| Having trouble reading this newsletter? Click here to see it in your browser. You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up from our web site. |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
Oct 28st, 2011
Edition #276
New to NewsFilter? Click here to subscribe. In this Issue In Other News This Day in History 1965 Gateway Arch Completed On this day in 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri. The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. Louis' central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers—including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark—the town of St. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River. In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963. Click here to read more.
TSG Fun Fact
Check out TSG's blog, PaymentsPulse.com. Advertisement Pass it on Know anyone who might be interested in our newsletter? Click here to forward this email to up to 5 friends at once. |
|
|
IRS Delay Eases Burden on Credit-Card Payment Processors
10/27/11 Bloomberg The Internal Revenue Service announced a one-year delay in enforcing the most severe part of a law requiring companies that process and settle credit-card transactions to report payment amounts to the U.S. government.The delay affects a requirement that payment processors withhold 28 percent of payments to retailers and others for whom they don’t have verified taxpayer identification numbers. Big Banks Blink on New Card Fees 
10/28/11 The Wall Street Journal A month after Bank of America got pummeled by consumers and politicians for introducing plans for new debit-card fees, most other big U.S. banks are steering clear of imposing similar charges. Following eight months of consumer testing, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has decided that it won't charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans. The New York bank's Chase retail unit is one of the largest U.S. consumer banks, with 26.5 million checking accounts and 5,300 branches. J.P. Morgan joins U.S. Bancorp, Citigroup Inc., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., KeyCorp and other large banks that have said in recent days that they won't impose monthly fees on debit cards. None of those banks said they made their decisions because of the outcry over Bank of America's fees. "We looked at all options and quickly decided it didn't fit with our overall strategy," said David Bowen, who runs the consumer-product business at Cleveland-based Key, which ranks among the 20 largest banks in the country. SLF Quick Polls: Audience Response from The Forum
10/27/11 ETA More than 300 payments executives convened this week in Chicago for the annual ETA Strategic Leadership Forum and more than ever before, forum participants zeroed in on one big theme – the changes the payments industry is facing and how to survive them. As part of the ETA Strategic Leadership Forum, our moderators posed a number of intriguing questions to the attendees, covering a wide rage of topics. Here are a few of those quick polls. Whole Foods: We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Data
10/26/11 StorefrontBacktalk Here’s an IT twist: The $9 billion Whole Foods Market grocery chain is pulling back from accepting checks primarily because it wants to collect less customer data. Making this move even more unusual is that checks—along with cash—have a much higher margin than payment cards due to a delicious absence of interchange. “We simply don’t want the burden of having all that information,” said Whole Foods. U.S. Economy: Growth Accelerates as Consumers Spend More
10/27/11 SFGate The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter at the fastest pace in a year as Americans reduced savings to boost purchases and companies stepped up investment in equipment and software. Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 2.5 percent annual rate, up from 1.3 percent in the prior three months, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Household purchases, the biggest part of the economy, increased at a 2.4 percent pace, more than forecast by economists. October on Pace to Be Best Month For Market Since 1987. Yes, 1987.
10/27/11 International Business Times If October ended today (Thursday), the Dow would be up 13.8%, which, according to the data gnomes we keep chained in a concrete bunker in the basement of News Corp. headquarters, would make this the best percentage gain for the Dow since January of the year 1987, when many of you readers were probably not yet born. The 1200 or so points we’ve picked up in this month would be THE BIGGEST POINT GAIN IN DOW HISTORY. Merchants Receive More Than $10 Million in Durbin Dollar Savings From Heartland Payment Systems®
10/26/11 Heartland Payment Systems 11,720,068 in signature debit interchange reductions have been deposited into merchant bank accounts by Heartland Payment Systems, one of the nation’s largest payments processors. Of these Durbin Dollars, restaurant merchants received $4,042,859 and lodging merchants received $513,852. “Reaching this merchant savings milestone in less than one month reinforces the fact that the financial benefits of the Durbin ‘swipe fee’ reform are tangible and significant for business owners,” said Bob Baldwin Click here to see the current tally of savings. Soon Playing at Redbox: Price Increase for DVDs, Debit Fees to Blame
10/27/11 The Seattle Times Starting Monday, Redbox customers will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets for a movie rental. Coinstar, which owns Redbox, said Thursday it's boosting the price of a standard-definition DVD to $1.20 from $1 because of an increase in operating expenses. Chief Executive Paul Davis said a change in debit-card interchange fees was partly to blame. In a conference call with analysts, he specifically mentioned the so-called Durbin Amendment, a proposal by Illinois Sen. Durbin that became law Oct. 1. Beyond Card Fees: Banks Look To Sell Your Data
10/25/11 DailyFinance New and higher debit card fees may not be enough to satiate the big banks. Financial institutions looking for more revenue are now eyeing another potential source of money: Selling your debit-card transaction data to marketers. Already Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) are marching into this new terrain by proposing to sell insights gleaned from credit-card spending data, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Will Consumers Use More Than One Mobile Wallet?
10/27/11 BTN But whether or not consumers will use more than one wallet sparked a spirited debate during a panel discussion here Oct. 25 at the Electronic Transactions Association's Mobile Commerce Summit. Tony Abruzzio, who works in sales and account management at Isis, told attendees the company's internal consumer research found smartphone users only want one mobile wallet. "Multiple wallets are not intuitive." Tapping Spree: How to Spend $100 With Google Wallet
10/24/11 AdAge Mobile payments may be coming to a phone near you but, in the real world, can you actually walk out of your office and blow $100 using only your phone? One rainy Wednesday in New York, I left my trusty leather wallet behind, slipped Google smartphone Nexus S in my pocket and endeavored to find out. Google has financial heavyweights Citibank and MasterCard in its corner, and the likes of Macy's, American Eagle Outfitters, Jamba Juice and Subway already testing the system. ISOs Should Aim For Efficiency, Not Profit, In IRS Reporting, Expert Says
10/24/11 ISO&Agent Independent sales organizations should concentrate on making their Internal Revenue Service reporting more efficient and merchant friendly instead of trying to turn it into a profit center, says a tax-compliance service provider. For the first time, the IRS is compelling the acquiring industry to report merchants’ credit card transactions to curb fraudulent or erroneous tax filing by merchants. Cards, Cards and More Cards: The Evolution to Prepaid Cards
10/27/11 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Today, a new trend is emerging: the prepaid card. According to the 2010 Federal Reserve Payments Study, consumers conducted 6 billion transactions with prepaid cards for a total of $140 billion during 2009. From 2006 to 2009, the use of such cards increased 20 percent and the value of these transactions increased by 22.9 percent per year. Transactions using prepaid cards comprise a relatively small portion of total noncash payments but are the fastest growing option within the category. With Numbers up, Visa Execs Touch on Strategies to Keep Network Dominant
10/26/11 Digital Transactions Confirming other findings that payment card usage is picking up in the U.S., Visa Inc.’s credit and debit card dollar volume rose 9% in the network’s fourth fiscal 2011 quarter ended Sept. 30 to $516 billion from $474 billion a year earlier. Payment transactions increased 7.3% to 10.5 billion. Visa’s robust operational and financial numbers came in the last quarter of unregulated debit card interchange in the U.S. Huntington Partners with Mastercard to Offer an Enhanced Debit Card as the Most Recent Step in the Bank’s “Fair Play” Approach to Consumers
10/27/11 Seeking Alpha Huntington and MasterCard Worldwide today announced that Huntington is converting its debit card programs to MasterCard and upgrading all its customers to a Platinum Debit MasterCard®. As part of the partnership, Huntington will also implement the world-class debit and ATM transaction processing capabilities of MasterCard Integrated Processing Solutions® (IPS). Is MasterCard's Latest Debit Win a Hollow Victory?
10/27/11 American Banker Three years ago, MasterCard Inc.'s success in stealing a major bank's debit business could have been a game changer. But in the wake of new regulations dampening the debit industry's profitability, MasterCard's latest victory seems more like a consolation prize. The second-largest payments network picked up some bragging rights on Thursday, when Huntington Bancshares Inc. announced that it will be converting all of its debit cards to MasterCard from Visa Inc. Bank of China and American Express Announce New Card-Issuing Partnership in China
10/26/11 American Express Bank of China (BOC) and American Express today announced a new strategic partnership, whereby Bank of China will begin issuing American Express-branded credit cards in China. Under the terms of this agreement, Bank of China will issue the Bank of China Private Bank American Express(R) Card – Bank of China's first credit card designed for its private banking customers. Office Depot and Century Payments to Launch Office Depot Merchant Services
10/25/11 Century Payments Office Depot, celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, today announced the launch of Office Depot Merchant Services, an electronic payment processing service for small-and medium-sized businesses. In partnership with Century Payments, Office Depot is the first office supply retailer to provide a private branded solution for small-and medium-sized businesses with direct access to accept electronic payments at the point of sale via all major debit and credit cards. Bank of America, Intuit to Offer Full Service Payroll to Small Businesses
10/24/11 BusinessWire Bank of America and Intuit Inc. today announced the availability of Intuit® Full Service Payroll for Bank of America small business customers. The service simplifies small business owners’ lives by doing their employee payroll and payroll taxes. “Small business owners are hit every day by a multitude of operational demands that can take their focus away from what’s most important to them – serving their customers and generating more business." Capital One CEO: Debit Card Fee Rules Not As “Needle-Moving”
10/24/11 MyBankTracker Capital One, one of the largest banks in the country (and to be even bigger after the purchase of ING Direct), shows no immediate signs to impose a debit card usage fee. In last week’s third-quarter 2011 conference call, Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank called debit card interchange fees as a “smaller part of overall Capital One”. “The Durbin Amendment is not as needle-moving for us,” Fairbank responded to a debit card pricing-related question. TSYS Reports Third Quarter 2011 EPS Up 30.6%, Raises Guidance and Increases Quarterly Dividend by 42.9%
10/25/11 TSYS TSYS today reported results for the third quarter 2011 with total revenues of $459.7 million, an increase of 6.1% over 2010. Basic earnings per share (EPS) were $0.30, an increase of 30.6% over 2010. Total issuer cardholder transactions increased 12.7% for the quarter, the seventh consecutive quarter of increased growth and the fourth straight quarter with double digit growth. Accounts on file were 392.4 million, an increase of 15.7% over last year. Heartland Payment Systems Reports 55% Increase in Third Quarter Adjusted Earnings per Share
10/27/11 Reuters Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE: HPY), one of the nation’s largest payment processors, today announced GAAP net earnings of $12.6 million, or $0.31 per share, for the three months ended September 30, 2011. Adjusted Net Income and Earnings per Share were $12.7 million and $0.31, respectively, for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 compared to Adjusted Net Income and Earnings per Share of $8.0 million and $0.20, respectively, for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. Ingenico Q3 2011 Revenue Up 8.3%
10/25/11 Ingenico Ingenico announced today its revenue figures for the third quarter of 2011. Philippe Lazare, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ingenico, commented: “The sustained growth we achieved in the third quarter is in line with our full‐year targets in all business segments. In Payment Terminals, we have continued to leverage our global footprint, particularly the high growth in emerging markets. Citigroup Inc. : Citi Renews U.S. Private Label Card Agreement With Sears Holdings Corporation
10/24/11 4-Traders Today, Citi announced a multi-year renewal of its long-standing U.S. private label credit card agreement with Sears Holdings Corporation, the nation's fourth largest retailer. Sears Holdings' retail brands include Sears, the leading home appliance retailer in North America, Kmart, and Lands' End, the nation's largest online apparel retailer. Citi has provided branded payment products to Sears since 2003. Twitter Founder Pushes Square’s Payment Device Into Wal-Mart
10/24/11 Businessweek Square Inc., the mobile payments company created by Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey, said its credit-card reader for smartphones will be available in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s locations nationwide, boosting the number of retail outlets where it is sold to more than 9,000. The reader, which lets businesses handle payments via mobile devices, was previously available in about 200 Apple stores, as well as Target Corp., RadioShack Corp. and Best Buy Co. outlets. Evaluating the Potential of Immediate Funds Transfer for General-Purpose Payments in the U.S.
10/27/11 Chicago Fed Today, a new trend is emerging: the prepaid card. According to the 2010 Federal Reserve Payments Study, consumers conducted 6 billion transactions with prepaid cards for a total of $140 billion during 2009. From 2006 to 2009, the use of such cards increased 20 percent and the value of these transactions increased by 22.9 percent per year. Transactions using prepaid cards comprise a relatively small portion of total noncash payments but are the fastest growing option within the category EMV Case Study: Silicon Valley Bank
10/26/11 Bank Info Security Pradeep Moudgal knows a U.S. migration to chip & PIN card technology will be expensive. But he says continuing to rely on the static magnetic stripe will be more costly in the long run. "I do believe that shift has begun," says Moudgal, who oversees global cards and merchant services for California-based Silicon Valley Bank [$19.5 billion in assets]. "Everyone wants to be in a much more secure environment. ... The mag stripe can be easily skimmed; the chip eliminates that." |
|
||||||
|
 |
|