Cards

Better ATM Services, a provider of prepaid cards delivered through ATMS, announced that the company's president and CEO, Todd Nuttall, will assume a new role as EVP of enabling technologies.

Stockpile is selling what it describes as a new twist on gift cards. Instead of offering a card or a voucher, the startup allows consumers to give an investment in a publicly traded company.

James B. Lipham is retiring as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer at Total System Services Inc.

WorldPay Group, of London, has acquired Cobre Bem Tecnologia, one of the largest payment processors in Latin America.

Ever since the Target data breach made national headlines late last year, customers at City Bank Texas in Lubbock have been deactivating and reactivating their debit cards with much greater frequency.

Bitcoin ATM provider Robocoin is touting its ATMs as bank branches after launching an online banking platform, Robocoin Bank.

The Target data breach has sparked more awareness of card security issues, but nearly 90% of U.S. consumers responding to a Phoenix Marketing International survey don't know much about the EMV-chip cards Target and others are adopting to deter counterfeiting.

When mainstream banks reacted to Target's holiday-season breach by reissuing cards, their biggest worry was active accounts. But for a prepaid card issuer like Green Dot, the inactive cards on retailers' shelves were also a significant concern.

New York state is cracking down on online lenders that, it says, are using debit card transactions to skirt payday lending laws.

First Data reported a better financial picture in the first quarter, a period that also saw the company make inroads into small business technology and accelerate its support of EMV-chip card technology.

Key decision makers in the payments industry recently gathered for SourceMedia's 2014 Card Forum and Expo. They discussed the trends shaping the industry and their own strategies for surviving the challenges ahead. Here are a few highlights.

Target Corp.'s choice to work with MasterCard Inc. for chip-and-PIN credit and debit cards next year makes a strong statement about payment security.

The debit networks and card brands have largely resolved two years of debate over routing EMV debit cards, but an ongoing court battle over debit fees and routing makes the full scope of their responsibilities unclear.

Consumer travel is a growing opportunity for prepaid, although it is growing more rapidly overseas than in the United States, according to Bertrand Sosa, president of Rev Worldwide, a payment provider focusing on the underserved market.

Kofax is using its imaging technology to allow consumers to check gift card balances.

Mobile imaging is vital to Green Dot's GoBank account, which relies on the mobile device for nearly all customer interaction.

American Express' Serve prepaid account has its roots as a digital wallet, but the card issuer is finding many of its enrollments are coming through a very non-digital process: in-person activations at mobile phone stores.

Total System Services Inc. plans to build upon NetSpend's new partnerships with Western Union and Paychex to boost its presence in the prepaid card market, which it says can reach 68 million underserved consumers throughout the world.

Commuters in Sydney, Australia now have the option to use a contactless smart card to pay train fare.

The prepaid card marketer NetSpend is working with Western Union to launch a prepaid card this year.