Cardline articles from July 2003

Cardline archives from July 2003

HIGH COURT TO RULE ON OVER-LIMIT FEES.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear a case dealing with how credit card issuers disclose over-limit fees to cardholders. The case will be heard after Oct. 1, when the court returns from its summer recess. In the case, Household...

VISA BOOSTS SOME INTERCHANGE FEES.
July 4, 2003... Visa USA will raise interchange rates beginning Aug. 1 on credit cards for midsized and smaller retailers, while implementing a tiered pricing scheme designed to incent larger merchants to increase their Visa transaction volume. Visa also will...

VISA TO CHARGE NEW FEES, INCREASE OTHERS.
July 4, 2003... Along with credit card interchange rate increases, Visa USA announced this week several new or increased fees that financial institutions and merchant acquirers will pay to the San Francisco-based association. The fees will be implemented in...

CONSUMERS DIAL UP DO-NOT-CALL LIST.
July 4, 2003... More than 635,000 consumers registered with the national telemarketing do-not-call list within 15 hours of its launch this morning, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The registry is designed to help consumers stop unwanted...

SENATE APPROVES CHECK CLEARING ACT.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Both Houses of Congress have approved versions of legislation that would fundamentally alter the process of posting and settling checks by allowing electronic equivalents of checks to be given the same legal status as paper ones. The U.S....

'SIMPAY' TO FOCUS ON MOBILE PAYMENT.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An association formed by four major mobile telecommunications companies to push for the adoption of mobile phone-based payment systems announced it has renamed itself "Simpay." The organization, formerly known as the Mobile Payments Services...

KEYCORP TO PROVIDE POS TERMINALS TO ULTRAMAR.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Toronto-based Keycorp Canada Inc. announced it has been selected by Canadian petroleum company Ultramar Ltd. to provide new point-of-sale payment terminals and software to approximately 650 of the 1,100 Ultramar retail locations across Eastern...

MASTERCARD, VISA REMAIN DOMINANT IN CANADA.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... MasterCard and Visa issuers had 49.4 million credit cards in circulation in Canada at the end of 2002, an increase of 12% compared with 44.1 million at the end of 2001, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada recently reported. There were 20.8...

MASTERCARD LAUNCHES REWARDS PROGRAM FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZE ISSUERS.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... MasterCard International today launched Preferred Rewards, a relatively low-cost rewards program for small and mid-size MasterCard debit and credit card issuers and their processors. With Preferred Rewards, issuers will pay lower up-front fees...

MOODYS DOWNGRADES HEILIG-MEYERS SECURITIES.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Moody's Investors Service has again downgraded the ratings of two senior classes of securities backed by customer receivables of Heilig-Meyers Co., the Richmond, VA-based furniture chain that went bankrupt in August 2000. Moody's late Friday...

CREDIT-UNION CARD PORTFOLIOS SHRINK.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Most credit-union card portfolios shrank between March, 2002 and March, 2003, although total credit-union card receivables grew, AssetExchange, a Portland, OR-based credit-card consulting and brokerage firm for credit unions, said recently....

MASTERCARD PITCHES BASEBALL SPOT.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... MasterCard International, a sponsor of Major League Baseball, will unveil a new baseball commercial today, a spokesperson for the Purchase, NY-based association tells CardLine. The new spot is titled, "Family of Four," and shows a mother,...

CYOTA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH TURKEY'S LARGEST ISSUER.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Turkey's largest card issuer, Turkiye Is Bankasi (Isbank), has selected Cyota's SecureSuite platform, New York City-based Cyota recently announced. Cyota will provide MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa authentication services to...

JUNIPER BANK NAMES CFO.(Peter Atwater appointed managing director and chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... MasterCard issuer Juniper Bank has named Peter Atwater managing director and chief financial officer. Atwater will be responsible for Wilmington, DE-based Juniper's accounting, treasury and financial planning functions. Before joining Juniper,...

DO-NOT-CALL REGISTRY A HUGE HIT; ATA GRUMBLES.(American Teleservices Association )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Federal Trade Commission's popular do-not-call telemarketing registry will hurt the credit card industry in more ways than simply reducing the pool of card prospects who can be solicited by telephone, the executive director of the American...

BUSH ADMINISTATION BACKS FREE CREDIT REPORTS.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Appalled by the depravity of people who commit identity theft, U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow yesterday proposed that consumers be given free access to their credit reports as part of a series of reforms to the Fair Credit Reporting Act...

ISO LEADS SECOND-QUARTER IPOS.(iPayment Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Nashville, TN-based independent sales organization iPayment Inc. had the best return to investors of the five U.S. companies that went public in the second quarter, business data publisher Hoover's Inc. reports today. IPayment, which went...

NPC SELLS 14 REGIONAL OFFICES TO ISOS.(National Processing Co. sells offices to DiamondCard International, Security Check L.L.C., Universal Debit & Credit)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... National Processing Co., the Louisville, KY-based credit and debit card processor, has sold 14 regional sales offices to three of its long-time independent sales organizations PC sold its non-bank regional sales offices to - DiamondCard...

BANK ONE TO REPLACE 320 ATMS IN THE CHICAGO AREA.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Celebrating its predecessor banks' 140 years in Chicago, Bank One Corp. today announced that it is replacing 320 of its 1,000 Chicago-area ATMs as part of a two-year, $100 million national ATM-replacement project. The new machines, some which...

ELAN BUYS TWO CREDIT-UNION CARD PORTFOLIOS.(Elan Financial Services buys credit card portfolios from Alliance Credit Union, P&C Employees Federal Credit Union)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Elan Financial Services has purchased two credit-union card portfolios through a sale arranged by AssetExchange, a Portland, OR-based brokerage firm for credit unions lan, a U.S. Bancorp subsidiary, purchased P&C Employees Federal Credit...

OFFICIAL PAYMENTS, IRS SIGN ONE-YEAR RENEWAL.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Tier Technologies Inc.'s Official Payments Corp. today announced that it has signed a one-year contract renewal with the Internal Revenue Service. Official Payments will accept and process credit card payments for personal income taxes through...

HYPERCOM CLOSES HORIZON GROUP.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Hypercom Corp., the Phoenix-based point-of-sale terminal manufacturer, yesterday shut down its Horizon Group subsidiary. St. Louis-based Horizon refurbished and resold POS equipment made by most major manufacturers. A Horizon official, who...

MANULIFE BANK CUSTOMERS GET SURCHARGE-FREE ABM ACCESS.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Manulife Bank, a subsidiary of Manulife Financial, has joined The Exchange Network in Canada, a move that gives Manulife's customers surcharge-free access to more than 1,350 automated banking machines in Canada, a Manulife spokesperson tells...

GNC AGREEMENT WILL PROVIDE FIFTH THIRD WITH ECONOMIC VITAMINS.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... General Nutrition Centers today announced that it has signed an agreement with Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions in which Fifth Third will process GNC's PIN-based debit card transactions. GNC, a subsidiary of The Netherlands-based Royal...

NOVA OPENS OPERATIONS CENTER IN KNOXVILLE.(Nova Information Systems )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Nova Information Systems yesterday opened its third merchant-processing operations center in Knoxville, TN, David L. Strider, Nova's executive vice president, tells CardLine today. The 60,000- square-foot plant eventually will employ 400...

ELAN HAS PURCHASED SEVEN CREDIT-UNION CARD PORTFOLIOS THIS YEAR.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Elan Financial Services' purchase yesterday of two credit-union card portfolios brings to seven the number of portfolios Elan has bought so far this year, Dan Roads, Elan's national sales manager, tells CardLine today lan purchased Alliance...

PSCU WILL HOST MEETING FOR HAWAIIAN CREDIT UNIONS.(PSCU Financial Services)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... PSCU Financial Services, the largest credit-union service organization in the U.S., announced it will host an educational session the month for Hawaii-based credit unions looking to boost profitability of their card programs. Hawaiian credit...

VERISIGN INTRODUCES ONLINE-FRAUD PROTECTION FOR BUSINESSES.(VeriSign Fraud Protection)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... VeriSign Inc. recently announced VeriSign Fraud Protection, a suite of services specifically designed to help businesses protect themselves from online fraud, the Mountain View, CA-based company said in news release. VeriSign Fraud Protection...

PULSE RAISES POS INTERCHANGE RATE, STICKS WITH FLAT FEE.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... The Houston-based Pulse EFT Association on Oct. 1 will increase by 20% the interchange merchant acquirers pay Pulse issuers for PIN-based debit card purchases. Under the new rate, acquirers will pay issuers a flat 18 cents per transaction....

CHIP CARDS SCORE WITH WORLD CUP ORGANIZERS.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Seeking to speed fans into what will likely be sold-out stadiums, the German organizers of the 2006 World Cup soccer championship have decided to put smart card chips on the 3.2 million tickets they will issue, Jurgen Domberg, the German...

POS SUPPLIER WELCOMES LOYALTY PROGRAMS.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... France-based Welcome Real-time today announced a deal to integrate its loyalty software for smart cards into payment terminals from Italy-based Dionica. This will make it easier for card issuers to add rewards features as they migrate to chip...

U.K. CONSUMERS LIKE PIN MONEY.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... A survey sponsored by the banks and retailers organizing the shift to "chip and PIN" in the United Kingdom suggests that most U.K. consumers see entering a personal identification number at the point of sale as more secure than signing a credit...

PROCESSORS ON A WALL STREET ROLL.(credit card processors post higher returns)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Eleven payment processors tracked by Chicago-based Barrington Research posted a mean return of 38.4% in second quarter versus 15% for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and 12.4% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Barrington analyst Gary...

DINERS CLUB HOPES CARDHOLDERS WILL FEAST ON RESTAURANT PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Diners Club International yesterday announced a restaurant-savings program with 4,000 participating restaurants nationwide. Cardholders who pay with their Montage, Diners Club Charge, and Carte Blanche cards can save up to 20% on their entire...

POLICE IN CHINA BREAK UP CREDIT CARD COUNTERFEIT RING.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Police in China, Hong Kong and Macau have broken up a large credit card counterfeit ring, China's state press reported last week. The police arrested 20 suspects and seized 1,090 fake MasterCard, Visa and Diners Club cards that were sold...

WILL AMEX REPLACE TRAVELER'S CHECKS WITH TRAVEL CARDS?(American Express Co.)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... American Express Co., a leading issuer of traveler's checks, is conducting consumer research to gauge interest in an AmEx-branded prepaid travel card, CardLine has learned. During a recent focus-group session in Chicago, researchers used...

MBNA CANADA'S LOAN BALANCES GROWING AT CLOSE TO 30%.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... MBNA Canada's loan balances are growing close to 30%, two to three times faster than the Canadian credit card market, Morgan Stanley Equity Research said today in its report, "Travel Notes From Canada." But American Express Co.'s Entourage...

CARD ISSUERS CASHING IN ON E-CHECK PAYMENTS.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Credit card issuers are boosting the number of electronic-check payments, or one-time automated clearinghouse payments made by telephone, over the Internet, and through lock boxes, a spokesperson for NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association,...

DECLINING INTEREST RATES MAY TRIGGER EARLY AMORTIZATION.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Early payouts on securities backed by credit card receivables typically are triggered by deterioration of the underlying assets. But in the declining interest-rate environment, some otherwise well-performing deals also are vulnerable to early...

ISO ATM CONSOLIDATION INCREASES.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... A new survey of ATM independent sales organizations by CardLine's sister publication, ATM&Debit News, shows a record consolidation of the off-premise ATM business. Last year, an ATM&Debit New survey had the top 10 ISOs operating about 59,500...

BRITAIN'S PROPOSED ID CARD TO GO FROM VOLUNTARY TO COMPULSORY.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... After a year of preparing public opinion, Britain's Home Office appears ready to propose that all citizens of the United Kingdom carry a smart card as an identification document, according to published reports. London's Sunday Times newspaper...

GIVE CARDS CREDIT FOR OFFERING THE MOST REWARDS.(survey results concerning credit card rewards programs)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Credit cards offer the most popular rewards programs for consumers 18 to 24 years old, with 26% citing the deals, according to a poll from Maritz Loyalty Marketing. The second most-popular reward for the young is airline programs, cited by 23%....

JUDGE REFUSES TO DISMISS FOREIGN-CURRENCY EXCHANGE LAWSUIT.(involving Visa USA, Mastercard International)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... U.S. District Court Judge William H. Pauley III has refused a request by Visa USA, MasterCard International and some member banks to dismiss key sections of a class-action lawsuit over currency-conversion fees for foreign card transactions. The...

SOLICITATION VOLUME FLAT.(for credit card issuers)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Credit card issuers mailed 1.19 billion solicitations in the first quarter, down 2% from 1.21 billion pieces in 2002's first quarter, Synovate's Tarrytown, NY-based Mail Monitor tracking service reports today. Synovate Vice President Andrew...

SCOTIABANK AGREES TO BUY FAILED BANK'S CARD PORTFOLIO.(from Banco Intercontinental)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Scotiabank announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with financial authorities in the Dominican Republic to purchase dissolved Banco Intercontinental's (Baninter) card portfolio. Scotiabank said in a news release that it...

23% OF CONSUMERS WILL CHARGE THEIR VACATIONS TO A CREDIT CARD.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... A survey or more than 1,000 people by Cambridge Consumer Credit Index today reported that 23% of Americans will charge their vacations to a credit card, the same as last year, if they decide to take a vacation. The survey also reported that 32%...

MAY'S REVOLVING DEBT WAS $725 BILLION.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... The Federal Reserve Board today reported that May's revolving debt was a seasonally adjusted $725 billion, up 5.3% on an annualized basis from April's $721.9 billion. The May figure is up 2.2% from May 2002's seasonally adjusted $709.3 billion....

WESTERN UNION SHUFFLES MANAGEMENT.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... First Data Corp.'s Western Union subsidiary changed its management ranks in June, though Christina Gold will remain president of the division, according to a spokesperson. Bill Thomas, formerly the Paris-based president of Western Union...

SAFESEND TRIES TO ATTRACT MEXICAN NATIONALS.(Bank of America enhances SafeSend money-transfer product)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Bank of America's SafeSend money-transfer product, which relies on ATMs and debit cards, is being revamped to garner greater interest in the product among Mexican nationals, both in the U.S. and Mexico. BofA has removed its 30-day transfer...

U.S. MOVES TO ADD SMART CHIPS TO PASSPORTS.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... In a first step toward adding chips to U.S. passports, the U.S. State Department has asked vendors to comment by July 28 on a plan to add contactless smart card chips to passport books. The document, obtained by Thomson Media's Card Technology...

CAPITAL ONE FIXES ON A 4.99% RATE TO LURE THE MOST CREDITWORTHY.(Capital One Financial Corp. debuts MasterCard platinum card with fixed interest rate of 4.99%)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Making a play for the most creditworthy card prospects, Capital One Financial Corp. today launched a MasterCard platinum card with a 4.99% fixed interest rate. The McLean, VA-based monoline issuer will market the no-annual-fee card via direct...

FORMER SEARS CARD BOSS CAN USE TWO ALLEGED DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS IN TRIAL.(Kevin T. Keleghan)
July 11, 2003... Attorneys representing fired Sears, Roebuck and Co. card chief Kevin T. Keleghan and Sears Chairman and CEO Alan J. Lacy appeared in court Tuesday for a hearing in the breach-of-contract and defamation suit Keleghan filed against Sears and...

BANK ONE WON'T SHARE ITS ATMS FOR DEPOSITS.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Chicago-based Bank One Corp. on Aug. 1 will stop taking deposits from other banks' customers at its 465 Chicago-area deposit-taking ATMs. And Bank One customers no longer will be able to make deposits at other banks' ATMs. A bank spokesperson...

VITAL, BANK OF AMERICA EXTEND THEIR LOVE FEST.(Vital Processing Services L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... After 10 years of working together, Vital Processing Services and Bank of America find they really like each other. As a result, Vital Processing and Bank of America have renewed their existing contract and as part of the extended agreement,...

CHINA APPROVES SMART CARD ID.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... China's legislature has given the go-ahead to being testing a smart card-based national identity document that ultimately could be carried by nearly 1 billion Chinese adults, according to the July newsletter of the Smart Card Forum of China....

MAC'S IS INSTALLING 379 TRITON ATMS IN ITS STORES.(Mac's Convenience Stores L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Mac's Convenience Stores is installing 379 new Triton ATMs with high-speed, TCP-IP communications capabilities in an equal number of Mac's Bigfoot, Dairy Mart, Handy Andy and Mac's stores in the U.S., Triton and Mac's officials announced...

CARD CHARGOFFS ROSE IN MAY AS THE ECONOMY SUNK.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... The nation's weak economy as evidenced by the high jobless rate dealt a blow to U.S. consumers' credit performance in May, reports Moody's Investors Service's Credit Card Indexes. In May, the card chargeoff rate was 7.05% of securitzed...

CARD VACUUM HURTS SPIEGEL.(retailer reports sales decline in June)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Retailer Spiegel Inc. says the lull between the demise of its old card program and the launch of a new one may have contributed to June's 19% sales decline. Downers Grove, IL-based Spiegel today reported net sales of $160.2 million for the five...

CITIGROUP ISSUES DIAMOND PREFERRED CARD.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank has begun issuing its Citi Diamond Preferred card that replaces Citi's cobranded Sony Card. Citibank stopped issuing the Sony rewards card June 16 (CardLine, 6-3). A former Sony cardholder tells CardLine that he...

VISA INTRODUCES DUAL-CURRENCY CARD IN CHINA.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Visa International announced this week that it has introduced a dual-currency credit card in China. The card provides cardholders with credit limits in renmenbi, China's currency, and a different currency that allows cardholders to pay in a...

ALASKA OPTION PROVIDES ATM SWITCHING FOR NORTHWEST CREDIT UNIONS.(Alaska Option Services Corp., Northwest Credit Union Alliance)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Alaska Option Services Corp. is providing ATM transaction switching for the newly formed Northwest Credit Union Alliance. The alliance is a group of several Pacific Northwest credit unions that offer no-surcharge, shared-deposit ATM services to...

CASHWORKS, INFONOX FORM PARTNERSHIP.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... CashWorks Inc., of Houston, is partnering with the Infonox EFT payment software firm of Santa Clara, CA, to test the use of Infonox' open-source Active Payment Platform. The platform will be tested for a variety of products, including...

OHIO PROPERTY OWNERS CAN PAY REAL-ESTATE TAXES WITH THEIR CARDS.(via Official Payments Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Official Payments Corp. has signed agreements with 18 counties in Ohio that will allow property owners to pay their real-estate taxes with their credit cards. Property owners in Allen, Ashland, Brown, Clermont, Coshocton, Defiance, Erie,...

BANKRUPTCY LEGISLATION GOES FROM THE FAST TRACK TO THE SLOW LANE.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Remember the card-industry backed bankruptcy bill that was on the fast track to the Oval Office for President Bush's signature? Well, its momentum has slowed. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in March (CardLine, 3-20) and sent...

NYC RESIDENTS CAN EARN POINTS BY CHARGING RENT TO AMEX CARD.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... American Express Co. has expanded its automatic bill payment program into New York City, offering cardholders in its Membership Rewards program a chance to earn points while paying their rent. Beginning this month, tenants in the 16 luxury...

WASHINGTON, DC, SUSPENDS PURCHASE CARD PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Washington, DC's, City Council voted Tuesday to suspend its city-employee purchase card program after some workers ignored spending limits and made questionable charges. Mayor Anthony Williams said he will veto the measure because the program,...

FISERV BUYS EDS' CREDIT-UNION INDUSTRY GROUP FOR $218 MILLION.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Fiserv Inc. and Electronic Data Systems Corp. announced this afternoon that Fiserv will purchase EDS Credit Union Industry Group for $218 million in cash. CUIG, which employs 450 people, provides debit card, online bill-payment and transaction...

TEXAS CREDIT UNIONS SELL PORTFOLIOS TO TNB CARD SERVICES.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Three Texas credit unions have agreed to sell their card portfolios to TNB Card Services, a Dallas-area processor that's owned by credit unions. TNB did not disclose how much it paid for the portfolios once owned by General Technologies Federal...

GE CARD UNIT'S SECOND-QUARTER FINANCIALS AREN'T ELECTRIC.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... General Electric Co.'s GE Card Services unit posted a segment profit of $172 million in the second quarter, down 2% from $175 million in the year-earlier quarter, GE reported today. During the quarter, the nation's largest third-party...

CHINA UNION PAY SELECTS VERIFONE; COMPANY MAKES STRIDES IN AFRICA.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... VeriFone Inc. reported this week that China Union Pay has selected it as an eligible payment-terminal provider and will distribute its terminals throughout China. Shanghai-based China Union Pay is a consortium of 80 Chinese financial...

U.S. BANK SECURES HOMELAND CARD CONTRACT.
July 18, 2003... The U.S. General Services Administration has awarded a one-year contract with four one-year renewal options to U.S. Bancorp's Corporate Payment Systems Division to supply purchase cards for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The...

CITIGROUP'S NORTH AMERICAN CARDS REPORTS A 9% PROFIT INCREASE.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank today reported second-quarter North American card net income of $659 million, up 9% compared with $605 million for the same three-month period last years. Revenues, adjusted for securitizations, were $3.91 billion, up...

BANK OF AMERICA'S CARD NET INCOME INCREASES 23%.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Bank of America Corp. reported today that second-quarter income from its card division increased 23% from $618 million a year ago to $772 million due to increased transaction volume. The card division generated revenues of $1.04 billion in the...

EVEN WITHOUT SOME STALWARTS, CARD BOND ISSUANCE COULD BREAK RECORD.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The volume of asset-backed securities sold by credit card issuers could set a record of more than $70 billion this year, securities rating agency Standard & Poor's reports today. In 2002, issuers sold a record $67.5 billion in card bonds, an...

PASSPORT REGULATORS LOOK TO BANK SMART CARD EXPERTS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The International Civil Aviation Organization is inviting bank smart card experts to attend the next meeting of its New Technology Working Group, which is hashing out standards for new machine-readable passports and other travel documents that...

MARITZ, CATUITY SIGN LICENSING AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Two major providers of loyalty programs to card issuers and the card associations signed a three-year licensing deal last week. Fenton, MO-based Maritz Loyalty Marketing will license and install the applications software of Catuity Inc. to...

MUTUAL FUND CLIENTS CAN MAKE DEPOSITS IN PNC ATMS.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... The mutual fund management subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., PFPC, is offering clients the ability to have their customers make deposits at ATMs. PNC secured the ATM deposit service through the Star and NYCE EFT networks, which...

AMEX WILL BUY ROSENBLUTH, ENHANCING ITS LEADERSHIP IN TRAVEL.
July 18, 2003... American Express Co., the world's largest travel-management company, is getting larger. AmEx announced this morning that it signed a definitive agreement to purchase Rosenbluth International Inc., a privately held Philadelphia-based...

FISERV BUYS CHASE CREDIT RESEARCH.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Fiserv Inc., the Brookfield, WI-based transaction processor, today announced it has acquired Chase Credit Research and Chase Credit Systems, related companies that provide credit-reporting services and systems. Fiserv is building an end-to-end...

GLOBAL, SAM ASH MUSIC ARE DANCING TO THE SAME BEAT.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Global Payments Inc. will provide card and check processing for Sam Ash Music under a deal announced yesterday. Atlanta-based Global will provide check guarantee and recovery for one year, but the card processing contract is for several years,...

AMEX ISSUES INVITATION-ONLY CARD IN LATIN AMERICA, CARIBBEAN.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... American Express Co. has introduced the International Dollar Platinum Card throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to its affluent customers. The card offers wealth benefits for frequent travelers and other clients who desire premium...

U.S. BANCORP'S PAYMENT REVENUES AND EARNINGS GROW.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... U.S. Bancorp's noninterest income from card-related services grew 5% to $411 million in the second quarter from $391.6 million in the year-earlier quarter, the Minneapolis-based bank-holding company reported today. Revenues in three out of four...

FLEETBOSTON REPORTS $34 MILLION IN SECOND-QUARTER CARD INCOME.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s Fleet Card Services unit today reported second-quarter net income of $34 million on revenues of $155 million. The revenues were exactly the same as 2002's. Boston-based FleetBoston said second-quarter managed...

WELLS FARGO OFFERS CHECK-VERIFICATION SERVICE.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2003... Wells Fargo & Co. is offering business customers a check-verification system operated by Visa USA's POS Check service. The service allows issuers of checks to use Visa's VisaNet transaction processing system to capture and electronify check...