Cards

Vermont merchants are a step closer to being able to set minimum purchase amounts for card payments after the state's Senate passed a bill Tuesday giving retailers more control over card acceptance.

Monett, Mo.-based Jack Henry & Associates yesterday reported net income for its fiscal third quarter surged 28%, based on a 19% rise in revenues.Net income for the third quarter was $31.6 million and revenues were $215.5 million.

Despite a continued slump in consumer spending, MasterCard Worldwide today reported strong results for the first quarter ended March 31, especially in worldwide purchase volume and cross-border spending. U.S. debit purchase volume also continues to grow.

An investor group that includes members of Triton Systems of Delaware’s management has purchased the Long Beach, Miss.-based ATM manufacturer from parent Dover Corp. for an undisclosed price.

American Express Co. on May 3 launched Pass, a reloadable prepaid card for parents to give their teenagers and young adult children as a safer alternative to carrying cash or having a credit card. The idea, however, is not new; AmEx is following a well-worn path blazed by competitors.

Inside Contactless is buying the secure microcontroller business from chip maker Atmel Corp., France-based Inside announced today.

Euronet Worldwide Inc., which conducts the majority of its operations outside the United States, last week reported net income of $2.8 million for the first quarter ended March 31. The Leawood, Kan.-based electronic-payments processor reported a net loss of $12.3 million during the same period last year. Revenue totaled $250 million, up 7% from $233.7 million.

Australians increasingly are using debit cards more than credit cards in an economy that has begun recovering from a financial crisis that begun in late 2008, analysts say and government data show.

With merchants and card companies pushing people to abandon paper statements, financial companies are using electronic billing services to keep customers from abandoning their online bill payment sites as well.

State Bank of India plans to deploy ATMs that can process various types of bills by scanning the bar codes displayed on them, an official from the Mumbai-based bank confirms to PaymentsSource.

SunTrust Banks Inc. has signed a multiyear agreement in which First Data Corp.’s Star network will provide PIN-debit point-of-sale and ATM access, the Atlanta-based bank announced May 3. Terms were not disclosed.

Blackboard Inc. recently launched an open-loop prepaid card program, Blackboard Pay, that enables colleges and universities to simplify the way they disburse financial aid credit balances and student payroll.

Independent sales organizations may realize such benefits as lower costs and faster sales cycles from using digital signatures and contracts, but they likely will find difficulty adopting a technology not widely used in the payments industry. Potential legal difficulties also exist, and not all processors and sponsor banks may approve of digital contracts, note observers.

Banks are ready to spend more on technology, but concerns over compliance expenses could keep some of them from moving forward soon with major upgrades.

As competition for clients intensifies and margins grow increasingly thin, many independent sales organizations are seeking ways to reduce costs, increase efficiency and stand out from competitors. One method gaining consideration is the use of digital signatures and contracts.

Rushikulya Gramya Bank in the Indian state of Orissa soon may become the first regional rural bank to issue debit cards to its customers that require biometric authentication, an official from the bank tells PaymentsSource.

University Parent Media and StorValue Card Solutions LLC this month launched the Campus Dough DebitSmart prepaid card, which enables college students to improve personal money management while earning rewards.

Continental Prison Systems Inc. announced April 23 the installation of two kiosks in the Ingham County Jail in Mason, Mich., that accept cash from inmates and their visitors. Continental Prison in three months also will install a kiosk that loads inmates’ funds into debit card accounts before the jail releases them.

Fiserv reported a 17% rise in first quarter earnings Thursday, even as revenues slid by about 1%.

Cardtronics, operator of the biggest ATM fleet in the country, reported a first quarter profit of $4.2 million yesterday, compared to a loss of $5 million for the same period last year.