Canada's New Code of Conduct Forces Some Companies to Exit Credit Card Business

Canada’s Credit Card Industry Profits Plunge  

Some begin to exit Canada’s credit card business, while others look toward new systems, such as mobile phone payments.

TORONTO – A new report by Deloitte suggests that Canada’s credit card industry has experienced a significant drop in profitability, in part due to the government’s new code of conduct, the Toronto Star reports.



As a result, some companies are planning to exit Canada’s credit card business while others are looking toward new systems, such as mobile phone payment.



Canada’s credit card industry has been hit by rising consumer bankruptcies and increased regulation, a perfect storm, according to Deloitte Canada.  “The industry is at a turning point,” said Pat Daley, leader of Deloitte Canada’s payment practice.



The report comes just a week after Canada’s Minister of Finance James Flaherty launched a voluntary code of conduct, which gives merchants and businesses more bargaining power over the fees they pay to accept credit cards. It has also made it more difficult for Visa and MasterCard to enter Canada’s debit market.



Continue Reading at NACS Online

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• Credit card deal: A fix too far (financialpost.com)


• Flaherty to unveil credit-debit card policy today (thestar.com)


• Surcharge Proposed for Canadian Credit Card Payments (pindebit.blogspot.com)

Canada's New Code of Conduct Forces Some Companies to Exit Credit Card Business

Canada’s Credit Card Industry Profits Plunge  

Some begin to exit Canada’s credit card business, while others look toward new systems, such as mobile phone payments.

TORONTO – A new report by Deloitte suggests that Canada’s credit card industry has experienced a significant drop in profitability, in part due to the government’s new code of conduct, the Toronto Star reports.



As a result, some companies are planning to exit Canada’s credit card business while others are looking toward new systems, such as mobile phone payment.



Canada’s credit card industry has been hit by rising consumer bankruptcies and increased regulation, a perfect storm, according to Deloitte Canada.  “The industry is at a turning point,” said Pat Daley, leader of Deloitte Canada’s payment practice.



The report comes just a week after Canada’s Minister of Finance James Flaherty launched a voluntary code of conduct, which gives merchants and businesses more bargaining power over the fees they pay to accept credit cards. It has also made it more difficult for Visa and MasterCard to enter Canada’s debit market.



Continue Reading at NACS Online

Related articles by Zemanta

• Credit card deal: A fix too far (financialpost.com)


• Flaherty to unveil credit-debit card policy today (thestar.com)


• Surcharge Proposed for Canadian Credit Card Payments (pindebit.blogspot.com)

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal

Research and Markets: Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/216ec7/mobile_remote_depo) has announced the addition of Javelin Strategy & Research's new report "Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal" to their offering.

“Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal”

Mobile remote deposit capture (mobile RDC) is a nascent product that allows consumers to deposit a check using their mobile phones. Most current solutions require a smartphone, which restricts the reach of this service to 18% of U.S. adults, although one offering is an e-mail-based solution open to a wider audience. One in four consumers desire mobile remote deposit capture, and the most optimal solutions will be integrated into smartphone-based offerings. Mobile RDC for consumer accounts can help retain customers, which can decrease processing, acquisition and switching costs. Direct revenue is likely only with business customers, who have an identified strong desire for the solution. Unless a major financial institution offers it in conjunction with mobile banking, mobile RDC will likely continue to remain a niche product offered to select customers by small financial institutions with low branch numbers and large geographical footprints.

Primary Questions:

• Will there be consumer adoption, and by whom?


• What type of financial institution will offer the service?


• Can financial institutions gain revenue or cut costs by offering this service?


• What are the fraud risks of adopting the channel, and how can a financial institution control for them?


• How does mobile remote capture work, and what are the technology constraints?


• Which vendors offer the solution and through what medium?

Methodology

This report is based mainly on data collected online from a random sample panel of 2,779 households in April 2009. The survey targeted respondents based on representative proportions of gender, age and income compared to the overall U.S. online population. Overall margin of sampling error is 1.86% at the 95% confidence level. This report is also based on data collected online from a random sample panel of 3,000 respondents with mobile phones in July 2009, with a overall margin of sampling error of 1.79 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

This report is also based on data collected online from a random sample panel of 5,211 respondents in March 2010, with an overall margin of sampling error of 1.36 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

This report is also based on data collected using computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) via random digit dialling (RDD) from 5,000 respondents in November 2009. For questions answered by all 5,000 respondents, the maximum margin of sampling error is +/- 1.4% at the 95% confidence level. For questions answered by all 703 identity fraud victims, the maximum margin of sampling error is +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence level. For questions answered by a proportion of all identity fraud victims, the maximum margin of sampling error varies and is greater than +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence level.

The majority of Javelin data for online banking financial alerts is based on online households vs. individual consumers. This is a typical way of presenting online banking data because account management is typically collected on a per household basis. In 2009, the U.S. population was estimated to comprise 306 million people. That includes 232 million adults, 118 million households, and 87 million households that are online. On average, there are about 2.6 people per household. Javelin also collects online banking data using a base of all consumers for comparison purposes.

Key Topics Covered:

• Overview


• Primary Questions


• Methodology


• Executive Summary


• Consumers are Comfortable Taking Photographs with Their Mobile Phones


• Target Segments by Group and Demographic Variables


• By Financial Products Usage


• By Income


• By Age


• By Small Business


• By Financial Behaviors


• The Business Case for Mobile Remote Deposit Capture


• Higher Deposit-to-Branch Ratio Institutions Have More to Gain


• FIs Can Wean Consumers Off Branches with Mobile Remote Deposit


• Mobile Remote Deposit Can Alleviate the Root Cause of Switching


• Mobile Remote Capture Can Improve Acquisition


• Mobile Deposit Capture: Beyond Check 21


• Fraud Measures


• Javelin Spotlight: USAA Paves the Way Through Innovation


• Table of Figures


• Companies Mentioned


• and much more...

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/216ec7/mobile_remote_depo

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal

Research and Markets: Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/216ec7/mobile_remote_depo) has announced the addition of Javelin Strategy & Research's new report "Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal" to their offering.

“Mobile Remote Deposit Capture: With Consumer Desire Strong, Smartphone Adoption and Security Key to Financial Institution Appeal”

Mobile remote deposit capture (mobile RDC) is a nascent product that allows consumers to deposit a check using their mobile phones. Most current solutions require a smartphone, which restricts the reach of this service to 18% of U.S. adults, although one offering is an e-mail-based solution open to a wider audience. One in four consumers desire mobile remote deposit capture, and the most optimal solutions will be integrated into smartphone-based offerings. Mobile RDC for consumer accounts can help retain customers, which can decrease processing, acquisition and switching costs. Direct revenue is likely only with business customers, who have an identified strong desire for the solution. Unless a major financial institution offers it in conjunction with mobile banking, mobile RDC will likely continue to remain a niche product offered to select customers by small financial institutions with low branch numbers and large geographical footprints.

Primary Questions:

• Will there be consumer adoption, and by whom?


• What type of financial institution will offer the service?


• Can financial institutions gain revenue or cut costs by offering this service?


• What are the fraud risks of adopting the channel, and how can a financial institution control for them?


• How does mobile remote capture work, and what are the technology constraints?


• Which vendors offer the solution and through what medium?

Methodology

This report is based mainly on data collected online from a random sample panel of 2,779 households in April 2009. The survey targeted respondents based on representative proportions of gender, age and income compared to the overall U.S. online population. Overall margin of sampling error is 1.86% at the 95% confidence level. This report is also based on data collected online from a random sample panel of 3,000 respondents with mobile phones in July 2009, with a overall margin of sampling error of 1.79 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

This report is also based on data collected online from a random sample panel of 5,211 respondents in March 2010, with an overall margin of sampling error of 1.36 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

This report is also based on data collected using computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) via random digit dialling (RDD) from 5,000 respondents in November 2009. For questions answered by all 5,000 respondents, the maximum margin of sampling error is +/- 1.4% at the 95% confidence level. For questions answered by all 703 identity fraud victims, the maximum margin of sampling error is +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence level. For questions answered by a proportion of all identity fraud victims, the maximum margin of sampling error varies and is greater than +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence level.

The majority of Javelin data for online banking financial alerts is based on online households vs. individual consumers. This is a typical way of presenting online banking data because account management is typically collected on a per household basis. In 2009, the U.S. population was estimated to comprise 306 million people. That includes 232 million adults, 118 million households, and 87 million households that are online. On average, there are about 2.6 people per household. Javelin also collects online banking data using a base of all consumers for comparison purposes.

Key Topics Covered:

• Overview


• Primary Questions


• Methodology


• Executive Summary


• Consumers are Comfortable Taking Photographs with Their Mobile Phones


• Target Segments by Group and Demographic Variables


• By Financial Products Usage


• By Income


• By Age


• By Small Business


• By Financial Behaviors


• The Business Case for Mobile Remote Deposit Capture


• Higher Deposit-to-Branch Ratio Institutions Have More to Gain


• FIs Can Wean Consumers Off Branches with Mobile Remote Deposit


• Mobile Remote Deposit Can Alleviate the Root Cause of Switching


• Mobile Remote Capture Can Improve Acquisition


• Mobile Deposit Capture: Beyond Check 21


• Fraud Measures


• Javelin Spotlight: USAA Paves the Way Through Innovation


• Table of Figures


• Companies Mentioned


• and much more...

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/216ec7/mobile_remote_depo

(Video) Security Firm Warns on Zeus Trojan Threat to Online Banking

(Video) Security Firm Warns on Zeus Trojan Threat to Online Banking

Consumers Urge Congress To ‘Stop Unfair Credit Card Swipe Fees’

It looks like retailer associations such as the National Association of Convenience Stores, are just getting started when it comes to making their case to the Senate.  What's interesting is that they are using consumers to fight "their" fight.  If consumers think that retailers will pass on the savings they derive from lower interchange fees...well, let's just say they shouldn't hold their breath...



NACS delivered 2 million customer signatures to the U.S. Senate today, urging action on unfair credit and debit card swipe fees.

Click to Watch Video

WASHINGTON – NACS is delivering a record-setting number of consumer signatures to Congress today, telling them that hidden credit and debit card swipe fees are unacceptable and that Congress must fix a clearly broken system.



The 2 million consumer signatures that were collected at convenience stores across the country earlier this year make it the largest collection of consumer signatures ever for a public-policy issue.



Combined with the 1.7 million signatures that 7-Eleven franchisees collected and delivered to Congress last September, 3.7 million consumers have weighed in on this issue over the past year.



Credit and debit card swipe fees — called “interchange fees” by the big banks that set these rates — are a percentage of each transaction that Visa and MasterCard and their member banks collect from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used. These fees average about 2 percent in the United States, the highest rate in the industrialized world.  In 2008 alone, Americans paid over $48 billion in credit card swipe fees. These fees are non-negotiable and set in secret by the credit card companies and their member banks.



“Millions of Americans did their part in signing these petitions and urging Congress to take action against unfair swipe fees. Now it’s time for Congress to step up to the plate and take a swing,” said NACS Chairman Jay Ricker, president of Anderson, Ind.-based Ricker Oil Co.



“The secretive and collusive way the credit card companies set swipe fees and impose them on store operators is bad for business and bad for consumers,” said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour. In announcing the NACS petition campaign last October, Armour asked retailers to “overwhelm Congress with millions and millions of signatures demanding action to fix the broken credit card system,” and that was on display at the event.

“These 3.7 million customers represent the tidal wave of support behind swipe fee reform. And if 3.7 million signatures aren’t enough, we’ll send more,” added David Seltzer, treasurer of 7-Eleven Inc. “We know how important this issue is for Main Street merchants and consumers, and we’re not going away.”

Credit card fees continue to be the convenience store industry’s top pain point and second largest expense item — behind only labor costs. As a percentage of overall sales, credit card fees increased in 2009, from 1.35 to 1.45 percent of total industry sales dollars, factoring in all forms of payment, including cash and check. Total credit card fees ($7.4 billion) also surpassed overall convenience store industry pretax profits ($4.8 billion) for the fourth straight year in 2009.



On Wednesday, April 28, Dave Carpenter, president and CEO of J.D. Carpenter Companies Inc. (Urbandale, IA), will testify on behalf of NACS at a hearing on H.R. 2695, the Credit Card Fair Fee Act, before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Wednesday’s hearing begins at 10:00 am and can be accessed via a live webcast. Look for exclusive coverage of the hearing in Thursday’s NACS Daily.

Take Action



NACS urges all members to contact their representatives and senators and ask them to support H.R. 2695 and the Senate companion measure, S. 1212. Ask to be connected to your members of Congress via the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and/or send a letter through the NACS grassroots page. If you need assistance or talking points, contact the NACS government relations team at (703) 684-3600.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Op-Ed Contributor: Credit Cards and Hidden Fees (nytimes.com)


• A PIN for All Reasons - GreenSheet (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• The "Perverse" Nature of the Bank Card Industry (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Chase Urges Customers To Use Less-Secure Type Of Debit Transaction (huffingtonpost.com)

Consumers Urge Congress To ‘Stop Unfair Credit Card Swipe Fees’

It looks like retailer associations such as the National Association of Convenience Stores, are just getting started when it comes to making their case to the Senate.  What's interesting is that they are using consumers to fight "their" fight.  If consumers think that retailers will pass on the savings they derive from lower interchange fees...well, let's just say they shouldn't hold their breath...



NACS delivered 2 million customer signatures to the U.S. Senate today, urging action on unfair credit and debit card swipe fees.

Click to Watch Video

WASHINGTON – NACS is delivering a record-setting number of consumer signatures to Congress today, telling them that hidden credit and debit card swipe fees are unacceptable and that Congress must fix a clearly broken system.



The 2 million consumer signatures that were collected at convenience stores across the country earlier this year make it the largest collection of consumer signatures ever for a public-policy issue.



Combined with the 1.7 million signatures that 7-Eleven franchisees collected and delivered to Congress last September, 3.7 million consumers have weighed in on this issue over the past year.



Credit and debit card swipe fees — called “interchange fees” by the big banks that set these rates — are a percentage of each transaction that Visa and MasterCard and their member banks collect from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used. These fees average about 2 percent in the United States, the highest rate in the industrialized world.  In 2008 alone, Americans paid over $48 billion in credit card swipe fees. These fees are non-negotiable and set in secret by the credit card companies and their member banks.



“Millions of Americans did their part in signing these petitions and urging Congress to take action against unfair swipe fees. Now it’s time for Congress to step up to the plate and take a swing,” said NACS Chairman Jay Ricker, president of Anderson, Ind.-based Ricker Oil Co.



“The secretive and collusive way the credit card companies set swipe fees and impose them on store operators is bad for business and bad for consumers,” said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour. In announcing the NACS petition campaign last October, Armour asked retailers to “overwhelm Congress with millions and millions of signatures demanding action to fix the broken credit card system,” and that was on display at the event.

“These 3.7 million customers represent the tidal wave of support behind swipe fee reform. And if 3.7 million signatures aren’t enough, we’ll send more,” added David Seltzer, treasurer of 7-Eleven Inc. “We know how important this issue is for Main Street merchants and consumers, and we’re not going away.”

Credit card fees continue to be the convenience store industry’s top pain point and second largest expense item — behind only labor costs. As a percentage of overall sales, credit card fees increased in 2009, from 1.35 to 1.45 percent of total industry sales dollars, factoring in all forms of payment, including cash and check. Total credit card fees ($7.4 billion) also surpassed overall convenience store industry pretax profits ($4.8 billion) for the fourth straight year in 2009.



On Wednesday, April 28, Dave Carpenter, president and CEO of J.D. Carpenter Companies Inc. (Urbandale, IA), will testify on behalf of NACS at a hearing on H.R. 2695, the Credit Card Fair Fee Act, before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Wednesday’s hearing begins at 10:00 am and can be accessed via a live webcast. Look for exclusive coverage of the hearing in Thursday’s NACS Daily.

Take Action



NACS urges all members to contact their representatives and senators and ask them to support H.R. 2695 and the Senate companion measure, S. 1212. Ask to be connected to your members of Congress via the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and/or send a letter through the NACS grassroots page. If you need assistance or talking points, contact the NACS government relations team at (703) 684-3600.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Op-Ed Contributor: Credit Cards and Hidden Fees (nytimes.com)


• A PIN for All Reasons - GreenSheet (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• The "Perverse" Nature of the Bank Card Industry (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Chase Urges Customers To Use Less-Secure Type Of Debit Transaction (huffingtonpost.com)

Secure POS Vendor Alliance Announces New Leadership

Secure POS Vendor Alliance Announces New Leadership On the Heels of Its One-Year Anniversary

Founding members VeriFone, Ingenico and Hypercom rotate appointed managing committee positions within rapidly-growing global payment security organization

ATLANTA – April 22, 2010 – The Secure POS Vendor Alliance (SPVA), a non-profit business organization founded by Hypercom (NYSE: HYC), Ingenico S.A. (EURONEXT: ING) and VeriFone (NYSE: PAY) announced today that TK Cheung, vice president global quality & security, Hypercom, will assume the position of SPVA chairman of the board with Paul Rasori, senior vice president, global marketing, VeriFone, stepping in as vice chairman and CTO and Christophe Dolique, executive vice president, global marketing & transaction services, Ingenico, serving as secretary/treasurer. Bob Carr, CEO, Heartland Payment Systems, will continue to serve as associate member director, an elected position.

According to the SPVA’s bylaws, founding members share the three officer positions for six years and have certain veto rights, including areas such as amendment of bylaws and proposed spending and ratification of a proposed standard, guideline or best practices.

“I look forward to serving the SPVA as chairman during this critical period within the payments industry,” said TK Cheung, SPVA chairman. “With use of card-based payment options on the rise, it will be increasingly important to facilitate a common understanding and acceptance of security requirements and standards.”

Since the SPVA’s inception in April 2009, the organization has united industry experts and attracted almost 20 leading payment companies that seek to have a voice within the world of secure payments and help shape its future through vital Technical Working Groups through which SPVA members can contribute to acquire first-hand knowledge of current security threats. At least two white papers are scheduled to be released this year to help guide and define security solutions. The organization also recently announced its Lab Network, a group of labs that participate with SPVA members, prospective members and TWGs on security evaluations of the SPVA implementation guidelines.

Membership is open to all payment industry stakeholders. The SPVA encourages general membership among all vendors that develop secure POS payment systems, and associate membership among organizations who sell or utilize products or solutions that interact with secure POS payment devices: retailers, acquirers, software vendors, ECR vendors, banks and other standard setting associations.

To learn more about the SPVA and benefits of membership, visit www.spva.org.

###

About Secure POS Vendor Alliance (www.spva.org)

The Secure POS Vendor Alliance (SPVA) is a non-profit organization, founded by Hypercom (NYSE: HYC), Ingenico S.A. (EURONEXT: ING) and VeriFone (NYSE: PAY), that works with the multiple stakeholders of the payment value chain. Its aim is to develop an end-to-end security framework and to enhance security elements of payment solutions which protect cardholder information and defend merchants and acquirers against security breaches, to help reduce fraud and lower risk for all electronic payment stakeholders.

Editorial Contacts:

Carol McEntee/Lindsay Durfee

SPVA

404.816.2037

678.640.7822 Mobile

cmcentee@cookerly.com

lindsay@cookerly.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Secure POS Vendor Alliance Broadens its International Reach with Five New Payment Company Members (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Ingenico Unveils Strategy to Provide Secure End-to-End Solutions for Merchants in North America (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Hypercom Introduces Secure Payment Solutions for iPhone (eon.businesswire.com)

Secure POS Vendor Alliance Announces New Leadership

Secure POS Vendor Alliance Announces New Leadership On the Heels of Its One-Year Anniversary

Founding members VeriFone, Ingenico and Hypercom rotate appointed managing committee positions within rapidly-growing global payment security organization

ATLANTA – April 22, 2010 – The Secure POS Vendor Alliance (SPVA), a non-profit business organization founded by Hypercom (NYSE: HYC), Ingenico S.A. (EURONEXT: ING) and VeriFone (NYSE: PAY) announced today that TK Cheung, vice president global quality & security, Hypercom, will assume the position of SPVA chairman of the board with Paul Rasori, senior vice president, global marketing, VeriFone, stepping in as vice chairman and CTO and Christophe Dolique, executive vice president, global marketing & transaction services, Ingenico, serving as secretary/treasurer. Bob Carr, CEO, Heartland Payment Systems, will continue to serve as associate member director, an elected position.

According to the SPVA’s bylaws, founding members share the three officer positions for six years and have certain veto rights, including areas such as amendment of bylaws and proposed spending and ratification of a proposed standard, guideline or best practices.

“I look forward to serving the SPVA as chairman during this critical period within the payments industry,” said TK Cheung, SPVA chairman. “With use of card-based payment options on the rise, it will be increasingly important to facilitate a common understanding and acceptance of security requirements and standards.”

Since the SPVA’s inception in April 2009, the organization has united industry experts and attracted almost 20 leading payment companies that seek to have a voice within the world of secure payments and help shape its future through vital Technical Working Groups through which SPVA members can contribute to acquire first-hand knowledge of current security threats. At least two white papers are scheduled to be released this year to help guide and define security solutions. The organization also recently announced its Lab Network, a group of labs that participate with SPVA members, prospective members and TWGs on security evaluations of the SPVA implementation guidelines.

Membership is open to all payment industry stakeholders. The SPVA encourages general membership among all vendors that develop secure POS payment systems, and associate membership among organizations who sell or utilize products or solutions that interact with secure POS payment devices: retailers, acquirers, software vendors, ECR vendors, banks and other standard setting associations.

To learn more about the SPVA and benefits of membership, visit www.spva.org.

###

About Secure POS Vendor Alliance (www.spva.org)

The Secure POS Vendor Alliance (SPVA) is a non-profit organization, founded by Hypercom (NYSE: HYC), Ingenico S.A. (EURONEXT: ING) and VeriFone (NYSE: PAY), that works with the multiple stakeholders of the payment value chain. Its aim is to develop an end-to-end security framework and to enhance security elements of payment solutions which protect cardholder information and defend merchants and acquirers against security breaches, to help reduce fraud and lower risk for all electronic payment stakeholders.

Editorial Contacts:

Carol McEntee/Lindsay Durfee

SPVA

404.816.2037

678.640.7822 Mobile

cmcentee@cookerly.com

lindsay@cookerly.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Secure POS Vendor Alliance Broadens its International Reach with Five New Payment Company Members (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Ingenico Unveils Strategy to Provide Secure End-to-End Solutions for Merchants in North America (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Hypercom Introduces Secure Payment Solutions for iPhone (eon.businesswire.com)

Western Union Reports First Quarter Results

Revenue of $1.2 Billion and EPS of $0.30

Global C2C Transactions Increase 8%, led by U.S.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in the money transfer segment of global payments, today reported financial results for the 2010 first quarter.

“We are pleased with our global performance as we begin 2010. Our Americas business is gaining momentum with strong transaction growth in domestic money transfer, improving trends in Mexico, and stronger growth in U.S. Outbound.”

Financial highlights for the quarter included:

• Revenue of $1.2 billion, an increase of 3% compared to last year’s first quarter


• Constant currency adjusted revenue increase of 1%


• GAAP operating income margin of 26%, compared to 28% in last year’s first quarter


• GAAP and constant currency EPS of $0.30, compared to $0.32 in last year’s first quarter


• Cash provided by operating activities of $74 million, including the impact of a $250 million refundable tax deposit

Operational highlights for the quarter included:

• Generated 8% global consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transaction growth, a 300 basis point improvement compared to the fourth quarter, led by the Americas region and continued strong performance in Europe and Asia


• Continued U.S. turnaround in domestic money transfer business, which delivered 18% transaction growth in the quarter


• Advanced strategic initiatives, including more than doubling the number of prepaid cards-in-force and further developing the Custom House business-to-business growth infrastructure


• Signed several key new agents, including the Martin McColl convenience stores in the U.K. and the Giant Eagle supermarket chain in the U.S.


• Grew agent locations to more than 420,000


• Completed $200 million in share repurchases and paid $41 million in quarterly dividends

Western Union President and Chief Executive Officer Christina A. Gold said, “We are pleased with our global performance as we begin 2010. Our Americas business is gaining momentum with strong transaction growth in domestic money transfer, improving trends in Mexico, and stronger growth in U.S. Outbound.”



Continue Reading

Western Union Reports First Quarter Results

Revenue of $1.2 Billion and EPS of $0.30

Global C2C Transactions Increase 8%, led by U.S.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in the money transfer segment of global payments, today reported financial results for the 2010 first quarter.

“We are pleased with our global performance as we begin 2010. Our Americas business is gaining momentum with strong transaction growth in domestic money transfer, improving trends in Mexico, and stronger growth in U.S. Outbound.”

Financial highlights for the quarter included:

• Revenue of $1.2 billion, an increase of 3% compared to last year’s first quarter


• Constant currency adjusted revenue increase of 1%


• GAAP operating income margin of 26%, compared to 28% in last year’s first quarter


• GAAP and constant currency EPS of $0.30, compared to $0.32 in last year’s first quarter


• Cash provided by operating activities of $74 million, including the impact of a $250 million refundable tax deposit

Operational highlights for the quarter included:

• Generated 8% global consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transaction growth, a 300 basis point improvement compared to the fourth quarter, led by the Americas region and continued strong performance in Europe and Asia


• Continued U.S. turnaround in domestic money transfer business, which delivered 18% transaction growth in the quarter


• Advanced strategic initiatives, including more than doubling the number of prepaid cards-in-force and further developing the Custom House business-to-business growth infrastructure


• Signed several key new agents, including the Martin McColl convenience stores in the U.K. and the Giant Eagle supermarket chain in the U.S.


• Grew agent locations to more than 420,000


• Completed $200 million in share repurchases and paid $41 million in quarterly dividends

Western Union President and Chief Executive Officer Christina A. Gold said, “We are pleased with our global performance as we begin 2010. Our Americas business is gaining momentum with strong transaction growth in domestic money transfer, improving trends in Mexico, and stronger growth in U.S. Outbound.”



Continue Reading

Mocapay Appoints New Head of National Sales

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mocapay, a mobile experience platform, today announces the appointment of Marilyn Benson as SVP national sales. In this position, Benson will lead the Mocapay sales teams to bring Mocapay’s mobile-enabled marketing, gift, loyalty, and coupon solutions to national merchants.

“She will play a vital role in bringing innovative merchants a mobile sales and marketing solution.”

“After two years of rigorous market tests, Mocapay has seen strong merchant results and consumer demand for mobile access to merchant-branded programs. Merchants benefit from the addition of a cost-effective mobile channel while consumers no longer need to carry plastic to participate in merchants’ gift and loyalty programs. Consumers can receive real-time offers, direct to their mobile phone for immediate redemption and merchants can track marketing ROI down to the individual consumer. As we expand our footprint to regional and national merchants, Marilyn will bring a wealth of experience to support our growth,” said Kevin Grieve, CEO, Mocapay. “She will play a vital role in bringing innovative merchants a mobile sales and marketing solution.”

Benson’s experience in the payment and loyalty industry spans over 25 years with Fortune 500 companies. She was an executive vice president at Citicorp Diners Club where she successfully tripled the acceptance network to 1.7 million merchants. During that period, she led her team to deliver travel partners participation in the Club Rewards loyalty program, resulting in winning theFreddie Award for “Best Card Program” for nine consecutive years. Prior to that, she held senior management sales and marketing positions at American Express. Benson currently sits on the Board of Trustees for the National Restaurant Educational Foundation.

About Mocapay

Mocapay is an end-to-end, mobile payments and experience platform for innovative issuers. The platform addresses merchants’ need for a new channel that will broaden their loyalty and gift programs by mobilizing sales and marketing to reach customers anytime, not just at the point of sale, encourage purchases and build a stronger brand affinity. For innovative financial institution issuers, Mocapay reduces the implementation time, support complexity and costs associated with secure mobile payments increasing and accelerating consumer and merchant adoption. Based in Denver, Mocapay is a privately held, venture funded company founded in 2006. For more information, visit www.mocapay.com.

Mocapay Appoints New Head of National Sales

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mocapay, a mobile experience platform, today announces the appointment of Marilyn Benson as SVP national sales. In this position, Benson will lead the Mocapay sales teams to bring Mocapay’s mobile-enabled marketing, gift, loyalty, and coupon solutions to national merchants.

“She will play a vital role in bringing innovative merchants a mobile sales and marketing solution.”

“After two years of rigorous market tests, Mocapay has seen strong merchant results and consumer demand for mobile access to merchant-branded programs. Merchants benefit from the addition of a cost-effective mobile channel while consumers no longer need to carry plastic to participate in merchants’ gift and loyalty programs. Consumers can receive real-time offers, direct to their mobile phone for immediate redemption and merchants can track marketing ROI down to the individual consumer. As we expand our footprint to regional and national merchants, Marilyn will bring a wealth of experience to support our growth,” said Kevin Grieve, CEO, Mocapay. “She will play a vital role in bringing innovative merchants a mobile sales and marketing solution.”

Benson’s experience in the payment and loyalty industry spans over 25 years with Fortune 500 companies. She was an executive vice president at Citicorp Diners Club where she successfully tripled the acceptance network to 1.7 million merchants. During that period, she led her team to deliver travel partners participation in the Club Rewards loyalty program, resulting in winning theFreddie Award for “Best Card Program” for nine consecutive years. Prior to that, she held senior management sales and marketing positions at American Express. Benson currently sits on the Board of Trustees for the National Restaurant Educational Foundation.

About Mocapay

Mocapay is an end-to-end, mobile payments and experience platform for innovative issuers. The platform addresses merchants’ need for a new channel that will broaden their loyalty and gift programs by mobilizing sales and marketing to reach customers anytime, not just at the point of sale, encourage purchases and build a stronger brand affinity. For innovative financial institution issuers, Mocapay reduces the implementation time, support complexity and costs associated with secure mobile payments increasing and accelerating consumer and merchant adoption. Based in Denver, Mocapay is a privately held, venture funded company founded in 2006. For more information, visit www.mocapay.com.