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Russia and Poland are leading Central and Eastern Europe in the number of payment cards issued, according to a report prepared by London-based Retail Banking Research Ltd. At the end of 2008, financial institutions in 14 Central and Eastern Europe nations had issued 264 million debit and credit cards, up 10.5% from 239 million a year earlier, according to the report “Payment Cards: Central and Eastern Europe 2010.” By comparison, Retail Banking Research says the growth in cards issued in Western Europe between 2008 and 2007 was 5%. Retail Banking Research says 16 million of the additional cards issued in 2008 were in Russia, where banks routinely enroll businesses in corporate accounts so companies can pay employees’ salaries through credit transfers. Employees were asked to open bank accounts with debit cards tied to them. Financial institutions in Poland issued 4 million new payment cards in 2008. Of all the cards issued in the region last year 83% were debit cards, 2% were charge cards, and 15% were credit cards, Retail Banking Research says. Debit cards are so dominate that only in four nations—Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia—do credit and charge cards account for more than 30% of each nation’s total, Retail Banking Research says. Cardholders in the 14 nations initiated 2.3 billion card payments in 2008, up 21.1% from 1.9 billion in 2007. As consumers become “accustomed to using cards more frequently for payment, and as card-acceptance networks expand, transaction volumes are growing significantly faster than card numbers,” Retail Banking Research says. In related research, merchants deployed 1.1 million point-of-sale terminals in the region, a 26% increase from the previous year, the company says.
December 15 -
Consumers in the Australian state of Queensland now can use prepaid Go Cards for travel on the TransLink network, the Queensland state transport minister has announced. The Go Card is a contactless card consumers can use to pay for bus, train and ferry rides. Consumers can store up to AU$250 (US$230 or 156 euros) on the cards. Consumers can buy the cards at various merchant locations in Queensland, and they can choose to have automatic top-ups on the cards via credit card payments. The Queensland Government formed the TransLink Transit Authority to improve and expand public-transport services across Southeast Queensland.
December 15 -
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The 75 million Americans who are retired or are nearing retirement represent an untapped opportunity for credit card issuers, according to Corporate Insight Inc.
December 9
