Cardline articles from November 2003

Cardline archives from November 2003

PILOT COULD MEAN THE DEMISE CARD NUMBERS MAY BE CLOSE AT HAND.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... JCB Co. Ltd., Japan's largest credit card issuer, will launch a pilot tomorrow in Japan that will allow its customers to access their accounts by using cellular telephones and fingerprint biometrics. The pilot will test biometrics with the...

ATLANTA TRAINS FIRST TO GO SMART CARD-ONLY.(Cubic Transportation Systems to deploy system that relies almost exclusively on smart cards for fare payment for The Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority )(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Atlanta's transit agency has awarded a $72.5 million contract to Cubic Transportation Systems to deploy what is likely to be the first major U.S. system that relies almost exclusively on smart cards for fare payment. The Metropolitan Atlanta...

SUBPRIME ISSUER COMPUCREDIT NOT CREDIT WORTHY ENOUGH TO OWN A BANK.(Application to purchase controlling interest in Axsys National Bank is rejected)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has rejected CompuCredit Corp.'s application to purchase controlling interest in Axsys National Bank. In a four-page letter turning down the subprime card marketer's application, the OCC said -...

BANK ONE OFFERS A SPEEDY $10.(Bank One Corp. will send The One Card cardholders $10 if they link card to their Speedpass payment device from ExxonMobil Corp. before Nov. 30)
November 7, 2003... Bank One Corp. will send its The One Card cardholders $10 if they link the card to their Speedpass payment device from ExxonMobil Corp. before Nov. 30. To earn the reward, cardholders must designate their One Card account as the underlying...

EXPERIAN LAUNCHES WEB SITE.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Consumer credit-information firm Experian launched last week a new Web site with the PLUS Score, a free service that closely tracks a consumer's credit score. At the www.nationalscore.com Web site, consumers can compare the average PLUS score...

DIEBOLD AND NCR DELIVER SOLID RESULTS.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The two leading manufacturers of bank ATMs in the U.S. reported solid demand for ATMs and related products during the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Diebold Inc., the North Canton, OH-based ATM maker, reported $48.8 million in net income during...

GE STILL FLYING WITH AMERICAN EAGLE.(GE Consumer Finance signed two-year extension agreement with American Eagle Outfitters Inc)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... GE Consumer Finance announced recently that it has signed a two-year extension agreement with American Eagle Outfitters Inc. The extension means that GE will continue to market the private-label AE Card. The current contract was scheduled to...

CITIGROUP COMPLETES PURCHASE OF SEARS CARD PORTFOLIO.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Citigroup Inc., Citibank's parent company, today completed its acquisition of the $28.6 billion private-label and bank card portfolios of Sears, Roebuck and Co. for a price of $31.8 billion, a 10% premium. The acquisition also includes the...

MONOLINES LEAD ISSUER GROWTH.
November 7, 2003... The two leading credit card monolines, MBNA Corp. and Capital One Financial Corp., posted the highest growth rates among the nation's 10 largest credit card issuers during the second quarter, according to Thomson Media's latest Quarterly Data...

CHARTER ONE GIFT CARD IS REALLY A GIFT FOR THE BUYER.(Charter One Financial Inc. sets itself apart from the gift card-issuing pack)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Charter One Financial Inc. has set itself apart from the gift card-issuing pack. Cleveland-based Charter One will not charge a loading fee for the amount the purchaser wants loaded onto the card, Mark Grossi, Charter One's executive vice...

JCB, JAPANESE SUPERMARKET CHAIN OFFER A COBRANDED CARD.(JCB International Credit Card Co. Ltd. and Marukai Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Fresh off its success from offering a cobranded credit card to members of the Marukai Corp. Japanese supermarkets in Hawaii, JCB International Credit Card Co. Ltd. will begin offering a cobranded card to Marukai members Saturday in Southern...

ATIAM, MOSAIC TO CONVERT INSURANCE CHECKS TO DEBIT CARDS.(Atiam Technologies Inc. will use Mosaic Software's Postilion software)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Atiam Technologies Inc. plans to use Mosaic Software's Postilion software to support its new stored-value insurance-payment access card called InsPac, the companies announced today. Christopher Klein, Mosaic executive vice president, tells...

AFTER SHOPPING, VISA OFFERS STRESS RELIEF FOR A LUCKY 61.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Visa USA Saturday kicked off its annual holiday promotion to drive credit and Visa check card usage, Diane Salmon, Visa's vice president of national promotions and loyalty marketing, tells CardLine today. Visa is calling this year's promotion...

FCC MAY FINE AT&T $780,000 FOR VIOLATING REGISTRY.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The Federal Communications Commission today has proposed levying a $780,000 fine against AT&T Corp. for violating the FCC's do-not-call marketing rules. In a statement, the FCC said AT&T made 29 calls on 78 separate occasions after the...

SMART CARD DEBATE HEATS UP.
November 7, 2003... The debate over U.S. adoption of smart cards heated up last week in Boulder, CO, as the leader of a terminal manufacturer faced off against the chief of a major smart card maker at the Future of Money Summit. Douglas Bergeron, CEO of VeriFone...

FAIR ISAAC MISSES BY A PENNY, GETS PUNISHED.(Fair Isaac and Company Inc. reported net income of $31.7 million for its fourth fiscal 2003 quarter )(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Scoring and risk-assessment software provider Fair Isaac Corp. late Monday reported net income of $31.7 million for its fourth fiscal 2003 quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a net loss of $24.2 million a year earlier. Wall Street, however,...

COMPUCREDIT'S THIRD-QUARTER NET INCOME UP 161%.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... CompuCredit Corp., the Atlanta-based subprime card marketer, yesterday reported third-quarter net income of $57.5 million, up 161% from $22.1 million for the same three-month period last year. The big jump in net earnings was rocket propellant...

U.S. BANCORP COMBINES TWO NETWORKS OWNED BY ELAN.(Two networks owned by U.S. Bancorp's Elan Financial Services EFT processing subsidiary will be combined)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Two networks owned by U.S. Bancorp's Elan Financial Services EFT processing subsidiary will be combined with the intention of expanding Elan's network services, says Janet Estep, executive vice president at Elan. The Minibank and the Fastbank...

ELAN BUYS CARD PORTFOLIO.(Elan Financial Services buys Camden National Corp.'s $3 million card portfolio)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Elan Financial Services has purchased Camden National Corp.'s $3 million card portfolio through a sale arranged by Brookwood Capital of Peterborough, NH lan also signed an agency agreement with Camden National and will issue cards for its two...

GLOBAL HIRES BAKER AS STRATEGY EXEC.(Global Payments Inc appoints Jeffery B. Baker as senior vice president of strategic planning)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Global Payments Inc., an Atlanta-based merchant processor, today announced the appointment of Jeffery B. Baker as senior vice president of strategic planning. Baker most recently served as principal and senior research analyst at U.S. Bancorp...

NAVY FED AIDS STRICKEN CALIFORNIA MEMBERS.(Navy Federal Credit Union will offer special loans and other emergency services)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Navy Federal Credit Union will offer special loans and other emergency services, including free express delivery of replacement ATM and debit cards and checks, to its tens of thousands of members affected by the southern California brush fires,...

SENATE APPROVES FCRA UPDATE.(Fair Credit Reporting Act 95-2)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The U.S. Senate today passed legislation updating the Fair Credit Reporting Act 95-2. The legislation would give Americans more weapons to fight identity theft and provide citizens with free annual e-mailed credit reports, according to wire...

MASTERCARD'S RISING INTERCHANGE FEES CONCERN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION.
November 7, 2003... The preliminary results of an investigation by the European Commission's Competition Policy Department have found that the interchange fees MasterCard International charges merchants have been rising steadily over the past two years, an EC...

SEARS DETAILS USE OF CARD PROCEEDS.(Sears Roebuck and Co. details how it will use proceeds of sale of its $29 bil domestic proprietary and MasterCard card portfolio to Citigroup Inc)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Sears, Roebuck and Co. today detailed how it will use the proceeds of the sale of its $29 billion domestic proprietary and MasterCard card portfolio to Citigroup Inc. Sears estimates a $4 billion pre-tax gain on the sale, which generated total...

WITH THE CLEAR CARD, AMEX SEES A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... American Express Co now can make it perfectly clear that it is the only card issuer that can market transparent and translucent card products ew York City-based AmEx earned that right when the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded...

WILLIAM BLAIR, MBNA OFFER A CARD FOR THE WELL-HEELED.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... MBNA Corp. and the Chicago-based investment house, William Blair & Co. LLC, announced this week the launch of a rewards credit card for wealthy investors. Holders of the William Blair Quantum Visa card earn a percentage on each purchase they...

BIOMETRICS HAS ITS FINGER ON REGULAR CUSTOMERS.
November 7, 2003... Biometrics are an effective addition to current payment methods, and the timing is right for consumer acceptance, payment industry veteran Eula Adams tells CardLine today. Adams, the former head of First Data Resources, has invested in and is a...

VISA WANTS CONSUMERS TO CHECK OUT ITS CHECK CARD.(Visa USA will launch "Know Your Check Card Month," educational and promotional campaign)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Visa USA tomorrow will launch "Know Your Check Card Month," an educational and promotional campaign trumpeting November as Visa Check Card Month. The campaign includes a consumer quiz, five one-page fact sheets, and a pamphlet that Visa members...

MEMBERS SHORE UP VISA'S STRAPPED FINANCES.
November 7, 2003... Visa USA, in a cash crunch as a result of its $2 billion settlement in May of a class-action lawsuit brought by millions of merchants over interchange retailers paid to accept signature-based debit transactions, appears to have been rescued by...

VISA'S CARD VOLUME CONTINUES TO GROW.(Visa USA)(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Also today, Visa USA reported that total volume on U.S. cards grew nearly 13% during the quarter ended Sept. 30 to more than $285 billion. Debit card charge volume led the way, growing more than 22% from the year-earlier quarter to hit $118...

MASTERCARD REPORTS RISE IN OFFLINE DEBIT PURCHASES.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... During the first nine months of this year, some 45.6 million debit MasterCard holders initiated 1.43 billion signature-based, or offline, debit purchases, up 17% from 1.22 billion during the same period in 2002. The total value of the purchases...

MORE STATES LIKELY TO SUE OVER ATM ACCESS.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Major bank ATM deployers such as Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have promised to make hundreds of their ATMs voice-activated for access by the visually impaired in the next few years. But advocates for the blind want the process...

HALIFAX ORDERS 15 MILLION CHIP CARDS FROM GEMPLUS.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Gemplus International SA today announced it has won a contract to provide up to 15 million smart cards to Edinburgh-based Halifax Bank of Scotland. HBOS will replace all of its customers' magnetic-stripe debit cards with smart cards over the...

FISERV GIVES BANKS NETWORK GOVERNING POWER.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Fiserv Inc.'s electronic funds transfer unit will change the way policies are set for its Accel/Exchange PIN-based point-of-sale and ATM networks. Fiserv, Brookfield, WI, is creating a 16-member, financial institution-run Network Advisory...

DISCOVER LAUNCHES CARDS WITH 10% REWARDS.
November 7, 2003... Discover Financial Services today unveiled the first in a series of Discover cards that let holders earn rewards of up to 10% of charge volume. The card, called the Gasoline Cashback Bonus Plus Card, gives holders a rebate of up to 5% on gas...

MASTERCARD CUTS 160 JOBS BUT WILL ADD OTHERS.(MasterCard International )(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... MasterCard International has eliminated 160 positions throughout the Purchase, NY-based card association, a spokesperson tells CardLine today. And while many of the eliminated positions were vacant, the association added 100 technology...

PROCESSORS CONTINUE TO OUTPERFORM INDICES.(Eleven payment processors outperformed Standard & Poor's 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average for seventh straight month)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Eleven payment processors tracked by Chicago-based Barrington Research in October outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the seventh straight month. In a report this week, Barrington analyst Gary...

REVOLVING CREDIT'S GROWTH RATE PICKS UP.(Consumer revolving credit grew at annualized rate of 5% in September)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Consumer revolving credit grew at an annualized rate of 5% in September compared with revised figures of 2.9% in August and 1.4% in July, the Federal Reserve reported this afternoon. The Fed estimates September's seasonally adjusted revolving...

LOUIS RAMS KICK OFF SMART CARD PROGRAM.(Fans will be able to pay for snacks and souvenirs with prepaid smart cards at home games of NFL's St. Louis Rams)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Starting Sunday, fans will be able to pay for snacks and souvenirs with prepaid smart cards at home games of the National Football League's St. Louis Rams. The chip-based FastBreak Concession Cards will be accepted for payment via 150 payment...

CREDIT COUNSELOR URGES INDUSTRY REFORM.(Cambridge Credit Counseling will launch ad campaign calling for federal and state regulators to work together to reform credit-counseling industry)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. will launch an advertising campaign today calling for federal and state regulators to work together to reform the credit-counseling industry, according to a release from the Agawam, MA-based company. Credit...

FIFTH THIRD REACHES ACTIVE DEBIT MILESTONE.(Fifth Third Bank )(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank today announced that 1 million of its debit MasterCard holders are "active," initiating at least one signature- or PIN-based purchase or ATM transaction per month ach of the active accounts, Fifth Third says,...

CARDTRONICS, VENTUS INK DEAL.(Ventus Networks Inc. signs deal with Cardtronics Inc. )(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Ventus Networks Inc., Norwalk, CT, has signed a deal with Cardtronics Inc., a top independent ATM operator with about 12,500 off-premise machines, to provide ATM telecommunications services to the Houston-based company, the companies announced...

ONLINE NEWCOMERS EXPECTED TO PLAY SANTA FOR CARD COMPANIES.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Card issuers and merchant acquirers should be rubbing their hands with glee because Jupiter Research predicts online holiday purchases, which are primarily paid for with credit cards, will reach $17 billion this year, up 21% from last year ew...

ELAN BUYS TEXAS BANK'S CARD PORTFOLIO.(Elan Financial Services buys portfolio from State Bank)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Texas United Bancshares Inc. late Friday reported that State Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary, has sold its credit card portfolio to Elan Financial Services, the credit card unit of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. The portfolio has 6,300...

ELAN LAUNCHES ATM-DEBIT CARD DATA WAREHOUSE APPLICATION.(Elan Financial Services)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Elan Financial Services, the card-issuing and processing arm of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, today announced the launch of eQuest, a Web-based data-warehouse application designed to enable client financial institutions to do ad-hoc queries...

WINCOR NIXDORF PURCHASES REMAINING SHARES WINCOR AUTOTELL.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Wincor Nixdorf, a German ATM manufacturer, has purchased the remaining 49% interest in Wincor AutoTell LLC for an undisclosed price, company officials said today. Wincor purchased a 51% share in AutoTell in 2000. AutoTell produces open-source...

FORMER PRESIDENT OF BANK ONE CARD SERVICES JOINS NATIONAL CITY.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Daniel J. Frate, former president and chief operating officer of Bank One Card Services, has a new job at National City Corp., the Cleveland-based financial holding company, last week announced that it has named Frate executive vice president...

LG CARD CONTINUES ITS RESTRUCTURING.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... LG Card Co., Korea's largest card issuer, will reduce the number of its executives as part of a company-wide restructuring. LG, which is based in Seoul, will reduce the number of executives to 10 from 16, according to wire-service reports....

CARDINALCOMMERCE, PAYMETRIC SIGN AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... CardinalCommerce Corp. and Paymetric Inc. recently announced the signing of an agreement in which Paymetric will use Cardinal Centinel, CardinalCommerce's authentication payment software. Paymetric, a Houston-based integrated electronic...

CARD DROUGHT MAY END FOR LANDS' END.(Citigroup may issue cards for Land's End Inc.)
November 14, 2003... Citigroup Inc., which completed its acquisition of the Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s card portfolio last week, expects to add approximately 4 million new card accounts annually beginning in January. Citigroup possibly will spark that growth by...

CITIGROUP IS HOLDING TALKS WITH TSYS.(Total System Services Inc.)
November 14, 2003... Citigroup Inc. is holding talks with Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s card processor, about their future relationship, Steve Freiberg, chairman and CEO of Citi Cards N.A., told analysts during a Webcast yesterday....

1 PRIVATE-LABEL AND BANK CARD ISSUER.(After buying Sears Roebuck and Co's card portfolio, Citigroup Inc. can watch it competitors fade from view in the rear-view mirror)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... With the completion of its purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s card portfolio, Citigroup Inc. can watch it competitors fade from view in the rear-view mirror. The New York City-based issuer now has $165.9 billion in total managed receivables,...

PROVIDIAN TO LAY OFF 95 FROM TEXAS CALL CENTER.(Providian Financial Corp)(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Providian Financial Corp. will lay off 95 workers from its call center in San Antonio, TX, by year's end as part of its transformation from a subprime card issuer to one serving more creditworthy customers. A spokesperson for San...

FRAUD DECLINING, BUT IT'S TAKING UP MORE OF MERCHANTS' TIME.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Fraudsters will grab about $1.6 billion from online merchants this year, a 20% drop from last year, according to preliminary results of the fifth-annual fraud survey of Web merchants by CyberSource Corp. Merchants said they expect to lose 1.7%...

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS FANS PAY WITH A WAVE.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Fans who pay with a token they wave near payment terminals are making purchases twice as often as those who pay with credit cards at Seahawks Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks, according to the company that...

SONY CANADA OFFERS IN-STORE CARD.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Sony of Canada Ltd. today announced that it is issuing the Sony store card, which allows cardholders to purchase Sony consumer electronic products for up to 12 months interest free. Cardholders also don't have a make a payment for 12 months....

SCOTIABANK, PAYMENTECH PILOT SMART CARD.
November 14, 2003... Scotiabank and Paymentech Canada have begun piloting a Visa smart card that uses a personal identification number, Drew Brown, Paymentech Canada's president, tells CardLine today. Brown said the pilot is taking place in the anticipation that...

JCB CARD TO MAKE ITS PERU DEBUT.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... JCB International Co. Ltd., the international subsidiary of JCB Co. Ltd., today announced that the JCB card soon will make its debut in Peru's credit card market because more Japanese businessmen and tourists are visiting the country. JCB...

MASTERCARD MAKES PROGRESS IN ONLINE SECURITY.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... MasterCard International says it has 2,511 issuers worldwide participating in its SecureCode system for authenticating cardholders shopping on the Internet. Of those issuers, 2,417 are in North America, Bruce Rutherford, vice president of...

INTERCEPT'S THIRD-QUARTER INCOME DIVES.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Woes ranging from operational issues to merchant attrition took their toll on InterCept Inc.'s third-quarter financials. The Atlanta-based card processor and bank technology provider today reported net income after preferred dividends of...

CITIGROUP WILL MAKE PERFORMANCE AND MARKETING PAYMENTS TO SEARS.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Citigroup Inc., which recently completed its acquisition of Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s credit card portfolio, will make annual marketing and performance payments to the Hoffmann Estates, IL-based retailer over the next 10 years, Steve Freiberg,...

TSYS MUM ON TALKS WITH CITIGROUP.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s card processor, said it will not disclose the nature of the discussions it is holding with Citigroup Inc., which recently completed acquisition of the Sears credit card portfolio....

CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK ISSUES MORE THAN 22 MILLION CARDS.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... China Construction Bank has issued 22.8 million new cards during 2003's first nine months, according to The Asian Banker. During that period, China Construction Bank earned $84.9 million in bank card transaction fees, the publication says. ...

TARGET'S VISA PACES THE RETAILER'S CARD GROWTH.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Target Corp.'s Visa card continued on its growth trajectory in the third quarter while its three proprietary compatriots shrank, according to Target's third-quarter earnings report released today. Target ended its fiscal quarter Nov. 1 with...

Target Corp.'s 3rd-Quarter Card Receivables ($ in millions).(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Target Guest $721 $779 -7% Target Visa $3,913 $3,171 23% Mervyn's $503 $584 -14% Marshall Fields $641 $708 -9% TOTAL $5,778 $5,242 10% Source: Target...

MASTERCARD SAYS VISA'S BYLAW INTENT NOW CLEAR.
November 14, 2003... Visa USA's decision to modify its exit-fee bylaw so that only members who defect to MasterCard International are affected "makes it very clear" what Visa's original intent was when it adopted the rule earlier this year, a MasterCard...

MASTERCARD DOES NOT PLAN TO CHANGE ITS DEBIT CARD INTERCHANGE.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... MasterCard International does not plan to change its reduced debit card-interchange rates Jan. 1 even though they are only required to be in place until Dec. 31, a source familiar with the rates tells CardLine today. MasterCard and Visa USA...

CONSTANTINE ISSUES ADVISORY TO MERCHANT CLIENTS.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... Lloyd Constantine, the lead attorney for merchants in the class-action lawsuit that Visa USA and MasterCard International settled this spring, today issued a 17-page paper advising his clients of their rights under the settlements beginning...

SIGN OF THE TIMES, THE SIGNS THEY ARE A CHANGING.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... The familiar Visa Accepted Here sign that appears in merchants' windows and on their doors soon will have siblings. Lloyd Constantine, the lead attorney for merchants in the Wal-Mart class-action lawsuit against Visa USA and MasterCard...

EFUNDS OFFERS SURCHARGE-FREE ACCESS TO AREAS HIT BY WILDFIRES.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... EFunds Corp., the Scottsdale, AZ, ATM operator and electronic funds transfer transaction processor, will provide surcharge-free access to customers of Jackson Federal Bank in San Bernardino, CA., which was an area hard hit by the recent...

EFUNDS HAS ITS OASIS.(Brief Article)
November 14, 2003... EFunds Corp. also has completed its $30 million purchase of Oasis Technology Inc., which produces ATM- transaction switching software. The Oasis software allows eFunds for the first time to offer its ATM clients an open-source platform to...

VISA EXTENDS LOWER OFFLINE DEBIT RATES INTO 2004.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Visa USA today announced it will extend into next year the lower interchange rate for Visa check card transactions that it agreed to temporarily implement on Aug. 1 as part of its settlement in the so-called Wal-Mart merchant class-action...

BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE IN THE 2003 FISCAL YEAR.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Bankruptcy filings set yet another record by rising 7% in 2003's fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported today that Chapter 7 filings, which are designed to allow individuals to keep certain exempt...

REBATE CARDS REWARD ISSUERS WITH HIGH USAGE.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Reward-rebate bank cards generate an average $883 in new spending monthly, 124% more than the average $394 spent on a card without rewards, according to Synovate's Inside Track. In a survey of 5,000 credit card-owning households, only 26% of...

HOLOGRAM MAKER'S SALES, EARNINGS OFF.(American Bank Note Holographics Inc.)
November 21, 2003... American Bank Note Holographics Inc. late Thursday reported third-quarter financials that were off from the year-earlier quarter but up from the second quarter. ABNH reported net third-quarter income of $298,000 compared with $694,000 in the...

INVENTOR OF RAINBOW HOLOGRAM USED ON CARDS DIES.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who invented the 3-D hologram used on credit cards, dies)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Stephen A. Benton, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who invented the 3-D rainbow hologram used on credit cards, died Sunday of brain cancer, according to MIT News. He was 61. Benton invented the white-light, or rainbow...

OPTIONS MASTERCARD ADDS ACCOUNTS, BUT IT FLATTENS CANADIAN TIRE SOMEWHAT.(Canadian Tire Co. Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Canadian Tire Co. Ltd.'s financial-services unit, which includes the company's retail card and its cobranded Options MasterCard, yesterday reported third-quarter operating earnings of C$33.1 million, down 2% from C$33.8 million in 2002's third...

METRIS COMPLETES SALE OF CARD ACCOUNTS; GLOBAL CLOSES PURCHASE.(Metris Companies Inc)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Subprime issuer Metris Companies Inc. announced late last night that it has closed on the sale of 125,000 credit card accounts and $495 million in related receivables. Minnetonka, MN-based Metris announced the sale in October but did not then...

METRIS DELAYS FILING 10Q; THE INVESTORS DUMP STOCK.(Metris Companies Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Subprime issuer Metris Companies Inc. today announced that it will delay filing its 10Q quarterly financial report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that was due Friday. Minnetonka, MN-based Metris announced the delay ahead of a...

MASTERCARD FILES FOR HOLOGRAM PATENT.(MasterCard International)
November 21, 2003... MasterCard International today announced that it has filed to patent its new debit MasterCard hologram. In a news release, MasterCard says the patent would "relate to the use of holograms to visually identify a type of payment device."...

PAYPASS PASSES THE TEST, AND IT WILL BECOME STANDARD.(MasterCard International will roll out PayPass contactless payment technology as standard feature on credit and debit cards)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... MasterCard International will roll out its PayPass contactless payment technology as a standard feature on its credit and debit cards, said Art Kranzley, chief e-business officer at MasterCard, during a teleconference today. Kranzley said...

SURVEY; CONSUMERS BUYING GIFT CARDS DOUBLES.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Twice as many consumers purchased a gift card during the 12-month period that ended in August, compared with same period last year, according to a survey released today by ValueLink, First Data Corp.'s gift and spending card service. Karen...

GENPASS LAUNCHES MONEYPASS.(ATM selective-surcharge network )(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Genpass Inc., owner of MoneyMaker and MoneyBelt electronic funds-transfer networks, has created an ATM selective-surcharge network called MoneyPass etwork participants can use MoneyPass to waive ATM surcharges on each others' debit cardholders,...

ELAN, THE COOKIE MONSTER, GOBBLES UP ANOTHER CARD PORTFOLIO.(First National Bank of Barnesville sold credit card portfolio to Elan Financial Services)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... First National Bank of Barnesville in Barnesville, GA, has sold its credit card portfolio to Elan Financial Services in a deal arranged by Brookwood Capital of Peterborough, NH. As part of the agreement, Elan, the card-issuing subsidiary of...