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Bank credit card companies MasterCard International and Visa have agreed on specifications for Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) to verify entities taking part in online transactions. However, some critics of SET 1.0, the new system, call its digital certification procedures overly complicated. Also, new versions will need to add processing for other items including. Certification venders such as GTE and Verisign claim that they are ready to start., Thanks to MasterCard and Visa, the banking industry has done more work than any other on a way to make the Internet safe for buying, selling, and paying. With an [...]

Pres Edmund P. Jensen of Visa International is warning that the Mondex smart card system from MasterCard International Inc could become a rival brand and become a competitive threat to member banks of MasterCard and Visa. Jensen is concerned that Mondex could dominate and eventually defeat the more cooperative MasterCard if Mondex remains a self-contained entity. Previous disputes between Mondex and Visa have been on technical grounds., Visa has launched another offensive against MasterCard's Mondex smart card system, this time with ammunition that is anything but technical. Taking a tack very different from recent arguments over operating [...]

Credit card companies and retailers may soon acquire valuable information on card programs and card holder behavior with MasterCard International's Merchant Advisor Service. The program, which is set to be launched in 1998, aims to provide financial institutions with on-line information necessary for the analysis of various transaction processes and development of card usage programs. Merchant Advisor would also be instrumental in helping retailers evaluate their customer bases in terms of location and demographic aspects.

MasterCard International Inc and Visa International have found that they are increasingly being bypassed in the payments and transaction processing business with consolidation in the banking industry. Companies such as First Data Corp and banks which can provide processing services may eventually force the credit card from the payments loop. First Data had a 30% market share for merchant processing sales volume in 1996., Just as dams and canals alter water flows, bank mergers and technology trends are changing the course of credit card transactions. As banks extend their scope through mergers, and as [...]

The number of US financial institutions that offer offline check cards has doubled to 4,500 since 1995. Such cards are typically ATM cards that also serve as Visa or MasterCard debit cards. They serve as an alternative to checks and cash for consumer payments. Anderson Consulting's Joel Friedman noted that consumer acceptance of check cards has been strong.

Banks have the unique opportunity to develop the home and remote banking services that consumers really want. According to research conducted by MasterCard International Inc, consumers want convenient access to and information about bill paying, bank transactions and investment services. Also, customers want to access such information by multiple devices, such as personal computers, telephones or other technologies., Giving consumers the products they want at the right price and through the preferred channels will help ensure bank's future. Twenty years ago, electronic banking visionaries proclaimed the advent of [...]

The major credit card companies are beginning to enhance their services to small and medium-size companies. GE Capital is offering a Visa card specifically designed for such companies, and American Express is planning to test a similar card. MasterCard, meanwhile, is introducing Smart Data for Windows software, which will enable users of the company's corporate card to better control card use., Visa has introduced a new corporate card designed specifically for small to mid-sized businesses. Mastercard has updated its Smart Data software for Windows; its reporting capabilities will be available to [...]

Purchasing charge card companies are introducing better services and non-traditional companies are increasing the variety of options. GE Capital has introduced its Purchasing and Accounting Receiving System (PARIS), which comes with spending controls, compilation of data on a daily basis, and other services that reduce purchasing costs and provide useful information. Visa has a new Windows-based desktop reporting system, and both American Express and MasterCard have new information programs., Slowly but surely purchasing charge cards are becoming more buyer friendly. To wit, the card companies are working to introduce new products that alleviate buyer fears of losing control and [...]

Both Visa and Mastercard are vying for dominance in the home banking services industry, but neither firm has developed a compatible standard and both are developing in different ways. Mastercard introduced its electronic banking service, MasterBanking, in 1993, while Visa's more comprehensive system has yet to hit the market. Mastercard's operation involves the use of microcomputers and touch-tone telephones, and services are being added in a conservative fashion. Visa's plan involves more services than Mastercard's product, and may be developed with such firms as Microsoft Corp and Intervoice., Visa and MasterCard are racing to create a comprehensive standard for home banking but are moving in different directions with their services. MasterCard's remote banking system is based on touch-tone [...]

Mastercard International of Purchase, NY, is teaming with HNC Software Inc to introduce software which will allow users to identify fraudulent transactions. The firm hopes to introduce the first in a series of such services in fourth-quarter 1998. Visa International already offers such a system. The software will analyze transaction patterns, cardholder data, and merchant activity from the MasterCard authorization network to build statistical models which help pinpoint fraudulent transactions., MasterCard International wants to offer member banks technology that can help trim fraud losses. The Purchase, N.Y.-based association is developing the first in an anticipated series of anti-fraud systems with [...]

The issuance of Visa and MasterCard credit cards will become a problem for the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal when their proposed merger becomes final in the near future. Canada is a 'non-dual' market for credit cards and rules from bank card associations prohibit banks from issuing both card brands. It is still too early to speculate on how the problem for the banks will be resolved, according to industry observers., The merger of Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal would pose a thorny question for the huge new bank: MasterCard or Visa? Bank card association rules prevent banks [...]

Wells Fargo & Co. has installed two automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Antarctica. Both machines are located at the scientific research compound known as McMurdo Station. The ATMs operate using technology which allow information to be sent by satellites. Mastercard International Inc has sponsored the ATM machines as part of its Cirrus network., Banking has come to Antarctica. The world's seventh continent, so frigid and remote that its chief native inhabitants are penguins and seals, has just seen the installation of its second [...]

MasterCard Korea has announced its plans to introduce the Mondex global electronic money system in the country by early 1998. Mondex International of London developed the system as an alternative to using cash or coins and other credit devices. The system is actually a combination of a credit card, cash card, royalty card, and ID card in one, which will ease the burden of consumers of carrying various identification and cards.

Issuers interested in expanding business in potentially lucrative areas to make up for losses elsewhere should consider targeting businesses. MasterCard and Visa have launched initiatives in recent weeks aimed at [...]

MasterCard International's global technology and operations center said it was among three finalists in the service industry category of the Rochester Institute of Technology/USA Today Quality Cup competition. MasterCard was [...]

First USA Paymentech has joined with MasterCard International to offer a fleet credit card with several capabilities. The fleet MasterCard will allow users to purchase merchandise, travel, and corporate purchasing. Some critics note that the cards create the need for major fleet terminal upgrades that will not be completed for several years. MasterCard expects that the cards will be issued also by Citicorp and GE Capital Corporate Expense Management Services, among others, in the first quarter 1997., First USA Paymentech plans to issue a multi-use fleet MasterCard that will include purchasing, travel, and entertainment capabilities. MasterCard introduced fleet cards to the market in August to tap an [...]

The Shell Gold MasterCard product from New York-based chase Manhattan [CMB] added emergency roadside assistance as a benefit to cardholders - without additional cost. In addition to earning free Shell [...]

Member banks have been given permission by MasterCard International Inc to issue corporate credit cards with a separate pricing structure and a new design in different countries around the world. More than $1 trillion was spent on corporate purchasing in 1995. Interest rates will be 1.75% for international entertainment and travel transactions under $3,000, and 0.75% plus $30 for transactions over $3,000., MasterCard International has given member banks permission to issue corporate cards in different countries, with a new design and a separate pricing structure. The Purchase, N.Y.-based association has taken a [...]

Procurement card providers, such as MasterCard International Inc, American Express Co, and First Bank System Inc, are starting to make changes to their services which are making procurement cards more user-friendly for buyers. First Bank System and American Express are using IBM's electronic purchasing service, which is called IBM World Purchasing, to help buyers improve the efficiency of the acquisition process., Procurement card providers are starting to hear buyer demands for a more user-friendly product (PUR: Feb. 15,'96; p. 54). First, to help buying operations further grow their card programs to [...]

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- MasterCard International will launch its MasterCard Global Service program in June. The program aims to give cardholders around-the-world, 24-hour access to emergency payment services. "MasterCard Global Service […]

Beginning in June, MasterCard's travel assistance service, which it has been testing for a year with 12 issuers, will be expanded worldwide. In name and features, MasterCard Global Service resembles [...]

MasterCard International-Canada Region's recent decision to allow non-bank competition in Canada could change association relationships worldwide. MasterCard, for the first time, is allowing non-deposit-taking institutions to become members. Its officials [...]

MasterCard said Musicland Group Inc., a Minneapolis-based specialty retailer of prerecorded home entertainment products, has begun a companywide rollout of MasterCard Automated Point of Sale (MAPP) MerchantNet on-line transaction processing. [...]

MasterCard International has broadened the services available through the World Wide Web site it created this spring on the Internet. Consumers will be able to use MasterCard's home page, called [...]

To help member banks with the collection of consumer data, MasterCard launched a consumer opinion program, 'MasterCard Asks America,' set to run until July 4. The association is seeking out [...]

Acquiring banks may be able to cut fraud losses from merchants with an enhancement to MasterCard's Address Information Management Service (AIMS), an on-line address verification service created for merchants selling [...]

MasterCard has introduced PC/AIMS, based on its address information management service, to verify the addresses on mail and phone orders. 'It's an added layer of protection for non-face-to-face sales,' said [...]

MasterCard has added an emergency card replacement option to its cardholder protection program. The new system, called MasterCard Priority Card Connection, enables customers to replace lost cards by the next [...]