Cardline articles from June 2005

Cardline archives from June 2005

POS TERMINAL MARKET GROWING.(Point-Of-Sale )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The point-of-sale terminal market is growing, thanks to a worldwide movement to smart cards and the increasing use of cards for payments. A recent report in the June issue of CardLine's sister publication, Card Technology, shows that a majority...

ALABAMA WILL OFFER DEBIT CARDS TO CHILD-SUPPORT RECIPIENTS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The State of Alabama is hoping some 15,000 child support recipients will switch from paper check payments to a new electronic benefits debit card. Starting Wednesday, any of the 20,000 parents receiving child support in the state can opt to...

MOBILE POS IS ON THE WAY UP, VENDOR SAYS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Demand for mobile payment card terminals will reach 10 million units per year by 2007, predicts Boston-based Way Systems Inc., one of the vendors of such devices. Electricians and plumbers, delivery companies and mobile food vendors are all...

THE STREETS AREN'T PAVED WITH GOLD, BUT WE CAN OFFER YOU A CARD.
June 3, 2005... U.S. Bank will market its remittance and secured credit cards in the Minneapolis area next week when the Mexican Consulate's mobile unit arrives to help Mexican citizens apply for identification such as passports and Matricula Consular cards....

JUNIPER HIRES ACXIOM.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Juniper Bank, the U.S. credit card-issuing arm of Barclays Group, has signed an agreement with Acxiom Corp., Gregg Zaffroni, Acxiom client executive, tells CardLine. The Little Rock, AR, information-management company, will assist Juniper in...

CERTEGY IS PLANNING TO SELL REMAINDER OF MERCHANT-ACQUIRING BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Certegy Inc. is negotiating to sell the remainder of its merchant-acquiring business, Mary Waggoner, vice president of investor relations, tells CardLine. Certegy purchased the business from a company Waggoner declined to name. As part of the...

TCF BANK TO OFFER AMEX'S TRAVELERS CHEQUE CARD.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Wayzta, MN-based TCF National Bank is to offer the American Express Travelers Cheque Card throughout TCF's 430-branch network beginning Tuesday. The Amex Travelers Cheque Card is a pre-paid travel money card offering the protection of travelers...

BANK OF MONTREAL REPORTS INCREASE IN CARD LOANS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... BMO Bank of Montreal has reported a 33.8% increase in its credit card loans to C$4.6 billion (U.S. $3.7 billion) as of April 30 from C$3.4 billion a year ago. The Canadian bank says it saw strong growth in its personal and commercial client...

AMEX JOINS THE MILITARY.(American Express Co., USAA Federal Savings Bank)(Brief article)
June 3, 2005... USAA Federal Savings Bank, the nation's largest financial-services company for military personnel and their families, will issue American Express Co. credit and charge cards beginning in the second quarter of 2006, a USAA spokesperson tells...

RBC INCREASES CARD PROVISIONS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... RBC Royal Bank of Canada reported higher provisions for losses on its Canadian credit card portfolio and merchant acquiring business for the six months to April 30, 2005. In the first half of fiscal 2005, provisions for personal credit losses,...

SCOTIABANK REPORTS MODEST GROWTH IN CREDIT CARD BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Canada's Scotiabank has reported modest growth for its credit card business for the second quarter ended April 30. Card revenues were C$56 million (U.S. $45 million), up 5.7% from C$53 million in the second quarter of 2004. Personal and credit...

TNB WILL CONVERT TO STAR NETWORK.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... TNB Card Services today reported it would convert its PIN debit card processing to the Star network division of First Data Corp. TNB had been using First Data's network for its signature credit card and debit card processing since 1993....

CO-OP NETWORK OPENS GATEWAY LINK.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Co-Op Network, the nation's largest credit union EFT network, and the Instant Cash ATM network have opened a gateway link. Instant Cash member credit unions can supplement their current access from 6,200 ATMs to more than 19,500 nationwide,...

EXPERIAN ADDS QUICKADDRESS TO DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Credit reference agency Experian says it has integrated its Data Management software with QAS Ltd.'s QuickAddress application. The integration enables organizations to maintain accurate address information about their customers when addresses...

BIOPAY OFFER AGE VERIFICATION.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Herndon, VA-based biometric payments vendor BioPay has added an age verification feature to its retail payments-processing system. The new feature allows convenience stores, grocers and liquor stores to verify a customer's birth date at...

TRANSFIRST, ECOMETRY PARTNER.(Ecometry Alliance Network )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Dallas-based TransFirst and Ecometry Alliance Network announced a partnership to offer retailers a selection of payment-processing products, the companies said last week. The agreement allows TransFirst, a payment-processing company, to market...

PIGGLY WIGGLY'S PAY BY TOUCH SYSTEM WINS AWARD.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The biometric authentication and payment system implemented by supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. Inc. was awarded a Retail Systems Achievement award last week in Chicago. Piggly Wiggly won the best customer touchpoint system award...

ATM ISOS MERGE AS VOLUMES REMAIN FLAT.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The past year saw unprecedented consolidation among ATM independent sales organizations as their transaction volumes stagnated, according to CardLine sister publication ATM&Debit News. The publication's annual survey finds that the number of...

CHASE UNVEILS NEW BILL PAYMENT PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Chase Merchant Services announced today a new consulting service aimed at large companies that accept recurring bill payments online. The joint merchant acquiring arm of First Data Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. announced that its BillPay...

MOST SMALL BUSINESSES ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SUMMER SPENDING.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Small businesses will continue to grow throughout most of the United States this summer, according to research released today by Visa USA and the National Federation of Independent Business. The Small-Business Conditions report says that 61% of...

NEW RULES FOR FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service will allow an additional 75 days for individuals to spend funds placed on prepaid debit cards for health care-related Flexible Spending Accounts. These accounts allow employees to...

AMEX LOVES THE U.S. OPEN.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... New York-based American Express Co. will continue to be the official card of the U.S. Open, the financial services company and United States Tennis Association announced Tuesday. Under the new agreement, AmEx also becomes an official sponsor of...

VISA SAYS 'BRING IT ON'.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Visa USA tells CardLine it looks forward to competing with American Express Co. and MasterCard International to offer cards to the members of a credit union that just allied with MBNA Corp. "We've competed with MasterCard for years. Adding...

CANADIAN ISO LICENSES CARREKER ATM SOFTWARE.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Ontario, Canada-based Threshold Financial Technologies Inc., an ATM independent sales organization, is licensing Carreker Corp.'s eiManager software to manage its 1,600 Laser Cash-branded machines. Dallas-based Carreker says its eiManager...

CITIGROUP AGREES TO BUY FEDERATED AND MAY CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Citigroup Inc. this morning announced that it has agreed to purchase Federated and May department stores credit card portfolios. Federated, which is based in Cincinnati, OH, and May, which is headquarted in St. Louis, announced in February that...

CITIGROUP AGREES TO BUY FEDERATED, MAY CARD RECEIVABLES.
June 3, 2005... Citigroup Inc. will pay a premium of 11.5%, or about $760 million, to purchase the credit card portfolios of May Department Stores Inc. and Federated Department Stores Inc. Federated, which is based in Cincinnati, OH, announced in February that...

HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S CARD RECEIVABLES SINK.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Hudson's Bay Company, Canada's largest retailer, reported a 24% year-on-year drop in its private-label credit card receivables for the first quarter ending April 30. Credit card receivables were C$338 million (U.S.$271 million) compared to...

NEW BLUE CARD REVEALED.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A new era for the American Express Blue card began yesterday when the New York-based card issuer began issuing a new-look card with a contactless payment features, an AmEx spokesperson tells CardLine. Beginning June 1 all new Blue cards will...

GLOBAL PAYMENTS INKS THREE CASINOS.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Three Las Vegas casinos have signed deals to use Atlanta-based Global Payments Inc.'s cash access services. The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino, and the Tropicana Hotel and Casino will all use various parts of...

LEXUS, U.S. BANK INTRODUCE NEW COBRANDED CARD.(Lexus Financial Savings Bank )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Lexus Financial Savings Bank and U.S. Bank will introduce the Lexus Pursuits Visa Card this month, the two companies announced Wednesday. This new card will be the first Lexus-branded credit card and will allow cardholders to put rewards toward...

JUNIPER EXECUTIVE OUTLINES STRATEGY.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Kevin M. Sullivan, who was recently named senior director of business development for financial services at Juniper Bank, today laid out part of the issuer's strategy for growth over the next several years. Sullivan says Juniper will focus on...

MASTERCARD HIRES EXECUTIVES FOR COMMERCIAL PAYMENTS.(appointments )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... MasterCard International announced today it has expanded its Commercial Payments Solutions department, adding three executives in the last quarter to the division led by Senior Vice President Steve Abrams. Bruno Perreault has been named senior...

CHASE BLITZES ATLANTA WITH BLINK ADS AND CARDS.(Chase Card Services)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Chase Card Services is mailing out hundreds of thousands of its new 'blink' credit cards to Atlanta-area customers and launching a major advertising campaign to explain how to use the card's pay-with-a-wave contactless smart card feature. Chase...

CONSUMERS PREFER CONTACTLESS IN CARD FORM.(Chase Card Services)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Contactless chips can be embedded in keychain tags, cell phones and many other devices, but consumers told Chase they wanted it in payment cards, says Tom O'Donnell, senior vice president of Chase Card Services. "Their perspective can be summed...

HYPERCOM ALLIANCE ALLOWS FOR ADDITIONAL BIOMETRIC SIGNATURE CAPTURE.(SiVault Systems Inc)
June 10, 2005... Retailers that use Hypercom's Optimum L4100 point-of-sale payment and signature-capture terminals now can sign up for an additional biometric signature-authentication service. The service agreement was announced this week by Phoenix-based...

MBNA WILL MANAGE CARD PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS LENDER.(marketing agreement with CIT Small Business Lending Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... MBNA Corp. has signed a marketing agreement with CIT Small Business Lending Corp., which says it is the nation's largest Small Business Administration lender. MBNA will provide credit cards for CIT's customers throughout the United States, both...

AMERICAN EXPRESS UNIT CHOOSES NEW NAME.(American Express Financial Advisors Inc. to Ameriprise Financial)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... American Express Financial Advisors, which is being spun off by American Express Co., has selected Ameriprise Financial as its new name, company officials said recently. "The name Ameriprise reflects both our history and our strengths," Jim...

KEYCORP, GENPASS INK A DEAL.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Genpass Inc., manager of the MoneyPass EFT Network, a surcharge-free network and ATM driver, has signed an agreement with KeyCorp, one of the nation's largest financial institutions. According to the agreement, KeyCorp can offer its agent bank...

MASTERCARD PUBLISHES RULES ONLINE.(MasterCard International Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... MasterCard International yesterday published its rules for Member Service Providers, the independent sales organizations that sell card-acceptance services to merchants. The rules, which are free and are available to all interested parties,...

DEXIT HIRES TWO EXECUTIVES.(David Lloyd and Janet C. Martin appointed)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Dexit, Inc., the Toronto-based micropayments firm, has hired David Lloyd as chief information officer. Lloyd will be responsible for the ongoing technological development of the Dexit service, which allows consumers to pay with a contactless...

WASHINGTON MUTUAL AGREES TO BUY PROVIDIAN FOR $6.45 BILLION.(Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Washington Mutual Inc. has agreed to buy credit card issuer Providian Financial Corp. in a stock and cash deal worth $6.45 billion, the companies announced this morning. Joseph W. Saunders, Providian's chairman and CEO, will continue to run the...

WASHINGTON MUTUAL DEAL MEANS CHEAPER FUNDING FOR PROVIDIAN.(Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Washington Mutual Inc.'s planned $6.45 billion takeover of Providian Financial Corp. will give the San Francisco-based credit card issuer access to cheaper funding, more customers, and less restrictive capital reserve requirements, executives...

MONERIS PROCESSES FIRST INTERAC ONLINE PAYMENT.(Moneris Solutions Corp.'s service launch)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Moneris Solutions Corp. says it is the first Canadian payments company to process an Interac Online transaction. Interac Online is a new service that allows Canadians to pay for items purchased on the Web directly from their bank accounts. The...

DEJA RUMOR: MBNA REPORTEDLY BIDDING FOR EGG.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... MBNA Corp. is planning a $1.6 billion bid for UK online bank and card issuer Egg plc, according to British press reports, but none of the key parties are talking. "We don't comment on market rumors," an Egg spokesperson tells CardLine. A...

PAYPASS AND EXPRESSPAY ACCEPTANCE CONFIRMED AT 7-ELEVEN STORES.(MasterCard PayPass , American Express ExpressPay )(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... The world's largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven Inc., says it will accept MasterCard PayPass and American Express ExpressPay tap-and-go payment cards. 7-Eleven says all 5,300 of its U.S. stores will have compatible terminals by early...

CITIFINANCIAL DISCLOSES LOSS OF TAPES.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... CitiFinancial today disclosed that it lost tapes containing personal information about 3.9 million CitiFinancial branch network customers. CitiFinancial says the tapes were lost by UPS (United Parcel Service of America Inc.) while in transit to...

TNB BUYS FOUR CREDIT UNION CARD PORTFOLIOS.(TNB Card Services)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... TNB Card Services today announced that it has purchased four credit card portfolios from four credit unions. TNB, which is based in a Dallas suburb, bought portfolios from Delaware First Federal Credit Union of Wilmington, DE; County Credit...

AMEX NAILS DOWN AGREEMENT WITH HOME DEPOT CANADA.(American Express Canada Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... American Express Canada says that The Home Depot Canada will join its Membership Rewards consumer points program. The agreement means that Amex Canada cardholders will be able to use their points to make purchases at any of The Home Depot's...

U.S. BANK ENHANCES INTERNET, BILL PAY WEB SITE.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... U.S. Bank today announced that it has added enhancements to usbank.com, the bank's Internet banking and bill-pay service. The enhancements include same day or next day payments for many billers, easier addition of new billers, and a payment...

REVOLVING CREDIT DROPS A SEASONALLY ADJUSTED $500 MILLION IN APRIL.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... The Federal Reserve Bank reported this afternoon that revolving credit, which is mostly credit card debt, declined $500 million in April on a seasonally adjusted basis. The nation's central bank says revolving credit was $795.9 billion in April...

BEFORE PROVIDIAN, WAMU HAD OTHER CARD-ISSUING PLANS.(Providian Financial Corp., Washington Mutual Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Washington Mutual Inc. had several plans to issue credit cards on the back burner before the Seattle-based savings and loan signed a deal to purchase Providian Financial Corp., the country's ninth-largest credit card issuer, for $6.45 billion...

SMALL CREDIT CARD ISSUERS OFFER BEST ONLINE EXPERIENCE.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Smaller credit card issuers came out on top for offering the best online experience for customers, according to a study released this week scoring 26 credit card issuers on their ability to meet the needs of customers shopping for credit cards....

STUDY: 83% OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS USE CREDIT CARDS FOR PURCHASES.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... A study of small business owners finds that 83% use credit cards for purchases and payments, and 67% of those users report their primary card is a business credit card. Edgar, Dunn & Co. and its Collective Dynamics, LLC division recently...

EXXONMOBIL CALLS RECENT CARD PROMOTION A SUCCESS.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Gasoline retailer ExxonMobil offered more than 80,000 credit cards to individuals during a recently completed three-month promotion, the company reported today. ExxonMobil teamed with GE Consumer Finance, the cards' issuer, during the promotion...

AMEX SAYS SPIN-OFF WILL COST $945 MILLION PRETAX.(Ameriprise Financial Corp)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... American Express Co. said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing today that the spin-off of Ameriprise Financial Corp., formerly known as American Express Financial Advisors, will cost $945 million pretax through 2008. Of the total...

HYPERCOM FINGERS DEAL WITH PAY BY TOUCH.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Hypercom Corp. reported today its HBNet Inc. subsidiary would provide high-speed transaction transport services for the biometric firm Pay By Touch. HBNet will act as an aggregator, authorizing and processing transactions routed by merchants...

CO-OP OPENS A GATEWAY TO ALASKA.(CO-OP Network's contract with Alaska Option)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... CO-OP Network, the credit union-owned EFT network, and Alaska Option, Alaska's leading EFT network, today announced that they have agreed to open a gateway link between the two services. The agreement gives credit unions that use Alaska Option...

MOTLEY FOOL FOOLISHLY FORGETS TO LIST AMEX CARD.(American Express Co., MBNA Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... MBNA Corp. and American Express Co. expanded their issuing relationship on Friday, offering an AmEx-branded Motley Fool credit card. The Motley Fool sent an e-mail announcing the card, but failed to post an ad for the AmEx card on its Web site,...

HSBC TO BUY NEIMAN MARCUS CARD ACCOUNTS.
June 10, 2005... HSBC Retail Services announced today it would buy the private-label credit card portfolio of high-end retailer Neiman Marcus Group and its subsidiary Bergdorf Goodman, Inc. for $640 million. The announcement follows the acquisition last month...

MERCHANTS CAN CLAIM MONEY FROM DEBIT CARD LAWSUIT.(MasterCard International Inc., Visa U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Millions of claims forms will soon be mailed out to merchants involved in the multibillion dollar debit card lawsuit against Visa USA and MasterCard International. "Now that the appeals process has run its course we can now begin going into the...

HIGHER GAS PRICES PROMPT CONSUMERS TO RETHINK MAJOR CREDIT PURCHASES.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Higher gasoline prices are prompting some consumers to put off major credit purchases they were considering for at least the next six months although consumers are still using credit at a healthy pace, according to the June Cambridge Consumer...

PRINCETON ECOM TO PROVIDE PROCESSING FOR BANK OF THE WEST.(PayAnyone)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Princeton eCom, a provider of electronic payment technology, announced today that its PayAnyone product has been selected by Bank of the West to provide payments processing for the bank's online retail banking customers. eCom says PayAnyone is...

FRUSTRATED BILLERS WANT TO BYPASS CARD ASSOCIATIONS.(Retail Decisions Inc)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Recurring billers such as utilities and telecom firms are aggressively seeking alternatives to credit cards for customers who want to pay online, Jeff Foster, executive vice president, Retail Decisions Inc., tells CardLine. This is driven by...

CAPITAL ONE TO SHUT DOWN AND RELOCATE CALIFORNIA CAR LOAN OPERATION.(Capital One Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Capital One Financial Corp. today announced that it will consolidate its direct-to-consumer auto lending business by closing its Internet car loan operation in San Diego, CA, at the end of March. As part of the consolidation the company will...

CO-OP NETWORK ELECTS NEW BOARD OFFICERS.(David Maus)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... David Maus, president and CEO of Colorado's Public Service Credit Union, has been elected chairman of the board for the Ontario, CA-based Co-Op Network. Maus, who has been a board member since 2000, succeeds Tom Sargent, whose two-year term...

U.S. BANK ADDS NEW COLLEGE CARD TO ROSTER.(U.S. Bank N.A)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... This fall, student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will receive a new ID card that also will allow them to make purchases at campus facilities, officials announced Tuesday. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank has 24 similar programs at...

EFUNDS AGREES TO BUY WILDCARD SYSTEMS FOR $228.8 MILLION.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... eFunds Corp. this afternoon announced that it has agreed to purchase WildCard Systems Inc., a privately held provider of prepaid and stored-value cards to financial institutions and retailers, for $228.8 million. The deal also includes an...

COLORADO NEXT ON THE "BLINK" LIST.(Chase Bank International)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... More than 500,000 Chase Bank USA cardholders will be the next to receive the new "blink" tap-and-go credit cards. Chase, a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., introduced the new contactless payment cards in Georgia earlier this month. Chase will...

INGENICO AND OTI ALLY.(Ingenico North America, On Track Innovations Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Ingenico North America, a unit of France-based Ingenico, will use contactless payment technology from On Track Innovations, an Israeli company, in some of its point-of-sale terminals. Ingenico will integrate the OTI technology into the eN-Touch...

YODLEE IN ALLIANCE WITH PASSMARK SECURITY.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Online financial services aggregation provider Yodlee Inc. will add PassMark Security's two-way two-factor authentication technology to its online bill payment and personal financial management services. Yodlee's alliance with California-based...

KEY AMERICAN EXPRESS EXECUTIVE ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT.(David House)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... American Express Co. today announced that David House, one of the issuer's top executives, will retire this year but will remain on as a consultant to company chairman and CEO Kenneth Chenault and other senior executives. Chenault announced...

AMEX WAS AN EARLY BIDDER FOR THE NEIMAN MARCUS PORTFOLIO.(American Express Co., Neiman Marcus Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... American Express Co. was one of the initial bidders for Neiman Marcus Group's private-label credit card portfolio, CardLine has learned. AmEx submitted a bid during a preliminary round, but the New York City-based issuer was not a late-round...

BANK OF AMERICA ENTERS CREDIT CARD DEAL WITH MEXICANA AIRLINES.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Bank of America Corp. is partnering with Mexicana Airlines to offer reward-based credit cards. People using the Mexicana Airlines Visa Platinum credit card will earn a coupon for a free companion ticket after their first purchase and receive a...

CITI CARDS IS EXPANDING IN OHIO.(markets)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Citi Cards, the credit card-issuing arm of Citigroup Inc., yesterday announced that it is expanding its site in Columbus, OH, but it has nothing to do with Citi's recent purchase of card receivables from Cincinnati-based Federated Department...

EBAY NAMES EQUIFAX AS PREFERRED CREDIT REPORT PROVIDER.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Equifax Inc. has signed a deal with eBay to sell personal credit reports and ID theft-prevention services to the online auction site's 147 million users. It has set up the Equifax Credit Zone, http://creditzone.ebay.com, on eBay, where users...

DIEBOLD SAYS ONE OF ITS PLANTS WILL CLOSE.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... Diebold Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of ATMs, announced today that it is closing a plant in Danville, VA, to realign its U.S. manufacturing operations and to become more "cost competitive" across the entire company. George...

PUMPSTART CARD DEFLATES DRIVE-AWAY GAS THEFTS.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... The PumpStart Card, Tulsa-based petroleum retailer QuikTrip is rolling out isn't a payment card. But it allows customers who want to tender cash at some QuikTrip stations to fill up before they pay up. QuikTrip Corp. has implemented a pay-first...

AMEX WILL ISSUE BILLING STATEMENTS IN BRAILLE OR LARGE PRINT.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... American Express Co. today announced the availability of Braille or large-print monthly billing statements for blind or visually impaired cardholders in the United States. AmEx cardholders can request the service by calling 1-800-528-4800 or...

PAY BY TOUCH COMPLETES INSTALLATION IN 82 PIGGLY WIGGLY STORES.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., which operates supermarkets in South Carolina and southeast Georgia, yesterday completed installation of Pay By Touch's biometric payment system in the last of the 82 Piggly Wiggly stores that will use the service...

SOUTH KOREANS SPENT RECORD AMOUNTS ON THEIR CARDS OVERSEAS.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... Spurred on by the high value of the won against the U.S. dollar, South Koreans have been spending record amounts on their credit cards overseas, according to figures from the Bank of Korea. According to the central bank, Koreans spent U.S. $790...

ASSETEXCHANGE BROKERS DEAL FOR FORMER MBNA EXECUTIVE.(appointed Ron Turochy as vice president)(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... AssetExchange, the Portland, OR-based credit card portfolio-brokerage firm, has named former MBNA America executive Ron Turochy to the newly created position of vice president. William C. Koo, AssetExchange CEO, tells CardLine that the company...

BPD BANK LAUNCHES REMITTANCE SERVICE.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... New York-based BPD Bank has launched ServiCash, an international electronic remittance program that enables U.S. residents to send money to any country in the ServiCash network. The service initially will target the huge numbers of individuals...

DISCOVER WILL LOSE ITS CHAMPION, BUT SPIN-OFF WILL PROCEED.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... Morgan Stanley will move forward with its spin-off of Discover Financial Services and its Discover card in the next three to six months, Philip J. Purcell, chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley, said during a conference call...

DISCOVER HAS BUILT A BIOMETRIC-PAYMENTS INFRASTRUCTURE.
June 17, 2005... Discover Financial Services has built a promising biometric-payments infrastructure that could lower merchant costs to card-present from card-not-present rates, according to two recent reports from TowerGroup, the MasterCard International-owned...