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Increased attention to data breaches could provide a boost to a Montreal company that has developed a way for shoppers to use plug-in card readers with their home computers to make PIN debit purchases online.
February 11 -
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February 11 -
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Starting in March, consumers in rural Australia may pay more for ATM withdrawals than urban consumers, according to an analyst and a consumer-advocacy group. ATM owners on 3 March can start charging customers directly for using cash machines under rules changes imposed by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Under the current system, ATM owners typically collect those charges through consumers' banks, which can pass the costs on to their cardholders and impose their own fees. The revisions also require ATM owners to disclose the fees for using their machines before transactions occur. Backers say the revisions will lower ATM fees for many consumers through increased transparency and competition. The Consumer Action Law Centre, however, worries that ATM charges will be higher in rural areas because of the relative scarcity of cash machines outside cities. Peter Arnold, a financial analyst with Australia-based Canstar Cannex, tells CardLine Global he shares that concern. "In the city, there are often several ATMs within walking distance, so they will all need to charge a similar fee in fear of not getting used," he says. "In the country, an ATM may be the only one for a long way, so there would be nothing stopping [the owner from] charging a much higher price, as people will not have the option of walking elsewhere."
February 10 -
Consumers made transactions worth 8 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion or 905.2 million euros) using China's migrant workers debit cards as of 31 Dec., up 139.5% from 3.34 billion yuan as of the end of 2007, a spokesperson for China UnionPay, the payment card network that helps administer the program, tells CardLine Global. The People's Bank of China established the service in 2005 to enable migrant workers to deposit funds in bank accounts in cities where the migrants work. Accountholders can withdraw funds from rural credit cooperatives near their homes. Some 164 banks in China offer the service, which was expanded to Tibet last month, the spokesperson says. Workers using the service pay fees equal to 0.8% of the transaction amount. China has approximately 140 million migrant workers, Zhang Hua, a China-based banking analyst for United States-based Celent LLC, tells CardLine Global. Other card schemes charge transaction fees not much higher than what the migrant worker program charges, and this will make it difficult for the program to gain market dominance, he adds.
February 10
