Cards

Recent reductions in merchant debit card interchange rates and the threat of shrinking bank-branch networks raise troubling issues for ATM operators, but certain aspects of the changes could be positive for third-party ATM deployers.

Comedian and actor George Lopez is the latest celebrity to become involved with the prepaid card business by endorsing Mango Financial Inc.

Reloadable prepaid debit cards have gone so mainstream they share space now with top bank brands on at least one credit card comparison website.

Reflecting the effects of various acquisitions, Cardtronics Inc. reported a surge in fourth-quarter revenue along with an uptick in expenses.

The results of diverse strategic initiatives around the world helped buoy MasterCard Worldwide’s overall processed transactions during last year’s fourth quarter.

This is an updated version of a story posted earlier.

Buoyed by the improving global economy and strong growth in processed transactions, MasterCard Worldwide on Feb. 2 reported fourth quarter net revenue of $1.73 billion, up 20.1% compared with $1.44 billion the same period a year earlier.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard, one of two stocks widely held by credit unions, reported this morning that fourth quarter earnings plunged 95% to $19 million because of a $495 million after-tax charge the cards giant recorded for potential settlement of another antitrust settlement with merchants.

Bank of Kathmandu Ltd. has launched what it says is the country’s first debit card designed for customers who have accounts based on a foreign currency, the Nepal-based issuer announced Jan. 26.

By joining a new anti-phishing coalition this week, Bank of America Corp. is maintaining a leadership position it has held for several years in the battle against cyberthieves who target online and mobile-banking users. But this is one small step and the battle is by no means over.

First Data Corp. expects to benefit this year when the last measure of the new debit-interchange legislation under the Durbin amendment takes hold on April 1, requiring financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets to have at least two processing networks on their debit cards.

Core banking provider Jack Henry & Associates Inc. logged a strong fiscal second quarter, largely because revenue growth in its electronic payments unit is moving like a juggernaut.

“Feeding coins in the parking meter” may become a phrase associated with days of payments past, especially if PayByPhone Inc. continues to develop a mobile-payment method for consumers using parking spaces.

Citing a $115 million decline in debit-network fees, First Data Corp. saw its fourth-quarter consolidated revenue decline by 1.5%, to $2.69 billion from $2.73 billion a year earlier, the Atlanta-based card processor reported Feb. 1.

A lower cap on debit card interchange fees is hitting small and midsize banks more lightly than expected … so far.

Though delayed by two years, Indian transport operator Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. has launched a smart transit card for commuters on Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transit System.

Visa Inc. chairman and chief executive Joe Saunders on Jan. 31 downplayed concerns over the costs associated with implementing its new digital wallet at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

MCB Bank Ltd. has become the first bank in Pakistan to launch a EMV chip debit card in collaboration with Euronet Pakistan, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide.

ItzCash Card Ltd., a Mumbai-based prepaid cards provider, has launched a Visa-branded prepaid card with Development Credit Bank Ltd., the companies announced Jan. 26.

MasterCard Worldwide didn’t come right out and say it, but the card brand is encouraging U.S. issuers and merchants to embrace chip-and-PIN technology as part of a migration to the EMV smart card security standard in the next three years.