Cardline articles from March 2003

Cardline archives from March 2003

FITCH RATINGS EXPECTS BANKRUPTCIES TO GO HIGHER.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Fitch Ratings expects personal bankruptcies to rise 8% in 2003 to 1.65 million from 2002's record 1.53 million because of the economy, Richard Drason, a director in the asset-backed securities group, tells CardLine today. "It's the effect of...

MBNA TO ISSUE AEROPLAN CARD IN U.S.(Air Canada selects MBNA America Bank to issue credit card )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Aeroplan, Air Canada's frequent-flier program, today said it has selected Wilmington, DE-based MBNA Corp.'s MBNA America Bank to issue a cobranded MasterCard in the U.S. The Montreal-based airline has extensive U.S. operations, and Aeroplan has...

MANY DEBIT CARD USERS ARE STILL WRITING CHECKS.(Star electronic funds transfer network survey)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... New survey data suggest that more can done to reduce check writing at the point of sale, even among those consumers who regularly use debit cards. A national survey of more than 11,000 consumers conducted last fall for the Maitland, FL-based...

METRIS WILL NOT PAY DIVIDEND AFTER ALL.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Metris Companies Inc. late Thursday said that it will not pay a 1 cent per share stockholder dividend the card issuer had declared earlier that day because the payout would violate its credit agreement. The agreement prohibits Minnetonka,...

STARBUCKS LAUNCHES SWEEPSTAKES.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Starbucks Corp. has launched a sweepstakes promoting the use of its prepaid card. The sweepstakes offers a six-day trip to Italy for two and a Vespa motor scooter as its grand prize. To enter, consumers must register their cards with Starbucks....

7-ELEVEN TESTS RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE BILL PAYMENTS IN FLORIDA.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. has begun a test in Florida that allows consumers to pay their Verizon Communications' residential telephone bills through the convenience-store chain's Vcom kiosks, Jay Giesen, 7-Eleven vice president and general...

CARDTRONICS, GENPASS SIGN AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Cardtronics Inc., the Houston-based independent sales organization, has signed a long-term agreement with Genpass Inc., the Fort Washington, PA-based electronic funds transfer network owner, ATM driver and transaction processor. Genpass will...

FINAL CARDFAX.(CardFax to be electronically published)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Today marks CardFax's final issue. Beginning Monday, all subscribers will receive CardLine, CardFax's e-mail edition. Faulkner & Gray Inc. launched CardFax in 1990. Thomson Corp., owner of CardFax publisher Thomson Media, later purchased F&G....

TSYS TAKES BANK ONE CARD-PROCESSING CONTRACT AWAY FROM FIRST DATA.(Total System Services Inc. signs card-processing and software-licensing agreement with Bank One Corp.)
March 7, 2003... Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) today announced that it had signed a major card-processing and software-licensing agreement with Bank One Corp., taking the business away from archrival First Data Corp. TSYS and Bank One, the world's largest...

TSYS' USSERY- BANK ONE CONTRACT MARKS A TURNING POINT.(Total System Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... A delighted Richard W. Ussery, Total System Services Inc.'s (TSYS') chairman and CEO, says today marks a turning point for the Columbus, GA-based company and a validation of its TS2 card-processing platform. "With the Bank One Corp....

FIRST DATA IS DISAPPOINTED WITH BANK ONE'S DECISION.(First Data Corp. loses contract with Bank One Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... First Data Corp., which has processed Chicago-based Bank One's Visa portfolio since before Bank One purchased First USA in 1998, today issued a statement acknowledging that it had lost the Bank One account. "While we're disappointed that Bank...

FIRST DATA TO TAKE ONLY LIGHT HIT.(loss of Bank One Corp. contract will not effect profits)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The specter of losing Bank One Corp.'s 50 million card accounts will have no effect on First Data Corp.'s profits this year because of the lengthy conversion cycle, and possibly none at all over time, according to U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray...

CAPITAL ONE'S CFO RESIGNS AMID SEC INVESTIGATION.(David M. Willey )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Capital One Financial Corp xecutive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David M. Willey today resigned after receiving notice that the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plans to recommend that the SEC sue him for...

HACKED ACCOUNTS UP TO 10.2 MILLION.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... DPI Merchant Services disclosed Friday night that the number of credit card accounts affected by a hacker's recent unauthorized intrusion into its processing system is now 10.2 million arlier estimates had put the number at about eight million...

INTERCEPT RESTRUCTURES MERCHANT-SERVICES DIVISION.
March 7, 2003... InterCept Inc. announced today it has restructured its merchant-services division by combining its Internet Billing Co. (iBill), and InterCept Payment Solutions (formerly EPX) divisions with its Tennessee-based merchant-services operations. The...

BANK ONE, DISNEY LAUNCH COBRANDED REWARDS CARD.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Bank One Corp., Mickey Mouse, and The Walt Disney Co. today launched a cobranded Disney rewards card at The New York Stock Exchange and at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, Philip Heasley, chairman and CEO of Bank One Card Services, tells CardLine....

FOTE - FIRST DATA EXPECTED TO LOSE BANK ONE ACCOUNT.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... First Data Corp. Chairman and CEO Charles Fote told analysts in Boston today that the company expected to lose Bank One Corp.'s card-processing account after the Chicago-based issuer moved in-house its card-related printing, mailing and...

WHY BANK ONE LIKES TS2.(Total System Services Inc.'s processing platform)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Total System Services Inc.'s (TSYS) TS2 card-processing platform will allow Bank One Corp. to offer customized cards to cardholders, helping Bank One to retain them as customers, Philip Heasley, chairman and CEO of Bank One Card Services, tells...

COMPETITION TO GROW ALONG WITH ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... As electronic transactions replace cash and other paper forms of payment at the point of sale, competition among new technologies to become the predominant form of electronic payment also will grow. But whether the future of payments will move...

MASTERCARD PLANS DEBIT CAMPAIGN.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... MasterCard International will launch this spring a debit card promotional campaign called "Priceless Night on the Town," with national television commercials, radio and print advertising, and various statement stuffers. Richard Lyons,...

ATM EXPRESS JOINS NYCE.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The ATM Express Inc., an independent sales organization based in Billings, MT, will join the NYCE electronic funds transfer network and will use NYCE to drive ATMs, according to a joint NYCE and ATM Express announcement. The ISO will use NYCE's...

CITIES ASSOCIATION SELECTS FIRST HORIZON.(National Association of Cities contracts First Horizon Merchant Services Inc. for credit card processing services )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The National Association of Cities has selected First Horizon Merchant Services Inc. to offer credit card processing services to NAC's more than 10,000 members. The service will allow small cities and towns to offer an additional way for...

BIOMETRIC COMPANY'S BOARD VOTES TO SELL THE BUSINESS.(Indivos Corp. to be acquired by Solidus Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Indivos Corp.'s board Friday approved the company's sale to Solidus Networks Inc., a San Francisco-based company that invests in the payment-processing industry, Eric Bachman, Solidus chief operating officer, tells CardLine today. Bachman...

S&P CUTS RATINGS FOR SPIEGEL'S FIRST CONSUMERS NATIONAL BANK.(Standard & Poor's )
March 7, 2003... Standard & Poor's today lowered ratings on card bonds for Spiegel Inc.'s First Consumers National Bank, because FCNB is unlikely to sell its Visa and MasterCard portfolio before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's April 1 deadline....

ABNH, MASTERCARD EXTEND CONTRACT.(American Bank Note Holographics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... American Bank Note Holographics Inc. and MasterCard International today announced that they had extended their current contract for a minimum of five more years, with ABNH continuing to serve as the primary provider of security holograms for...

TSYS GIVES GUIDANCE ON BANK ONE CONTRACT IMPACT.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Card processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) Tuesday said that its new contract with Chicago-based Bank One Corp., owner of more than 50 million Visa card accounts, will be immaterial to 2003's earnings, but will contribute 3 cents to 4...

GLOBAL PAYMENTS JOINS VISA'S CHECK SERVICES PROGRAM.
March 7, 2003... Visa U.S.A. today announced that Global Payments Inc.'s Global Payments Check Services Group is participating in Visa's point-of-sale check services program, a Visa spokesperson tells CardLine. As a merchant processor, Atlanta-based Global will...

ROYAL CARIBBEAN OFFERS CARD TO FACILITATE A WARM GETAWAY.(Royal Caribbean launches rewards Platinum Plus Visa card)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... With snow still covering much of the nation, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is offering a prescription for residents who want to escape the cold. The Miami-based cruise line Tuesday launched the Royal Caribbean cobranded rewards Platinum Plus...

BANK OF CHINA'S CREDIT CARD JOINS CHINESE AIRLINES' FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... China Southern Airlines, The People's Republic of China's largest airline, announced today that Bank of China Great Wall International Credit Card has joined China Southern's frequent-flier program, The Sky Pearl Club. Sky Pearl Club members...

VISA ANNOUNCES TRUNCATION INITIATIVE.(only last 4 digits of credit card numbers to be shown on receipts to prevent identity theft)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... At a press conference today on Capitol Hill, Visa U.S.A. CEO Carl Pascarella announced that, effective July 1, receipts from all new payment terminals that process Visa cards can show no more than the last four digits of a customer's Visa card...

AMEX TESTS WAVE-'N-GO PAYMENT.(American Express Co. tests ExpressPay)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... American Express Co. is the latest organization to test a payment device that consumers can wave past a reader, like the successful ExxonMobil SpeedPass. AmEx calls its product ExpressPay, and has tested it with 1,000 employees in Phoenix and...

POS TERMINAL SHIPMENTS UP IN 2002.(point-of-sale)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Manufacturers in 2002 shipped an estimated 1,956,731 point-of-sale payment card terminals in North America, up 12.3% from 1,742,249 devices the previous year, according to ATM&Debit News, a CardLine sister publication. That compares with 4.6%...

BANK ONE - LOSS OF MILEAGE PLUS WOULD HURT.(possible liquidation of reward card with Bank One)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... If bankrupt United Airlines Inc. is forced to liquidate, ending its cobranded Mileage Plus reward card with Bank One, it would have a significant impact on Bank One's card unit, Bank One said Wednesday in a U.S. Securities and Exchange...

GE PICKS UP CONSECO'S RETAIL CARD UNIT.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... General Electric Co.'s GE Consumer Finance unit, which includes the nation's largest third-party store card issuer, Wednesday said it will acquire Conseco Finance Corp.'s sales-finance operation for $310 million. The acquisition includes $2.4...

INTERCEPT REPORTS FINANCIALS.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... InterCept Inc. yesterday reported higher net revenues for 2002 and the fourth quarter, but posted losses due to non-recurring charges and continuing problems at its Netzee affiliate, which it sold at the end of the year. InterCept recorded net...

KELEGHAN, SEARS TRIAL DATE SET.( Kevin T. Keleghan files breach of contract and defamation suit against Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Alan J. Lacy)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Lake County, IL Circuit Court Judge Henry C. Tonigan today scheduled a Jan. 20, 2004 trial date for the lawsuit filed by Kevin T. Keleghan, Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s former president of credit and financial products, against Sears and its...

U.S. SIGNATURE-BASED DEBIT TRANSACTION GROWTH SLOWS.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... U.S. consumers in 2002 initiated 8.16 billion signature-based purchases with their Visa check and debit MasterCard cards, up 22.2% from 6.68 billion transactions in 2001, according to ATM&Debit News, a CardLine sister publication. That compares...

SURVEY - 6% OF CARDHOLDERS NO LONGER PAYING CARD BILLS.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... In what only could be interpreted as a bad omen for card issuers, 6% of cardholders-double last year's 3%-have stopped paying their card bills because they don't have the money, yet they need their cards to make purchases, according to a survey...

JANUARY'S REVOLVING CONSUMER CREDIT ROSE 2.3%.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... The Federal Reserve today reported that seasonally adjusted consumer revolving credit totaled $717.4 billion in January, up 2.3% from January 2002's revised $701.3 billion. Consumer revolving credit increased at annualized rate of 7.6% in...

MODULE READS MULTIPLE RADIO-FREQUENCY TECHNOLOGIES.(Texas Instruments Inc.'s RFid Systems unit introduces multifunction reader)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Plano, TX-based Texas Instruments Inc.'s RFid Systems unit, whose radio-frequency technology is used in ExxonMobil Corp.'s Speedpass transponders, has introduced a multifunction reader module to enable merchants to accept contactless devices...

ETHAN ALLEN OFFERS COMBINATION CARD.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Furniture retailer Ethan Allen Inc. is offering customers a new combination credit card issued by General Electric Co.'s Consumer Finance unit. The Ethan Allen Finance Card offers the retailer's customers two payment options, Peg Lupton, Ethan...

EURONET, GENPASS SIGN THREE-YEAR AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Copyright c 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Euronet Worldwide Inc. has signed a three-year contract with Genpass Inc., which drives 24,000 U.S. ATMs, to promote Euronet's PaySpot prepaid wireless services and long-distance...

PNC BANK WILL ISSUE PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW CARD.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... PNC Bank, a Visa issuer and a presenting sponsor of the Philadelphia Flower Show, recently announced that it is issuing a Philadelphia Flower Show Check Card, in which some card fees will be donated to the Philadelphia Horticultural Society....

CONCORD STOCK PRICE TUMBLES; COMPANY FOR SALE?(Concord EFS Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... The price per share of Concord EFS Inc. stock on the New York Stock Exchange today fell 17.7%, to $8.52 per share at 2 p.m. CST, stoked by investment analysts' fears that the Memphis, TN-based transaction processor was having difficulty...

SEC FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST SPIEGEL.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission's Enforcement Division has filed a civil complaint against Spiegel Inc., charging that the company violated federal securities laws "by withholding material information from the public." The complaint,...

CAPITAL ONE SAYS DISCLOSURES WERE APPROPRIATE.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Capital One Financial Corp. today said that it was appropriate to privately disclose to some investors and lenders that David M. Willey, the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer, would resign amid a U.S. Securities and...

MBNA SIGNS CARD-ISSUING AGREEMENT WITH SPANISH BANK.(MBNA Espana reaches deal with Banco Cooperativo)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... MBNA Corp.'s MBNA Espana today announced that it has signed an agreement with Madrid, Spain-based Banco Cooperativo to provide credit cards and services to Banco's 75 member banks throughout Spain. MBNA Espana, which is based in Las Rozas,...

TSYS SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PROCESS SEARS' COMMERCIAL CARDS.(Total System Services Inc. reaches deal with Sears, Roebuck and Co.)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Total System Services Inc. today announced that it (TSYS) has signed a seven-year agreement with retailer Sears, Roebuck and Co. to process its private-label commercial cards. Sears' commercial cards are used by companies to purchase products...

BILLSERVE PUTS ITSELF UP FOR SALE.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Billserv Inc., one of the smaller players in the electronic bill payment and presentment market, has hired the investment banking firm of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., to pursue a sale, merger or a similar strategic transaction, the company announced...

OFFICIAL PAYMENTS SIGNS AGREEMENT.(reaches deal with Orange County, Florida)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Official Payments Corp. has signed an agreement with Orange County, FL, that allows residents to pay real estate and property taxes with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards. Stamford, CT-based Official Payments is a...

SPIEGEL'S CARD BONDS GO INTO EARLY AMORTIZATION.(US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Downers Grove, IL-based retailer Spiegel Inc. today said that six securitizations backed by its bank card and private-label card receivables are going into early amortization. The securitizations totaled $2.2 billon. Three of the issues went...

FIRST DATA, SCOTIABANK SIGN CARD-PROCESSING AGREEMENT.(covering the Caribbean, El Salvador and Costa Rica)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... First Data Corp. has signed a seven-year agreement to process Scotiabank's consumer, retail and commercial credit cards in two Central American countries and the Caribbean, a Scotiabank spokesperson tells CardLine today. First Data is...

CARD COMPANIES AND THE ASSOCIATIONS ARE BATTLE READY.(doublechecking network security, US)
March 14, 2003... The threat of war with Iraq has American Express Co., Discover Financial Services and the two card associations double-checking the security of their networks. Spokespersons for the four decline to reveal details, but say they have contingency...

CARD COMPANIES PREPARE FOR TRAVEL DISRUPTION.(US)
March 14, 2003... Card companies are closely monitoring the unfolding threat of war and its possible effect on world travel. American Express Co. will review cardholder disputes involving disrupted travel plans on a case-by-case basis. "We will stand by the...

NONPAYMENT OF CARD BILLS SPREADING; IRAQ IS A FACTOR.(higher income households and college graduates now have stopped paying, US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Non-payment of credit card bills, once mostly the province of U.S. households with incomes under $25,000 annually, is now spreading to higher income households and to college graduates, the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index is reporting....

MORE MEN HAVE STOPPED USING CREDIT CARDS.(for purchases in the past month, US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... A higher percentage of men compared with women have stopped using their credit cards to make purchases in the last month, according to Cambridge Consumer Credit Index's telephone survey of more than 1,000 adults. The results, released last...

DIEBOLD TAKES WRAPS OFF NEW ATMS.(US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Diebold Inc., the U.S.'s largest ATM manufacturer, today unveiled a new line of ATMs. Diebold's new ATM family is called Opteva. The North Canton, OH-based company describes Opteva as a technologically advanced ATM product line that includes...

MASTERCARD ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP OF SOCCER EVENTS.(agrees to renew sponsorship for 5 major tournaments, world)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... MasterCard International today announced in Berlin, Germany, that it has signed agreements renewing its sponsorship of five of the world's most prestigious soccer tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup- one of the world's most-watched...

MASTERCARD ORGANIZES SHORT TEXT MESSAGING TEAM.(to advise member banks in Europe)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... MasterCard International today said it has organized a team in Europe to advise member banks on how they can effectively use short text messaging to market cards and build cardholder loyalty. Short text messaging, which is popular in Europe, is...

ACH TO LAUNCH ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.
March 14, 2003... Automated clearing house network operators the Federal Reserve System and the Electronic Payments Network will for the first time launch a $1 million national advertising campaign promoting the benefits of direct deposit and direct payment, a...

NACHA TO RENAME EBT COUNCIL.(now called Electronic Benefits and Services Council (EBS Council), US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Herndon, VA-based NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association is renaming its EBT Council. The council, which oversees rules and operating procedures for electronic benefits transfer programs, is now called the Electronic Benefits and Services...

EFUNDS RENEWS CONTRACT WITH CO-OP NETWORK.(US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Scottsdale, AZ-based eFunds Corp., an ATM operator and electronic funds transfer transaction processor, has renewed a key transaction-processing contract with the CO-OP Network, the Ontario, CA-based credit-union EFT network Funds will continue...

CYBERTEL NAMES MANAGEMENT TEAM.(Cybertel Communications Corp., US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Cybertel Holdings' Cybertel Communications Corp. has named a management team to lead its quest to become the card of choice for affinity group members. The Vista, CA-based company named Lawrence W. Abler president, and Ronald F. Williams...

ALLIANCE DATA SIGNS AGREEMENT.(with CPL Retail Energy LP and WTU Retail Energy LP, US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Alliance Data Systems Corp. will provide billing and customer service for CPL Retail Energy L.P. and WTU Retail Energy L.P. Dallas-based Alliance Data will provide call-center support, statement generation and remittance processing. The U.S....

HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES BANKRUPTCY BILL.(US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... The U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee Wednesday afternoon approved the new card industry-backed bankruptcy bill, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. The Republican-controlled committee voted 18 to 11 along party lines,...

HUMBOLDT COMPLETES SALE OF MERCHANT PORTFOLIO.(sells merchant bank card-processing division to Humboldt Merchant Services L.P., US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Humboldt Bancorp's Humboldt Bank today announced that it has completed the sale of its merchant bank card-processing division to Humboldt Merchant Services L.P., a newly formed affilate of First National Bank Holding Co., for $32 million in...

MASTERCARD HOLDS ASIA-PACIFIC BOARD MEETING IN BEIJING.(emphasizing China's increasing importance to the company)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Copyright c 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. MasterCard International held its first Asia-Pacific board meeting in Beijing, China, last month, underscoring China's growing importance to MasterCard. The card association first...

COMPANY HAS DEBIT CARD FOR PRIVATE JET FLEETS.(Marquis Jet Partners issues debit card for jet rental, US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Marquis Jet Partners Inc., a New York-based company that buys and resells blocks of flight time on private jets, has issued a debit card for corporations and individuals who want to rent a private jet with as little as 10 hours advance notice....

JAPANESE ISSUER SELECTS CYOTA.(to provide Verified by Visa Internet security for its UFJ Card users, Japan)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Japan's UFJ Card, one of the country's largest issuers with seven million cardholders, has selected Cyota to provide Verfied by Visa Internet security technology for UFJ's Visa cardholders. "We have designed our suite of products to meet the...

E-CLASSICSYSTEMS, PALM DESERT NATIONAL BANK SIGN CONTRACT.(E-ClassicSystems Inc. and Palm Desert National Bank are working together)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... E-ClassicSystems Inc., a Norwood, MA-based ATM management software company, is partnering with Palm Desert National Bank in Palm Desert, CA -Classic will provide Palm Desert, a leading supplier of vault cash to off-premise ATM operators and...

CARDTRONICS SIGNS AN AGREEMENT.(EFMARK will provide maintenance services for ATMs, US)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Copyright c 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cardtronics, a Houston-based ATM independent sales organization, today announced that it has signed an agreement with EFMARK Service Co. of Chicago. EFMARK will provide ATM...

U.S. ATM SHIPMENTS SHOW SIGNS OF LIFE.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Following a 17% drop in 2001, U.S. ATM shipments recovered somewhat in 2002, according to ATM&Debit News' annual survey released this week. Manufacturers last year shipped 50,954 ATMs, up 3.5% compared with 2001's 49,241, reports ATM&Debit...

MASTERCARD WANTS ITS OWN MERCHANT TRIAL.("honor-all-cards" trial)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... In motions filed today, attorneys for MasterCard International are asking U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, NY, to order separate trials in the so-called Wal-Mart class-action antitrust case. In that case, more than 4 million...

MERCHANTS' LEAD ATTORNEY SAYS MOTION TOO LATE.(Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International 'honor-all-cards" class action suit)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... In a prepared statement, Lloyd Constantine, the lead attorney for the more than 4 million merchants represented in the class-action litigation challenging Visa U.S.A.'s and MasterCard International's 'honor-all-cards" rules, says MasterCard's...

U.S. FILES ENFORCEMENT SUMMONS IN TAX CASE.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... The U.S. Justice Department Thursday filed enforcement petitions against an undetermined number of individuals who use MasterCard credit and debit cards issued by Leadenhall Bank & Trust Co. in Nassau, Bahamas, allegedly to avoid paying U.S....

TWO MORE VISA ISSUERS ARE READY TO OFFER SMART CARDS.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... While rollouts are being delayed by economic uncertainty, another two Visa members are prepared to offer smart cards, Diana P. Knox, senior vice president of chip products at Visa U.S.A., tells CardLine. The two unnamed issuers are keeping...

TARGET SMART CARD REWARDS ARE COMING.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Executives at Target Corp. are not talking, but Visa U.S.A xecutives say the No. 2 U.S. retailer will begin offering rewards on its Visa-branded, chip-based credit cards "in the coming months." While not elaborating on Target's plans, Patrick...

HUMBOLDT BANK WILL DROP ISOS PROCESSING.(independent sales organizations)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Humboldt Bank, which completed the sale Thursday of its proprietary merchant bank card processing business to First National Bank Holding Co., also will stop serving four independent sales organizations by the end of the year, Robert M....

SPIEGEL FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY.
March 21, 2003... Spiegel Inc. and its principal subsidiaries, troubled by high card chargeoffs and poor sales, today filed for voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Downers Grove, IL-based...

MASTERCARD'S $3 SMART CARD NOW COSTS $2.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... MasterCard International has announced a one-third reduction in the cost of a smart card that can handle several payment and nonpayment features. Shuan Ghaidan, vice president of Advanced Payment Systems in MasterCard's Asia-Pacific region,...

US AIRWAYS SIGNS ACQUIRER.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Bankrupt US Airways Inc. has signed an agreement with an unnamed merchant acquirer that it will transition to if it emerges from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy March 31, a spokesperson tells CardLine today ational Processing Inc.'s National Processing...

MBNA LOSSES FALL, SHARES RISE.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... MBNA Corp.'s stock rose 10% today in the wake of a report by the card issuer showing lower losses in its $107 billion loan portfolio for February. A similar filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for January that showed higher...

FIFTH THIRD ENHANCES CARDHOLDER REWARDS.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank today announced that all existing and new customers issued debit MasterCards and MasterCard credit cards now qualify to participate in the bank's rewards program. Fifth Third launched the program last June in a...

IRS ISSUES ADVISORY.(Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative )(Brief Article)
March 21, 2003... The Internal Revenue Service today advised U.S. citizens that they have until April 15 to participate in the IRS' Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative if they have credit or debit cards issued by offshore banks allegedly to avoid paying...