Technology

Visa Europe will keep its cross-border interchange rates as is, even though MasterCard Europe, facing hefty fines from European regulators, said Thursday it would "temporarily repeal" its rates while continuing its appeal of the regulators' decision. "The announcement has no impact in Visa Europe's interchange," Visa said in a statement issued Friday. "We are in ongoing talks with the European Commission about how we (will) set our interchange in the future, and these continue." The commission is investigating Visa Europe's interchange and card practices. In December, it gave MasterCard six months to lower its rates or face paying daily fines amounting to 3.5% of global revenues. Regulators say the rates are anticompetitive. On Friday, Visa Europe repeated that it hoped to reach agreement with the commission. But one analyst questioned how much negotiating power Visa has in the wake of MasterCard's interchange decision. "The way the situation is evolving, it's clear that MasterCard and Visa have little leverage over the [commission]," Gwenn Bézard, senior analyst for the Aite Group, a United States-based consultancy, tells CardLine Global. "It's not good news for Visa." Meanwhile, European retailers welcomed MasterCard's decision to repeal its rates. "This signals a major victory in the battle against this hidden taxation of purchasing, which will bring significant benefits to consumers and retailers," retail trade association EuroCommerce said in a statement issued Friday.

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United States-based auction Web site eBay Inc. says it is reviewing a directive from Australian competition authorities that delays company plans to mandate PayPal, eBay's payment service, as the only online-payment option on the company's Australian Web site, a spokesperson tells CardLine Global. EBay officials worked through Thursday night to "digest the information," the spokesperson says. "We will make further comment following the review process," the spokesperson says. On Thursday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was determining if eBay's mandate is anticompetitive (CardLine Global, 13 June). The mandate was scheduled to start Tuesday.

U.S. home foreclosures jumped in May to 261,255, a 48% increase from May 2007, according to RealtyTrac's latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which measures default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Last month's total is up 7% from April.

Global Payments Inc., an Atlanta provider of payment processing and cash access services to casinos, said four customers have signed up to use its VIP Lightspeed package of check-cashing, cash advance, and automated teller machine products and services.

Citibank, which operates the nation's eighth-largest bank-owned ATM network, next week will begin replacing most of its ATMs in a bid to improve customer service.

Bank of America Corp. is raising its ATM surcharge in the Chicago market to $3 from $2

Mastercard Worldwide has some catching up to do in the debit card market to

Chevron Federal Credit Union and Technology Credit Union have joined the

More than 90% of Nautilus Hyosung America Inc.'s customers order ATMs through a Web ordering system, MinibankATM.com, Chan Park, company president and CEO, told ATM&Debit News at the company's Second Annual Users' conference. The Coppell, Texas, company launched Web site ordering in June 2007.