Cardline articles from March 2006

Cardline archives from March 2006

CARDSYSTEMS PLEDGES TO UPGRADE SECURITY.(CardSystems Solutions Inc. was accused for negligence in maintaining security by Federal Trade Commission)
March 3, 2006... CardSystems Solutions has settled government claims that it failed to provide sufficient security for some 40 million credit and debit card accounts, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement requires CardSystems Solutions --...

DODGERS AND THE PADRES WILL ACCEPT THE BLINK CARD.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres are converting their stadiums to accept contactless card payments, CardLine has learned. The Dodgers, who play at Dodger Stadium, and the Padres, who play at Petco Park, plan to have their...

CIRRUS FOUNDER BURCHFIELD DIES.(Bruce Allen Burchfield)(Obituary)
March 3, 2006... Bruce Allen Burchfield, who played a central role in developing Cirrus into a national ATM network, died this month. As head of electronic banking at the First National Bank of Chicago Burchfield developed the idea of a network of ATMs. In...

ALLIANCE TAKES NEW YORK.(Alliance Data Systems contracts with New York & Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced yesterday it would provide a cobranded credit card program for New York & Co., a specialty merchant in the moderately priced women's apparel segment. Cardholders will be automatically enrolled in a rewards...

FREE ACCESS GETS COSTLIER FOR CO-OP NETWORK MEMBERS.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The cost for credit unions to have fee-free access to nonbank ATMs is going up for Co-Op Network's 1,800 credit union members. As of May 1, the Co-Op will increase from 60 cents to 70 cents the interchange fee paid by debit card issuers to...

NEW SMART CARD TO HAVE PAYMENT FUNCTION AT FLORIDA UNIVERSITY.(Nova Southeastern University )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, will issue about 30,000 student and employee ID smart cards that not only would act as a network and physical access cards but eventually have a payment function on and off-campus, says...

GE RE-UPS WITH VERIFONE.(General Electric Consumer Finance contracts with VeriFone Holdings Corp)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... General Electric Consumer Finance expanded its contract with VeriFone Holdings Corp. to take advantage of its wireless capabilities that allow contractors to process both payments and credit card applications on the spot. VeriFone yesterday...

BRIEFS.(Elan Financial Services contracts with New Horizons Credit Union)(USA ePay certifies ExaDigm Inc.'s point of sale terminal)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Elan Financial Services will provide ATM and debit processing for New Horizons Credit Union of Cincinnati. New Horizons members also will have access to Elan's two surcharge-free ATM networks, Fastbank Free and MoneyPass.... USA ePay certified...

NO VISA CREDIT INTERCHANGE INCREASE IN '06, REPORT.(by Visa U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Visa won't increase credit card interchange this year because of competition for merchant volume, according to a report Friday from a leading banking analyst. Howard Mason, an analyst with Bernstein Research in New York, reports that Visa...

PAY BY TOUCH SCORES A SUPERVALU JEWEL.(distribution agreements with Albertson's Inc. Jewel-Osco Div.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Pay By Touch biometric readers are being used at the point of sale at a grocery and drug store chain that dominates the Chicago market and the northern Midwest. Jewel-Osco, operator of 204 combination grocery and drug stores and 77 freestanding...

MOBILELIME VENTURES WEST, ADDS CHICAGO MERCHANT.(Potash Bros. Supermart)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... MobileLime, which supports cell phone-based payment and loyalty programs for merchants, will announce March 1 its first Chicago retailer, Potash Bros. Supermart, CardLine has learned. Potash is enabling customers to use the Boston-based...

THREE LAW FIRMS TO LEAD INTERCHANGE SUIT.
March 3, 2006... Three law firms late Friday were named co-lead counsel in the merchant's consolidated credit card interchange lawsuit against the card associations and their member banks. The three firms are Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP; Berger &...

SHEETZ TO CUT ATM SURCHARGE WITH M&T.(M&T Bank N.A. (Oakfield, New York))(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The Sheetz Inc. convenience store chain, Altoona, PA, is going surcharge-free on its ATMs. In a joint announcement, Sheetz and its ATM provider, M&T Bank, on March 1 will begin offering free access to 320 ATMs that Sheetz operates in six...

POSSIBLE FASTLANE TO PROFITS FOR FASTLINE ISOS, MERCHANTS.(Fastlane Payment Network)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Fastlane Payment Network, a division of Boulder, CO-based Combined Payments Inc., announced last week an incentive program to encourage merchants and independent sales organizations to tout its services. Fastlane allows consumers to use their...

FEDS SEEK DEBT COLLECTORS.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The Department of Treasury, Financial Management Service, plans to hire private collection agencies to chase debts owed to federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA). Current...

DISCOVER, AMEX, CHASE LEAD ONLINE CARD RANKINGS.(Discover Financial Services Inc.)(American Express Co.)(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. (New York, New York))(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The credit card divisions of Discover Financial Services, American Express Co. and JP Morgan Chase earned high marks in a ranking of online performance, specifically the virtual experience for prospective credit card customers. Keynote Systems,...

BRIEFS.
March 3, 2006... Pay By Touch named Gary Bender vice president overseeing biometric technology. Bender was chief architect of the FBI's newest fingerprint identification system.... First National Merchant Solutions, the independent sales organization unit of...

DIEBOLD BUYS GENPASS ATM MAINTENANCE DIVISION FROM ELAN.(Genpass Service Solutions )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... North Canton, OH-based Diebold Inc. announced today it is purchasing Genpass Service Solutions and all of its ATM maintenance contracts for an undisclosed price from Genpass Inc. Diebold will take over maintenance of 6,000 ATMs in 34 states...

LIMITED GAINS $30.4 MILLION ON GIFT CARD BREAKAGE.(Limited Brands Inc.)
March 3, 2006... Women's apparel house Limited Brands last week reported a $30.4 million gain from breakage on its gift card program in its 2005 fiscal fourth quarter ending Jan. 28, 2006. Breakage refers to the amount of value on a card that won't be redeemed....

CATUITY MAG-STRIPE PREPAID PROGRAM MAKING PROGRESS.
March 3, 2006... Catuity Inc., which changed its business model in 2004 after Target Corp. dropped its 10 million-card smart card loyalty program with Visa USA, is showing signs of making a comeback. Catuity's loyalty and prepaid gift card program is now...

SIGNS OF THE BLAH'S FOR ECONOMY.(housing market effects the economy)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The U.S. economy's performance perhaps can best described as "ho-hum," based on several reports released today. The Commerce Department reported that the overall economy grew at a 1.6% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2005, a pace that...

CITI EXPANDS FILIPINO MONEY TRANSFER PROGRAM.(Citibank N.A. (New York, New York))(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Citibank announced this week it is expanding its Global Transfers program across the country, after launching the remittance program aimed at Filipinos last year. The program will be expanded from 25 Citibank centers in California and Nevada to...

CHASE GETS MARRIOTT'S REWARD PROGRAM.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. (New York, New York) loyalty programs with Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The Marriott Hotel chain introduced today a new loyalty program tied to the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature card from issuer JP Morgan Chase. Cardholders earn five points for every dollar spent at a Marriott property, including the...

GLOBAL RENEWS KAISER PERMANENTE.(Global Payments Inc.)(Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Global Payments Inc. last week announced it had renewed its deal with Kaiser Permanente to provide credit and debit card authorization and settlement, along with online reporting services. Oakland, CA-based Kaiser is a nonprofit health plan...

BRIEFS.( S1 Corp.)(Tompkins TrustCo Inc.)
March 3, 2006... Triton System's Bill Jackson, vice president of engineering, received the Lifetime Achievement Award last week at the ATM Industry Association's annual conference in Orlando, FL. ATM Manufacturer Triton also reported it will open a call,...

HYPERCOM REPORTS LOWER REVENUES.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Phoenix-based point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp. said today that its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2005 dropped nearly 9%, to $68.1 million, compared with the same period in 2004. For 2005, revenues were $245.2 million, up slightly...

RECORD CREDIT CARD CHARGE-OFFS FOR FDIC-INSURED FIRMS.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Charge-offs on credit card loans spiked to a record $5.7 billion in the fourth quarter thanks to a surge in bankruptcy filings occurring in the run-up to October 17, the date a stricter bankruptcy law took effect, the Federal Deposit Insurance...

HOW ABOUT HYBRID ATMS.(Cardtronics Inc. and Info Touch Technologies Corp. launch hybrid automated teller machine)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Cardtronics Inc. and Info Touch Technologies Corp. yesterday announced a hybrid device that dispenses cash like an ATM and accepts cash payments like a financial kiosk. Planned services include bill payment, phone top-ups, gift card and stored...

RSA LAUNCHES NEW AUTHENTICATION TECHNOLOGY.(RSA Security Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Bedford, MA-based RSA Security launched today RSA Adaptive Authentication and signed E*Trade Financial Corp., the online broker and bank. Adaptive Authentication combines RSA's token technology with risk-based technology developed by Cyota. RSA...

VISA CONFIRMS LITTLE CHANGE FOR INTERCHANGE.
March 3, 2006... Visa confirmed that it would hold most of its interchange rates flat this April when it typically institutes new pricing (CardLine 3/3). Visa and MasterCard International have been issuing interchange rate charts for the last several years with...

MORE MERCHANTS REPORT SETTLEMENT-FEE INCOME.(Visa U.S.A. Inc. and MasterCard International Inc.'s class action lawsuit)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Two more merchants this week reported 2005 income from their shares of the $3.025 billion settlement Visa USA and MasterCard International reached in spring 2003 in the merchant class-action lawsuit challenging the card associations'...

NCR GETS THE LEAD OUT FOR EASYPOINT ATMS.(deal with PayPoint Plc)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Dayton, OH-based ATM manufacturer NCR Corp. will supply United Kingdom-based independent ATM operator and cash payment collector PayPoint Plc. with 400 EasyPoint ATMs. Yesterday's deal is NCR's first major non-bank contract since its $10.1...

BRIEFS.
March 3, 2006... The Wyoming Bankers Association signed a five-year marketing endorsement deal with Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions.... Corporate law firm Fried Frank has released a "Banker's Pocket Guide to Information Security," an executive how-to...

ECONOMISTS UNCONCERNED BY RISING CREDIT CARD USE.
March 3, 2006... The number of people carrying a credit card balance climbed about 2% between 2001 and 2004, and the average balance spiked nearly 16% to $5,100, according to the Federal Reserve's recently released Survey of Consumer Finances. The survey said...

MASTERCARD'S PRICELESS HOOK SEEKS OSCAR FANS.
March 3, 2006... Here's a chance to write your own priceless ad. MasterCard International will debut two new ads in its Priceless series during Sunday's Academy Awards show, with hopes of enticing viewers to log on to its www.priceless.com Web site. The ads are...

VISA'S TURIN GAMES GARNER $11 BILLION; NEXT UP BEIJING.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Transactions on Visa cards at point-of-sale terminals and ATMs at Olympic venues during last month's Winter Games in Turin, Italy, totaled $10.9 billion, according to figures released by Visa International. The Games ran from February 10 to...

ELAN BOUGHT 35 CREDIT UNION CARD PORTFOLIOS IN 2005.(Elan Financial Services)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Elan Financial Services, which provides a variety of financial services for parent U.S. Bancorp, recently announced that it purchased 35 credit union credit card portfolios with a total of $138 million in receivables. The portfolios, which Elan...

MERCHANT CITES FEE DIFFERENCES IN INTERCHANGE DISPUTE.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... High interchange fees are bad enough, but the confusing treatment of different card types is driving merchants up the wall, writes the lead plaintiff in one of the merchant interchange lawsuits against Visa and MasterCard in the March issue of...

INFO TOUCH CASH KIOSK TAKES EL PASO BEACHHEAD.(Info Touch Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... Info Touch Technologies Inc. announced yesterday it had deployed 25 kiosks at Circle K convenience stores in El Paso, Texas, that allow consumers without bank accounts to view and pay certain bills. Consumers use the kiosk to access their...

PROCESSOR STOCKS FLAT IN FEBRUARY.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2006... The stocks of 14 electronic processors registered a negligible 0.36% increase in February, way down from January's 10.52% rise, according to Chicago-based Barrington Research. In February, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.18%, and the...

BRIEFS.
March 3, 2006... Subprime issuer CompuCredit Corp. is using the SmartBPM card-management software from Cambridge, MA-based Pegasystems Inc. Smart BPM provides fraud detection and helps to resolve card disputes.... . Phoenix-based Hypercom Corp. today announced...

YIELDS RISE FOR ISSUERS, SAYS MOODY'S.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Rising interests rates helped credit card issuers see higher returns on card balances in January, reports Moody's Investor Service. The average yield, defined by Moody's as primarily finance charges and fees collected as a percentage of...

VISA VIRUS GOES NATIONWIDE.(Visa U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... A data security breach at a U.S merchant appears to have morphed into a compromise of Visa card accounts nationwide, according to press accounts and information from several issuers. Visa informed credit unions in New England, New Mexico, and...

CARD VISIONARY AND STRATEGIST JOHN GOULD DIES.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 10, 2006... Card industry visionary and analyst John C. Gould, 61, died Feb. 24 in Amherst, New Hampshire. Gould was a longtime leader in payments, developing one of the first national ATM networks, The Exchange, with ADP's Electronic Financial Services in...

CARD COSTS ROSE 42% LAST YEAR FOR GAS STATIONS.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Costs related to card acceptance and processing for convenience store owners totaled $5.4 billion in 2005, up 42% from $3.8 billion in 2004, Gray Taylor, vice president of research at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), tells...

VERIFONE NET INCOME MORE THAN DOUBLES.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... VeriFone Inc., a San Jose, CA-based maker of point-of-sale terminals, yesterday reported net income of $13.8 million for the first quarter ended Jan. 31, up 138% from $5.8 million during the same period a year ago. Net revenues rose 21% quarter...

UNION FIGHTS IRS OUTSOURCING PLAN.
March 10, 2006... An Internal Revenue Service plan to outsource delinquent tax debt collection is raising the ire of the National Treasury Employees Union. Union members staged a rally protesting the IRS' outsourcing plan earlier this week and sent more than 300...

GENESIS PAYS $100 MILLION FOR $250 MILLION.(Genesis Financial Solutions Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Genesis Financial Solutions Inc. completed this week its $100 million acquisition of performing bankcard accounts from an undisclosed issuer, the company announced this week. The portfolio had more than $250 million in receivables. Beaverton,...

LINK2GOV ADDS BUSINESS TAX PAYMENT PROCESSING.
March 10, 2006... Link2Gov began on Jan. 1 to process business tax payments made to the Internal Revenue Service with a credit card or signature debit card, Ed Braswell, president of the Nashville-based arm of Metavante Corp., tells CardLine. Braswell says his...

BRIEFS.(Innobeta Systems Inc. to use Ventus Networks' wireless telecommunications systems)(American Bankers Association endorses InstantID, InstantID Q&A and InstantID CIP products from LexisNexis )(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... First Horizon National Corp. closed March 1 on its sale of its merchant processing business to Nova Information Systems. First Horizon will use a portion of the proceeds to buy back 4 million of its shares.... ATM transaction processor...

CHASE BUYS KOHL'S CARD PORTFOLIO.(JP Morgan Chase )(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... JP Morgan Chase announced today it would buy the $1.5 billion card portfolio of retailer Kohl's Corp. for about $1.5 billion in cash in a deal expected to close in 90 days. Kohl's has about 13 million private-label credit card accounts though...

PAY BY TOUCH SIGNS THOUSANDS MORE MERCHANTS.(contracts)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Pay By Touch has signed 15 to 20 contracts that will put its fingerprint scanners into 6,000 stores by 2007, John Morris, president and chief operating officer of San Francisco-based Pay By Touch, tells CardLine. He says about 400 merchant...

MORE FRAUDSTERS TARGETING CHECKING ACCOUNTS.(demand deposit accounts)
March 10, 2006... Card counterfeiters and other fraudsters increasingly are going after consumers' demand deposit accounts, focusing on securing cash instead of buying merchandise with fraudulent credit cards, a leading fraud expert tells CardLine. "The...

RED REPORTS GREEN REVENUES.(Retail Decisions PLC)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... United Kingdom-based Retail Decisions Plc reported last week preliminary 2005 revenues from continuing operations of $96.9 million, up 78% from $54.5 million for 2004. Profit from continuing operations tallied $9.7 million, up nearly 35% from...

KESSLER ADVISES ON SALES WORTH $258 MILLION.(The Kessler Group)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Credit union consultant The Kessler Group reported last week it served as the advisor for the transactions of 31 credit card portfolios valued over $1 million in 2005. The portfolios were worth $258 million, or 55% of the total $466 million in...

CHASE PRIVATE LABEL TOPS ALLIANCE DATA.(Alliance Data Systems Corp.)(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. acquires Kohl's Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... JP Morgan Chase's purchase today of the $1.5 billion card portfolio of retailer Kohl's Corp. means that Chase has overtaken Alliance Data Systems Corp. as the fourth-largest third-party operator of retail card programs. The portfolio of the...

ONLINE RESOURCES BAGS FOUR BIG ONES.(credit card issuers contracts Online Resources Corp. to offer online payment services)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Four large credit card issuers selected a "virtual collection agent" program from Online Resources Corp. to help give accountholders freedom to cure their delinquent status at any time of day. Online Resources Collections product allows...

CHASE ISSUES TAX REFUND CARD FOR UNBANKED.
March 10, 2006... JP Morgan Chase & Co. is targeting unbanked, low-income consumers with a free prepaid debit card tied to federal tax refunds. Chase says its Direct Benefit Card allows taxpayers to receive their refund on a prepaid debit card, thus eliminating...

DODGERS LAUNCH CREDIT CARD REWARDS PROGRAM.(Los Angeles Dodgers and Chase Card Services)
March 10, 2006... The Los Angeles Dodgers have launched "Think Blue", a loyalty rewards program tied to the Dodger's affinity card issued by Chase Card Services, Marty Greenspun, the team's chief operating officer, tells CardLine today. Sports Loyalty Systems...

BRIEFS.(Efmark Premium Armored Services acquires U.S. Armored LLC.)(Payment Processing Inc. signs contract with AccountMate Software Corp.)(VeriFone Holdings Inc. establishes Hospitality Systems Group)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... VeriFone Holdings Inc. has formed the Hospitality Systems Group to promote its payment terminal products and services to restaurants. The division is pushing VeriFone's handheld Vx 670, which allows wireless network connections for table or...

MORE ISSUERS HIT BY DEBIT CARD FRAUD.(financial institutions plans to reissue cards)
March 10, 2006... The extent of a previously reported fraud involving PIN-debit cards continues to spread, as financial institutions in New York and North Carolina reported plans to reissue cards. New York-based Citibank released a statement today acknowledging...

DEBT MARKET AT $110 BILLION LAST YEAR.(consumer credit statistics)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Consumer debt with a face value of $110 billion changed hands in the U.S. in 2005, according to Kaulkin Ginsberg's new Global Debt Buying Report. That includes $100 billion of delinquent credit card debt, $3 billion in consumer bankruptcy...

VISA DEBIT GROWS TWICE AS FAST AS CREDIT.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Consumers initiated 10.7 billion Visa check card purchases using their signatures last year, up 17.6% from 9.1 billion in 2004, Visa reported yesterday. Visa credit card purchases also increased, but only by 7.6%, to 7.1 billion from 6.6...

INFO TOUCH GROWS INTO PITTSBURGH, MILWAUKEE.(Info Touch Technologies Corp. )(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Info Touch Technologies Corp. continued its recent string of deal announcements yesterday, reporting it would deploy its Tio kiosks at 27 Sunoco Inc.'s APlusR convenience stores in the Pittsburgh area. The touch-screen kiosks allow consumers to...

HSBC FINANCE TAKES TWO BIG HITS, BUT FEES LIFT CARD INCOME.
March 10, 2006... HSBC Finance Corp., the credit card-issuing arm of HSBC Holdings plc, reported in its fourth-quarter and year-end numbers yesterday that higher-than-expected bankruptcy filings and Hurricane Katrina affected 2005's outcome. Prospect Heights,...

PREPAID USE COULD HELP BUILD CREDIT FOR UNBANKED.(prepaid cards forecast)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Prepaid cards are being considered by some as a way to help unbanked consumers establish a credit rating, says Jennifer Tescher, director of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, a division of Chicago-based ShoreBank. Tescher tells...

GE HAMMERS OUT PROJECT CARD WITH LOWES.(Lowe's Companies Inc. and GE Consumer Finance offers home improvement financing services)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Lowe's Companies Inc. rolled out today the Project Card, offering financing choices for major home improvements. GE Consumer Finance, the issuer of Lowe's private-label card, also issues the Project Card. The Card allows consumers to open a...

BOFA GOES FULL OUT FOR CORPORATE CARD PROGRAM.(Bank of America Corp. to launch ePayables Solution)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Bank of America Corp. announced today its ePayables Solution corporate purchasing card program is in full production. EPayables moves paper-based accounts payable disbursements to cards to reduce paper processing. Shifting to a card-based...

BRIEFS.(Fifth Third Bancorp. appoints John Presley)(Pemco Technologies promotes Tanya Packer)(RoomStore Inc. renews contract with HSBC Retail Services)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Fifth Third Bancorp. says John Presley has resigned as chief financial officer at Marshall & Ilsley Corp. and will join Fifth Third in April as senior vice president, pending board approval. Presley will report to Executive Vice President Kevin...

PIN ENCRYPTION KEYS MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN IN NEW BREACH.(identity theft and debit card fraud)
March 10, 2006... A recent spate of fraudulent debit transactions may have been caused by a compromise of the system used to encrypt PINs. Avivah Litan, a security analyst for Gartner, says investigators have told her that crooks obtained PIN encryption keys...

ISSUER SLAMS VISA FOR LACK OF INFORMATION IN EXPANDING BREACH.(Visa U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Visa USA should do more to crack down on merchants that are improperly storing card data and do a better job informing its member issuers about potential fraud committed on their cards, an executive with a debit card-issuing bank tells...

BREACH BRINGS FINGER POINTING.(credit card fraud investigations)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... The cause of the PIN debit security breach remains unclear. But interested players are attempting to point the finger of blame at other players in the payments system. A Visa spokesperson declined to answer most questions regarding the breach,...

FITCH SEES DRASTIC DROP IN CHARGEOFFS.
March 10, 2006... More confirmation that the impact of last year's bankruptcy law change has worked its way through the credit chain comes in a new report from ratings agency Fitch. Fitch's credit card index chargeoff rate dropped 359 basis points to 3.29% for...

PREPAID CARD DATA COULD BUILD CREDIT PROFILE.(Experian Information Solutions Inc. creates an advisory committee)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Consumer data house Experian Inc. has created a payments industry advisory committee to help it build a model for creating credit profiles for consumers using prepaid cards, CardLine sister publication Prepaid Trends reports. The committee...

CONSUMER CREDIT RISES.(credit card accounts)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Consumer credit rose to $2,162.4 trillion in January, up 2.2% from December, according to the Federal Reserve. Revolving credit rose to $804.0 billion from $802.2 billion. Revolving credit covers credit card debt. The average APR for all credit...

MBNA ADDS CREDIT UNION PARTNERS.(Bay Gulf Federal Credit Union, First Atlantic Federal Credit Union, SAC Federal Credit Union, Tropical Financial Credit Union, and IBM Texas Employees Federal)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... MBNA Corp. announced last week it had added five credit unions to its partnership ranks in the fourth quarter of 2005. The partners are IBM Texas Employees Federal in Austin, Texas, SAC Federal in Omaha, Nebraska, First Atlantic Federal in...

DEBIT BREACH HITS MORE ISSUERS.(banks reissues cards and increases card security)
March 10, 2006... Five more Visa check card issuers are on alert because of a breach or potential breach in their card data. New York-based JP Morgan Chase & Co., PNC Bank of Pittsburgh, and National City Bank of Cleveland have gone so far as issuing new cards...

CROOKS FOLLOW RAT TRAIL TO DEBIT DATA.(identity theft)
March 10, 2006... The PIN debit breach has law enforcement and payments leaders working to determine how the bad guys got a hold of consumers' PINs. Crooks have obtained PINs through shoulder surfing or false-front ATMs, but most card fraud historically has been...

BREACH COULD SPEED FEDERAL NOTIFICATION BILL.(House Financial Services Committee to introduce a bill to inform card consumers of data breaches)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... A Congressional committee is preparing a bipartisan bill on data breaches that would require the business where a breach occurred to inform consumers of the compromise. The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to...

GEMALTO A STEP CLOSER AS AXALTO'S REVENUES RISE.(Gemplus International S.A. to merge with Axalto Holding N.V.)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... U.S. antitrust regulators have given their tacit approval to the proposed merger between the world's two largest smart card suppliers, Gemplus International S.A. and Axalto Holding N.V., the two France-based companies announced today. The U.S....

FEVERED WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN FOR MASTERCARD.
March 10, 2006... MasterCard International introduced this week a new Priceless ad campaign for the FIFA World Cup soccer competition. MasterCard is a global sponsor of the World Cup, the game known internationally as football. The new Fever ad features 100 fans...

WINMARK SEES STRONG DECEMBER GIFT CARD SALES.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2006... Minneapolis, MN-based Winmark Corp. recently reported healthy gift cards sells for December for three of its retail businesses, Play It Again Sports, Once Upon A Child, and Plato's Closet. Play It Again Sports, which sells new and used sports...

LIMITED HELP FROM BANKRUPTCY REFORM.
March 10, 2006... Banks and other financial institutions likely will see only limited help from bankruptcy legislation enacted last October 17th, according to a study by research firm Aite Group. Lenders are counting on fewer well-heeled consumers avoiding debt...

BRIEFS.
March 10, 2006... TransUnion will manage direct marketing to select consumers for subprime issuer CompuCredit.... First Data Corp. renewed its credit card processing deal with $22 billion-asset Associated Banc-Corp of Green Bay WI. The two have partnered for...