Kate Fitzgerald is an Arizona-based senior editor for American Banker and longtime payments reporter. Fitzgerald began her journalism career at the San Diego Tribune, and has worked as a reporter and editor at several other publications, including Advertising Age and the Arizona Republic. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College and holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on June 9 made a brief appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, warning lawmakers of the need to investigate possible collusion between Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide in the setting credit and debit card interchange rates.
June 9 -
Credit card direct-mail solicitations from major issuers increased sharply in the first quarter, driven largely by a resurgence in rewards card and balance-transfer offers, according to new data Mintel Comperemedia released June 2.
June 7 -
Target Corp. has revamped its rewards program in an effort to steer more transactions to its private-label store cards.
June 4 -
Small-business owners' confidence in the economy rose in May, reaching its highest level in seven months, according to Discover Financial Services.
June 2 -
Total System Services Inc.'s TSYS Healthcare unit has reached an agreement with Lighthouse1 LLC that it says will let people consolidate multiple health-care payments onto a single card.
June 2 -
But looking for details on a specific card from one issuer calls up long lists of card agreements, filled with dense legal language that may seem to have little direct connection to specific card products.
May 28 -
First Data Corp.'s new chief executive, Joe Forehand, is wasting no time in shaking things up within the debt-laden processor. The company announced Tuesday the departure of three top executives, including its recently hired chief financial officer.
May 25 -
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it is eager to deploy chip-and-PIN card technology as a stronger barrier against point of sale card fraud but that card issuers are balking.
May 21 -
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it is eager to deploy chip-and-PIN card technology as a stronger barrier against point of sale card fraud but that card issuers are balking.
May 21 -
Payments-industry players are vowing to begin lobbying members of Congress in hopes of blocking further progress of an interchange-regulation amendment to the financial-reform bill the Senate passed on May 13 that they believe would have devastating consequences.
May 14 -
U.S. Bancorp this week announced plans to offer employers what it says is the first product that consolidates multiple types of employer-sponsored health care benefits and reimbursements on a single payments card they can manage through the bank’s website.
May 14 -
The San Francisco online credit-tracking company said the average score for U.S. consumers was 670 in April, up a point from January.
May 13 -
Swipely.com, a new social networking website that broadcasts users' credit and debit card purchases, says its strong security features will help it avoid embarrassing data breaches such as the one Blippy.com suffered last month.
May 13 -
Discover Financial Services said Wednesday that Amalgamated Bank of Chicago has agreed to issue a credit card on its network designed for Joint Council Teamster local union members across the country.
May 12 -
The fast growth of social-networking sites containing users' personal information is drawing concern from some payment data-security experts who say the risk of exposing consumers' sensitive data is rising.
May 12 -
The economic downturn last year caused holders of American Express cards to slash spending in such key categories as electronics, apparel and travel.
May 6 -
MasterCard Worldwide has promoted Ajay Banga, president and chief operating officer, to chief executive officer, effective July 1. Banga also was named a member of MasterCard’s board of directors. Banga succeeds Joseph W. Selander, who will become executive vice chairman until his retirement on Dec. 31. MasterCard also promoted Alfredo Gangotena to chief marketing officer from global products and solution lead for MasterCard in Europe. Gangotena replaces Lawrence Flanagan, who is retiring.
May 6 -
MasterCard Worldwide absorbed a sharp downturn in U.S. consumer credit card purchase volume and total consumer credit card accounts in 2009 as the recession drove consumers to cut spending. But the company turned a healthy profit anyway, thanks to its success in other areas, including relatively strong international purchase volume.
April 28 -
Competition is intensifying among global commercial card providers, especially for several large U.S.-based issuers seeking growth in markets abroad.
April 27 -
Visa Inc. felt the effects of the global economic recession in 2009, as U.S. consumers transacted less on credit. But strong gains in Visa’s U.S. debit card volume during the year helped to offset the slowdown in credit card use, and the company’s overall profits soared.
April 27
