Cardline articles from May 2007

Cardline archives from May 2007

ABN AMRO SEEKS ALTERNATIVE LASALLE BANK BIDS.
May 4, 2007... Dutch bank ABN AMRO Holding, N.V., which agreed this week to be acquired by United Kingdom-based banking group Barclays PLC, now faces shareholder unrest from its planned sale of Chicago-based subsidiary LaSalle Bank Corp. to Bank of America...

TOUTING ENVIRONMENT BOOSTS BANKS' BOTTOM LINES.
May 4, 2007... A growing number of banks, payment networks and consultants are promoting online banking to improve their bottom lines and, at the same time, help create awareness of environmental issues when concern about the environment, particularly global...

NCR'S ATM OPERATIONS REPORT 20% REVENUE RISE.(Financial report)
May 4, 2007... NCR Corp. yesterday reported revenues for its Financial Self Service unit of $312 million for the first quarter ended March 31, up 20.5% from $259 million during the same period a year ago. Operating income for the unit, which oversees NCR's...

DISCOVER ANNOUNCES TWO NEW CARD PROGRAMS.
May 4, 2007... Discover Network this week announced two new card programs for third-party issuers, such as banks, including an affluent card product and a new card rewards program. Issuers either can roll out a ready-to-go or a customized version of...

PCI COUNCIL IN TALKS WITH CHINA UNIONPAY.(Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council is in talks with China Unionpay, a China-based payment card organization, to see if Unionpay will adopt the PCI data-security standard, the council's general manager, Robert M. Russo Sr.,...

INGENICO POSTS FLAT Q1 REVENUE; RECEIVES LATIN AMERICAN ORDERS.(Groupe INGENICO)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Ingenico, a France-based point-of-sale terminal maker, announced this week first-quarter revenue of $161.96 million, down 0.9% from $163.49 million during the same period a year ago. Ingenico did not release net-income figures. Ingenico...

VIVOTECH CLAIMS 75% SHARE OF CONTACTLESS READER MARKET.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Vivotech has shipped at least 270,000 contactless readers to 22 countries and claims a 75% share of the contactless-reader market, Hans Reisgies, the Santa, Clara, Calif.-based company's director of NFC business development, said at the...

BRIEFS.(Barney Frank introduces bill to allow usage of credit cards for online gambling)(Bankruptcy filings by americans aged 55 and above increasing)(First Data International signs deal with WestJet Airlines)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) yesterday introduced a bill that would restore the right to use a credit card to gamble over the Internet.... Bankruptcy filings by Americans ages 55 and older are increasing at a faster rate than for the general...

BOFA THREATENS LAWSUIT AGAINST ABN AMRO.
May 4, 2007... On Saturday, Bank of America Corp. threatened to sue ABN AMRO if there is any attempt to interfere with the bank's plans to buy Chicago-based LaSalle Bank, an ABN subsidiary. "If the deal falls apart, BofA would be compelled to file a...

DEBT BUYERS CLEAR OUT INVENTORIES.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Only $170.9 million in delinquent credit card debt was listed for sale on various Web sites last week compared with $512 million the previous week as credit card issuers stepped to the sales sidelines while debt buyers cleared out their...

E-GOLD OWNERS INDICTED.(Department of Justice indicts Douglas L. Jackson, Reid A. Jackson and Barry K. Downey for money laundering)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Three men who claim their alternative currency system is backed by precious metals have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money-transmittal business, the U.S. Department...

CITIGROUP AD CAMPAIGN AIMS TO 'GET IT DONE'.
May 4, 2007... Citigroup Inc. is expected to introduce a new global tagline and advertising campaign next Sunday built around the slogan "Let's Get It Done," the New York Times reports. The $30 million multimedia campaign, which aims to invite customers to...

TRANSACTION WIRELESS OFFERS 'WIRELESS' GIFT CARD.
May 4, 2007... Transaction Wireless LLC, a San Diego-based mobile-commerce company, announced last week that it has entered into its first processor licensing agreement with gift and rewards card processor Secure Payment Systems to build a wireless...

PAY BY TOUCH LAUNCHES SELF-SERVICE GIFT CARD KIOSK.
May 4, 2007... Pay By Touch, a biometric payments and loyalty-marketing company, last week launched its Reward and Gift Card Kiosk. The kiosk is designed for use in a variety of retail-store settings, Jeff Grider, Pay By Touch vice president of personalized...

ELAN DEVELOPS MULTIFUNCTION KIOSKS.
May 4, 2007... Elan Financial Services, an ATM and debit card processor owned by U.S. Bancorp, announced last week that it has formed a partnership to develop customized kiosks that will provide a variety of financial services for ATM deployers under pressure...

BRIEFS.
May 4, 2007... UK-based banking giant HSBC says it has sold its global headquarters in London for 1.09 billion pounds (US$2.17 billion) in a deal with Metrovacesa SA, a Spain-based property-management company.... BancorpSouth has selected Pulse EFT...

FIRST DATA TACKLES MERCHANT ATTRITION ISSUE.
May 4, 2007... When Edward A. Labry III took over as president of First Data Commercial Services in January 2006, one of his chief priorities was to reduce merchant attrition. In 2006, First Data reduced the loss of merchant customers by 7% from the previous...

MOBILE FINANCIAL SERVICES MAY HELP REACH UNDERBANKED, SAYS REPORT.
May 4, 2007... More than 17.5 million consumers with little to no banking relationships could be reached through mobile financial services, according to a new report from The Center For Financial Services Innovation, an affiliate of ShoreBank. Citing the...

LAWSUIT ACCUSES CHECKFREE OF DECEPTION.
May 4, 2007... A Radnor, Penn.-based law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Atlanta-based CheckFree Corp., claiming that the company violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by...

NUMBER OF TRUNCATION LAWSUITS GROWS.
May 4, 2007... A new round of lawsuits that allege some merchants failed to clip the credit card numbers and expiration dates from receipts were filed last week in Chicago. The suits, filed against Panera Bread Co., Chicago's O'Hare International Airport...

CHASE LOSES THOUSANDS OF CLIENTS' DATA.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week finished notifying thousands of its Chicago-area millionaire clients and some of its own employees who also are bank customers that it has lost a computer tape containing their account information and Social...

GIFT CARD GROWTH FUELS COMDATA REVENUE? INCREASE.(Financial report)
May 4, 2007... Citing strong growth in its gift card business, Comdata, a processor and issuer of credit, debit and stored-value cards for trucking fleets and merchants, today reported first-quarter revenues of $117.4 million, up 12.5% from $104.4 million...

TASQ EXPANDS NORTH AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP WITH INGENICO.
May 4, 2007... Tasq Technology, a subsidiary of First Data Corp., and Ingenico, a France-based point-of-sale terminal maker, have struck a deal for Tasq to distribute Ingenico products in Canada and the United States. The deal comes on the heels of First...

BRIEFS.
May 4, 2007... Meta Financial Group Inc. named Scott Galit, former MasterCard Worldwide senior vice president of global prepaid products, executive vice president of Meta Payment Systems, the company's prepaid card division....First National Credit Card...

MORGAN STANLEY SETS DISCOVER SPIN-OFF RATIO.
May 4, 2007... Morgan Stanley, which announced plans to spin off its Discover Financial Services unit to shareholders in December, will issue one Discover share for every two Morgan Stanley shares held, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange filing...

MASTERCARD PROFITS SOAR 70%.(Financial report)
May 4, 2007... Citing strong transaction-processing growth and the continued impact of restructured cross-border pricing, MasterCard Inc. today announced net income of $214.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, up 70% from $126.7 million a year ago....

HEDGE FUND WANTS ABN AMRO CHIEF OUSTED.
May 4, 2007... The Children's Investment Fund, an influential London-based hedge fund, yesterday called for the ouster of Rijkman Groenink, chief executive of ABN AMRO. Since acquiring 1% of ABN AMRO this year, the fund has demanded ABN AMRO be split up or...

JETBLUE EMPLOYEES USE CUSTOMERS' CARDS TO SPLURGE.
May 4, 2007... Four JetBlue employees and a New York City Department of Corrections officer were arrested yesterday for allegedly shopping with credit and debit cards that customers had accidentally left at the airline's ticketing counters. The defendants...

CELLULAR SOUTH AND OBOPAY LAUNCH MOBILE-PAYMENT SERVICE.
May 4, 2007... Cellular South, a privately held wireless provider that serves 640,000 customers in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama, announced yesterday that it is partnering with mobile-payment company Obopay to allow customers to send funds...

CHASE PAYMENTECH NAMES EUROPEAN CHIEF TO LEAD REGIONAL EXPANSION.(Shane Fitzpatrick)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Chase Paymentech, a Dallas-based provider of merchant payment-processing services, has appointed Shane Fitzpatrick as managing director, European Union, to oversee all of the company's European operations, marketing initiatives and...

LIGHTBRIDGE RENAMES ITSELF AUTHORIZE.NET.
May 4, 2007... Lightbridge Inc. has changed its corporate name to Authorize.Net Holdings Inc. to reflect the company's transformation from offering a slew of services, including credit analyses for wireless providers, to focusing solely on payment processing....

FLORIDA SENATE BANS GIFT CARD FEES, EXPIRATIONS.
May 4, 2007... The Florida Senate has approved a bill banning fees and expiration dates on gift cards sold in the state, excluding those that are part of a larger package related to a convention, conference or vacation, and those issued by financial...

BRIEFS.
May 4, 2007... Cerner Corp., a health care information-technology supplier, announced Healthe has launched what it claims is one of the industry's first combined health plan-identification and payment cards with a fully integrated line of credit. First Data...

DUTCH COURT TELLS ABN AMRO TO FREEZE LASALLE BANK SALE.
May 4, 2007... A Dutch court ruled today that ABN AMRO must freeze its $21 billion sale of Chicago-based LaSalle Bank to Bank of America Corp., deciding that the deal was so intertwined with Barclays' bid to take over ABN AMRO that it should be put to a...

HYPERCOM REVENUES RISE 6%.(Financial report)
May 4, 2007... Hypercom Corp. today reported a 6% rise in revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, to $64.8 million from $61 million during the same period a year ago. The payment-terminal maker reported a $2.5 million net loss for the quarter, however....

GEMALTO REPORTS SLUGGISH SALES.(Financial report)
May 4, 2007... Gemalto NV, the largest supplier of smart cards worldwide, reported sluggish growth in its banking card unit and falling sales overall for the first quarter. The France-based vendor said today that it shipped 53 million smart cards during the...

NETSPEND LAUNCHES TIO PREPAID MASTERCARDS.
May 4, 2007... Prepaid processor NetSpend is partnering with Tio Networks Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. to offer the Tio Prepaid MasterCard at participating Exxon and Mobil convenience stores. The launch will begin in Dallas with about 40 locations, then move...

TWO FIRMS LAUNCH NATIONAL DINING CARD PROGRAM.
May 4, 2007... Starting in July in Denver, diners will be able to earn rewards, such as $10 off a $100 bill, at multiple local restaurants using a new program from loyalty and gift card processor Catuity Inc. and marketing firm Dep Group LLC. The Dish in the...

CHASE PAYMENTECH GIVES WIRELESS INGENICO TERMINAL CLASS A CERTIFICATION.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The i7780 portable payment terminal from France-based terminal maker Ingenico is the first wireless payment device to receive Class A certification from Chase Paymentech Solutions, a Dallas-based provider of merchant payment-processing...

SMART CARD ALLIANCE, SOURCEMEDIA PARTNER TO EXPAND CARDTECHSECURTECH CONFERENCE.
May 4, 2007... The Smart Card Alliance and SourceMedia, CardLine's parent, have announced a partnership to expand the annual CardTechSecurTech conference. Beginning next year, the alliance will lead the conference agenda development, and SourceMedia will...

BRIEFS.
May 4, 2007... Lands' End is offering gift cards that allow customers to record a personalized voice message that recipients can play on the card in time for Mother's Day.... American Express' Open program, which provides services to small-business owners...

CORRECTION.(Correction notice)
May 4, 2007... Today's CardLine misidentified the head of Chase Paymentech. Mike Duffy is the company's president and CEO. CardLine regrets the error. (c) 2007 CardLine and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cardforum.com...

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PASSES DATA-PRIVACY BILLS.
May 11, 2007... The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday approved a pair of data-privacy bills that require businesses to notify consumers if their data are lost or stolen, though one of the bills creates an exemption if the breach involves only credit card...

PROPOSED HYPERCOM MERGER DEAL ABORTED.
May 11, 2007... Hypercom Corp. says a proposed merger with an unnamed company ended in the first quarter with no agreement. The Phoenix-based payment-terminal maker says it was approached by the company and did not solicit the offer. Hypercom says it incurred...

HEARTLAND NET INCOME UP 57%.(Heartland Payment Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Merchant processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. today reported net income of $6.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, up 57% from $4.4 million in the first quarter last year. Total revenues for the quarter were $284.2 million, a 20%...

COINSTAR'S Q1 PROFITS FALL 38%, BUT STORED-VALUE CARD AND REDBOX REVENUES RISE.
May 11, 2007... Coinstar Inc. yesterday reported revenues for the first quarter ended March 31 of $132.3 million, up 5% to from $126 million during the same period a year ago. Net income dropped 38%, to $2.6 million from $4.2 million last year. Several factors...

FIRST DATA INVESTS IN VIVOTECH.
May 11, 2007... First Data Corp. is investing in Vivotech, a contactless-payment technology company, in hopes the move will accelerate development and deployment of various contactless payment methods, says Barry McCarthy, president of product innovation at...

ANTITRUST LAWSUIT CHALLENGES EBAY'S PAYMENT POLICIES.
May 11, 2007... The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California this week consolidated two antitrust lawsuits against eBay Inc. into one case, Malone v. eBay Inc. Both suits allege that eBay's payment methods, which bar sellers from accepting...

NFINANSE LAUNCHES 'FEE-FREE' PAYROLL CARD.(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Bradenton, Fla.-based processor nFinanSe this week launched a new line of Discover Network payroll cards that it claims impose no fees to the employer. Employees' payroll is directly deposited into the payroll card accounts, and employees...

BRIEFS.(Charlie Crist bans gift card-expiration dates)(Encore Capital hires Carl C. Gregory III)(Heartland Bank launches Discover Network Card)(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Florida Gov. Charlie Crist today is expected to sign into law House-approved legislation banning gift card-expiration dates....Global Cash Access Inc., a Las Vegas-based company that supports such services as ATM cash withdrawals and cash back...

ABN AMRO REJECTS EUROPEAN BANKS' OFFER...
May 11, 2007... ABN AMRO today said it rejected a $24.5 billion proposal for its Chicago-based LaSalle Bank subsidiary by a group of three giant European banks-the Belgian/Dutch bank Fortis NV, the United Kingdom's Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Spain-based...

...FOLLOWING BOFA LAWSUIT TO PROTECT LASALLE BANK ACQUISITION.
May 11, 2007... ABN AMRO's rejection today of a bid by a group of three European banks-the Belgian/Dutch bank Fortis NV, the United Kingdom's Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Spain-based Grupo Santander-to include Chicago-based subsidiary LaSalle Bank in a...

CREDIT CARD DEBT OFFERINGS FALL TO $51 MILLION LAST WEEK.
May 11, 2007... Credit card debt portfolios listed for sale on the public portions of various Web sites fell to $51 million last week compared with $170.9 million the previous week. An additional $121 million in portfolios included both credit card and...

TD BANKNORTH'S EARNINGS FALL 28%.(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Portland, Maine-based TD Banknorth generated 7% revenue growth during the first quarter ended March 31, to $429.9 million from $400.3 million during the same period a year ago. Net income fell nearly 28%, however, to $55.2 million from $76.2...

FIVE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS RANK IN TOP 100 MOST FINANCIALLY POWERFUL BRANDS.
May 11, 2007... Success in developing loyal customers has put five major financial institutions in the top 100 financially powerful brands, according to rankings compiled by Brandz, a division of New York-based Millward Brown Optimor, the brand finance and...

PAY BY TOUCH ADDS CARD TO LOYALTY PROGRAM.
May 11, 2007... Pay By Touch, a San Francisco-based biometric payment company, says it is adding a loyalty card capability to its SmartShop loyalty program. SmartShop offers consumers personalized in-store offerings from merchants. While Pay By Touch customers...

CONSCIOUS CHOICE LAUNCHES ENLIGHTENMENT VISA DIRECT MAILING CAMPAIGN.
May 11, 2007... Conscious Choice, a Los Angeles-based healthy-lifestyle company that markets the cobranded Enlightenment Visa card with First Hawaiian Bank, has launched a direct-mailing campaign to 250,000 prequalified customers, Conscious Choice CEO...

BRIEFS.
May 11, 2007... Bank of America named former Starbucks Corp. executive Anne Saunders brand and advertising executive and longtime BofA corporate investments executive Walter J. Fuller chief investment officer.... Fiserv Credit Processing Services, a subsidiary...

FIRST-QUARTER CONSUMER BORROWING GROWS 4.6%.
May 11, 2007... Consumer credit outstanding rose at an annual rate of 4.6% in the first quarter ended March 31, boosted by a 6.7% increase in consumer borrowing in March, according to the Federal Reserve Board's monthly Consumer Credit survey, known as the...

CITIGROUP PLANS $50 BILLION ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE.
May 11, 2007... Citigroup Inc. has announced plans to invest $50 billion over the next 10 years to address global climate change by supporting the commercialization and growth of alternative energy and clean technology. Citi calls the effort "a realistic,...

TNS RECORDS $3.2 MILLION Q1 NET LOSS.(Financial report)
May 11, 2007... TNS Inc., a Reston, Va.-based provider of high-speed data links between merchant terminals and transaction processors, today reported a net loss of $3.2 million for the first quarter ended March 31. That compares with a $500,000 net loss for...

ENVELOPE COMPANY MARKETS PROTECTIVE LINING FOR CONTACTLESS CARDS.
May 11, 2007... A Uniondale, N.Y.-based company says it is selling protective envelopes and sleeves to shield contactless payment cards from criminals who might seek to steal personal data off the cards. A thin, metallic shield will protect information on the...

GREEN DOT, CARDINALCOMMERCE BRING ONLINE PAYMENTS TO FINANCIALLY UNDERSERVED.
May 11, 2007... Green Dot Corp., a prepaid card provider and operator of the Green Dot reloading network, yesterday announced an agreement with authentication-services provider CardinalCommerce Corp. that will allow online merchants to accept Green Dot's...

ECOMMLINK AND PARTNERS OFFER MOBILE PAYMENTS THROUGH PREPAID CARD.(eCommLink and First Bank & Trust sign marketing agreements with telSpace and mCash Holdings)(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Las Vegas-based prepaid card processor eCommLink, a SellingSource.com company, and Brookings, S.D.-based First Bank & Trust have announced a partnership with mobile payment and technology companies telSpace and mCash Holdings to market prepaid...

CITIGROUP PUTS CONNECTICUT CREDIT CARDS ON HOLD.
May 11, 2007... Citigroup Inc., issuer of the Connecticut government's Exxon Mobil gasoline credit cards, put an unknown number of the state's cards on hold last week. The action may have been in reaction to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services'...

BRIEFS.(Transportation Security Administration reports staff personal information is missing)(ExaDigm Inc. promotes Michael Mulcahy)(Chase Card Services' grant to George Washington School of Business)(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... The U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced that an external computer hard driver that contained sensitive and private information on 100,000 current and former staffers is missing....Santa Ana, Calif.-based point-of-sale...

COMPUCREDIT RECORDS 'UNEXPECTED' LOSS IN FIRST QUARTER.(Financial report)
May 11, 2007... Credit card issuer CompuCredit Corp. on Tuesday reported a net loss of $9.5 million for first quarter ended March 31. That compares with a $54.8 million profit the Atlanta-based company reported for the first quarter of 2006. Revenue fell...

MERGER? 'NO PROBLEM,' SAY SURVEYED CARDHOLDERS.
May 11, 2007... Cardholders do not mind mergers of their card-issuing banks, as long those issuers maintain service and card terms that customers value, Megan Bramlette, an associate at Auriemma Consulting Group of Westbury, N.Y., tells CardLine. That is,...

EFD Q1 REVENUES FALL 4% AS COMPANY EXPLORES MERGER.(Financial report)
May 11, 2007... Transaction processor EFD, formerly known as eFunds Corp., today said that its board of directors has formed a review committee and directed its independent financial advisors to assist in exploring all of the company's potential strategic and...

ENCORE CAPITAL EARNINGS INCREASE 21%.(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Debt buyer Encore Capital Group yesterday reported first-quarter net income of $5.7 million, a 21% jump from the $4.7 million earned during the same period last year. Gross collections for the quarter were $90.5 million, a 3% increase from the...

JACK HENRY Q3 EARNINGS RISE 12%.(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Processor Jack Henry & Associates yesterday reported fiscal third-quarter 2007 net income of $26.4 million, up 12% from $23.5 million in the same period a year ago. Revenues in the quarter ended March 31 were $168.9 million, up 16% from $145.5...

ONLINE RESOURCES' BILL PAYMENT BUSINESS BOOMS.(Brief article)
May 11, 2007... Online Resources Corp., a provider of Internet banking and bill-payment programs to financial institutions, today reported a first-quarter loss caused primarily by costs related to its purchase of electronic bill-payment service Princeton eCom....

COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY TO LAUNCH VIDEO MONEY-TRANSFER PHONE.
May 11, 2007... Ventura, Calif.-based communications company VideoKall Inc. yesterday announced plans to launch a product by the end of the year that will allow consumers to transfer funds overseas as they see-and talk to-the person to whom they are sending...

BRIEFS.
May 11, 2007... An Exxon Mobil spokesperson tells CardLine that Citigroup Inc., issuer of the Connecticut government's Exxon Mobil gasoline credit cards, has removed its hold on an unknown number of Connecticut government cards. She declined further comment on...

NONPRIME ISSUER ESTABLISHES BEACHHEAD IN U.K.
May 11, 2007... Subprime credit card issuer CompuCredit Corp. plans to use its recently acquired subprime portfolio in the United Kingdom as a stepping stone to issuing cards in the UK, David G. Hanna, CompuCredit CEO, said Tuesday during a conference call...

PAYPAL ADDS NEW MARKETS, LANGUAGES.
May 11, 2007... Customers in 87 additional countries now can send money and shop online using PayPal, and they can view the PayPal Web site in Spanish, French and Chinese, in addition to English, the online payments division of eBay announced today. A PayPal...

GEMALTO RECEIVES CERTIFICATIONS FOR HANDHELD CARD READER.
May 11, 2007... Gemalto NV, a France-based maker of smart cards, has received card-industry certifications for a new, handheld reader for chip-based payment cards. According to Gemalto, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International have certified the company's...

BRIEFS.(Keith Ellison and Jon Tester introduce bill to disallow credit card industry from applying universal default)(Asset Acceptance starts stock-repurchase program)(TSYS promotes officials)
May 11, 2007... Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced bills last week that would amend the Truth-in-Lending Act to prohibit credit card companies from applying universal default....Debt buyer Asset Acceptance has started a $150...

CORRECTIONS.(Correction notice)
May 11, 2007... CardLine reported today that VideoKall Inc.'s video pay phone remittance would include a $2.50 per minute charge unless the caller spent six minutes on the phone, in which case the calling fees would be waived. In fact, callers are charged...

WAMU CITES IN-BRANCH CARD SALES GROWTH.
May 18, 2007... Like many large banks, Washington Mutual Inc. is finding that credit card marketing through branches can be more effective and cheaper than traditional techniques such as direct mail. In early 2006, shortly after WaMu bought monoline issuer...

SENATORS INTRODUCE COMMERCIAL BANK BILL.
May 18, 2007... Three U.S. senators introduced bipartisan legislation yesterday that would prevent companies from setting up or buying industrial loan companies that can issue credit cards, make loans and, in some cases, take deposits. The legislation,...

LIMITING PAYMENT CHOICES HURTS MERCHANTS.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Retailers who limit or change what payment cards they accept will lose customers, Gary Charboneau, president of WGC Associates LLC, warned during a presentation Thursday at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's 2007 Payments Conference....

CAPITAL ONE CUTS 280 CREDIT CARD JOBS.
May 18, 2007... Capital One Financial Corp. said yesterday that it is cutting 280 jobs in its credit card division, effective in August and September. The cuts represent nearly 6% of the division's 4,800-person workforce and will affect each of the credit card...

BANKS, MERCHANTS SHOULD PUSH BOTH PIN- AND SIGNATURE-DEBIT.
May 18, 2007... Banks and retailers should promote the use of both PIN- and signature-debit card use as opposed to steering customers to one or the other, Ronald V. Congemi, senior vice president of strategic industry relations at First Data Corp., said during...