Card Notes

Here are our twenty most recent articles on Card Notes.

German banks adopt Step2 for domestic payments

EBA Clearing reveals seven German banks will use the Step2 payments system to process and clear their domestic payments, converting in the second half of 2013.

EU Commission says Visa Europe offers to cut inter-bank fees

Visa Europe has offered to cap its inter-bank credit card fees at 0.3% of transaction value for four years, the same level as the rival MasterCard network, to end a European Union competition investigation and stave off a possible fine.

China set to overtake the USA as the world’s largest ATM market

The Chinese ATM market is already huge, but that did not stop it expanding by 76,000 ATMs in 2012 to reach 415,000 – two and a half times its size at the end of 2008. These new research findings are based on RBR’s “ATMs in China 2013” report, which also shows that the “Big Four” Chinese banks added a remarkable 46,500 ATMs in just one year.

Branch closures result in customer losses

Branch closures result in customer losses according to a recent survey by SYNERGISTICS Research entitled, Branches in a Digital Age. In response to branch closures during the past year, three in ten (30%) of those whose branch closed moved their accounts to another institution (Exhibit 1). Furthermore, close to three in ten (28%) branch users report they would switch financial institutions if their current branch closed (Exhibit 2).

MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program

The Nigerian National Identity Management Commission and MasterCard have announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa the roll-out of 13 million MasterCard-branded National Identity Smart Cards with electronic payment capability as a pilot program.

UK’s Sainsbury’s Bank selects FIS as retail banking technology partner

FIS has been selected by Sainsbury’s Bank as the bank’s technology partner for all its retail banking operations. Under the terms of this strategic multi-year arrangement, FIS will provide real-time core banking and back-office processing support via an outsourced model on behalf of Sainsbury’s Bank.

Sainsbury’s in talks to buy Lloyds bank

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is on the verge of buying out Lloyds Banking Group’s 50% stake in its financial services arm Sainsbury’s Bank.

Norway introduces visa cards to children

A group of Norwegian banks have discovered new opportunities in the card and payments industry. Driven by a large young generation and high online usage, tapping into the younger generation can be a profitable business.

Major retail chains angry at EMV switch

The card networks are reporting progress among issuers and acquirers in the U.S. transition to EMV-chip cards, but some big retailers are still lashing out against the expectation that they upgrade their point of sale hardware.

UK shopkeepers lose 120 million transactions a year by not taking card payments

Over 120 million transactions are lost each year in the UK through people leaving shops because they can’t pay by card, according to new research from Judo, the UK’s first pay as you go mobile card payment service using only mobile phones. A further 92.8 million opportunities to sell are lost through people avoiding shops because they don’t accept card payments.1

Smart card market getting ready for a major battle

The undisputed number one player in the smart card industry, Gemalto, recently confirmed its status higher than expected first-quarter sales. This positive trend is noticeable in all of the company’s business units (mobile, payment, security). The firm expects double-digit growth in profit in 2013. According to Gemalto, revenue growth will come from high end SIMs deployed for LTE and NFC features, but also by mobile payment development and EMV migration. From a regional perspective, sales growth will be driven by Asia Pacific and the United States.

Prepaid cards – competition or bridge to checking?

A number of players – particularly non-bank organizations – are actively marketing general-purpose prepaid cards to the unbanked and under-banked segments as a viable alternative to a checking account.

ACH payment volume exceeds 21 billion in 2012

Total ACH payment volume grew to over 21 billion transactions[1] in 2012, up 4.19 percent over 2011, according to new statistics released today by NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association. A total of $36.9 trillion was transferred over the ACH Network in 2012, an increase of 8.76%.

EU launches fresh probe into MasterCard

Already investigating credit-card giant Visa, the European Commission launched Tuesday a fresh anti-trust probe into its rival MasterCard over payment of inter-bank fees.

Prepaid pays in Spain

While the financial crisis and conservative consumer spending has hindered growth across all card categories, the cards and payments industry in Spain is expected to recover by 2017, with prepaid cards expected to show the highest growth CAGR of 9.79%. The decline in both transaction value and card circulation volumes is likely to be eased by improved economic forecast indicators and stimulus injections from banks.

No more 'excessive' card surcharges

A ban on "excessive" debit and credit card charges begins on Saturday 6 April. Consumers booking a range of items from cinema tickets to hotel rooms now have new protection from card surcharges. The UK's government said it should put an end to unscrupulous practices by some businesses.

Visa CEO calls digital wallet fee on PayPal 'appropriate'

To continue PayPal’s pain, following on from the news that MasterCard will levy a Digital Wallet fee, Visa Inc. CEO, Charlie Scharf suggested on Wednesday that the payment network may impose a fee on digital wallet operators like PayPal as well. MasterCard said earlier this year that it plans a new fee for digital wallet operators starting in June – reports Reuters.

Debit networks adopt common U.S. debit via Discover

The Secure RemotePayment Council (SRPc) today announced that the ten debit network members of its Chip and PIN Workgroup have agreed to adopt a common U.S. debit application identifier (AID) and work with Discover Financial Services to license the D-Payment Application Specification (D-PAS) as the foundation of the common U.S. debit chip payment solution. The Workgroup will also evaluate enhancing the specification's security by including the one-time card number technology developed by First Data / STAR specifically to mitigate impact from skimming and data breach frauds.

MasterCard threat sees eBay shares hit hard

eBay Inc shares hit a new low for 2013 on Monday as concern mounted about the impact of a new "digital wallet" fee on the company's PayPal business.

Visa Europe in forced sale?

The European banks that own Visa Europe may soon decide to sell the credit-card organization to US-based Visa Inc. (V) and set up a rival system in Europe, people familiar with the matter said.

Card Notes

German banks adopt Step2 for domestic payments

EU Commission says Visa Europe offers to cut inter-bank fees

China set to overtake the USA as the world’s largest ATM market

Branch closures result in customer losses

MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program

UK’s Sainsbury’s Bank selects FIS as retail banking technology partner

Sainsbury’s in talks to buy Lloyds bank

Norway introduces visa cards to children

Major retail chains angry at EMV switch

UK shopkeepers lose 120 million transactions a year by not taking card payments

Smart card market getting ready for a major battle

Prepaid cards – competition or bridge to checking?

ACH payment volume exceeds 21 billion in 2012

EU launches fresh probe into MasterCard

Prepaid pays in Spain

No more 'excessive' card surcharges

Visa CEO calls digital wallet fee on PayPal 'appropriate'

Debit networks adopt common U.S. debit via Discover

MasterCard threat sees eBay shares hit hard

Visa Europe in forced sale?

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