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The article reports on the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) proposal regarding the debit-interchange caps which according to a financial analyst will make the debit card networks lose 1.7 billion dollars in revenue they charge banks. It states that the U.S. banks will pressurize Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide Inc. to lower their network fees because of the caps. It reports on the possibility that the networks in turn will raise fees they charge to merchant banks for transaction processing.

The article reports on the launch of Wilson Farms Inc.'s Hot Rewards PIN-debit card in the U.S. It states that the multiple-reward debit card is a loyalty product that will settle transactions over the automated clearinghouse network as well as provide customers with various incentive rewards to food and gasoline stores. It notes that Maverick Network Solutions Inc. is collaborating with Wilson Farms to deliver the debit card and cash-back rewards for cardholders to earn.

The article reports on the testing of Wells Fargo and Co.'s paperless automatic teller machines (ATMs) receipts in the U.S. It states that the third-largest bank company has bought the paperless ATMs from NCR Corp., Wincor Nixdorf AG and Diebold Inc. The company stresses that the paperless ATM provides options for customers to decide how, when and where they receive the receipt.

The article reports on the move of merchant banks to rely on alternative compensating controls to comply with the requirements of the Payment Card Industry's (PCI) Data Security Standard in the U.S. The report released by Thales Group and the Ponemon Institute LLC reveals that many large merchants are paying an average of 225,000 dollars for PCI audits. However, 41 percent of merchants are using compensating control to achieve compliance with the PCI.

The article reports on the plan of the National Bank of Omaha to release its control in its First National Merchant Solutions LLC merchant-acquiring arm to Total System Services Inc. (TYS) in Columbus, Georgia. Philip W. Tomlinson, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of TYS, stresses that the decision will make the company a full-service merchant acquirer. It notes that the TYS will pay the Omaha with 150.5 million dollars for a 51 percent stake in the new company.

The article focuses on a small-merchant study which reveals that small merchants depend on their banks, acquirers and merchant-service providers for information related to compliance with payment industry data-security regulations. The online survey was conducted by ControlScan Inc., the National Retail Federation and the PCI Knowledge Base LLC. Most of the respondents said that they consult with their merchant banks to know about data security.

The article reports on the increased merchants' interest in seeking funding from cash-advance providers in view of the difficulty in acquiring the traditional bank-lending options in the current difficult economy. It states that the merchant cash-advance companies advance funds to merchants in exchange for future card receivables. According to financial analyst Adil Moussa, some card networks and issuers have lowered their credit limits on cards or loans after the economy deteriorated.

The article reports that merchants in the U.S. are disappointed as the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights bill has excluded a provision that would have given them a break on interchange rate. The interchange rate is the fees that are part of the discount rate that merchants pay acquirers to accept payment cards. It is informed that although the credit card-discount provision did not pass, merchants are hopeful that alternative legislation will come this year to address the interchange rate.

The article reports on the extended end-to-end encryption capabilities of VeriFone Holdings Inc. The company has announced that it provides end-to-end encryption capabilities with its VeriShield Protect product to help both merchants and acquirers to fight fraudsters who seek for cardholder data. According to VeriFone, VeriShield Protect works by eliminating usable cardholder data from point of sale (POS), while preserving existing card track data formats.

The article reports that Apriva Inc., which operates a wireless point of sale (POS) terminal network, plans to start an international division to meet the global demand for wireless POS terminals and service, according to co-founder Paul Coppinger. Coppinger says that the international sales model will be based on working with acquirers, that may not be independent sales organizations, but would still have access to merchants.

The article reports that Pivotal Payments Corp., a Merchant-service provider, has acquired Ontario-based merchant-service provider Tangarine Payment Solutions Corp., for $18 million. It states that Tangarine has added 8500 merchants, which has increased the number of Canadian merchants Pivotal Payments is servicing to 25,000.

The article reports that several investors, including AOL co-founder Steve Case, Citigroup Inc. and an undisclosed Goldman Sachs affiliate, have invested $42 million in Revolution Money Inc. Revolution Money, which offers merchants a relatively low-cost customer-payment option, supports the RevolutionCard, a credit card that charges merchants 0.5% of the sale, about one-third the cost to accept a network-branded credit card.

The article reports that First Data Corp. says its merchant services business will bear the financial brunt of the weakened economy and the dissolution of its Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC alliance with J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. The business accounted for $4.1 billion in 2008 revenue. In a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the unit's average transaction size fell nearly 8% during the fourth quarter due to a decrease in petroleum bankcard dollar volumes.

The article reports on the partnership of Professional Merchant Advance Capital LLC, provider of merchant cash advance, and EZCheck in providing merchants with cash advances base on check volume and credit card transactions. It notes that the service will include check transactions when calculating the amount of advance to be offered to merchants. Moreover, it states that the partnership will create additional merchant accounts for Professional Merchant and more customers for EZCheck.

The article reports on merchant acquirers who are using their retail and transaction data to show merchants that accepting cards encourages consumers to spend more. It indicates that the data can help merchants make targeted loyalty programs that promote customer acquisition and retention, according to Maynard senior analyst David Fish.

The article reports on a statement by Paul Martaus, president of Martaus & Associates Inc. from Mountain Home, Arkansas, regarding a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that would require merchant acquirers to provide annual reports to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to Martaus, mandatory reporting of merchant credit and debit card transactions to the IRS could prove time consuming and costly for acquirers and the independent sales organizations (ISOs).

The article reports that merchant acquirers would have to report their retailers' credit and debit card transactions to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as part of a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. It mentions that under the provision, a merchant acquirer would have to submit the name, address, taxpayer identification number and the gross amount of credit and debit card transactions for each of its merchant customers.

The article offers news briefs related to the U.S. financial institutions. It states that RapidAdvance LLC has signed a deal with Humboldt Merchant Services to provide its customers with a merchant cash advance product. It mentions that Circle Bank, based in Novato, California, has signed an agreement to participate in the MoneyPass surcharge-free ATM network.

The article reports that the weakening economy of the U.S. is suppressing acquisitions in the merchant acquiring industry. According to Marc Abbey, managing partner of First Annapolis Consulting Inc. from Linthicum, Maryland, since April 2008, the market has continued to deteriorate and the weakened state of many financial institutions and the uncertainty in the economy are contributing to the present condition which is a good market for buyers but a bad one for sellers.

The article offers information on the financial performance of Global Payments Inc. for the fourth quarter which ended May 31, 2008. It mentions that Global's net income for the quarter was $40.8 million, up 23% from $33.2 million during the same period in 2007, and revenue also rose 23%, to $343.8 million from $280.1 million. It states that strong growth of merchant-services business helped boost revenue and income for the company, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

The article reports on the announcement by Princeton, New Jersey-based transaction processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. that it will soon process American Express Co. (AmEx) card transactions made by small and medium-sized merchants. AmEx will own the merchant contract and set the merchant pricing. AmEx has struck similar deals with two other processors, First Data Corp. and Nova Information Systems.

The article reports on the announcement by Visa Inc. that merchant compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard increased dramatically in 2007. According to Visa, 77% of the largest merchants in the U.S. and 62% of mid-size merchants had validated their compliance with the PCI standard. The deadline to comply with the PCI standard was September 30, 2007 for merchants that process at least 6 million Visa transactions per year.

The article reports that merchant acquirers working with Visa USA have until July 31, 2007 to submit a summary of their plans for small-merchant compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard. Visa wants acquirers to detail how they will identify, prioritize and manage overall risk among Level 4 merchants.

The article reports that merchants praised a report that found that only 13% of the $30.7 billion in credit and debit interchange fees that Visa and MasterCard collect annually in the U.S. is dedicated to payment processing, while 44% goes toward issuer rewards programs. A report from the Merchants Payments Coalition found that interchange fees are far higher than the actual benefits delivered. Diamond Management and Technology Consultants Inc. found that merchants get nothing out of the rewards program.

The article reports that major credit card issuers are facing a sellers' market when they decide to unload nonperforming credit card portfolios because there is a tremendous oversupply of buyers and capital in the market, according to Irving J. Levin, chairman and CEO of Genesis Financial Solutions. He says hedge funds are driving demand for delinquent credit card portfolios.

The article focuses on the message delivered by Nessa Feddis, senior federal counsel of the American Bankers Association, at SourceMedia's CardForum in 2006, which confirms that merchants could be held liable for losses on debit cards arising from a breach of their processing systems. Federal regulations governing debit card losses do not protect merchants from liability if their locations are proven to be the source of a breach of personal identification number-debit information.

The article reports that several of the largest U.S. retail banks are not offering branded gift cards in 2005 because consumers are not interested in them, according to a CardLine survey. The branded cards typically charge a premium over the value the consumer puts on the card because the plastic can be used wherever the brand is accepted. Store gift cards typically do not charge a premium, but card use is limited to a specific merchant.

Reports on the move of MasterCard International to reduce its interchange rate for online merchants that use its SecureCode cardholder authentication program in October 2005. Estimated interchange rate for using the program; Possible benefits offered by the plan; Average interchange rate for online merchants.

Reports on the increase in fraud rates in merchant banks according to the 7th Annual Fraud survey conducted by CyberSource Corp. Percentage of increase in fraud losses experienced by smaller merchants in 2004; Estimated fraud loss of revenue in 2005; Reason behind the increasing fraud rates.

This article reports on the selection of VeriFone Holdings Inc. as the preferred provider of payment products by Retriever Payment Systems, a merchant bank card processor. Houston-based Retriever will offer its customers the full line of VeriFone payment products and services, including countertop, wireless and standalone terminals. Retriever was an early adopter of the new VeriFone VX 610 wireless payment terminal, deploying it for temporary use at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo earlier in 2005.