Payment processing

The casino industry is turning a corner, but the long-term impact of the so-called Durbin amendment on Global Cash Access Holdings Inc.’s revenues remains unclear, executives from the company told analysts during a Nov. 9 conference call to discuss third-quarter earnings.

Near the end of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s one-day payments symposium Sept. 26, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Jamie Henry posed a question that had yet to be answered during the previous eight hours.

Global Cash Access Holdings Inc.’s revenue and net income continued to decline in the third quarter as a result of losing its largest customer, Harrah’s Entertainment, late in 2010, the company announced Nov. 9.

The Western Union Co. is moving forward with plans to expand its cross-border business-payments unit now that it has officially completed a deal to purchase a division of London-based Travelex Holdings Ltd.

E-commerce provider Alibaba Group Ltd. reportedly is preparing to expand access to it Alipay online-payments platform to countries outside of China within the next three months.

People’s United Bank will use a mobile financial-services product suite from Fidelity National Information Services, or FIS, under a deal the companies announced Nov. 9

Online Resources Inc. on Nov. 8 reported a third quarter net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.05 per share, compared with a $700,000 loss, or $0.02 per share, during the same period last year.

Square Inc. continues to secure investors, and the latest one is bringing a lance to the table.

Bank of America Corp. is the second major card issuer to buck a recent smart card trend by structuring its EMV cards for U.S. commercial cardholders traveling abroad with chip-and-PIN technology instead of chip-and-signature.

A 15% growth in revenue fueled a 10-fold increase in third quarter earnings, to $8 million from just $892,000 a year earlier, Atlanta-based S1 Corp. announced Nov. 7.

Wright Express Corp. is reaping the benefits of continued growth in Expedia transaction volume.

Fundtech Ltd.’s shareholders approved the acquisition of the company by Chicago-based private equity partners GTCR at $23.33 a share, or $390 million.

Income growth may be stagnant and consumer confidence weak, but spending has been “surprisingly resilient” and has helped fuel modest revenue increases for First Data Corp., executives told industry analysts Nov. 2 while discussing third-quarter earnings.

MasterCard Worldwide will offer special incentives to certain merchants to offset the effects of new Federal Reserve Board rules requiring debit cards to carry at least two card-network brands in contrast to Visa’s plan to offer broad merchant incentives, Ajay Banga, MasterCard chairman and CEO, told analysts Nov. 2.

Citing higher purchase volumes for credit and debit cards in all regions, MasterCard Worldwide earned net income of $717 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 38.4% from $518 million a year earlier, the company said Nov. 2.

Citing steady international growth and earnings from increased debit network fees, First Data Corp. delivered a 3.8% increase in third-quarter consolidated revenue, the Atlanta-based card processor reported Nov. 2.

Prepaid card marketer NetSpend Corp. is teaming with PayPal Inc. in a deal that so far has been the subject of little fanfare by either company.

Bank of America Corp.'s decision to drop its controversial debit-card fee may have come too late to retain some accounts because a large number of big-bank customers already have defected to smaller banks in protest over fees (see story).

Using an effective online banking data-security method customers view as nonintrusive represents the best option for financial institutions as fraud-prevention capabilities increasingly become key factors in consumer choice, a fraud expert suggests in a recent study report.

Sluggish global economic growth has placed pressure on international corporate activity, but it also is providing an opportunity for corporate payment-automation providers such as Syncada that peddle more efficient processing.