Cardline articles from November 2006

Cardline archives from November 2006

CAPGEMINI TO BUY KANBAY FOR $1.25 BILLION.(information technology firm )(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... French information technology firm Capgemini Group announced yesterday it will pay $1.25 billion for Kanbay International, a consulting, technology and outsourcing services provider to retail banks and their card divisions. Capgemini reported...

CARD FEES MAJOR WORRY FOR GROCERS.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Credit and debit card interchange fees worry grocers more than staffing and health care costs, according to the 2005-2006 Annual Financial Review from the Food Marketing Institute. Only energy costs are a greater concern for grocers than card...

NEW YORK COULD ENACT TOUGHER COLLECTION RULES.(regulations on the debt collection industry )(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... New York could enact tougher regulations on the debt collection industry following the Nov. 7 election as officials hold hearings on the issue and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer leads in the race for governor. The State Assembly's Committee on...

VENDOR SAYS BOFA CHECKING OUT CONTACTLESS VENDING.(cashless payments at candy and soda machines)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... USA Technologies, a Malvern, Penn.-based vending machine services company, appears to be taking the lead in the shift to cashless payments at candy and soda machines. It announced today that Bank of America is evaluating its cashless vending...

INVESTORS SPEED TO ZOOM.(Zoom Systems)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Zoom Systems raised $35 million in Series D financing this month from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Sierra Ventures and Motorola Ventures. San Francisco-based Zoom Systems operates so-called robotic stores--glitzy, super-size vending machines typically...

FASTLANE TAKES THE TNS ON-RAMP.(Internet-capable network for IP-enabled terminals)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Fastlane, the drivers license payment company, says it will work with Reston, Va.-based Transaction Network Services for dial-up point-of-sale terminal connections across the nation. Fastlane already has an Internet-capable network for...

MASTERCARD TO TESTIFY AT EUROPEAN INTERCHANGE HEARINGS.(MasterCard cross-border interchange rates)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... MasterCard Worldwide will present testimony at a series of European Commission hearings into the credit card industry's interchange fees next month. The European Commission has been investigating whether the interchange policies of MasterCard...

BRIEFS.(PayPass contactless payments product)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... MasterCard Worldwide was named Frost & Sullivan's company of the year for the development and strategic leadership of its PayPass contactless payments product.... Brazil's GetNet Technologia ordered $15 million worth of payment terminals from...

MASTERCARD POSTS INTERCHANGE RATES ON THE WEB.(post its interchanges rates on websites)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... MasterCard Worldwide has posted its interchange rates on its Web site. In September the company said it would post its interchanges rates by Nov. 1 in response to merchants' demand for greater transparency regarding the fees they pay for...

CITIGROUP BUYS CENTRAL AMERICAN CREDIT CARD ISSUER.
November 3, 2006... Citigroup Inc. announced Friday it has reached an agreement to acquire Grupo Financiero Uno (GFU) and its affiliates. With the acquisition, Citigroup aims to expand Citigroup's Latin America consumer franchise, enhance its credit card business...

ANALYSTS EXPECT UNEVENTFUL MASTERCARD EARNINGS REPORT.
November 3, 2006... Analysts say they do not expect any surprises when MasterCard reports its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Thomson First Call today reports a mean projection among 15 analysts of $1.07 for earnings per share, with a high of $1.26 and a low...

NCO'S REVENUE GROWS 21%.(financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Debt buyer and collection firm NCO Group reported third-quarter net income of $11.4 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with $7.6 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue in the third quarter totaled $301.6...

WELLS ADDS MONEY TRANSFERS TO CHINA, VIETNAM.(joined with Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. announced last week it will offer remittances to China and Vietnam and expand its Philippines money-transfer business. Wells says it is the first U.S. bank to offer money transfers to China and Vietnam. For...

CARD STATEMENTS EARN A B+ FOR CLARITY.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Most credit cardholders generally rate their monthly statements as clear, but many consumers younger than 25 are challenged to get information from the same credit card statements, according to a recent survey by payments consultant Auriemma...

DIEBOLD'S REVENUES, EARNINGS RISE.
November 3, 2006... ATM manufacturer Diebold Inc. this morning reported earnings of $29.5 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up nearly 12% from $26.4 million in 2005's third quarter. Revenues for the North Canton, Ohio, company were $730.7 million, up...

BRIEFS.(named Kazem Aminaee senior vice president and general manager )(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Hypercom Corp. today named Kazem Aminaee senior vice president and general manager of Hypercom EMEA, the unit that covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He was formerly senior vice president of financial services for the EMEA unit of smart...

PAYCOM LOSES CASE, GLAD IT'S DONE.(district court ruling that dismissed all claims against the network by Paycom Billing Services)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... MasterCard Worldwide last Friday vanquished in court an opponent that tells CardLine it is glad to walk away from the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York upheld a 2005 district court ruling that dismissed all...

ADVANTA REPORTS 28% RISE IN BUSINESS CARD NET INCOME.
November 3, 2006... Advanta Corp.'s Advanta Business Cards unit today reported third-quarter net income of $20.7 million, up 28% from $16.2 million during the same period last year. The Spring House, Pa.-based issuer of small-business credit cards originated...

PORTFOLIO RECOVERY GROWS INCOME, BUYS CARD PAPER.(financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., an accounts receivable management firm and debt buyer, earned $11.2 million in the third quarter, a 20% increase from $9.3 million in the same quarter a year ago. Total revenues jumped more than 27% in the...

AMEX, US BANK, EXPAND HEALTH CARE PRESENCE.(Healthcare plans to launch in 2007 HealthePass)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Two large card issuers partnered today with other companies to expand their presence in the health care field. Cigna Healthcare plans to launch in 2007 HealthePass, a health care payment system that uses American Express Co.'s payment network....

ATM SURCHARGES RISE CONSISTENTLY TO RECORD.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... The average ATM surcharge hit a record high of $1.64 per transaction this fall, up from $1.60 in the spring, according to survey by Bankrate Inc. of 248 financial institutions in major U.S. markets, Greg McBride, Bankrate.com's senior financial...

TNB ADDS HALF-DOZEN PORTFOLIOS TO ITS BANK.(TNB Card Services)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Dallas-based TNB Card Services this month announced the purchase of six credit-union card portfolios in Indiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Texas. Purchase prices weren't disclosed. The six include the Lynn Postal District Employees Credit...

THIRD-QUARTER REVENUE DECLINES AT FRENCH SUPPLIERS.
November 3, 2006... Two France-based payment technology firms reported third-quarter numbers last week. Smart card maker Gemalto says revenue in the quarter fell by 8% at constant exchange rates from the same period last year, to 390.5 million euros (US$493.9...

BRIEFS.(introduced a MasterCard credit card)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... State Bank of India in Canada introduced a MasterCard credit card issued by MBNA Canada Bank.... Alliance Data Systems Corp. is providing co-brand credit card services to cruise-industry customers of Cruise Management International LLC.......

MASTERCARD VOLUME STATS SEE HEALTHY RISE.(financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... MasterCard Inc. today reported that third-quarter gross dollar volume worldwide for its credit, charge and debit programs was $502 billion, up 16% compared with $431 billion for the same three-month period in 2005. The gross dollar volume...

HOOTERS TESTS PAY AT TABLE TECHNOLOGY.(customers to pay with their credit, debit or gift cards at their table)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... The Hooters of America Inc. restaurant chain reports it is testing Ingenico's PayTable portable-payment device at its downtown Atlanta outlet and plans a nationwide rollout at its 118 corporate-owned locations starting January 2007. PayTable...

ID THEFT HITS 25% OF CONSUMERS, NEW YORK HITS BACK.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Identity theft continues to be a major concern for consumers, according to a recent poll, and New York State is attempting to fight the problem. Roughly one in four Americans has experienced some type of identity theft with about one in five...

JACK HENRY REPORTS 10% RISE IN REVENUES, PROFITS.(Jack Henry & Associates Inc.)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Processor Jack Henry & Associates yesterday reported fiscal first-quarter 2007 net income of $21.4 million, up more than 10% from $19.4 million in the same period a year ago. Revenues in the quarter ending Sept. 30 were $150.6 million, up 10%...

US BANK FLYING WITH CORPORATE JET CARDS.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... U.S. Bank's Multi Service Aviation division signed several new clients to its card programs in October. It created a cobranded affinity card for Flight Options LLC, a provider of fractional ownership of aircraft and other executive travel...

COMDATA BUYS MALL GIFT CARD MANAGER.
November 3, 2006... Comdata Corp., a Brentwood, Tenn.-based card processor, acquired HQ Gift Cards, a provider of gift card management services to 200 malls in the U.S., Australia and Asia. Culver City, Calif.-based HQ will transfer its business and staff to...

VERIFONE COMPLETES LIPMAN PURCHASE.(Lipman Electronic Engineering Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... VeriFone Holdings Inc. completed its purchase of Lipman Electronic Engineering Ltd today. The $793 million deal creates a company that Douglas G. Bergeron, VeriFone's CEO, says accounts for 65% of the installed point-of-sale terminals in the...

BRIEFS.(Companies join Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography)(JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Soccer United Marketing issue credit cards)(Robert Craig appointed by Online Resources Corp.)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Chase Paymentech, Global Payments, HSBC-North America and Washington Mutual joined the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography.... JPMorgan Chase & Co. teamed with Soccer United Marketing to issue Visa-branded credit cards for Major...

FAIR ISAAC CEO STEPS DOWN.(Thomas G. Grudnowski)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Thomas G. Grudnowski has resigned as chief executive officer of Fair Isaac Corp., the Minneapolis-based credit bureau and credit analytics provider announced late yesterday as part of its fiscal fourth quarter report. The resignation takes...

LITTLE SURPRISE AS HYPERCOM INCOME DROPS.
November 3, 2006... Hypercom Corp. reported today third-quarter net income from continuing operations declined 83% to $472,000 from $2.8 million last year. Revenues fell nearly 15% to $56.7 million from $66.5 million in the same quarter a year ago. In a conference...

BERNSTEIN SEES RISING CREDIT LOSSES THROUGH 2008.
November 3, 2006... Rising unemployment and falling credit quality will produce higher rates of credit card delinquencies in 2007 and 2008, forecasts a report this week from Bernstein Research. The net loss ratio on credit card portfolios will rise to nearly 6% in...

MASTERCARD SEEKS VIABLE PLATFORM IN DALLAS NFC TEST.(MasterCard Worldwide, Near Field Communications)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... MasterCard Worldwide today announced that it is partnering with Nokia and 7-Eleven, Inc. to conduct a six-month consumer trial in Dallas of Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled mobile phones with MasterCard PayPass capability. NFC is a...

CREDITORS CONTROL DEBT SALES, SAYS BUYER.(Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Debt buyer Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. saw its third-quarter net income drop nearly 22% to $10.7 million from $13.7 million during the same period last year. Executives at the Warren, Mich.-based company blame elevated portfolio prices,...

EFUNDS' PREPAID DOESN'T RISE TO EXPECTATIONS.
November 3, 2006... EFunds Corp. reported net revenue of $139 million for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, an increase of 5% from $133 million in the same period in 2005. Net income was $15 million, a 7% rise from $14 million in the same period a year ago. The...

TIS THE SEASON FOR NEARLY EQUAL DEBIT, CREDIT SPENDING.(holiday season payment predicted by Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. and Visa U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Two holiday season payment surveys were released this week as retailers prepare for the biggest sales period of the year. Deloitte & Touche USA reported that credit and debit cards will comprise 64% of holiday purchases this year, according to...

FAIR ISAAC SEEKS GREATER GROWTH AS CEO LEAVES.(Thomas G. Grudnowksi )(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Leaders of Fair Isaac Corp. declined to share reasons why Thomas G. Grudnowksi resigned as CEO yesterday, though board Chairman George Battle told analysts that growth has been weak at the firm. In analyst call late yesterday, Battle said,...

BRIEFS.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. issues credit cards to basketball players)(Paul Oliver becomes the chairman of Financial Institution Oversight Committee)(Erik Jensen resigns as president of Morgan Beaumont)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... JPMorgan Chase & Co. issued a contactless Visa credit card for the Miami Heat basketball team.... Paul Oliver, executive vice president of Frost Bank, was named chairman of Pulse EFT Association's Financial Institution Oversight Committee.......

CONTACTLESS PILOTS, PRODUCTS SEEK MORE WAYS TO CAPTURE CONSUMERS' WALLETS.(Bank of America Corp., Visa International and other companies test services and payment modes)
November 10, 2006... Contactless payment devices continue to gain traction as Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard and IBM all made announcements related to the technology in the past few days. BofA announced that as many as 500 employees in Wilmington, Del., will...

HEARTLAND NET INCOME RISES; TNS REPORTS LOSS.(Heartland Payment Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Heartland Payment Systems Inc., a Princeton, N.J.-based merchant processor, today reported third-quarter net income of $10.1 million, up 55% from $6.5 million for the same period last year. Total revenues for the quarter were $293.8 million, up...

DEBT RESOLVE GARNERS $12.5 MILLION IN IPO.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... One of the three firms offering online bidding systems for debt recovery this week raised $12.5 million in an initial public offering and began trading at $5 on the American Stock Exchange. Debt Resolve Inc. markets its online system to...

BIGGER VEND SPEND ON CARDS THAN CASH.(USA Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Consumers spend on average 32% more at vending machines when they pay with credit cards or fobs rather than cash. That is the latest data released this week by USA Technologies Inc., a Malvern, Pa., company that provides payment card and...

EARNINGS FALL DOESN'T DISTRESS DEBT BUYER.(Encore Capital Group)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Distressed debt buyer Encore Capital Group reported its third-quarter net income fell 33% to $5.2 million from $7.8 million during the same period last year, and collection rates declined 10%. But CEO Brandon Black called the quarter a "strong"...

LITTLE CANDY FOR PROCESSOR STOCKS IN OCTOBER.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Investors were lukewarm to the stocks of the 13 large publicly traded electronic processors in October, as the companies' shares posted a mean return of 1.15% in the month, only about a third that of the 3.44% return of the Dow Jones Industrial...

THINK YOUR KID'S BEAUTIFUL? PUT HER ON A GIFT CARD.(Arroweye Solutions offers new options)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... With the growing use of digital cameras, consumers increasingly are taking advantage of a service that lets them add their own photos to gift cards and greeting cards, Jeff Keller, chief customer officer at the Cardways.com unit of...

BRIEFS.(MasterCard International Inc. turns forty)(CO-OP Financial Services offers a gid card program)(American Express Co. launches a new card)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Today is the 40th anniversary of the founding of MasterCard Worldwide, known originally as Interbank Card Association.... Co-Op Financial Services is offering a gift card program to its 2,000 credit union members.... American Express launched...

CORRECTION.(Correction notice)
November 10, 2006... Comdata Corp. reported revenues of $411.5 million in 2005, not $104.7 million as CardLine reported in today's edition. (c) 2006 CardLine and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cardforum.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

BANKRUPTCY LAW COULD PROVE CONFUSING TO CONSUMERS.
November 10, 2006... A provision in the new federal bankruptcy law could prove difficult for issuers to implement and confusing for consumers to understand, says a Federal Reserve economist in a paper. The provision requires credit card issuers to notify...

DEBT PORTFOLIOS SEE DRAMATIC DROP.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Only $164.3 million in new debt portfolios were listed in the past week on the public portions of debt-sale Web sites, a dramatic drop from the $1.6 billion the prior week. The decrease reflects the tendency of banks holding onto delinquent...

COINSTAR'S QUARTER OK THOUGH REDBOX IS ON THE RISE.
November 10, 2006... Coinstar Inc. reported last week that its third quarter net income stood at $5.3 million, down 22% from $6.8 million in the same period a year ago. Revenues rose 18%, to $140 million, in the third quarter. That's up from $118.7 million last...

CELENT PREDICTS STRONG DEMAND FOR SOME PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Changing consumer lifestyles and intensifying competition among issuers and merchants will continue to drive development and use of payment technology, according to a new report by Celent LLC. The Boston-based consulting firm says that 55% of...

LIGHTBRIDGE WILL FOCUS ON PROCESSING.
November 10, 2006... LightBridge Inc. last week reported its third quarter net income was $274,000, down 72% from $987,000 in the same period a year ago. Revenues this year were $23.3 million, down more than 14% from $27.2 million in the same period a year ago....

VERIFONE, RADIANT SYSTEMS OFFER PAY-AT-TABLE SERVICE.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Payment terminal maker VeriFone Holdings, Inc. and hospitality and retail technology firm Radiant Systems Inc. announced today they would offer PIN-based pay-at-the-table point-of-sale terminals to North American restaurant operators. The...

ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT CARD SYSTEM DEBUTS.(started by National Payment Card LLC)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... National Payment Card LLC has started a network that will process transactions that use a consumer's driver's license or loyalty or affinity card as a payment identifier. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based firm recently signed a deal with Pinnacle...

BRIEFS.(Transaction Management LLC offer services for prepaid debit card)(MagTek Inc. introduces magnetic stripe reader)(First Data International to sell Easycash)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Independent sales organization Nxgen Payment Services has added Cynergy Data as a third-party processor.... Transaction Management LLC will offer loading capabilities to cardholders of No Borders' prepaid debit Nobocard, targeting the unbanked...

COMPUCREDIT'S INCOME FALLS 27%.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... CompuCredit, the Atlanta-based sub-prime issuer, reported yesterday net income of $38.8 million during the third quarter of 2006, on revenues of $208.8 million. Revenues inched 1.8% above the third quarter of 2005, but net income fell 26.8%....

FIRST DATA OFFERS TO BUY $1.6 BILLION OF ITS DEBT.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... First Data Corp. announced today a cash tender offer for up to $1.6 billion of its outstanding debt. First Data seeks to payout on nine of its note offerings that are scheduled to expire from Dec. 2007 to June 2015. First Data gave each note a...

CARTES MEANS NEW HI-TECH PAYMENT TERMINALS ...(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Vendors to the payments industry rolled out a number of new products and technologies at the Cartes 2006 show that opened today near Paris and runs through Thursday. Payment terminal maker Hypercom Corp. released the touch-screen P4100 Pin pad...

... AND VIVOTECH SIGNS DEALS, LAUNCHES TERMINALS.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Vivotech at Cartes 2006 introduced a contactless reader targeting the Europe, Middle East, Asia, Canada and Latin American markets. The Vivopay 4500 enables legacy point-of-sale systems to process payments made with a contactless card or fob....

MASTERCARD SIGNS INTERCONTINENTAL TO DATA PROGRAM.(MasterCard International Inc., Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... MasterCard Worldwide today announced that more than 2,600 U.S. and Canadian hotels of the Intercontinental Hotels Group will participate in its enhanced folio data program beginning in January. The folio program allows hotel expenses, from...

METAVANTE LINKS PREPAID DEBIT WITH ONLINE BILL PAYMENT.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Metavante Corp. has enabled consumers without traditional bank relationships to pay their bills online with a prepaid card. Under the Prepaid Bill Payment program, cardholders must alert their billers to schedule the payments, then sign on to...

ONE IN FIVE CONSUMERS PLAN TO BUY A BRANDED GIFT CARD.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The trade group Network Branded Prepaid Card Association announced today that one in five consumers plan to buy network-branded gift cards this holiday season. In contrast, only 18% of consumers said they plan to purchase a branded toy, 14% an...

BRIEFS.(TransFirst appoints John Shlonsky as president)(Green Dot Corp. names John Keatley as chief financial officer)(Industrial and Commercial Bank of China launches corporate card)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Merchant acquirer TransFirst named John Shlonsky president and chief operating officer. Shlonsky had been president of First Data Merchant Services.... Prepaid card provider Green Dot Corp. named John Keatley chief financial officer.......

DEM VICTORY COULD PORTEND INDUSTRY REGS.(Democrats )
November 10, 2006... With Tuesday's elections handing the Democrats control of the U.S. House and possible control of the Senate, Democrats are expected to seek to roll back portions of the year-old bankruptcy law, expand the government's role in student loans,...

REVOLVING CREDIT UP IN SEPTEMBER.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Consumer spending in September sent mixed signals to economic analysts today as Americans increased their credit card debt but lowered their non-revolving debt, according to the Federal Reserve's Consumer Credit survey or G-19 report. The Fed...

WRIGHT EXPRESS DRIVES STRONG RESULTS.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Wright Express yesterday reported third quarter revenues of $79.7 million, up more than 18% from $67.4 million in the third quarter of 2005. Net income was $34.4 million in 2006's third quarter, up from a loss of $6.2 million a year ago. South...

GAS PUMPS BRING INDUSTRY RICHES.(credit card industry)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Card-based payments at the gas pump have become a huge revenue source for the card industry, according to the October issue of First Annapolis Consulting's Navigator newsletter. Electronic payments in 2005 accounted for 58% of payments at the...

PREPARE FOR ANYTHING UNDER CORPORATE MODEL: EVANS.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Could there be Google MasterCard Inc.? What about MicrosoftVisa Corp.? Those combinations may not be so far fetched as the two largest card networks transform from association to corporate models, David Evans, founder of the Cambridge, Mass.,...

80% OF BREACHES MAY INVOLVE CARD-PRESENT TRANSACTIONS.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Of the more than 140 payment card security breaches investigated by AmbironTrustWave, 80% arose from card-present transactions and 20% stemmed from card-not-present transactions. Most of the card-present breaches -71%- were caused by merchant...

CANADA WILL USE DUTCH SMART CARD FOR EMV SYSTEM.(Credit Union Electronic Transaction Services' partnership with Bell ID)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Canada's Credit Union Electronic Transaction Services, a card issuer and acquirer that is also managing the chip-and-PIN card migration for 400 Canadian credit unions, selected Netherlands-based smart card system provider Bell ID to provide its...

BRIEFS.(Gulf Oil Corp. introduces prepaid cards)(Paypro Inc. appoints Borges Fiol as president)(Hancock Bank to provide Platinum Visa credit card in alliance with GE Money)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Gulf Oil will begin selling prepaid cards on Nov. 15 at its 1,800 gas and service stations in 11 Northeastern states.... Dallas-based e-commerce provider Paypro Inc. named Pedro Borges Fiol president of its Latin American division.... Visa...

SAM'S SELECTS MASTERCARD CREDIT; VISA BRUSHES IT OFF.(Sam's Club, MasterCard Worldwide)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Sam's Club announced today it would accept MasterCard-branded cards but not Visa credit cards at the point of sale in its 589 warehouse outlets in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Barbara Coleman, MasterCard Worldwide vice president...

VANTAGESCORE PLANS BRAND CAMPAIGN; FAIR ISAAC FIRES BACK.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... VantageScore Solutions LLC plans a major branding and education campaign to broaden consumer and lender awareness of its VantageScore scoring product, Barrett Burns, the company's president and CEO, tells CardLine today. Major lenders continue...

WAY SYSTEMS WARNS OF PATENT FIGHT OVER MOBILE TERMINALS.
November 10, 2006... Boston-based Way Systems says it has an exclusive license for a patent that covers many of the mobile-payment terminals being sold today and that other vendors will have to cut a deal to use the technology or face litigation. Will Graylin,...

GULF PREPAID CARD WOULD LOCK IN THE PRICE OF GAS.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Gulf Oil plans to offer a prepaid gas card in the second quarter of 2007 that will allow consumers to preset the price of a gallon of gas. Under the plan that is still being formulated, consumers will load a value on the card and lock in the...

GLOBAL CASH ACCESS SEES DOUBLE-DIGIT REVENUE GROWTH:.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Global Cash Access Holdings Inc., a Las Vegas-based casino ATM operator, says its third-quarter revenues were $142.9 million, up 21.3% from $117.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net income for the quarter was $7.8 million, up 74% from...

GOOGLE GIVES FREE CHECKOUT FOR HOLIDAYS.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Google announced this week it will process all Google Checkout sales for free for its merchant clients through the end of the year. The early holiday gift for online retailers comes five months after Google launched the service as a competitor...

PAY BY TOUCH LINKS WITH CITI IN ASIA.(Citibank Singapore)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Biometric provider Pay By Touch today announced its first partnership with a large credit card issuer, Citibank Singapore. Holders of the Citibank Clear card in the Asian republic will have the option to link their card to a biometric record of...

BRIEFS.(Discover Financial Services Inc. CEO David Nelms inaugurates Discover card)(CheckFree Corp. adds payment services to its product set)(Capital One Financial Corp. approved to acquire North Fork Bancorporation Inc.)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Discover Financial Services Chairman and CEO David Nelms yesterday made the first purchase in China with a Discover card, the result of the year-old agreement between Discover and China Unionpay, China's national bank card-payment network.......

THEFTS RISING AT OFF-PREMISE ATMS.
November 17, 2006... The ATM industry is quietly addressing the growing problem of thefts at off-premise ATMs, according to CardLine sister publication ATM & Debit News. The primary problem is thieves stealing cash from the ATMs by changing the dollar denominations...

FEW DEBT SALES DESPITE RISE IN BUYERS.(Brief article)
November 17, 2006... Nearly $2 billion in new debt portfolios were listed for sale this week, according to the weekly Debt Update from CardLine sister publication Collections & Credit Risk. Debt sales volume is slightly down for the fourth quarter compared with the...