Cardline articles from October 2004

Cardline archives from October 2004

J.P. MORGAN CHASE SIMPLIFIES FEE STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRONIC CHECKS.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Treasury Services division today announced a new price structure for processing electronic checks. The new system, which is designed to benefit large merchants, gives them the option of paying on a per-transaction...

MERCHANTS SHAPE THEIR OWN PAYMENT DEVICES.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Contactless smart card chips may find their way into keyring fobs with merchant-specific designs, such as a hamburger-shaped fob to pay and collect loyalty points at a fast food restaurant, Paul Reed, director of business development at...

WINS GOVERNMENT CARD-PROCESSING CONTRACT.(Multi Service Corp., United States. Defense Energy Support Center)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Multi Service Corp., an Overland Park, KS, processor signed a three-year contract with the U.S. Defense Energy Support Center to process cards used by employees to purchase fuel and other items for airplanes and ships, Jenny King, Multi...

PEPPERCOIN AND MONERIS FORM ALLIANCE FOR MICROPAYMENTS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Processor Moneris Solutions and micropayments pioneer Peppercoin, Inc. announced today an alliance targeting low-value payment processing for merchants. Moneris will offer the Peppercoin 2.0 suite to its 350,000 North American merchants by the...

TAXI COMPANIES COMBINE PAYMENT AND DISPATCH.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... France-based point-of-sale terminal vendor Ingenico says it will supply its newly developed IngeCab system to taxi companies in Australia, Japan and Thailand. It allows a single wireless communication network to contact cabs about potential...

MASTERCARD REPORTS A 50% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PLATINUM CARDS IN ASIA PACIFIC.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... MasterCard International, Asia Pacific Region, recently reported a 50% increase in the number of platinum cardholders for the first six months of this year. MasterCard introduced its platinum card program throughout the region in 1998 and has...

CAMPBELL SOUP CO AMES FORMER AMEX CEO CHAIRMAN.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Campbell Soup Co.'s board of directors elected Harvey Golub, former chairman and CEO of American Express Co., Campbell's chairman. The 65-year-old Golub replaces George M. Sherman, who is retiring Nov. 19. Golub, who ran AmEx from 1993 to 2001,...

CARE CONCEPTS RESCINDS IBILL ACQUISITION.
October 1, 2004... The latest episode of an ongoing merchant-acquiring soap opera aired Friday when media and marketing services company Care Concepts I Inc. said it had rescinded the closing of its acquisition of Media Billing Co. and its subsidiary Internet...

IBILL SUES FIRST DATA.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... IBill, the aggregator of payment transactions from X-rated Web sites, is suing two First Data Corp. merchant-acquiring entities, First Data Merchant Services and First Financial Bank, for allegedly cutting off iBill from processing services in...

CRUCIAL SUPREME COURT DECISION WILL BE RELEASED TOMORROW.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court will announce tomorrow morning whether it will or will not review two lower court decisions that allow Visa USA and MasterCard International issuers in the United States to issue American Express and Discover cards. A...

DINERS CLUB NORTH AMERICA, MASTERCARD FINALIZE AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Diners Club North America and MasterCard International today announced that they have finalized their agreement in which cards issued by Diners Club will carry MasterCard's logo and will be accepted at the card association's merchant locations...

DINERS CLUB INTERNATIONAL FRANCHISEES GAIN ACCEPTANCE FOR THEIR CARDS IN THE U.S. AND CANADA.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Diners Club International franchisees that issue cards outside of the U.S. and Canada will have MasterCard's logo placed on the back of their cards as part the agreement between Diners Club North America and MasterCard International. This will...

INTERNET PURCHASES INCREASED LAST YEAR.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The typical adult Internet user made about 30 online purchases in 2003, up from 11 in 2001, according to an annual study on the Internet's impact on Americans conducted by the University of Southern California Annenberg School Center for the...

WELLS FARGO ISSUES DUAL-LINE VISA CARD.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Wells Fargo Financial Retail Services today announced that it began issuing a dual-line Visa card with Pella Corp., the Pella, IA-based manufacturer of windows, storm and patio doors. With the dual line card, Pella's distributors and customers...

NEW CATUITY CEO FOCUSES ON THE MID-MARKET.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Detroit-based Catuity Inc. today named John Racine as CEO to lead the company's strategic shift from smart card-based loyalty to providing services to mid-tier merchant processors and retailers. Racine, 40, replaces Michael Howe, who resigned...

NATIONAL CITY TOUTS GIFT CARD TO AGENT BANKS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Cleveland-based National City Corp. announced today a program that gives its agent banks the ability to sell instant-issue prepaid Visa gift cards to their customers. Under the program, agent banks will buy the gift cards from National City for...

CHECK CARD USE UP AT U.S. CLOTHING RETAILERS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... During the first two weeks of this year's fall-fashion shopping season, Sept. 1 to 15, U.S. consumers spent $720 million using their Visa check cards, up 26% from the same period a year ago, according to Harris Interactive survey data compiled...

SUPREME COURT DECISION ON VISA, MASTERCARD REQUEST FOR APPEAL IS DUE MONDAY.(Visa U.S.A. Inc., MasterCard International Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court's decision concerning Visa USA's and MasterCard International's petition for writ of certiorari will be announced Monday, not today as CardLine reported in yesterday's issue. CardLine published the story based on...

TNS RAISES $19.5 MILLION IN STOCK OFFERING.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... TNS Inc., the data communications provider to the payment card industry, today said it completed a secondary stock offering of 5.25 million shares at $20 per share. TNS itself sold 1.08 million shares that netted the company an estimated $19.5...

FAIR ISAAC LAUNCHES GLOBAL FICO.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Fair Isaac Corp. yesterday announced the worldwide launch of its Global FICO score. "Lenders of all kinds will find that the Global FICO score opens the door to new opportunities for quick expansion while still controlling and monitoring their...

CERTEGY, PAYMENTECH ANNOUNCE PROCESSING AGREEMENTS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Certegy Inc. today announced that it signed an agreement with Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union to process its credit card program. Suncoast, the largest credit union in Florida, has a portfolio of 100,000 Visa cards with $275 million in...

SEC FILES CIVIL COMPLAINT AGAINST FIVE FORMER OFFICERS OF NEXTCARD.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
October 1, 2004... The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday charged five former officers of the defunct online card issuer NextCard Inc. with fraud in a civil lawsuit, Tracy L. Davis, an SEC attorney and chief of the branch that investigated the case,...

MORE PEOPLE BUT FEWER DOLLARS OVERDUE.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The number of credit cardholders overdue on their payments rose in the second quarter, but the percentage of delinquent card receivables fell, the American Bankers Association reported today. The Washington, DC-based ABA says 4.28% of bank card...

CHARGEOFF RATE DROPS IN PRIME PORTFOLIOS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The chargeoff rate on securitized receivables of prime portfolios in August dropped 44 basis points from July to 6.01% of receivables, according to the latest FitchRatings Credit Card Index, that was 77 basis points below the year-earlier...

TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS' CEO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Gregory D. Derkacht, president and CEO of Transaction Systems Architects Inc., an Omaha, NE-based provider of payments and e-commerce software, late Tuesday announced that he will retire from the company no later than June 30, 2006. TSA's board...

VALUELINK AGREES TO ISSUE CARDS FOR ESPRIT HOLDINGS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... ValueLink is providing gift cards for Hong Kong-based clothing retailer Esprit Holdings Limited's five U.S. stores, ValueLink said in press release yesterday spirit, which carries clothing for children, women, and men, is scheduled to open its...

CITI CARDS OFFERS NEW CARD FOR SMALL BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Citi Cards yesterday announced the expansion of its suite of small-business cards with the new CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network. The card "has been designed to reward small-business owners and offer access to information services...

PERSONNEL NEWS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The American Securitization Forum last week named George Miller its new executive director. Miller had been deputy general counsel of The Bond Market Association since 1993. The New York City-based Forum is a trade association with about 150...

AMEX WILL INTRODUCE CARD FOR GOTHAM'S IN CROWD.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... American Express Co. will introduce its newest card IN:NYC for hip New York City residents and individuals who frequently visit the Big Apple during an invitation-only art exhibit next Thursday in SoHo where popular singer Wyclef Jean will...

LAWYER FOR FORMER NEXTCARD CHAIRMAN SAYS CLIENT WILL FIGHT SEC COMPLAINT.(Shirli Fabbri Weiss)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Shirli Fabbri Weiss, attorney for Jeremy R. Lent, the former chairman of NextCard Inc., says her client lost more money than any other shareholder when an investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency caused the issuer to shut...

CHARGEOFFS RATES CONTINUE TO RISE IN U.K., BUT THE INCREASE IS SLOWING.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Chargeoff rates in securitized pools of card receivables in the United Kingdom continued to rise in June, although the rate of increase is slowing, according to Moody's Investors Service's U.K. credit card indices. The June chargeoff rate...

GE OFFERS RETAIL CARD FOR RV MAKER COACHMEN.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Recreational-vehicle and building manufacturer Coachmen Industries Inc. yesterday said General Electric Co.'s GE Consumer Finance unit would offer a retail credit program for its RV buyers. In addition to installment financing for the vehicles...

PAYPAL EXPANDS BUYER PROTECTION PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... PayPal, the payment service of online auction giant eBay Inc., says today that it will expand its PayPal Buyer Protection program that covers buyers when sellers don't deliver purchased items or ship items significantly different than...

CERTEGY SIGNS TWO CARD-PROCESSING AGREEMENTS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Certegy Inc. today announced that it signed card-processing agreements with Pulaski Bank and Trust of Little Rock, AR, and Bank of Louisiana, which headquartered in New Orleans. Certegy will provide credit, debit, merchant processing and...

VERIFONE UPS THE MARKETING OF HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIVITY.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... VeriFone Inc. this week unveiled its Enhanced Communications point-of-sale product strategy. The Santa Clara, CA-based payment-terminal supplier also launched a marketing campaign to educate the industry about the benefits of adopting wireless...

KROGER WILL BEGIN ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS SUNDAY FOR THE CHAIN'S REWARDS MASTERCARD.(Kroger Co.)(Royal Bank of Scotland PLC)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... The Kroger Co., one of the nation's largest supermarket chains, will begin accepting applications Sunday for its cobranded rewards MasterCard that's being issued by Royal Bank of Scotland Group, a Kroger spokesperson tells CardLine today. The...

ACQUISITIVE METAVANTE BUYS CRM FIRM.(Metavante Corp. purchases NuEdge Systems L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Milwaukee-based transaction processor and EFT network owner Metavante Corp. has purchased NuEdge Systems L.L.C., a customer relationship management and marketing analytics firm, from Experian. The purchase price was $1.4 million in cash,...

CHARGEOFFS FOR SECURITIZED POOLS OF RECEIVABLES INCREASE.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Chargeoffs on securitized pools of credit card receivables increased 10 basis points to 6.2% of receivables in August, following two consecutive months of improvement, according to Standard & Poor's Credit Card Quality Index released Thursday....

CAPITAL ONE WILL CLOSE ANOTHER CALL CENTER, CUTTING MORE JOBS.(Capital One Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Capital One Financial Corp. announced Thursday that it will close its call center in the Dallas suburb of Irving, TX, by 2005, eliminating 220 positions. The shutdown is designed to save the McLean, VA, issuer money. Most of center's work will...

JCB, AIRPLUS FORM AN ALLIANCE.(AirPlus International and JCB Company Ltd. together form JCB AirPlus Travel Payment Solution )(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... JCB Co. Ltd., Japan's largest credit card issuer and acquirer, and AirPlus International said today that they have created JCB AirPlus Travel Payment Solution that provides travel-management services for clients who have business operations in...

AMERICA'S COMMUNITY BANKERS WILL RECOMMEND ALLPOINT.(America's Community Bankers organization)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... The America's Community Bankers organization will offer the Allpoint surcharge-free network to its membership, ACB Chairman William W. Zuppe, who is CEO of Sterling Savings Bank, in Spokane, WA, said in a Thursday announcement. Participating...

FOR $26 MILLION.(NCR Corp. acquires Kinetics Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... NCR Corp. of Dayton, OH, announced today it acquired Kinetics Inc., a self-service kiosk company, for $26 million. Kinetics, which is based in Lake Mary, FL, makes kiosk systems designed for airline passenger self check-in, hotel self...

SUPREME COURT OPENS THE DOOR TO BANKS ISSUING AMEX AND DISCOVER CARDS.(American Express Co.)(Discover Financial Services)(MasterCard International Inc.)(Visa U.S.A. Inc.)
October 8, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court today denied appeals by Visa USA and MasterCard International to review a lower court decision ordering the card associations to open their networks in the United States to American Express Co. and Discover Financial...

A DAY OF RECKONING FOR VISA, MASTERCARD AS DISCOVER SUES.(Discover Financial Services)(MasterCard International Inc.)(Visa U.S.A. Inc.)
October 8, 2004... Discover Financial Services today filed a federal lawsuit against Visa USA and MasterCard International seeking unspecified damages for what Discover labeled "harm caused by anticompetitive business practices." According to experts, the suit is...

AMEX WILL ENHANCE MERCHANT NETWORK IN THE U.S.(American Express Co.)
October 8, 2004... Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express Co., hailed today's U.S. Supreme Court decision not to review lower-court rulings overturning Visa-MasterCard exclusionary rules, saying the action will allow AmEx to build a merchant...

AMEX UNDECIDED ABOUT SUING CARD ASSOCIATIONS.(American Express Co.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... American Express Co. says it has not yet decided whether to sue Visa USA and MasterCard International for damages because of the associations' antitrust activities in the United States. "We're keeping our options open," David House, group...

DISCOVER DEBIT ON THE WAY AND CONSTANTINE BACK IN THE FRAY.(Discover Financial Services)(MasterCard International Inc.)(Visa International)(Constantine & Partners)
October 8, 2004... Discover Financial Services is in discussions with banks to issue Discover-branded debit cards that would be processed on its network, Roger Hochschild, Discover president and chief operating officer, tells CardLine. "We plan to enter and...

VISA BLASTS AMEX.(American Express Co.)(Visa International)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... In a statement, Visa ignored the U.S. Supreme Court's decision and instead attacked American Express Co., charging that AmEx has a reputation for higher prices and "exclusivity that the broader market and many merchants have not embraced." The...

MBNA SOON WILL ROLL OUT AMEX-BRANDED CARDS.(MBNA Corp.)(American Express Co.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... MBNA Corp. announced today it was moving forward as the only U.S. financial institution belonging to Visa and MasterCard to issue a card with the AmEx brand. In a statement, MBNA reported it would complement its affinity marketing approach with...

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST TELEMARKETERS.(American Teleservices Association)
October 8, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court this morning let stand a lower-court ruling that telemarketers' rights to free speech are not violated by the Federal Trade Commission's national do-not-call registry. The American Teleservices Association on May 14 filed...

BARCLAYCARD SAYS IT WILL TEST BRANDED CARD IN THE U.S.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Gary Hoffman, chief executive of the United Kingdom's Barclaycard, tells CardLine today that the issuer will begin testing a Barclaycard-branded product in the United States some time next year. Hoffman did not provide details about when and or...

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS URGED TO DEVELOP PREPAID CARD PROGRAMS.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Leading network and banking executives urged participants at Thomson Media's ATM&Debit Forum in Baltimore yesterday to get beyond past issues of interchange difference between PIN-based and signature-based debit and focus more on competitive...

MICROPAYMENTS ARE HAVING A BIGGER IMPACT.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Micropayments are getting more use, according to recent survey. More than 14 million American ages 12 and older bought digital content for less than $2 in the past year, a 40% increase from the 10 million who made a similar purchase in the...

MEN'S WAREHOUSE LIKES WAY ITS CARD WORKS, SO THE RETAILER EXTENDS ITS CONTRACT WITH GE.(GE Consumer Finance)(Men's Wearhouse Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... The Men's Warehouse Inc., the large specialty retailer of men's fashions, changed the name of its private-label rewards card in September to the Perfect Fit Card. The name symbolizes the relationship Men's Warehouse's management has with the...

INFICORP BUYS MARYLAND CREDIT UNION'S CARD FILE.(InfiCorp Holdings Inc.)(Prince George's Employees Credit Union)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... InfiCorp Holdings Inc. has closed on its acquisition of Upper Marlboro, MD-based Prince George's Employees Credit Union's credit card portfolio, Brookwood Capital, the broker for the deal, announced Friday. Atlanta-based InfiCorp will issue...

FOUR CREDIT UNIONS MOVE CARD PROCESSING TO TNB CARD SERVICES.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Four credit unions in three states have moved their card programs to TNB Card Services, which is owned by credit unions, for processing, TNB said in a news release yesterday. The credit unions have a total of 6,500 card accounts. They are;...

FIRST NATIONAL MERCHANT SOLUTIONS NAMES MEHOCHKO PRESIDENT.(Diana M. Mehochko appointed as president of First National Merchant Solutions )(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... First National Merchant Solutions, the big merchant acquirer owned by Omaha-based First National of Nebraska, Monday announced that consultant and former Chase Merchant Services executive Diana M. Mehochko is its new president. Mehochko...

FISERV CEO TO RETIRE IN 2006.(Leslie M. Muma planning to retire from Fiserv Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Leslie M. Muma, president and CEO of Brookfield, WI-based Fiserv Inc., today announced plans to retire in June 2006 after more than 33 years with the data processor and EFT company. Muma said he wanted to give his board of directors adequate...

"DISCOVER LAWYER CONSTANTINE SAYS TO VISA AND MASTERCARD,"HAVEN'T WE MET?(Discover Financial Services)(Lloyd Constantine)
October 8, 2004... A set of formidable foes are lining up against the card associations following the U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday not to review a lower-court ruling ordering Visa USA and MasterCard International to let their members partner with American...

NRF SAYS COURT DECISION IS GOOD FOR MERCHANTS, BANKS AND CONSUMERS.(National Retail Federation)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Monday's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to review a lower-court decision ordering Visa USA and MasterCard International to let members issue cards on the American Express and Discover networks, will inject more competition into the...

JUDGE'S STAY OF GROUNDBREAKING RULING REMAINS IN PLACE.(exclusionary rules case)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Although the U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to review a lower-court decision ordering Visa and MasterCard not to prevent members from issuing cards on the American Express and Discover networks, a stay of the ruling by the Second U.S....

LIPMAN BIDS FOR BIGGER SHARE OF POS MARKET.(point-of-sale)(Lipman Electronic Engineering)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Executives at Israel-based Lipman Electronic Engineering Co., a fast-growing manufacturer of point-of-sale terminals, say they hope to use this week's acquisition of United Kingdom-based POS vendor Dione plc to move into the top ranks of POS...

CITIBANK JOINS GENPASS'S ATM NETWORK.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Citibank will begin offering surcharge-free ATM access to its online bank customers who never or may rarely visit one of its branches. The financial institution is doing this by joining Genpass Inc.'s MoneyPass surcharge-free ATM network....

TSYS OPENS EUROPEAN DATA CENTER.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) announced today it had opened its $36.2 million European data center in Knaresborough, England. TSYS now processes over 20 million European consumer and commercial card accounts for clients Barclaycard, Royal...

CHASE ISSUES TWO REWARDS CARDS FOR CIRCUIT CITY.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. yesterday launched two rewards cards for Circuit City Stores Inc., six months after Bank One Corp. purchased the card programs from Circuit City and before Bank One was gobbled up by J.P. Morgan Chase. Chase is offering...

RATE HIKES SHOW UP.(interest rates on credit cards)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Interest rates on credit cards are rising, according to new data from the Federal Reserve. The Fed's latest consumer credit report, released today, shows the average interest rate for all card accounts held by reporting banks was 12.83% in...

JOB-LOSS WORRIES HAVEN'T CRIMPED CREDIT CARD USE FOR SOME.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Cambridge Consumer Credit Index announced today results of a telephone survey, which shows that despite job insecurity, more individuals are using their credit cards than a year ago. According to the report, 60% of individuals questioned...

REVOLVING CREDIT TAKES A DIP.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Consumer revolving credit in August swung into another down cycle in the up-and-down pattern it's been following during 2004. Revolving credit contracted at an annualized rate of 5.4% after growing a hefty 9% in July, the Federal Reserve...

ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS IMPROVE EFFICIENCY.(Janet Pope, Visa international)
October 8, 2004... Electronic payment systems makes governments more efficient, fostering economic development by improving services such as tax collection and even attracting the unbanked, says Janet Pope, global head of strategy for Visa International. Pope was...

GIFT CARD USE GROWS.
October 8, 2004... The percent of adults who purchased or received a gift card in the last 12 months reached 64% in August, up from 36% in 2001, an increase that confirms that more adults now prefer giving a gift card than cash or a gift certificate, according to...

FOREIGN SALES OF SOME OF TRITON'S PRODUCTS GROW RAPIDLY.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Triton, the largest maker of cash dispensers for nonbank ATM deployers in the U.S., is now selling more mid-priced ATMs to financial institutions outside the U.S. than it is to non-financial institutions, it traditional market, Triton President...

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND NAMES OFFICERS FOR U.S. CREDIT CARD OPERATIONS.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc yesterday named two top executives to its United States credit card arm based in Bridgeport, CT. Joseph A. Hoffman was named chief marketing officer. He will report to Dennis Jones, CEO of RBSG's credit card...

NYCE BEGINS SWITCHING CANADIANS' U.S. DEBIT PURCHASES.
October 15, 2004... NYCE Corp., the Montvale, NJ-based operator of the NYCE electronic funds transfer network and a subsidiary of Metavante Corp., today announced the official launch of an initiative that enables Canadians to use their PIN-debit cards when...

CAP ONE'S ISLAND GIVEAWAY IS ITS BIGGEST DIRECT-MAIL CAMPAIGN YET.(Capital One Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Capital One Financial Corp.'s current "Capital One No Hassle Island Giveaway" contest could involve up to 250 million credit card solicitations, CardLine sister publication Credit Card Management estimates. Contest rules say the odds of winning...

GE CONSUMER FINANCE POSTS GAINS.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... General Electric Co.'s GE Consumer Finance unit, which includes GE's big private-label credit card and other lending operations, today reported third-quarter segment revenues of $4.01 billion, up 15% from $3.5 billion a year earlier. Segment...

GLOBAL TOUTS DOLEX, RE-SIGNS CLIENT, ROLLS OUT CASINO SOFTWARE.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Global Payments Inc., the Atlanta-based merchant acquirer, had a busy week, introducing a new product in its casino segment, re-signing a client, and holding its third annual investor conference in New York City. At the conference, Global...

THOMSON MEDIA BOUGHT BY INVESTCORP.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Thomson Media, publisher of CardLine, Credit Card Management, Card Technology, ATM & Debit News, ISO&Agent and numerous other business publications, reported today it has been purchased by Investcorp S.A., a global investment house with assets...

CHARLES SCHWAB BANK OFFERS A REWARDS CARD.(Charles Schwab & Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Charles Schwab Bank, a subsidiary of Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., is offering the Charles Schwab Bank Visa credit card, a rewards card that allows cardholders to redeem points for equity trades, says Thomas Knobloch, the bank's vice president of...

GLOBAL AXCESS BUYS ATM PORTFOLIO.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Global Axcess Corp., the Ponte Vedra, FL, transaction-processing company, announced earlier this week that it has completed its purchase of an ATM portfolio with 770 locations from an undisclosed seller. Global paid $7 million to complete the...

MOTOROLA CONNECTS WITH MASTERCARD PAYPASS.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Schaumburg, IL-based Motorola Inc. announced today plans to test mobile phones loaded with the tap-and-go PayPass application from MasterCard International, allowing consumers to pay with a wave of their cell phones at PayPass-accepting...

SOLICITATION VOLUME SET RECORD IN SECOND QUARTER.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... The U.S. credit card industry may be on track to break 2001's record of 5.02 billion solicitations, according to the latest findings from Chicago-based Synovate's Mail Monitor service. Second-quarter estimated volume of 1.39 billion direct-mail...

APACS LAUNCHES CONSUMER-EDUCATION PROGRAM.(Association for Payment Clearing Services)
October 15, 2004... The Association for Payment Clearing Services, a United Kingdom-based trade association for card issuers, yesterday launched a consumer-education program for the 25% of consumers who don't read the small print on credit card offers. "Some...

EGG PLC IN TALKS TO SELL LA CARTE EGG.(Banque Accord)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Egg plc, the United Kingdom online bank and card issuer, is holding talks with Banque Accord to sell Egg's French credit card operations and personal loan business, an Egg spokesperson tells CardLine today. "Banque Accord made an approach (an...

BARCLAYS SIGNS WITH CYOTA TO STOP PHISHING ATTACKS.(Barclays Bank PLC)(Cyota Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Barclays Bank Plc and Barclaycard, the United Kingdom's largest credit card issuer, have selected Cyota's FraudAction to fight phishing attacks. Cyota received the nod of approval after a successful pilot at the beginning of the year....