Transactions Up 27% at MAC Parent

Electronic Payment Services Inc. said total switch transaction volume grew 27% in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, to 421 million.

The owner of the MAC automated teller machine network said 61 financial institutions had joined in the first quarter, adding 268,000 cardholders and 1,900 ATMs and bringing membership to 1,875.

MAC transactions were up 31% from the 1995 first quarter, to 236 million, and point of sale volume increased to more than 20 million transactions, up 37% from the fourth quarter.

Notable retail additions were 263 Wal-Mart stores and 47 Kmart stores.

Meanwhile, rumors still circulate that Electronic Payment Services may be sold through an initial public offering.