Headlines:
First Data, Amro in 5-Year Deal
First Data Corp. and the Dutch banking company ABN Amro Holding NV have signed a five-year merchant acquiring and processing agreement.
The Denver payment processor said last week that it will handle MasterCard and Visa transactions for ABN Amro's merchant customers outside the United States. The partnership will start this quarter; ABN Amro's customers are expected to be fully converted by 2007.
ABN Amro will also provide global treasury and funds transfer services to First Data. The Dutch company has more than 3,000 branches in more than 60 countries.
"This strategic agreement strengthens our ability to offer payment services to virtually anyone, anywhere, and provides versatile payment options for merchants worldwide," said Pamela Patsley, the president of First Data's international division, in a press release.
Aggarwal Named Prepaid CEO
Anil Aggarwal, who resigned abruptly as TSYS Prepaid's chief executive on March 31, is now the CEO of Prepaid Media, a company he founded last year with its president, Jonathan Weiner.
Mr. Aggarwal, who will serve on Prepaid Media's board, also co-founded Clarity Payment Solutions Inc. and the nonprofit Network Branded Prepaid Card Association with Mr. Weiner. The association was started in October.
Prepaid Media, of Nashua, N.H., is a subsidiary of Prepaid Services Group LLC. It provides business-to-business, media, and information services to emerging industries. It announced the appointment of Mr. Aggarwal as CEO on April 5.
TSYS Prepaid, of New York, is a unit of Total System Services Inc., which acquired Clarity Payment Solutions in 2004.
Fiserv Inc. Cracks Fortune 500
Fiserv Inc. has landed a spot on the Fortune 500 list of the nation's largest public companies by revenue.
The Brookfield, Wis., provider of financial and health benefits technology, which was No. 510 last year, jumped to No. 488 in the 2006 list from Fortune. The list was announced last week and will appear in the magazine's April 17 issue.
Fiserv was No. 1 in American Banker's FinTech 100 ranking of the top banking technology companies last year and in the list's inaugural year, 2004.
