Plan Promotes Bank Accounts For Consumers; The Wall Street Journal

Efforts Target Households That Use High-Cost Check-Cashing Services (Read More)

Visa Data Shows 20 Percent Increase in Inbound Tourism Spending During First Half of 2010; Press Release

A new report Tourism Outlook: USA from Visa Inc. indicates the tourism industry has begun to rebound during the first six months of 2010. (Read More)

Why Every Payments Product Needs an Ignition Strategy; PYMNTS

Hard data are not available but billions of dollars each year go poof in the payments industry from investments in products that crash and burn soon after launch.  (Read More)

Bain and Advent to Buy R.B.S. Payments Unit: DealBook

The Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday that it had agreed to sell a majority stake in its payments processing unit to the private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International in a deal valuing the business at about £2 billion, or $3.2 billion. (Read More)

Advent, Bain Said to Plan $2 Billion of LBO Loans to Bid for RBS Card Unit; By Patricia Kuo, Bloomberg

Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital LLC are seeking 1.35 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) of loans to fund their bid to buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s credit-card payment processing unit, two people familiar with the matter said. (Read More)

Fiserv Online Thought Leadership Community Reaches Milestone of 6,000 Members in First Year; Source: The Wall Street Journal

Fiserv Boardroom Series, exclusive to Fiserv clients, allows financial institution executives to tap into analysis, insights and trends. (Read More)

Open Solutions Acquires The Weiland Financial Group; Source: Open Solutions

Financial Services Provider Expands Innovative Technology and Services Portfolio (Read More)

Taxonomy of Payments: Part I

Report Published by Celent (Read More)

Taxonomy of Payments: Part II

Report Published by Celent (Read More)

Green Dot Corporation Commences Initial Public Offering of Class A Common Stock; Source: Yahoo Finance

MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT - News), a leading prepaid financial services company, today announced that it has commenced an initial public offering of 3,850,000 shares of its Class A common stock. (Read More)

U.S. retailers pushing to expand overseas; Source: Los Angeles Times

With Americans cutting back on spending, even retailers that had resisted opening foreign branches are now setting up shop outside the U.S. (Read More)

MasterCard Worldwide Insights; Source: MasterCard Worldwide

Consumer Spending Outlook in Asia/Pacific Consumer Confidence  and Consumer Spending Capability (Read More)

One more worry for banks: Wal-Mart

America's biggest banks are in retreat, tightening lending, increasing fees, and closing branches. But one company still wants to become your neighborhood bank: Wal-Mart. (Read More)

Federal Reserve, OCC, OTS, FDIC Issue Final Guidance on Incentive Compensation; Source: FED

The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued final guidance today to ensure that incentive compensation arrangements at financial organizations take into account risk and are consistent with safe and sound practices. The guidance was originally proposed by the Federal Reserve last year. The OCC, OTS, and FDIC are joining in issuing the final version. (Read More)

End Is Seen to Free Checking By ROBIN SIDEL And DAN FITZPATRICK, The Wall Street Journal

Bank of America Corp. and other banks are preparing new fees on basic banking services as they try to replace revenue lost to regulatory rules, in a push that is expected to spell an end to free checking accounts for many Americans. (Read More)

Fraud and Mobility Are Top Priorities for Bankers, According to Fundtech Survey; Source: Fundtech

Fundtech Ltd. (NASDAQ: FNDT), a market leader in global transaction banking solutions, today announced the results of live polling conducted during their annual Insights Conference for clients, this year held in Santa Monica, California in May. Over 100 transaction banking executives from 53 US financial institutions participated in the polling. (Read More)

June 15,2010

American Express Faces Antitrust Complaint; By BARBARA LEONARD, Courthouse News Service 

In an antitrust class action against American Express, the National Supermarkets Association claims its members have to raise prices across the board because of a surcharge that AmEx imposes on retailers. The group of 400 independent grocers claims AmEx's surcharge is illegal. (Read More)

June 14, 2010 Press Release

Debit Amendment Runs Into Buzz Saw of Opposition; Source: Electronic Payments Coalition

State Treasurers, Russell Simmons, Community Banks, Economists, Editorial Boards and a Former Fed Official Announce Opposition to Durbin Amendment (Read More)

June 11, 2010

Prepaid card firm opens; A new prepaid credit card company has set up shop in Sioux Falls. Source: ArgusLeader.com

Insight Credit Solutions opened for business earlier this year. The company offers prepaid credit card services but with a twist. They also offer a suite of services such as savings accounts, small-dollar credit loans and direct-deposit of payroll checks that are connected to the prepaid card, said Trent Sorbe, president of the company. The prepaid cards and services are issued by a bank while Insight formulates the cards and markets them. (Read More)

June 10, 2010 Press Release

Center for Financial Services Innovation to Lead the Creation of Industry-Wide Principles; Source: CFSI

President Bill Clinton Encourages Growth and Progress within the Financial Services Industry. (Read More)

June 3, 2010

Calculating How Much That Overdraft Will Cost; By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD, The New York Times

If you didn’t already know that overdraft fees were a bad deal, ING Direct will do the math for you. (Read More)

June 2, 2010

Hyperinflation – An Upcoming Black Swan in the Payments Industry? Source: aneace.blogspot.com

With no inflation in sight, why am I writing about hyperinflation? Remember, in October 2008, the deer in the headlights look on the faces of economics experts? (Read More)

June 1, 2010 Press Release

Visa Inc. Announces Funding of Litigation Escrow Account; Source: Yahoo Finance

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - News) today announced that on May 28, 2010, it had deposited $500 million into the litigation escrow account previously established under the Company's retrospective responsibility plan (the "Plan"). (Read More)

June 1, 2010

MasterCard spent $820,000 lobbying in 1st quarter; Source: Yahoo Finance

MasterCard spent $820,000 in 1st quarter to lobby Congress on elements of financial reform. (Read More)

May 27, 2010

Coinstar sells E-Payment unit, revises 2Q outlook; Source: The Seattle Times

Coinstar said it has sold its E-Payment services business for $40 million to InComm. The Bellevue company also said it now expects second-quarter revenue between $363 million and $383 million and adjusted earnings per share of 28 cents to 32 cents. (Read More)

May 21, 2010

Software Platforms Will Rule the Future of Payments, Expert Argues: Source: Digital transactions

The future of payments belongs to innovators that use software platforms to develop new services that can be quickly brought to market, according to David S. Evans, an economist and veteran payment-industry observer. Evans, keynote speaker at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s annual payments conference Thursday, cited PayPal Inc., the new Square Inc., and a Denver-based developer, IP Commerce Inc., as leaders in what he called a revolutionary transformation of electronic payments that someday will be built upon no more than five to 10 software platforms that will give rise to countless applications for consumer and business users. (Read More)

May 18, 2010

Banks return to charging credit card, checking account fees; By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY

Amid new limits on some of the industry's most profitable practices, banks are turning back to familiar money-making strategies: annual credit card fees, monthly checking account fees and product bundling. (Read More)

May 17, 2010 Press Release

U.S. Core Banking Vendors: Who's Gaining Momentum? Source: Aite

The U.S. financial industry has ignored the need to replace its core systems for too long, and is feeling the repercussions of quick-fix strategies. (Read More)

May 17, 2010

After 3+ Years, Alex Payne Quits Twitter To Create “A Bank That Doesn’t Suck”; By MG Siegler, TechCrunch

A couple years ago when Twitter was having major scaling issues, engineer Alex Payne was able to work through them to help create the Twitter API . That API, of course, is now one of the most important on the web. And now Payne is moving on to a new challenge (Read More)

May 13, 2010 Press Release

SpendingPulse: April Total U.S. Retail Sales Ex-Auto Month-to-Month Sales Momentum Dips by 2%; Source: MasterCard Advisors

May 13, 2010

Silver Lake Said to Mull Joint Bid for Fidelity Nat’l; Source: The New York Times

Silver Lake may join fellow private equity firms like Blackstone Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and TPG Capital in their bid for Fidelity National Information Services, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. (Read More)

May 12, 2010

Fidelity National Deal Could Be $15 Billion; Source: The New York Times

A private equity deal for Fidelity National Information Services, currently being negotiated, could be worth around $15 billion if a buyout is agreed, Bloomberg News and Reuters reported, each citing a source familiar with the situation. (Read More)

May 12, 2010

Money Dashboard launches its bid to become the Mint for the UK; By Mike Butcher, TechCrunch

Money Dashboard, which is shooting to become the Mint.com for the UK, launched its open beta today. It appeared as a closed Beta in October, which, they say, was “massively over-subscribed”. The site recently completed a funding round, securing £1 million of investment via a consortium of investors. (Read More)

May 10, 2010

FIS Up for Leveraged Buyout? By David Morrison, Credit Union Times

A private equity firm, the Blackstone Group, has launched talks to possibly take over FIS, the card processor for the majority of the nation's card issuing credit unions. (Read More)

May 4, 2010

Launch of Free Online Financial Soccer Game Marks One-Month Countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM); Source: Yahoo Finance

In timing with the one-month countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM), Visa will launch Financial Soccer, a FIFA World Cup inspired online educational game that teaches young Canadians the fundamentals of responsible spending, the banking system, budgeting and saving. With a set of fast-paced, multiple-choice questions, players are tested on their knowledge of financial management skills as they advance down field and score goals against their opponents. (Read More)

May 4, 2010

MasterCard Incorporated Q1 2010 Earnings Call Transcript; Source: Seeking Alpha (Read More)

May 3, 2010

The Big Banks Consumers Recommend Most Often; By JENNIFER SARANOW SCHULTZ, The New York Times

April 28, 2010 Press Release

Cole Taylor Bank Selects FIS as its Exclusive Provider of Enterprise-Wide Banking and Payments Capabilities; Source: FIS

Improved speed to market and increased efficiency will support focus on client service and profitability (Read More)

April 27, 2010

Financial Giants Find Their Brands Rising With Economy's Tide; By Natalie Zmuda, AdvertisingAge

Annual Millward Brown BrandZ Ranking Finds Value for Top 100 Marketers Rose by 4% in 2009 (Read More)

April 23, 2010

Financial Overhaul Could Include Access to Free Credit Scores; By Mary Pilon, The Wall Street Journal

Tucked into the Wall Street overhaul vote next week might be free credit scores for consumers. With some caveats. Since 2003, federal law has allowed consumers to access their credit reports for free on AnnualCreditReport.com. But the three-digit number, or credit score, culled from those reports has not been free. However, a bi-partisan bill introduced in the Senate yesterday could change that and offer free credit scores in a similar manner to how credit reports are accessed. (Read More)

April 19, 2010 Press Release

The Bancorp Bank to Provide Sponsor Bank Services For Heartland Payment Systems; Source: Heartland Payment Systems

The Bancorp Bank ("Bancorp"), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), will provide sponsor bank services to Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE: HPY) ("Heartland"), one of the nation's largest payments processors. Under the newly formed relationship, Bancorp will serve as a sponsor bank for Heartland for a minimum of five years and will participate as an Automated Clearing House (ACH) originating institution for Heartland's card processing business. Additionally, Bancorp and Heartland will pursue new opportunities together in areas such as payroll, campus, government, bill payment and healthcare. (Read More)

April 19, 2010 Press Release

Bottomline Technologies’ Order-to-Pay Network Grows to 100,000 Suppliers; Source: Bottomline Technologies

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) today announced that PayMode®, its electronic order-to-pay network for business, has exceeded 100,000 enrolled suppliers. Once enrolled in the network, suppliers can receive electronic payments from their customers using the network, streamline the accounts receivable process and gain visibility to cash flow. (Read More)

April 8, 2010

RBS inundated with WorldPay offers; Source: finextra

Royal Bank of Scotland has received over a dozen bids for its Global Merchant Services business, which includes WorldPay, with private equity groups, payment processors and IT vendors all in the frame. (Read More)

April 8, 2010

A new PSD-approved Payments Institution starts business; Source: The Financial Services Club Blog

Nick Ogden, CEO and founder of Voice Commerce (he previously created WorldPay, the RBS payments unit, back in 1993 and sold it to them in 2002*), recently spoke at the FSClub about using voice biometrics as part of authentication in mobile financial transactions. (Read More)

April 6 Press Release

Capital One Bank Survey Reveals Most Small Businesses See Economic Conditions as Holding Steady; Source: Capital One

National Results Suggest Small Businesses are Concerned about Winning New Customers to Grow their Business (Read More)

April 6, 2010 Press Release

Arab Financial Services Selects First Data To Bring World-Class Payment Solutions; Source: Arab Financing Services

Arab Financial Services (AFS), a leading provider of electronic payments and consumer finance outsourcing services in the Middle East, today announced an agreement with First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment solutions, in which, AFS will leverage First Data’s global processing power to support its regional client base. (Read More)

April 5, 2010

John G. McCoy, innovative businessman, philanthropist, dies at 97; By Jeffrey Sheban, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 John G. McCoy, a banker and community leader who transformed a bank little-known outside Columbus into one of the largest and most admired financial institutions in the country, died yesterday at his home in New Albany. He was 97. (Read More)

April 5, 2010

Payments innovation: “lightweight innovation” versus complete upheaval; By: James Van Dyke, Javelin Strategy & Research

A brief write-up at the Palo Alto Institute for the Future (on contactless payment stickers) neatly captures a subject we’re spend a lot of time on at Javelin. As we move toward mobile payments/wallets the inevitable electronic replacement for today’s financial wallet or purse, what is the role of “lightweight innovation” versus complete upheaval? (Read More)

April 1, 2010 Research

Tapping Into Generation Y: Nine Ways Community Financial Institutions Can Use Technology to Capture Young Customers; Source: First Data

When it comes to technology, community financial institutions can better reach Generation Y customers by making sure they have the right strategies in place. (Read More)

April 1, 2010

Electronic Payments Report: Streamline Purchase-to-Pay, Reduce Costs; Source: PayStream Advisors

PayStream has developed a Technology Insight Series report undefined Electronic Payments: Streamline Purchase-to-Pay, Reduce Costs (Read More)

March 30, 2010

Questions raised over Citi mobile payments trial in India, By Edward Russell, Finance Asia

Gartner analyst Kristin Moyer raises questions over the validity of Citi’s mobile payments trial in India. (Read More)

March 29, 2010

Economic Confidence Tumbles in March; Source: Discover

There was little spring optimism in the hearts of more than half of America's small business owners in March as the Discover Small Business Watch dropped to 75.7, down 9.2 points from February. (Read More)

March 29, 2010

Consumer Payment Trends in the U.S. Source: Packaged Facts

Businesses routinely seek to appeal to consumers by understanding which goods or services they want to buy. But understanding how shoppers prefer to buyundefinedthat is, which forms of payments they favor, and whyundefinedis also critically important. Marketers, retailers, card associations and other product and service providers hope to make transactions easy and convenient for consumers, but they must also balance these requirements against their own needs. Meanwhile, in the post-recession U.S. marketplace the world of payments keeps evolving as consumers back away from credit cards, debit cards move toward saturation, online payment options proliferate, and contactless payments and mobile payments move closer on the horizon. (Read More)

March 26, 2010

Why banking technology sucks; Source: banksimple

It is pretty clear to those who currently bank online how messed up banking technology is. The state of the art in American online banking is to take paper forms and reproduce them on the web. Even online banks with excellent product offerings such as ING Direct and USAA lag far behind modern startups in ease of use, features, and overall user experience. (Read More)

March 25, 2010

The cost of branches; By Kevin Correll, Perkstreet Financial

It used to be that people chose banks based on location.  But today, with the profusion of ATMs, online banking and online bill payment, being able to go into a branch just isn’t as important.  Many people consider it a hassle to travel to a branch just to wait in line. (Read More)

March 24, 2010

Overhauling banks’ IT systems; McKinsey Quarterly

Core banking systems dating from the 1970s are compromising bank performance. However, updating them is becoming less costly and risky.

March 17, 2010 Press Release

Consumer Finance for the Rest: Opportunities and Strategies for the Unbanked; Source Euromonitor International

Euromonitor International's Consumer Finance for the Rest: Opportunities and Strategies for the Unbanked market report offer’s a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at an international level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change. (Read More)

March 15, 2010

Pervasive Banking or Irrelevance? You choose... By Brett King, The Huffington Post

Why do we use cash? Why do we use banks? The basic premise is that banks are necessary to create a flow of cash and enable commerce, with built in protections. (Read More)

March 15, 2010

Senator Dodd Boosts Fed In New Financial Reforms; By REUTERS, The New York Times

The Federal Reserve would take on a greatly expanded role in financial regulation under new legislation unveiled on Monday by a top Senate Democrat, in a push to move ahead with the regulatory reform that has been a top priority of President Barack Obama. (Read More)

March 11, 2010

Venture Capital in Payments 2010: How VC Funding Drives Global Payments Innovation

New research surveys global VC market, identifying most promising VC backed payments companies in recent years. Venture capital (VC) investments have provided the necessary funding and guidance to turn ideas and concepts into products and services in the market which drive industries forward. These investments are also critical in ensuring the most promising and viable ideas, technologies, and business models are screened with great due diligence and receive the most support. (Read More)

March 11, 2010

First Data CEO Capellas steps down as firm narrows Q4 losses; Source: finextra

First Data chairman and CEO Michael Capellas is stepping down to take up a role at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Meanwhile, the e-payments processor has narrowed its fourth quarter net losses on higher revenues and lower charges. (Read More)

March 10, 2010

CFSI Innovators Roundtable Convenes in Chicago, Welcomes Sears; Source: CFSI

The Center for Financial Services Innovation kicks off the first 2010 Innovators Roundtable today with a new participating company at the table and an agenda spotlighting cutting-edge innovation, research and strategies that can benefit large, leading-edge companies as they work to serve underbanked consumers. (Read More)

March 03, 2010

Consumer Agency Within Fed Seen as Victory for Banking Industry By Craig Torres and Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg; Source: BusinessWeek

For consumer advocates, housing a new agency to protect Americans from financial-product abuse within the Federal Reserve would be a defeat after lobbying for an independent body. For banks, it would represent a victory. (Read More)

March 1, 2010

Green Dot’s Bank Holding Company; Source: GetDebit

One of the (many) interesting pieces of information from the filing announcing Green Dot’s IPO plans was the announcement of Green Dot’s move to become a bank holding company. We’ve dug up a few more facts about GreenDot’s plan to become a bank holding company. (Read More)

March 1, 2010

Tech demands of a new generation of consumers to reshape retail banking; Source: finextra

Ongoing investment in technology by the retail banking sector is essential if the industry is to win the business of a maturing generation of tech-literate consumers who are forsaking traditional physical channels in favour of online consumption of financial products. (Read More)

February 25, 2010 Press release

A New Report From Aite Group Personal Financial Management: A Platform for Customer Engagement; Source: Aite Group

Four in ten PFM users are saving more money as a result of using PFM. (Read More)

February 24, 2010

Changing Attitudes on Banking Create Challenges and Opportunities, Study Reveals; Source Acxiom Corporation

Affluent families spread their risk and pay as they go; young adults rise in importance as trust in banking shifts

Young adults just starting out may be a stronger-than-ever target for retail banks – just one of several findings from Acxiom® Corporation’s (Nasdaq: ACXM) inaugural Retail Banking Consumer Dynamics study, designed to help marketers understand shifting consumer behaviors emerging from the recession. (Read More)

February 23, 2010

Great Recoveries: Major Banks Respond to Negative Blog Items Immediately; By Jim Bruene, NetBanker

Twice in the past few weeks, I've written blog posts that had one or more criticisms about specific experiences with a bank's product. My complaints weren't Huff Post calls to arms or anything particularly serious, just small things that had gone wrong (previous posts here and here). And our blog, while well-read in the banking industry, is just a rounding error in terms of mainstream readership. (Read More)

February 22, 2010

Visa Cal CEO resigns; By Eti Aflalo, Haaretz.com

Only a week before the company was scheduled to release its 2009 financial report, Boaz Chechik, the CEO of Israel Credit Cards - Cal, better known as Visa Cal, resigned yesterday. Chechik has been CEO since September 2003.(Read More)

February 12, 2010

PULSE and Woodforest Financial Group Sign Exclusive, Long-Term Agreement for PIN Point-of-Sale Debit Services; Cardholder Access to National ATM Network Also Included in Agreement; Source: Discover Network

PULSE, one of the nation's leading PIN debit/ATM networks, has extended and expanded its long-term relationship with Woodforest Financial Group for PIN point-of-sale (POS) debit and ATM services. (Read More)

February 12, 2010

Discover settles Morgan Stanley suit for $775 million; By Reuters, Source Yahoo Finance

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - News) paid Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - News) $775 million to settle claims related to sharing proceeds from an antitrust suit against credit card networks Visa Inc (NYSE:V - News) and MasterCard Inc (NYSE:MA - News), according to a regulatory filing on Friday. (Read More)

February 12, 2010

Surprising Strength in January Retail Sales; By REUTERS; Source: The New York Times

Bottom of Form Sales at retailers were unexpectedly strong last month, suggesting consumers were feeling a little more comfortable about spending, which could improve prospects for first-quarter economic growth. (Read  More)

February 11, 2010

Citigroup ‘Chartjunk’; Source: Reuters DealZone

A Citigroup presentation on Thursday featured sterling examples of what information designer Edward Tufte calls “chartjunk”: charts that distract from or even conceal the data they are trying to illuminate. (Read More)

February 11, 2010

A New Report From Aite Group Top 10 Banking Trends for 2010; Source: Aite Group

After two years of economic turmoil, the banking industry will get back to the basics of its business, engaging in long-term planning and rebuilding. (Read More)

February 8, 2010

A Growing Appreciation for Cents Off By ALEX MINDLIN, The New York Times

When the history of coupons finally gets written, 1992 will go down as the Year of the Coupon, a time when consumers redeemed about 7.9 billion of them. But every year since, that figure has shrunk, whittled down by years of relative prosperity, changing demographic trends and manufacturer policies that shortened each coupon’s redemption period, among other changes. (Read More)

February 5, 2010

First Data having hard time paying its debt; By JOSH KOSMAN; Source New York Post

First Data, the world's largest processor of credit card payments, is having problems processing the loans used to take the company private, and has forced out key executives in order to lower costs, The Post has learned. (Read More)

February 5, 2010 Press Release

Latest Wells Fargo survey: small business owner optimism remains low; outlook for capital spending and revenue improves; Source: Wells Fargo

Optimism among small business owners showed no significant change in January, despite improved business owner outlook for revenue, capital spending and cash flow, according to the latest results of the quarterly Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index. (Read More)

February 4, 2010

MasterCard Posts Profit That Misses Expectations; By BLOOMBERG NEWS; Source: The New York Times

MasterCard posted a 23 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, but the results fell short of analysts’ estimates and the company lowered its long-term forecast, contributing to a 10 percent decline in its share price. (Read More)

February 3, 2010 Press Release

Acculynk Announces New Executive Vice President of Issuer Development; Source: Acculynk

ATLANTA, GA, February 3, 2010 – Acculynk, an Atlanta-based payments provider with the first software-only service for Internet PIN debit payments, PaySecure®, is pleased to announce the addition of Ulrike Guigui as Executive Vice President of Issuer Development (Read More)

February 2, 2010 Press Release

Health Savings Accounts Rise 30 Percent at Chase in 2009; Source: JPMorgan

NEW YORK - February 2, 2010 - Chase today announced that its Health Savings Account (HSA) business has grown by 30 percent over the last year, adding more than 115,000 accounts and $220 million in deposits. Chase now has more than 500,000 account holders who hold over $740 million in their HSAs. (Read More)

February 1, 2010 Press Release

Intuit unveils online personal finance tool; By Siliconindia News Bureau

Bangalore: Intuit, a provider of business and financial management solutions in the U.S., in collaboration with Moneycontrol.com, has launched a financial software product in India called Intuit Money Manager. (Read More)

January 28,2010

Evolving US Payment Systems and Bank Delivery Channels: Death of the Teller...Again? (Part I): Two part series Examines Evolving Consumer Payments and the Impact on Bank Delivery Channels; Source: Mercator Advisory Group  

January 27, 2010

Layoffs at Meta Financial; Company eliminates 40 jobs as part of cost-cutting measure; By Anna Bahney, ArgusLeader.com

Meta Financial Group announced the layoff of 40 employees in its Meta Payment Systems division as part of a new cost-cutting program, and more than half of those jobs are in Sioux Falls. (Read More)

January 26, 2010 Press Release

U.S. Bank Wins Paybefore Awards for Government and Multi-Purpose Prepaid Card Programs; Source: U.S. Bank

Paybefore has chosen the U.S. Bank ReliaCard(R) Visa(R) as a Paybefore Awards winner in the Best Government Program category. U.S. Bank's PayID card also received an award in the Most Innovative Program category. U.S. Bank will now vie for best-in-category distinction for both awards, which will be announced during the Paybefore Awards ceremony on Feb. 22 at the Prepaid Expo USA (www.prepaidexpousa.com). (Read More)

January 26, 2010 Press Release

TSYS Expands Relationship with U.S. Bank. New Agreement Includes Exclusive Healthcare Partnership. Source: TSYS

Columbus, Ga., January 26, 2010 undefined TSYS announced today that it has signed a new long-term agreement with U.S. Bank. As part of the agreement, TSYS will continue to support the bank’s commercial card payment services, as well as become its exclusive partner in providing card processing services for the bank’s Consumer Directed Healthcare (CDH) benefit cards, issued by its Healthcare Payment Solutions business line.

January 25, 2010

Fiserv vice chairman Kight to resign The Business Journal of Milwaukee - by Rich Kirchen

Peter Kight, who is the founder and former CEO of CheckFree Corp., will resign as vice chairman of Fiserv Inc. at the end of Fiserv’s first quarter March 31. (Read More)

January 24, 2010

10 Steps to Getting Your Training Program Sponsored and Launched. By Dr. Linda Eagle Founder & President at The Edcomm Group Banker's Academy

The productivity of employees and the quality of their work is the most important factor in the profitability of any company. Therefore, the key to increasing profits is a high-performing workforce equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to best perform their jobs. This type of workforce does not materialize on its own – rather it is created through training and development.

To read more, please click on the link below.

http://www.bankersacademy.com/pdf/10-Steps-to-Getting-Your-Training-Program-Sponsored.pdf

January 24, 2010

Productivity Strategies in Banking Operations During Recessionary Times. By Dr. Linda Eagle, Founder & President at The Edcomm Group Banker’s Academy

In a business world fraught with layoffs, budget and staff cuts, acquisitions and mergers, uncertainty abounds. Bank operations managers are asking themselves: “What if these cuts hit my department? How can I do more with less?” The need for efficiency in bank operations has never been greater and to boost bank productivity gains, you must first start by instituting these six steps: 

http://www.bankersacademy.com/pdf/btn.pdf

January 20, 2010 Press Release

Bank of America Announces 2009 Net Income of $6.3 Billion. Source: Bank of America 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan 20, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Net Loss of $194 Million in Fourth QuarterOne-Time $4 Billion TARP Repayment Cost Impacts Income Applicable to Common ShareholdersStrong Annual Sales and Trading Results Extends $177 Billion in Credit in the Fourth Quarter and $756 Billion in 2009. (Read More)

January 20, 2010

Credit card company blamed for failure of Globespan collapses with £100m debts. By Peter Jones and Michael Herman, The Times

E-Clear, the credit card company blamed for the collapse of Globespan, the Scottish holiday company, itself collapsed yesterday with debts estimated at £100 million, nearly three times the amount owed to Globespan. (Read More)

Banks See a Leveling Off in Bad Consumer Loans. By ANDREW MARTIN, The New York Times

Since the financial crisis hit, banks have chipped away at the mountain of mortgages and credit card debt looming over struggling Americans. At last, those efforts appear to be paying off, at least for the banks.

January 20, 2010

TSYS will lay off 5% of its workforce.

CEO, Phil Tomlinson, commented that 2010 is going to be a challenging year.  "We must carefully balance expense management while growing in international markets where we have a healthy pipeline of new business we'll be announcing over the coming weeks and months." The company projects at decline of net revenues between 6% and 4%. This year has been termed in the business world as "a very difficult period for the credit card market".  TSYS employs about 5,000 people in U.S. and 3,000 outside the U.S. The staff reduction will include a combination of managed attrition and staff reductions.

January 15, 2010

JPMORGAN CHASE REPORTS FOURTH-QUARTER 2009 NET INCOME OF $3.3 BILLION, OR $0.74 PER SHARE, ON REVENUE1 OF $25.2 BILLION

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) today reported fourth-quarter 2009 net income of $3.3 billion, compared with net income of $702 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Earnings per share were $0.74, compared with $0.06 in the fourth quarter of 2008. For the full year of 2009, net income was $11.7 billion, or $2.26 per share, up from $5.6 billion, or $1.35 per share, in 2008. (Read More)

January 14, 2010

Taxing Banks for the Bailout, By JACKIE CALMES: The New York Times

President Obama laid down his proposal for a new tax on the nation’s largest financial institutions on Thursday, saying he wanted “to recover every single dime the American people are owed” for bailing out the economy. (Read More)

January 13

Wall Street CEOs Face Grilling From Panel Ahead of Bonus Payout By Joshua Gallu and Ian Katz: Bloomberg

Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, John Mack and Brian Moynihan, testifying about the causes of the financial crisis that led to a $700 billion taxpayer bailout, are being pulled back into the political spotlight as they brace for public outrage over bonus payments. (Read More)

December 29, 2010

Financial sector ups lobbying effort over new regulation plan

By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY

Wall Street, commercial banks and an array of other business interests are undertaking an all-out lobbying effort to shape legislation that imposes sweeping government oversight of the financial services industry. (Read More)

December 16, 2009 Press Release

Mint.com Spending Data Affirms Predicted Growth for Big Brands

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mint.com (www.mint.com) from the makers of Quicken, a leading online personal finance service from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU - News), today published aggregate holiday shopping data affirming positive pre-Black Friday predictions for a handful of bellwether retailers. Here’s where bellwether merchants netted out, based on actual November 2009 spending among Mint.com’s 1.8 million users: Source Yahoo Finance

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December 14, 2009

Obama Presses Biggest Banks to Lend More

By HELENE COOPER and ERIC DASH: The New York Times

WASHINGTON undefined President Obama pressured the heads of the nation’s biggest banks on Monday to take “extraordinary” steps to revive lending for small businesses and homeowners, prompting assurances from some financial institutions that they would do more even as they continued to shed their supplicant status in Washington.

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December 13, 2009

Advent International readies £3bn RBS offer

By Iain Dey:  The Sunday Times

ADVENT INTERNATIONAL, the private equity firm, has made an informal offer for Royal Bank of Scotland’s global payment processing business in a deal that could value it at up to £3 billion.

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December 11, 2009

House Approves Tougher Rules on Wall Street

By CARL HULSE: The New York Times

WASHINGTON undefined The House approved a Democratic plan on Friday to tighten federal regulation of Wall Street and banks, advancing a far-reaching Congressional response to the financial crisis that rocked the economy.

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December 9, 2009 Press Release

IFX FORUM AND BIAN SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

WAKEFIELD, Mass., USA – Dec. 9, 2009 – The Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX; http://www.ifxforum.org) Forum and the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN; http://www.bian.org) announced today that the two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining plans to collaborate in developing and furthering the adoption of standards that enhance interoperability within the banking industry.

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November 25, 2009

What’s Next: The Plaintiff’s Perspective – Banks Face Two-Front Battle on Overdraft Fees

In this regular feature, Bulletproof interviews top plaintiffs' attorneys for their perspective on the crises likely to affect businesses in the near future. Today we talk to Robert C. Gilbert, a partner in Miami’s Alters, Boldt, Brown, Rash & Culmo, P.A. Mr. Gilbert is seeking class certification in the U.S. Southern District Court in Miami for multiple national cases against eight banks – including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, and Wachovia – alleging unfair and improper assessment and collection of excessive overdraft fees. By: Larry Smith, BulletproofBlog (Read More)

November 24, 2009

U.S. Overdraft-Fee Limits May Cost Banks $15 Billion

U.S. limits on overdraft fees may cost banks more than $15 billion in revenue and prompt lenders to impose charges to close the gap, said the head of consulting firm Oliver Wyman’s North American financial-services business. By Dakin Campbell, Bloomberg (Read More)

November 24, 2009

Credit Union 24 Launches Spanish Language Web site 

Credit Union 24, one of two nationwide credit union owned ATM and EFT networks, has a launched a Spanish language version of its Web site. By David Morrison, Credit Union Times (Read More)

October 28, 2009

FICO’s Online ConCommunity Wins Prestigious Social Media Award. More than 300,000 registered members of FICO Forums share their credit scoring experience.

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