Prepaid cards

U.S. Bank is consolidating its general purpose reloadable debit cards under its new Contour Card in a move to capitalize on the growing trend of "family pack" prepaid products.

As Wex extends its suite of travel and fleet payments products, the company is addressing the challenges that accompany certain markets.

Various companies have expressed interest in licensing JPMorgan Chase's prepaid card technology patents, according to Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc., a financial exchange for licensing and trading intellectual property rights.

Prepaid card issuer Green Dot Corp.'s third-quarter revenue rose 3% from a year earlier, but higher expenses made its profits fall 36%.

Optimal Payments Plc, which is based in Isle of Man, has registered with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to provide services to Internet gambling businesses licensed by New Jersey.

The payments industry is facing pressure from outside companies that are toppling many preconceptions about how payments should work. But industry veterans are fighting back, and they shared their strategies at SourceMedia's 2013 ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum.

TAS Group has upgraded its card management software to allow banks to quickly design new EMV chip-based payment products and develop related programs.

As the market for prepaid cards expands and diversifies, many companies are experimenting to see what works — and in the process, they are learning that a product-based mindset could hold them back.

With its purchase of NetSpend closed, the processor Total System Services (TSYS) is beginning to use the prepaid card marketer as a lure for financial institutions and merchants.

In a move to get into the approximately $40 billion corporate prepaid market, Blackhawk Network is purchasing InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions.

OnBudget seeks to build customer retention of daily expense prepaid cards by incorporating personal financial management tools that digitize the "envelope budgeting system" popular among consumers.

Western Union has renewed its collaboration with La Banque Postale, the banking subsidiary of La Poste, the postal services operator in France.

While digital initiatives take longer to show their effect in the company's revenue, American Express Co. is still making investments in emerging payments and prepaid cards.

Western Union and MasterCard have joined with lottery and gaming company Gtech S.p.A to offer the My WU reloadable prepaid card in Italy.

MasterCard's Mobile Money Partnership Program (MMPP) has added Oberthur Technologies' MoreMagic subsidiary, a provider of financial services, security and identity management.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) plans an electronic voucher program in Lebanon that will enable Syrian refugees to make MasterCard payments.

MasterCard has agreed to purchase Provus Billisim Hizmetleri A.S. (Provus), a Turkish payment technology and processing company.

Less than two months after launching Evolve Money for cash-paying consumers to pay and track bills online or through a smartphone, PreCash Inc. has its first wireless carrier supporting the app.

Walgreen Co.'s new Balance Financial Prepaid MasterCard will be at the core of a series of financial services the retailer plans to offer over the next few months.

MasterCard and CB Bank will offer prepaid travel cards to Myanmar residents for international travel.