Insight is everything!

Card Notes is the section of Payments Cards and Mobile where the magazine’s editors analyse latest trends in the card business – trends you need to follow to stay up to speed with developments in regulation, SEPA roll-out, M&A activity, changes in the regional card markets and many more.

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Available to download now in PDF format, browse the latest 6 issues below or use our 'by year' Card Notes indicies.

May/June 2013 Issue Card Notes

EC launches new MasterCard anti-trust probe
The European Commission (EC) has launched a new anti-trust probe into MasterCard’s inter-bank fees, the latest salvo in a case stretching back to 2007. • Payment card surcharges attract further government scrutiny.

European bankers expect shrinking credit gap
FICO and EFMA have announced the results of the seventh European Credit Risk Survey, which measures retail bankers’ outlook for the availability of credit along with their investment priorities for the year ahead. • Visa Europe points to payments evolution. • Is contactless now mainstream?

mPOS redefining the payment landscape
In just three years, the emergence of mPOS has redefined merchant card acceptance, rewriting the rules on who can accept card payments, and vastly simplifying the means to do so. • China to overtake US as world’s largest ATM market.

ATM cyber-attack reaps $45m
US authorities have charged eight people with taking part in two cyber-attacks which led to card data being stolen from payment processors. • Data shows ATM fraud hotspots in US. • How big is Big Data?

EBADay special
EBADay looks to borderless payments worlds.

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March/April 2013 Issue Card Notes

CARD NOTES

Continued growth in ATM withdrawal volumes
The global ATM market is set to continue to grow, largely as a result of huge projected growth in demand for cash withdrawal services in the coming years. • Spanish interchange study called into question.

UK holiday card spend rise in 2012
FICO has released its quarterly UK cards data showing that average total sales per classic credit card hit a two-year high. • iDEAL continues on strong growth trajectory. • Payments M&A activity heats up.

African mobile money adoption soars – GSMA
More than 30 million people around the world carried out mobile money transactions in June 2012, according to figures from the GSMA. • US EMV migration called into question. • PayPal co-founder launches m-commerce firm.

Payments innovation report highlights driving forces
The recently-released Payments Innovation Jury Report 2013, from Ixaris and Anthemis Group, has highlighted how the payments industry is undergoing an intense period of innovation. • China m-banking on the rise – Celent.

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January/February 2013 Issue Card Notes

Visa Europe debit card spend passes €1trillion
Annual spend on Visa debit cards across Europe has exceeded €1 trillion (€1.02 trillion) for the first time, representing an annual increase of 8.8%, according to the payment network’s 2012 annual report. • EMV will tackle US fraud levels.

Digital revolution leads to job culls
What price the digital payments revolution? For employees of American Express and Citi, it’s a heavy one, with the news that the payment network and banking giant are to slash thousands of jobs as they seek to cut costs and restructure their operations. • MyBank ready for business in Europe. • Mobile, online banking users more profitable.

EU card fraud nets organised crime €1.5 billion a year
European-wide police network Europol claims that although card fraud is on the decline in Europe, and despite the implementation of EMV technology, it still generates around €1.5 billion a year for organised criminal gangs.

Sberbank to acquire Yandex online payments service
Yandex, Russia’s answer to Google, struck success with its online payments arm Yandex Money, and now Russian banking giant Sberbank has outlined plans to acquire 75% of the venture for $60 million in order to expand its presence in the burgeoning consumer credit market in the country. • US consumers see smartphone replacing card payments. • Banks commit to UK m-payments service. • Chinese card base passes 3 billion.

Trouble ahead for branch networks
According to a joint study by EFMA and the management consultancy alliance comprising of Equinox, Resolving and zeb/, branch networks of European retail banks are moving towards a future of significant change, pressure for reinvention and selective cutbacks.

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November/December 2012 Issue Card Notes

WPR points to non-cash payments growth
The 2012 World Payments Report from Capgemini, Royal Bank of Scotland and EFMA has highlighted how non-cash payments are continuing to rise at a healthy rate. • $7.2 billion Visa/MasterCard settlement gets approval.

Mobile financial services: a competitive, fragmented landscape
A new report by Value Partners in conjunction with PCM and Fiserv is warning financial institutions that they risk being left behind in the burgeoning mobile financial services space.

The state of play for SEPA
The SEPA share of payments appears to be growing, albeit at a very gradual pace. • Visa study reveals mobile money drivers. • Visa edges ahead in card acceptance.

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September/October 2012 Issue Card Notes

US and European interchange battles rumble on
Just when the payment networks in the US thought that the interchange wars had been concluded with the record $7.25 billion settlement agreed in July, their merchant foes are still piling on the pressure. • PayPal extends payment reach in US. • Sixpack mobile wallet venture scrapped.

Is the future of branch banking in sight?
The traditional model of the bank branch is giving way to technologically advanced multi-channel initiatives, according to a report from payment consultancy Celent. • Mobile banking on the rise in Western Europe.

UK consumers turning to alternative payments – BRC
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has been relentless in its attacks on the fees charged by banks and payment networks, and its latest scare story involves the rise of alternative payment players like PayPal. • Experian warns of rise in online ID fraud. • South Africa embraces debit cards.

UK credit card spending hits high
Although the UK economy may be struggling to get out of the doldrums, UK consumers are renewing their love affair with payment cards, according to FICO. • Fraudsters in the cross-hairs.

Western Union makes stored value play
In 2012 it would appear that much of the hidden work that Western Union have been doing in the last few years with its prepaid and mobile units is beginning to come to fruition as the world’s largest money transfer organisation begins to roll out its plans beyond its market leading money transfer proposition.

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July/August 2012 Issue Card Notes

NatWest service outage: symptom of a wider problem
In the last few weeks, for two of the UK’s biggest high street banks, the issues studied in that article have become real and the cost of the massive IT failure in NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has yet to be counted. • Irish payment figures reflect changing behaviour.

Fighting cyber-crime
Payment fraud is like herpes. It disappears for a time but never quite goes away. Fighting cyber-crime is top of the agenda for the payments industry, particularly as newer payment forms come under attack. • Japan’s ATMs an example of innovation.

French interchange and technology concerns
At a recent round table event in Paris organised by Cartes, it became clear that, certainly in the French market, there are divisions between the French banks, the new technology providers and the merchants. • MasterCard slams EU interchange judgment.

Banking on innovation?
At the recent EFMA event, ‘Banking on Innovation’, held in Barcelona, it became clear that innovation has two very different meanings.

ATMIA and Value Partners ATM study
The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has released the findings of its first global ATM benchmarking study, developed in partnership with Value Partners Management Consultants.

Networks agree to $7.25bn interchange settlement
One of the longest-running antitrust disputes in US history was brought to a close after a 7-year fight.