Cardline articles from May 2006

Cardline archives from May 2006

VISA TAKES FIRST STEP TO NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE.(Visa U.S.A. Inc.)
May 5, 2006... Visa USA approved today the addition to its board of four independent members at its annual meeting held in Broomfield, CO. The four join the board today, becoming Visa's first independent directors. "This is an absolutely great day for Visa,...

BALANCE PAY OFF LIKELY A FLEETING TREND.(Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... When JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. reported first-quarter earnings this month, both banks noted credit card users were paying down more of their balances - leading to a 6% drop in outstanding balances at Chase and a 4% drop at Citi....

REWARDS UP, COINSTAR DOWN.(Rewards Network Inc., Coinstar Inc.)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Rewards Network Inc., a Chicago company that provides marketing and loyalty programs to the restaurant industry, reported today net income for the first quarter of 2006 of $1.8 million. That's a nice change from the same period last year when...

PLASTIC REPLACES STEEL IN CHICAGO.(Chicago Police Department will launch gift cards for residents who turn over their guns)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The Chicago Police Department tomorrow will offer $100 gift cards to residents who turn over their guns, with no questions asked. Albertson's Inc., owner of the Jewel-Osco grocery and drug store chain, is donating $10,000 to make the "no...

BUY A COKE AND TOP UP YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT.(PayPal Inc. launching new servcies and contracts with eSecure Peripherals Inc.)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Vending machines could be accepting new PayPal Mobile payments for soda, and be used to reload the payment accounts under a plan from a Canadian cashless payment provider. PayPal Mobile was launched in March, giving PayPal account holders the...

PREPAID CARDS FOR FANS OF THE MAN IN BLACK.(EDP Licensing Inc. will launch prepaid debit cards gets rights to print images of Johnny Cash on its cards)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... EDP Licensing Inc. is putting a little cash in people's pockets - Johnny Cash that is. The company has obtained the rights to the likeness of country music star Johnny Cash from his estate to place on Visa-branded prepaid debit cards. Paul...

AMBIRON ON A WAVE IN APRIL.(AmbironTrustWave)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Chicago-based AmbironTrustWave may be hoping April never ends. It received kudos from a leading industry organization, launched a business unit, and completed an audit of a firm that manages card programs for issuers. AmbironTrustWave is a...

BRIEFS.(Nashville Electric Service launching billing services)(EU Competition Commission delayed approval for Axalto and Gemplus merger)(Alliance Data Systems Corp. renewed its contract with Abercrombie & Fitch)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The 340,000 customers of utility Nashville Electric Service this summer can pay their bills at the E-Wiz kiosks deployed by Tio Networks Corp. at 20 Exxon Mobil Tigermarket and On The Run convenience stores in Nashville.... The European...

U.S BANK CARD PROFITS RISE IN 2005.(credit cards)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... U.S. issuers of Visa and MasterCard credit cards in 2005 posted a collective after-tax return on assets of 1.99%, up 40 basis points from 1.59% in 2004, according to Cards&Payments' annual Bank Card Profitability Study and Annual Report. The...

MAIL RECORDS SET UPSIDE AND DOWNSIDE LAST YEAR.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... It would be funny if it weren't so sad. Issuers mailed a record 6.06 billion credit card offers in 2005, but the response rate fell to a record low 0.3%, according to Synovate's Mail Monitor tracking service. Last year saw a 16% rise in...

NYCE SIGNS ATB TO US PIN DEBIT DEAL.(ATB Financial )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Alberta, Canada-based ATB Financial will implement the NYCE electronic funds transfer network so its 420,000 debit cardholders can use their cards for purchases in the U.S., NYCE announced today. ATB becomes the sixth Canadian issuer to...

BANKS MAY MISS MOBILE TRAIN: CONSULTANT.(online mobile payment systems)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Phone carriers are putting their arms around online mobile payment systems while turning a wary eye to such payments in the physical world, according to Thad Peterson, a director with San Francisco-based banking and payments consultant Edgar,...

MOBILE IS WAY TO GO FOR GROWING PAYMENTS.(mobile phone payments market upgrading its payment technology)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The promise of growth in the mobile phone payments market has a vendor upgrading its payment technology and plucking senior staff from the competition. Woburn, MA-based Way Systems Inc. provides mobile phone point of sale terminals for unwired...

AIRLINES DUELING OVER 25TH ANNIVERSARY CARD PROGRAMS.(United Airlines and American Airlines )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... United Airlines and American Airlines are both beefing up their credit card rewards with each claiming it's the 25th anniversary of their card program. Chase Card Services and United today announced the addition of Choices rewards to their...

TNS SAYS $22 ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... TNS Inc. today rejected a $22 a share takeover offer from its management, calling the bid too low. A special committee created by the board to review the bid said it "undervalues TNS." The committee and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., its...

BRIEFS.(TNB Card Services appointed Kenneth Bowers)(Fujitsu Transaction Solutions appointed Peter Wolf )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Kenneth "Dusty" Bowers has joined TNB Card Services as senior vice president and national sales manager. Bowers was divisional vice president of CUNA Mutual Group, an insurance provider for credit unions.... Fujitsu Transaction Solutions has...

CONTACTLESS MOVES TO CENTER STAGE.(Contactless payments)
May 5, 2006... Contactless payments may have reached a milestone with reports that as many as 10 million cards and keyfobs with the technology have been distributed, and that a major restaurant chain will accept the technology by the end of the year. Late...

LEWIS THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET AT VISA.(Kenneth D. Lewis, Visa USA Inc.)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... How Visa USA treats Bank of America will determine whether the bank will launch a competing card-processing network, Kenneth D. Lewis, BofA's chairman and CEO, said during an investors' conference call today. "It's something that always will be...

CONTACTLESS TO BECOME "COMMONPLACE".(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Contactless payments have dominated opening-day discussions today at SourceMedia's CardTech/SecureTech 2006 trade show in San Francisco after Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. reported it will deploy contactless payment readers at 1,000 restaurants...

NCO NET INCOME DROPS AS DEBT COSTS RISE.(NCO Group Inc.)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Debt buyer NCO Group sustained a 31.4% drop in net income in the first quarter ended March 31, falling to $10.5 million from $15.3 million for the same period in 2005. Horsham, PA-based NCO blamed the decline on restructuring costs and from...

FED BANKS TO HOLD MEXICO FUNDS-TRANSFER SERVICE ROAD SHOW.(Federal Reserve Banks, Banco de Mexico )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The Federal Reserve Banks and the Banco de Mexico this month will launch a 12-city road show in the United States to promote to more financial institutions the FedACH International Mexico funds-transfer service. The Fed's Directo a Mexico...

VISA ISSUERS CAN OFFER CONTACTLESS MINI-CARD.(Visa USA, Inside Contactless and Giesecke und Devrient GmbH partenered for developing contactless smart cards)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Two technology vendors announced today at SourceMedia's CardTech/SecureTech 2006 trade show in San Francisco that they have joined forces to offer a contactless mini-card that meets Visa USA standards and is small enough to slip onto a key...

BP AND CHASE PUMP UP COBRANDED VISA CARD.(BP North America Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... BP North America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have boosted the rewards on their cobranded BP Visa Card for the summer travel season. Cardholders will receive 5% rebates (formerly 3%) on purchases at BP stations, including gas, car washes and...

MASTERCARD IPO SEEKS $2.8 BILLION AT $40-$43 A SHARE.
May 5, 2006... MasterCard today amended its initial public offering for the fifth time, disclosing it seeks to raise approximately $2.8 billion. The card association said it will use all but $650 million of its net proceeds from the IPO to redeem Class "B"...

MASTERCARD RESULTS SHOW RISE IN CARD USE.
May 5, 2006... MasterCard International prepared for its upcoming initial public offering announcing yesterday solid results for its first quarter ended March 31. The Purchase, NY-based association reported net income for the quarter of $127 million, up 36.6%...

BIG BOARD CHANGES AT MASTERCARD AFTER IPO.
May 5, 2006... MasterCard today announced changes in its board that will occur after its shift to a publicly held company. Six new directors from outside the banking industry will join the board with Robert W. Selander, MasterCard's president and CEO, and...

VOLUME A FACTOR IN ADDING SIGNATURE DEBIT TO INTERCHANGE SUIT.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... A leading merchant attorney acknowledged that the near double-digit growth in debit volume was a primary reason for the addition of signature debit to the class action interchange suit against Visa USA, MasterCard International and several...

FIRST NIAGARA FLOODS DEBIT CARDHOLDERS WITH REWARDS.(First Niagara Bank)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... First Niagara Bank in Lockport, NJ, has launched ScoreCard, a debit card rewards program that gives cardholders one point for every $3 spent on signature-based debit transactions. First Niagara's debit cards carry the MasterCard brand. The...

SO SO APRIL FOR PROCESSOR STOCKS.(Electronic processors )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Electronic processors had a fair to middling April with the stocks of 14 major publicly traded firms registering a 1.71% mean return compared to a 2.32% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 0.73% rise in the S&P 500 Index, according to...

MASTERCARD'S PAYPASS WINS TECH AWARDS, CUTS CHECKOUT TIME IN HALF.(MasterCard International Inc.)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Contactless payment cards are here to stay but the payment industry must encourage more use and development of the technology, says Art Kranzley, the MasterCard International executive who yesterday was named Card Technology magazine's 2006...

BRIEFS.(eFunds Corp. net income for the first quarter)(MagTek Inc. rolled out the IntelliStripe 65 hybrid reader)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... eFunds Corp. reported net income of $10.7 million in the first quarter, down 10% from a year ago. Net revenues for the processor rose 22% to $139.7 million while the Prepaid Solutions unit saw a $3 million operating loss.... Carson, CA based...

HYPERCOM REPORTS FIRST FIRST-QUARTER PROFIT SINCE 1998.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Hypercom Corp. today reported an operating profit of $2.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, a significant improvement over an adjusted $5.6 million loss for the same period a year ago. Profits were reduced by a $900,000 charge for...

BIG MONEY BRINGS BIG SUITS IN IRS DEBT DEALS.
May 5, 2006... In another snag to the IRS' controversial plan to hire private debt collectors to chase delinquent taxpayers, one of the three hired companies apparently has a history of convictions for bribery and FBI investigations. Austin, TX-based law firm...

LITTLE BUZZ BY BIG INVESTORS FOR MASTERCARD'S IPO.(initial public offerings, MasterCard Inc.)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... MasterCard Inc.'s initial public offering is scheduled for the week of May 22, according to the Web site IPOHome.com. The IPO is getting a mixed reaction from investors, says Gwenn Bezard, research director of Aite Group. "It will fly really...

CONTACTLESS, SCHMONTACTLESS; ACQUIRERS NOT CONVINCED.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Proponents of contactless payment programs have been crowing this week about the number of devices distributed and merchants accepting the cards and fobs. However, many merchant acquirers aren't convinced the technology delivers all that its...

HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS EARNS RECORD REVENUES.(Heartland Payment Systems Inc. first quarter earnings)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Princeton, NJ-based Heartland Payment Systems Inc. today announced record revenues of $236.8 million for the first quarter of 2006, up 39% compared to $169.9 million for the same period last year. Heartland earned net income of $4.4 million for...

ASSET DELAYS QUARTERLY BUT FLOATS A FEW NUMBERS.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Consumer debt buyer Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. today delayed its first quarter 2006 earnings report scheduled for this morning, citing concerns about overly conservative accounting numbers. But the Warren, MI-based company released some...

TERMINAL EXECS PONDER GROWING MARKET, SHRINKING WORLD.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The ever-contentious point-of-sale terminal market generated some intriguing comments from leading executives this week as they ponder the international expansion of their business. Douglas Bergeron, chairman and CEO of VeriFone Holdings Inc.,...

WILDCARD CAUSES EFUNDS EARNINGS SNAG.
May 5, 2006... EFunds Corp., the Scottsdale, AZ-based transaction processor, blamed the seasonality of the prepaid card business for a $3 million operating loss at its Prepaid Solutions division during the first quarter. The company reported its results...

BRIEFS.(Metavante Corp. promoted Michael D. Hayford )(Tio Networks Corp. net income)(HSBC North America closes call/collection centers in Orlando)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Metavante Corp. promoted Michael D. Hayford to chief operating officer from vice president and chief financial officer.... Tio Networks Corp. closed on its placement of 7.4 million shares generating gross proceeds of $7 million to be used for...

PIER 1 CARD ON THE BLOCK.(Pier 1 Imports Inc. contracts J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Pier 1 Imports Inc. yesterday reported it has hired JPMorgan Chase to evaluate strategic alternatives with a focus on selling its private-label credit card business and other assets. Marvin J. Girouard, chairman and CEO of the Fort Worth...

CONSUMERS ARE THE PROBLEM-AND SOMETIMES THE SOLUTION-WHEN IT COMES TO IDENTITY FRAUD.(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... A survey released this week by Javelin Strategy & Research finds that identity fraud starts more than half the time with data stolen while under the consumer's control, such as when a checkbook or credit card is stolen or a friend or relative...

TNS, LIGHTBRIDGE REPORT MIXED QUARTERLIES.(sales and earnings)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... TNS Inc. late yesterday reported a net loss in the first quarter of $467,000, compared to $1.5 million in net income in the first quarter of 2005. Revenues in the quarter were $65.9 million, up 4% from $63.1 million a year ago. Revenue in the...

LOSS AT TRM AS ITS ATM FLEET DROOPS.(automated teller machines)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... TRM Corp. late yesterday announced a $1.5 million loss for the first quarter ending March 31, down from the $1.6 million profit it reported a year ago. Sales for the Portland, OR-based firm were $53 million for the quarter, a 10% decrease from...

COINSTAR TO OFFER MONEY TRANSFERS.(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Coinstar Inc. reported yesterday it would pay $27 million in cash to buy the Travelex Money Transfer Ltd. (TMT) subsidiary of London-based Travelex Group. TMT operates 17,000 locations in banks, post offices, retail stores and company-owned...

CARDS GAINING AT DUNKIN' DONUTS, BUT CONTACTLESS A HARD SELL.
May 12, 2006... Payment cards are making big inroads at Dunkin' Donuts, but efforts to get cash-wedded franchise owners to take plastic have a way to go, and contactless payments remain on the horizon, according to Ellen Powers, IT manager, retail technology...

FTC FINES PHONY DEBT COUNSELORS $2.4 MILLION.(Lighthouse Credit Foundation)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that a firm claiming to be a not-for-profit credit counselor would pay $2.4 million for false marketing. The FTC said that Lighthouse Credit Foundation portrayed itself as a not-for-profit entity...

VISA TOUTS CARD SPENDING IN LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN.(Visa International's commercial cards sales statistics)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... As of the end of March, more than 2 million Visa commercial cards had been issued in Visa International's Latin American and Caribbean region, and more than US$1 billion in Visa business travel and entertainment sales volume was processed in...

BRIEFS.(Diebold Inc. develops touble-shooting softwarer OpteView)(credit card education survey)(GE Consumer Finance extends contract with BRP)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... GE Consumer Finance extended its financing agreement with motorized vehicle provider BRP. GE offers the BRP card.... Roughly 90% of college upperclassmen see credit card education as extremely or very important, according to a survey from Citi...

WACHOVIA COULD CROSS-SELL CREDIT CARDS TO GOLDEN WEST CUSTOMERS.(plans to acquire Golden West Financial Corp.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Wachovia Corp.'s plan to purchase major mortgage player Golden West Financial Corp. for $26 billion in cash and stock could prove a boon to its payments business, according to an industry analyst. Wachovia confirmed today it would buy Golden...

MASTERCARD IPO COULD BLOOM ON MAY 24.
May 12, 2006... Several analysts are reporting the MasterCard Inc. initial public offering is scheduled to occur on May 24. Howard K. Mason of Bernstein Research reports that MasterCard's IPO is scheduled for Wednesday, May 24, and that its roadshow visiting...

STUNNING NACHA NUMBERS START 2006 CONFERENCE.(NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association reports automated clearing house statistics)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... NACHA, which oversees the automated clearinghouse system for interbank funds transfers, reported today that 13.9 billion ACH payments were made in 2005, a rise of nearly 16% from 12 billion in 2004. Financial institutions originated 12.98...

ONLINE RESOURCES PAYS $180 MILLION FOR PRINCETON ECOM.(acquisition)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Online Resources Corp. announced today it would acquire online bill payment house Princeton eCom Corp. for $180 million in cash in a deal financed by Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC. The combined firm will process more than 200 million...

STORED VALUE BUYS GIFT CARD SOLUTIONS.(Stored Value Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Prepaid card provider Stored Value Systems Inc. announced today its has acquired Gift Card Solutions, owned by SASH Management LLC. Stored Value parent Comdata Corp. made a strategic investment in Gift Card Solutions in 2002, buying about 20%...

PREPAID CARD MEANS (STAR) BUX FOR COFFEE KING.(Starbucks Corp.'s revenues from prepaid cards)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... The prepaid card from Starbucks Corp. continues to provide a sales jolt, accounting for 16% of revenues in the company's fiscal second quarter. Cardholders used the card to make 59 million purchases worth $229 million in the quarter ending...

REVOLVING DEBT FALLS IN MARCH, FED REPORTS.(consumer credit card debts)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Evidence that consumers are paying down more credit card debt continues to pile up with a recent Federal Reserve report showing that revolving debt fell 0.2%, or $140 million, in March to $805.8 billion, the first decline since October. That...

LIPMAN EARNINGS FLAT, INCOME UP BY 25%.(Lipman Electronic Engineering)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Point-of-sale terminal vendor Lipman Electronic Engineering today said revenues for the first quarter of 2006 were $57.6 million, up 6.3% from $54.2 million in the first quarter of 2005. U.S. revenues in the first quarter of 2006 "came in a bit...

BRIEFS.(PSCU Financial Services signs contract with Catholic Federal Credit Union)(Zvetco Biometrics launches new fingerprint reader)(First Florida Credit Union contracts Elan Financial Services )(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... PSCU Financial Services will process credit cards for Catholic Federal Credit Union of Saginaw, MI.... Zvetco Biometrics launched a panel-mount version of its Verifi P4000 fingerprint reader with a retail price of $293.... Elan Financial...

CREDIT CARD CHARGEOFFS REMAIN NEAR ALL-TIME LOWS.
May 12, 2006... Chargeoffs on securitized pools of card receivables increased 20 basis points in March after falling to a record low of 3% in February, according to Standard & Poor's U.S. Credit Card Quality Index released yesterday. Still, the chargeoff...

DUQUES SHARES SAMPLE OF FIRST DATA STRATEGY.(chief executive Henry Duques speaks at NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association's conference)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... There will be no growth in ATM deployments and credit card use in the U.S. in the next 10 years, but prepaid cards will gain in popularity and credit will see more adherents internationally, First Data Corp. President and CEO Henry "Ric" Duques...

NACHA MAKES MARCH 2007 ITS BACK-OFFICE CHECK CONVERSION DEADLINE.(NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association)
May 12, 2006... The voting members of NACHA have approved an amendment to the automated clearing house association's operating rules that will allow merchants to keep most consumer and small-business checks presented in checkout lanes and convert them to...

TWO PUBLIC DEBT BUYERS REPORT RECORD COLLECTIONS.(Asset Acceptance Corp. and Asta Funding Inc. )
May 12, 2006... Consumers often pay off more debt in the first quarter, but this year's trend is strong enough that two public debt buyers this morning reported record quarterly collections. Warren, MI-based Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. says its...

REVENUES JUMP BUT EARNINGS TANK AT COMPUCREDIT.
May 12, 2006... CompuCredit Corp. late yesterday reported first quarter managed earnings of $54.8 million, a rise of 42% from $38.5 million in the first quarter of 2005. Net income fell 38% to $30.6 million from $49.1 million a year ago. The firm took a $10.5...

METAVANTE, FIRST DATA STEP UP FSA DEBIT PRODUCTS.(flexible-spending accounts)(partnerships, Medem Inc., Value Eyecare Network Inc.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Metavante Inc. and First Data Corp. each are entering new partnerships involving health-related, prepaid debit cards. First Data today announced a deal with Medem Inc. to offer the "iHealth" card that combines health payments with health-plan...

JACK HENRY REPORTS PROFITS AND MORE.(Jack Henry and Associates Inc.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Jack Henry & Associates Inc. today reported net income of $23.5 million in its fiscal third quarter ended March 31, up 21% from $19.4 million during the same period a year ago. The Monett, MO-based provider of bank technology including debit...

BRIEFS.(Utah Transit Authority contracts Peppercoin Inc.)(Global Axcess Corp. contracts Raymond James Financial Inc.)(Norwest Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers finances 41st Parameter)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Online security provider The 41st Parameter secured $11.2 million in Series B funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Norwest Venture Partners.... Peppercoin, the micropayments company, will process contactless credit and debit card...

NO ENCORE FOR COLLECTOR AFTER INCOME DIVES.(Encore Capital Group Inc.'s stock falls)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Debt buyer Encore Capital Group Inc.'s stock tumbled nearly 25% today after the company's first-quarter returns showed that net income dropped 37% to $4.7 million from $7.5 million in the same quarter last year. The company blamed the drop on...

NEW YORK COULD BAN TAX AS PART OF INTERCHANGE.
May 12, 2006... The New York state legislature is considering a proposal that would prohibit state and local taxes from being included in the calculation of the card interchange fee issuers receive when their card is used to make a purchase. Merchants pay an...

FSA CARDS COULD DOUBLE BY 2012.(flexible spending accounts)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... There could be 11.6 million flexible spending accounts (FSAs) with cards by 2012, according to "Flexible Spending Accounts, Flexible Cards?", a May study from research house Celent. This year 6 million of the FSA cards are in consumers' wallets...

CHASE & BORDERS CREATE NATIONAL PAYMENT/LOYALTY CREDIT CARD.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. and the bookstore launches new credit cards)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... JPMorgan Chase &Co. and the Borders Inc. bookstore chain have teamed to offer an intriguing new credit card that can be linked to a rewards program. Chase announced today it has enhanced its Visa Borders credit card, offering the so-called...

ELAN ADDS 16 CREDIT UNIONS TO ITS QUIVER.(Elan Financial Services, acquisition)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Elan Financial Services purchased 16 credit unions' credit card portfolios with a combined total outstanding balance of $76 million during the first quarter, the U.S. Bancorp subsidiary reported yesterday. Elan provides credit card issuing...

CO-OP PAYS OUT $10.4 MILLION TO 2005 MEMBERS.(CO-OP Network, dividends)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Co-Op Network has paid a record cash dividend to its credit union owners for the second consecutive year. Ontario, CA-based Co-Op is the largest credit union EFT network and processor. Co-Op is paying $10.4 million in cash reimbursements to its...

MASTERCARD INTRODUCES NEW AUTHENTICATION PRODUCTS.(MasterCard International Inc., new online transactions authentication methods)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... MasterCard International last week introduced two new ways for consumers to authenticate themselves for online or mobile transactions. One is a variant of technology previously introduced in countries where banks are converting their credit and...

BRIEFS.(Morgan Beaumont Inc.)
May 12, 2006... Morgan Beaumont Inc., a prepaid card processor and operator of the SIRE Network, will provide card reloading and processing to customers of prepaid card provider Cornerstone Bancard. There are over 100,000 SIRE Network locations.......

TIB-THE INDEPENDENT BANKERSBANK BUYS WESTERN STATES.(Western States Bankcard Association )(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... TIB-The Independent BankersBank reported this week it would buy Western States Bankcard Association's operations, customer relationships and facilities for an undisclosed price. Irving, TX-based TIB serves smaller financial institutions,...

SEC INVESTIGATING DIEBOLD'S REVENUES.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Diebold Inc. is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for its revenue recognition policy, according to a filing Tuesday with the SEC by the ATM manufacturer. Diebold reported in its first-quarter filing with the agency...

ECHO'S STOCK RESOUNDS FROM LATEST RESULTS.(Electronic Clearing House Inc.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Electronic Clearing House Inc. (ECHO) bucked the downward trend in the stock market today after reporting strong quarterly numbers late yesterday. The Camarillo, CA-based processor reported revenues in its second quarter ending March 31 were...

ANALYSTS SAY BUYERS OF CARD DEBT FACE TOUGH YEAR.(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... As the debt-buying market matures and credit card chargeoff prices rise, some of the large public debt buyers are nervously watching profits evaporate, say analysts who cover the industry. "A few years ago these guys were buying portfolios very...

SOVEREIGN EXPANDS CARDTRONICS ATM BRANDING DEAL.(Sovereign Bancorp Inc.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Houston-based independent ATM operator Cardtronics Inc. today announced a deal with Sovereign Bancorp. to brand 484 ATMs at CVS pharmacies in the New York tri-state area. The contract is an extension of a deal Cardtronics already has with...

CREDIT ALERTS ARE HOT, CREDIT SCORES ARE NOT.(survey)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Providing free alerts about possible credit and identity theft problems could become quite the rage among financial services firms. Meanwhile, fewer than 20% of consumers could tell you their own credit score, according to a survey conducted...

REPORTS SEE ELECTRONIC PAYMENT GROWTH THROUGH 2010.(debit card usage forecast)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Two separate research reports give glowing, optimistic predictions on the growth of debit card use in the U.S., and electronic payments around the globe. Packaged Facts projects that the value of debit card transactions in the U.S. will rise to...

BRIEFS.(American Bankruptcy Institute appoints Reginald W. Jackson)(Federal Trade Commission launchss indentity theft education campaign)(various counties are using Official Payments Corp.'s services)(Brief article)
May 12, 2006... Nineteen Minnesota counties are using the online payment program of Official Payments Corp. of Reston, VA, for property taxes.... The Federal Trade Commission launched "AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend," a national identity theft education...

AMERICAN AIRLINES ACCEPTS PAYMENT CARDS IN-FLIGHT.(credit cards)(Brief article)
May 19, 2006... Passengers now can use their cards for purchases on some American Airlines' flights. American Express Co. worked with American, the world's largest airline in passengers flown, to develop the payment option. It uses mobile card-payment...

LAWYERS SUE OVER BANKRUPTCY LAW PROVISIONS.
May 19, 2006... Bankruptcy attorneys yesterday filed a lawsuit challenging parts of the new federal bankruptcy law. The lawyers charge that a key provision requiring attorneys to call themselves debt relief agencies is unconstitutional because it limits their...