALKAN BANKS BEGIN MOVE TO CHIP.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Latvia's Hansabanka has launched the first Visa smart cards in the Baltic region. Other Baltic banks, including Parexbanka and Unibanka, are expected to start issuing smart cards during the first quarter, Aldis Bokmelders, marketing manager at...

FIRST DATA OFFERS CLIENTS VIRTUAL AGENT.(partnership with Finali Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Card processor First Data Corp. and Finali Corp. have formed a partnership to assist consumers with online gift card purchases, a First Data spokesperson tells CardLine. First Data is offering clients Finali's netSage Virtual Agent that answers...

TSYS REPORTS 20.5% INCREASE IN 2002 NET INCOME.(Total System Services Inc. )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) today reported 2002 net income of $125.8 million, up 20.5% compared with $104.4 million last year. Revenue reached $955.1 million, up 7% compared with 2001's $892.3 million. Revenue excluding reimbursable...

SPEER CONSULTANTS PROMOTED.(Les E. Riedl and Peter P. Hetzlet promoted at Speer and Associates)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2003... Les E. Riedl and Peter P. Hetzlet have been promoted to executive vice president positions at Speer & Associates, the Atlanta-based consultancy announced. Riedl is responsible for helping clients develop and implement integrated strategies for...