Cards

Douglas Bergeron was focused in the fall of 2010 like a laser on a single goal–orchestrating his company's hostile acquisition of Hypercom Corp. Bergeron had already built VeriFone Systems Inc. into a force in point of sale terminals. Its card-reading devices graced countertops of retailers in dozens of countries.

A Northern Michigan gas-station owner wanted to give his cash-paying customers the freedom to fill their cars’ tanks first, then pay. But when dishonest drivers skipping the payment process became a problem, he decided to take a different approach.

After the sale of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union’s electronic banking services to Co-op Financial Services, National Credit Union Association on Dec.22 said it will move forward with plans for an orderly wind-down of the other U.S. Central services in 2012.

It took about 15 years, but the U.S. prepaid gift card market this year will reach $100 billion in total account deposits for the first time, pushed over the milestone mark by the emergence of e-gift cards, a new TowerGroup report predicts.

For all the controversy Russell Simmons has created with his prepaid debit cards, the company behind the products continues to add features that mimic traditional checking and savings accounts.

Banks have long been putting ads for their own products on ATM screens, but a startup insists there is a market for showing third-party ads in exchange for waiving fees.

Knee-jerk reactions by investors to news about the European debt crisis and the shrinking value of the euro have sent stock markets on a roller coaster ride globally. And a new treaty signed by euro zone countries giving the European Union authority to reject a country’s national budget and order a redraft if it does not meet targets designed to ease the debt crisis has heightened their apprehension.

A 21-year-old New York woman pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to her role in an ATM-skimming scheme that affected 11 banks and credit unions across southern New England.

Debit, it appears, still has some staying power, though market conditions are causing it to spasm.

Myriad payments companies this year created presence on such social media sites as Facebook and Twitter. But while it was important to roll with the times, the effort may not help to create long-term loyal customers.

Does an ATM-locator application need to have sex appeal?

Most executives in the prepaid debit card market agree any future federal regulations that demand better disclosures on products are good for the industry.

MONROVIA, Calif.- For the past twelve years, Steve Streit has relished his spoiler role among bankers. But now he has joined their ranks.

Intuit Inc. has officially launched a prepaid card account where even unbanked merchants and individuals may deposit their GoPayment sales, the company announced Dec. 20.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s vast ATM network is about to get a little bigger.

Eastern Europe gets a bad rap when it comes to payment card data security, but the region does not experience considerably more hacking-attack incidents than do other parts of the world. But it is a main source of such incidents, an industry analyst contends.

Credit unions were hit last week with a new group of lawsuits by one consumer claiming they violated the public-disclosure provisions of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by failing to post nonmember fees being charged at their ATMs as required by the law.

Prepaid debit cards that come with celebrity endorsements over the years have showed little staying power while whipping up storm clouds of controversy.

With no governing body regulating the payments industry in the United States, card data security for online service merchants can be an iffy proposition.

To encourage adoption of new security standards in the U.S., the most important tool is policy.