Thursday, October 8, 2009

V/MC Shares Rise on Optimism over Interchange Legislation?



Maybe the Interchange Bill isn't going to affect MasterCard and Visa as much as some analysts originally thought. Yesterday, both saw their stock rise on heavy volume.





Bot V and MC stock had not performed well since the highly touted 7-Eleven petition drive.  The impact and the hoopla surrounding the delivery of the petitions to Congress garnered a lot of media attention.



First Visa shot back that it's own study showed that consumers,
by a 2-1 margin feel that Interchange Fees are a simple cost of doing business.





Then MasterCard released evidence that suggested 7-Eleven's petition drive "conveniently" left out some key facts and was thus deceptive.  Finally, the EPC (Electronic Payments Coality) chimed in with a statement saying  7-Eleven tricked and deceived their customers into signing the petition.  The response by V/MC and EPC might have had some impact on stock traders because today the Wall Street Journal reports that



"Shares of MasterCard Inc. (MA) and Visa Inc. (V) rose on heavy volume Wednesday despite the broader market's decline, a move analysts attributed to several factors, including a bit more optimism about possible interchange-fee legislation.



Late last month, the stocks were hurt after Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said he was working on a bill to modify interchange fees, which credit-card issuers collect when transactions are completed on the cards they've issued.





As Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and the House Finance Committee get ready for their first hearing on interchange legislation Thursday, Susquehanna analyst James Friedman suggested there may have been some change of stance by a representative or other turmoil among the proponents of the fee change.





Susquehanna or its affiliates beneficially own 1% or more of MasterCard".



Continue Reading at WSJ.com






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