Cards

Visa Inc. has equipped more than 5,000 London retailers with its contactless payWave technology and expects that number to reach 13,000 by the end of the year. By 2012, when London plays host to the Olympic Games, payWave readers will be ubiquitous, according to Visa executive Guido Mangiagalli, who spoke to retailers late last month in London about the contactless rollout. Visa declines to say how many payWave terminals it has deployed for the Beijing Olympics, which begin in August. So far, Visa says it has worked with Olympic sponsor Bank of China to install an ATM network and hundreds of point-of-sale acceptance devices at competition venues and elsewhere in Beijing. Throughout China, Visa has installed more than 90,000 ATMs and has signed up some 190,000 merchant locations or outlets for card acceptance to help prepare for the Olympics and beyond, a spokesperson says. http://www.cardforum.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Moneris Solutions Inc. today announced it is acquiring Alabama National BanCorp.'s merchant-payment business in an agreement that expands the payment processor's presence in the Southeast. Moneris, whose U.S. headquarters is in Schaumburg, Ill., will service 103 Alabama National banking centers in the Southeast and the bank holding company's established merchant-processing portfolio, according to Moneris. Additionally, Moneris will handle all credit card processing sales-and-servicing functions. The companies did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. The companies did not state when they expect the deal to close. The acquisition increases Moneris' portfolio size, bank network and brand presence in the Southeast, the company says. "Moneris has very aggressive growth plans," Greg Cohen, president of Moneris U.S., said in a statement. A Moneris representative was unavailable to comment by CardLine deadline. http://www.cardforum.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Jul. 22--Patience is not always virtuous.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about the wisdom of taking loans against your 401(k) account. The story mentioned a company called Reserve Solutions that allows customers to access their loan via a debit card at an A.T.M. or any merchant that accepts Visa.

United Kingdom-based Standard Chartered bank has begun issuing yuan-denominated debit cards in China after signing a card agreement with China UnionPay, a bank spokesperson tells CardLine Global. The bank earlier this month received permission from Chinese financial authorities to issue the cards (CardLine Global, 14 July). The bank is among the first foreign financial institutions to issue yuan cards in China. To promote the launch, the bank will waive its 20-yuan (US$2.90 or 1.90 euros) annual fee for the card. The bank also has applied for permission to issue yuan credit cards, the spokesperson says.

Dover Corp. expects to sell financially troubled off-premise ATM manufacturer Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. before the end of the year, Paul Goldberg, Dover treasurer and director of investor relations, tells ATM&Debit News, a CardLine sister publication. Dover, a New York-based $7.4 billion company with a large manufacturing portfolio, said Wednesday it is close to selling Triton to an undisclosed buyer. Robert Livingston, Dover president and chief operating officer, says the company has "a viable buyer currently in place that [will] allow us to move the process forward." Goldberg said, "There are several interested parties." When ATM&Debit News pointed out the discrepancy between his statement and Livingston's, Goldberg declined to say more. Dover is selling Triton because it is not a core product to Dover's business, and Triton does not control the market share Dover expects from its companies. "If you know our company, they are either No.1 or No 2 in their markets," Goldberg says. "We did not feel we could become one of the bigger players in the [ATM] market." Triton is one of the nation's largest off-premise manufacturers. In 2006, the Long Beach, Miss.-based company shipped 12,300 ATMs, placing it fourth behind NCR Corp., Diebold Inc. and Tranax Technologies Inc. Triton's 2006 shipments, however, were down 16.4% from 14,782 shipments in 2005. Triton has not disclosed how many ATMs it shipped last year.

The government of South Australia, a state in Australia, says it will test a chip card scheme that would enable gamblers to limit their spending at poker machines. The test will "formally commence" in mid-August, the government ministry in charge of gambling said in a statement. Australia-based Worldsmart Technology will conduct the test, which involves the company's J Card, or Jackpot Club card, according to the statement. The Jackpot Club is a rewards scheme that uses chip cards. Worldsmart declined comment to CardLine Global, as did government officials. The test will enable gamblers to set a daily limit on how much they can spend, with alerts informing them when that limit is reached. Officials already have installed technology for the test in four venues. At least 75 venues in South Australia take part in the Jackpot Club reward scheme, Worldsmart says on its Web site.

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OnPoint Community Credit Union, Oregon's largest credit union based on

Co-op Financial Services will provide EFT processing and ATM check imaging for

Navy Federal Credit Union, the world's largest credit union in terms of

At least 1 million consumers in the United Kingdom have access to 419 ATMs

The Payment Card Industry Standards Council has added unattended payment

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