Monday, February 7, 2011

Commentary: The Problem with Interchange Price-Fixing

Commentary: The Problem with Interchange Price-Fixing
(from The Washington Post on 2--2011)

By Karen Thomas
Monday, February 7, 2011

Visa recently weighed in on the heated debate over a new law requiring the government to set fees retailers pay to banks when consumers use debit cards to buy merchandise. In response to a provision in the law attempting to shield community banks from the impact of government price-fixing, the debit and credit card giant is reportedly planning a two tier pricing system for large and small financial institutions that issue debit cards.... read more»
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Discover Announces Agreement with Banco Popular de Puerto Rico



Joint partnership to expand Discover® card acceptance in Puerto Rico

RIVERWOODS, Ill. & PUERTO RICO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) and Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR), Puerto Rico’s largest commercial bank, have announced that they signed an agreement to expand Discover® card acceptance in Puerto Rico. The deal will provide Banco Popular de Puerto Rico merchant customers with access to the millions of cardmembers and billions in spending on the Discover® and Diners Club International® networks.
http://www.discoverfinancial.com
“The relationship with Puerto Rico’s largest commercial bank marks an important growth opportunity for Discover on the island”
The agreement with Banco Popular de Puerto Rico will provide a significant milestone for Discover, given the popularity of Puerto Rico as a top travel destination. International travelers who enter Puerto Rico can expect Discover cards to be accepted at thousands more merchant locations, providing them with the ability to use their Discover cards at merchants throughout the country.
“The relationship with Puerto Rico’s largest commercial bank marks an important growth opportunity for Discover on the island,” said Gerry Wagner, Vice President of global acceptance at Discover. “Cardmembers will be able to use their cards wherever they shop in Puerto Rico, allowing them even more opportunities to reap the great rewards offered by Discover.”
“We are enthusiastic about the opportunities that our partnership with Discover and its members will create for our more than 20,000 merchant locations, and pleased to add the Discover and Diners Club cards as payment options for more than a million visitors that make Puerto Rico a top travel destination,” said Fabio García, Senior Vice President of the Retail Credit Division at Banco Popular.
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company operates the Discover Card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal and student loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its Discover Bank subsidiary. Its payment businesses consist of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com.
About Banco Popular de Puerto Rico
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico is the leading financial institution in Puerto Rico with $31 billion in assets. A subsidiary of Popular, Inc., Banco Popular provides financial services to approximately 1.4 million individual and business clients. Banco Popular also offers the most extensive and complete distribution network in Puerto Rico, with 187 branches, more than 605 ATMs and 27,162 point of sale terminals, a 24/7 call center (TeleBanco Popular) and advanced online banking at www.MiBancoPopular.com.

Contacts

Discover
Laura Gingiss, 224-405-0185
lauragingiss@discover.com
or
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico
Fabio Garcia, 787-771-2010
fgarcia@bppr.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110207005345/en/Discover-Announces-Agreement-Banco-Popular-de-Puerto
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TSYS and CASSIS International Enter Into Mobile NFC Partnership

Partnership to Help Enable Banks, Retailers, Payment Networks and Mobile Operators

February 07, 2011 09:00 AM Eastern Time  COLUMBUS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TSYS announced today that it has entered into a partnership with CASSIS International to provide secure mobile payment, loyalty and commerce functionality. CASSIS is a mobile trusted service manager (TSM) for banks, retailers, transit operators and mobile service providers, and is globally certified by Visa and MasterCard.
TSYS
“We look forward to collaborating with TSYS, a global leader in electronic payments and loyalty to advance the value, convenience and integrated functionality of mobile NFC”
“Consumers will soon be using their phones as their wallets, so delivering secure mobile payments, loyalty, rewards and coupons will be a ‘must have’ for our bank and merchant customers,” said Troy Woods, president and chief operating officer, TSYS. “TSYS is committed to offering a full range of mobile solutions that meets our customers’ needs both today and tomorrow, and we are excited to partner with CASSIS, a global leader in technology and trusted service management for mobile NFC.”
“We look forward to collaborating with TSYS, a global leader in electronic payments and loyalty to advance the value, convenience and integrated functionality of mobile NFC,” said TH Tan, chairman of CASSIS International. “Together, we can help all parties along the payments value chain to bring mobile NFC to market, so that everyone stands to win — most of all consumers.”
Thian Yee Chua, chief executive officer of CASSIS International, added, “This partnership with TSYS represents an important next step in realizing our vision of a global TSM network, helping to make mobile NFC safe, convenient and profitable around the world.”
About CASSIS
CASSIS International is a leader in technology and trusted services for mobile payments, mobile commerce and near field communication (NFC). The company enables banks, telcos, transit operators, merchants and other service providers to deliver mobile phone-based NFC payment, transit, loyalty/rewards, identity and access control services to their customers. CASSIS has a distinctive track record of successful mobile NFC implementations around the world, including the first successful OTA provisioning of a 3G UICC chip globally and the first mobile NFC commercialization project in the world, working with a leading bank, telco, transit operator, device maker and payment network.
About TSYS
TSYS (NYSE: TSS) is reshaping a new era in digital commerce, connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Through unmatched customer service and industry insight, TSYS creates a better experience for buyers and sellers globally, supporting cross-border payments in more than 85 countries. Offering services in credit, debit, prepaid, mobile, chip, healthcare, installments, money transfer and more, TSYS makes it possible for those in the global marketplace to conduct safe and secure payment transactions with trust and convenience.
TSYS’ global headquarters are located in Columbus, Georgia, with other local offices spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. TSYS serves approximately 400 clients in 85 countries, including relationships with more than half of the Top 20 international banks. For more information, please visit us at www.tsys.com.

Contacts

TSYS Media Relations
Cyle Mims, +1-706-644-3110
cylemims@tsys.com
or
TSYS Investor Relations
Shawn Roberts, +1-706-644-6081
shawnroberts@tsys.com
or
For CASSIS International
Patrick Corman, +1-605-326-9648
Corman Communications
patrick@cormancom.com

At A Glance

TSYS
Source: via Business Wire
Updated   07/07/2009   by company
Headquarters:Columbus, GA
Website:http://www.tsys.com
CEO:Philip Tomlinson
Employees:8,110
Ticker:TSS  (NYSE)
Revenues:$1.9 billion (2008)
Net Income:$250 million (2008)
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110207005317/en/TSYS-CASSIS-International-Enter-Mobile-NFC-Partnership
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Friday, February 4, 2011

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Invests in Twitpay

According to Matt Rosoff/Business Insider:
Eric Schmidt Invests In Twitter Payments Service
Outgoing Google CEO Eric Schmidt has invested in Twitpay, which is developing a platform for users to send money directly via Twitter. The companies didn't disclose the size of the investment.  Schmidt's Tomorrow Ventures joined with CompuCredit Holdings, which helps provide financial services for "underserved" Americans, in the investment. Tomorrow's previous investments include several other online payment and finance startups, including Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace, and Giiv, which lets users send cash gifts via SMS. 

TomorrowVentures and CompuCredit Holdings Corp Invest in Social Payments Leader Twitpay


ATLANTA, Feb. 3, 2011 – Atlanta-based Twitpay, the leading provider of social media payment technology, has secured growth funding from TomorrowVentures and CompuCredit Holdings Corporation. Twitpay was founded in 2008 and offers a platform-as-a-service into three core markets: nonprofit organizations looking to raise funds directly over Twitter, social gaming developers offering virtual currency, and retailers facilitating social commerce. This new round of funding will be used to expand its existing service offerings.
tomorrowventures“We are very excited about our investment in Twitpay. The convergence of social media and mobile payments will drive tremendous opportunities in the social media value chain. We believe that Twitpay, with its sophisticated payments platform and mobile wallet technology, is positioned to be the dominant player in this segment,” says Court Coursey, Managing Partner, TomorrowVentures.
David Hanna, CEO of CompuCredit Holdings Corporation adds, “Combining social media with an alternate payment channel opens up enormous marketing opportunities for Twitpay partners. We are very impressed with the breadth and flexibility of Twitpay’s technology platform and management’s ability to identify a need in the marketplace and quickly build and market a solution to fit that need.”

“We are looking forward to leveraging the knowledge, relationships and skill sets of our new investors. Both TomorrowVentures and CompuCredit fully grasp the power of monetizing social media and how our platform can make that a reality,” says Kenny Douglas, Executive Vice President of Twitpay. “Each of our new investors has a long track record of identifying and nurturing leading technology innovators, and their expertise will be a tremendous asset for our company,” adds John Beisner, Executive Vice President.

Twitpay offers its clients both a comprehensive social management platform as well as a mobile payments tool utilizing Twitter’s prevalence as a mobile network. Expansion into the for-profit world is producing a variety of promotional opportunities for merchants, with offers delivered immediately both online and through mobile and tablet applications. Consumers will be able to transact immediately within their preferred social environment.
Twitpay recently announced a partnership with Incomm, another Atlanta-based corporation, to offer social gaming publishers access to a customized promotion and lead generation platform designed specifically around the social gaming model. The first social gaming campaign is due out in early 2011.

Morgan Keegan acted as exclusive financial advisor to Twitpay on this transaction.

About Twitpay:


Twitpay is the leading provider of payment systems solutions for social media networks. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, its patent pending technologies and breakthrough applications allow organizations to turn their social networking investment into measurable results. For more information, visit www.twitpay.com or follow @twitpay on Twitter.
About TomorrowVentures:


TomorrowVentures is an opportunistic investment firm with a focus toward seed and early-stage venture capital investments that develop innovative ideas that have the power to change the way people live, interact, and thrive. Founded in 2009 with a unique approach to venture capital and an extensive, diverse base of experience and expertise, TomorrowVentures adds value far beyond capital. Its goal is to grow companies capable of transforming technology, lifestyle and philanthropy. For more information about TomorrowVentures, visit www.tomorrowvc.com.


About CompuCredit:


CompuCredit Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ “CCRT”) is a specialty finance company and marketer of branded credit cards and related financial services. CompuCredit provides these services to consumers who are underserved by traditional financial institutions. Through corporate and affinity contributions focused on the underserved and un-banked communities, CompuCredit also uses its financial resources and volunteer efforts to address the numerous challenges affecting its customers. For more information about CompuCredit, visit www.CompuCredit.com.


Media Contact:


Twitpay
John Beisner
john@twitpay.com
(678) 809-1718
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MasterCard CEO Says Opportunities "Arise" from Durbin

Opportunities Arise from Durbin Amendment says MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga
and so does MasterCard Stock
Visa and MasterCard CEO's show their true colors, as Visa CEO says Durbin Amendment throws consumers under the bus, while MasterCard's CEO wants to focus on the opportunities which arise from the Durbin Amendment.  So, I gotta ask...which stock do you buy? 


MasterCard’s Banga Points to Opportunities Arising from Durbin

Digital Transactions - Feb. 3, 2011

It’s bad for consumers and bad for the payments industry, but the Durbin Amendment that imminently will upend the U.S. debit card market still presents some opportunities for MasterCard Inc., according to the No. 2 payment network’s president and chief executive, Ajay Banga.
Specifically, MasterCard could well pick up new business from debit card issuers that now have exclusive affiliations with Visa Inc. in which their cards offer the Visa brand for signature debit and Visa’s Interlink network for point-of-sale PIN debit. The Durbin Amendment, part of the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial law enacted last summer, bans such exclusive affiliations and mandates that each debit card offer at least one unaffiliated network in order to give merchants more transaction-routing options. The Federal Reserve Board is considering various regulatory options to implement the Durbin Amendment, everything from simply requiring issuers to add one unaffiliated PIN network to existing cards to requiring cards to access two signature and two PIN-debit networks. Visa commands about 70% of the major-brand U.S. debit market, so MasterCard, with its Maestro PIN-debit network, could make hay out of the demise of non-exclusivity even though it has its own exclusive deals with some debit issuers.
“We continue to anticipate some potential upside to our volumes as a result of the routing non-exclusivity, regardless of how it finally gets sorted out,” Banga told analysts Thursday during MasterCard’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “So from a share perspective, as I said in the past, we have more to gain than to lose.” He added, according to the Seeking Alpha transcript service, that MasterCard has “opportunities to sell … our strong PIN solution. Remember, it’s the only one that operates globally.”
But echoing his counterpart at Visa, chief executive Joseph W. Saunders, Banga reiterated the Durbin Amendment’s negatives in the eyes of banks and the payments industry: higher consumer fees for bank accounts as big financial institutions try to recoup lost debit interchange, and less innovation because of regulation. “The balance [is] tilting towards consumers having to pay more for these payment-related services and innovation being stifled at the other end,” Banga said. The Fed is considering 12-cent-per-transaction debit interchange caps for issuers with more than $10 billion in assets, caps that could cut big issuers’ debit revenues by more than 70%. On Wednesday, the blunt-speaking Saunders said, “consumers have been thrown under the bus in this legislation.” Merchant groups, however, stand to pay much less in debit interchange and generally support the Durbin Amendment.
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Hackers "Switch" from PC's to Smartphones

Cybercriminals switching focus in 2011 from PCs to smartphones
(from abc15 on 2-4-2011)
Net giant Cisco released a grave warning to any of you with a smartphone or iPad, be prepared to be scammed! In its annual security report, Cisco said, In a major cybercrime turning point, scammers have begun shifting their focus away from Windows-based PCs to other operating systems and platforms, including smartphones, tablet computers, and mobile platforms in general. We sat down with Scottsdale Detective Keith Swanson, who works in the department's computer crimes unit, to find out why... read more»
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Visa Inc. to Present at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) announced today that Byron Pollitt, Chief Financial Officer, andJim McCarthy, Global Head of Product, will present at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco onWednesday, February 16, 2011. The keynote presentation will begin at 8:15 a.m. Pacific Time and last for approximately 35 minutes.
A listen-only audio webcast and replay will be accessible for 30 days on the Investor Relations web site at http://investor.visa.com.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks -- VisaNet -- that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visitwww.corporate.visa.com.
Contacts:
Investor Relations: Victoria Hyde-Dunn, 415-932-2213, ir@visa.com
Media Relations: Will Valentine, 415-932-2564, globalmedia@visa.com
SOURCE Visa Inc.


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NYCE and CashEdge Join Forces to Bring Real-Time Person-to-Person Payments to Financial Institutions

Network’s implementation of Popmoney® creates competitive edge for client institutions
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NYCE® Payments Network, LLC, a leading U.S. electronic payments network and an FIS™ company, today announced that NYCE will begin offeringPopmoney®, CashEdge’s person-to-person (P2P) payment solution, to its more than 3,000 financial institution clients.
http://www.fisglobal.com
“We strive to continually provide solutions to our clients that will help them to grow their businesses and keep them at the forefront of products and services for their customers”
Developed specifically for financial institutions, Popmoney is an electronic payment solution that enables consumers to submit payments directly to other consumers (or small businesses) from their personal accounts via their online or mobile banking account, simply by using the recipient’s e-mail address, mobile number or bank account information.
Through this solution, NYCE-supported institutions will be able to offer a P2P option that uses their existing payments network. The NYCE Payments Network provides the ability to transmit the funds between the sender’s account and the receiver’s account in real-time, resulting in the immediate availability of funds.
“The combination of Popmoney and the NYCE Payments Network provides a real-time P2P option that is unique in the marketplace,” said Sanjeev Dheer, CEO and president, CashEdge. “As more and more consumers seek simplified ways to move money, the NYCE and Popmoney solution will provide financial institutions with an innovative payment option that closely aligns with today’s anytime, anywhere payments model that they can quickly deploy to their customers or members.”
Popmoney can be integrated seamlessly to a bank’s or credit union’s online banking and mobile applications making P2P payments available to a wide audience of financial institutions. Use of the solution can provide an additional revenue stream for financial institutions, as well as eliminate costs associated with processing checks, the traditional mode of P2P payments.
“The rapid consumer adoption of smartphones − which will reach 50 percent of cell phone owners by the end of 2012 − will spur demand for electronic money movement capabilities between consumers, and not just between consumers and businesses,” said Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with research firm Aite Group. “Consumers want to do business with financial institutions that make their financial lives easy to manage. P2P payments will become a must-have capability for banks.”
“We strive to continually provide solutions to our clients that will help them to grow their businesses and keep them at the forefront of products and services for their customers,” said Frank D’Angelo, executive vice president, FIS Payment Solutions Group. “We are confident our clients will find value in the addition of Popmoney to our NYCE Payments Network.”
CashEdge is a leading provider of Intelligent Money Movement® solutions for financial institutions, including mobile and email person-to-person (P2P) payments, account transfers, account opening and funding, small business applications and financial account aggregation. The Company's clients include over 650 leading financial institutions, including eight of the ten largest banks in the country. CashEdge's newest offering, Popmoney®, is a bank-enabled email and mobile money movement service that is live at leading banks in the U.S.
CashEdge's industry-leading products include Popmoney for email and mobile payments; Popmoney® for Small Business, OpenNow®/FundNow® for new account opening and funding; TransferNow® for consumers, which includes Me-to-Me and Third Party Transfers; and Small Business Suite, which includes Invoicing, Me-to-Me Transfers, Employee Payments and Vendor Payments. All CashEdge products are supported by industry-leading risk management capabilities that leverage proprietary technology to help financial institutions mitigate risk and decrease fraud exposure.
The Company is headquartered in New York with offices in Silicon Valley and India. For more information, visit www.cashedge.com.
NYCE Payments Network, LLC, an FIS™ company, helps its clients grow with innovative new products and strategic alliances that enable them to capitalize on the efficiency, consumer convenience and security of electronic real-time payments. The NYCE Network provides consumers with secure, real-time access to their money, offering hundreds of thousands of ATM locations and millions of point-of-sale locations nationwide. The NYCE Direct Bill Payment service offers cardholders a convenient way to pay bills online in real-time using their deposit accounts. Headquartered in Secaucus, N.J., NYCE Payments Network, LLC, (www.nyce.net) is a wholly owned subsidiary of FIS (NYSE:FIS).
FIS (NYSE: FIS) is one of the world’s largest global providers dedicated to banking and payments technologies. With a long history deeply rooted in the financial services sector, FIS serves more than 14,000 institutions in over 100 countries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS employs more than 30,000 people worldwide and holds leadership positions in payment processing and banking solutions, providing software, services and outsourcing of the technology that drives financial institutions. FIS is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500® Index and consistently holds a leading ranking in the annual FinTech 100 list. For more information about FIS, visit www.fisglobal.com.
Forward-Looking Statements

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SpendingPulse January 2011 Retail Report: General Momentum from Q4 2010 Continues



For the Full Retail Year Sectors That Are Up Outnumber Those That Are Down By Three to One

PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MasterCard Advisors:
“With gasoline prices up about 14% over prices a year ago, that means less disposable income in consumers’ wallets. They are more likely to consolidate trips to the mall and shop closer to home.”
SpendingPulse™
 
Data Source:
A macroeconomic indicator, SpendingPulse reports on national retail and services sales and is based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for certain other payment forms, such as cash and check. MasterCard SpendingPulse does not represent MasterCard financial performance. SpendingPulse is provided by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard Worldwide.
 
MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales, today provided summary results for performance of specific U.S. retail industries in January, 2011. The month recorded strong growth across most categories, continuing the positive performance from Q4 2010, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
With the January closing of the retail year, sectors that were up for the year outnumbered those that were down by a ratio of three to one. However, even among those which were up for the year, about half have yet to reach their pre-recession peak levels of 2006 and 2007.
Michael McNamara, Vice President, Research and Analysis for MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, observes, “A combination of rising consumer demand and strong pricing continued to drive retail sales in January. Although less robust, the trends we observed were similar to those recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010. Most sectors continued to post positive year-over-year results during the month despite consumers taking a pause in spending and repeated snow storms affecting the East Coast.”
Mr. McNamara also notes that there were varied factors influencing January sales, including the continuing high unemployment rate, rising prices such as fuel costs, increases in consumer confidence and continuing improvements in the financial markets. He observed, “With gasoline prices up about 14% over prices a year ago, that means less disposable income in consumers’ wallets. They are more likely to consolidate trips to the mall and shop closer to home.”
In terms of sectors, January, 2011 had notable strengths and weaknesses. Here are some specifics:
Posting their sixth consecutive month of positive year-over-year growth, Total Apparel sales continued to do well in January albeit at a slightly lower growth rate than the very robust Q4 2010 rate. All sub-sectors of Apparel posted solid year-over-year increases, the most notable of which came from the Family (Teen) and Men’s categories, respectively increasing 12.8% and 8.1% year-over-year.
The Electronics and Appliances sector posted a year-over-year decline of 3.8% in January following a modest year-over-year increase recorded in December. The Consumer Electronics sub-category declined by 3.3% and the Appliance sub-category fell sharply by 6.4%, its fourth consecutive year-over-year monthly decline.
e-Commerce continued to gain share at a very steady rate, posting double digit year-over-year increases for the third consecutive month, growing 12%. Online Total Apparel as a sub-category of eCommerce showed slightly slower year-over-year growth compared to Q4 2010, but a strong 15% growth over January 2010. With the exception of women’s clothing, all apparel sub-sectors posted double digit growth, but again, lower than what was posted in December 2010. Jewelry eCommerce fell into negative territory in January, reversing a solid December 2010. However, Electronics eCommerce was up year over year by 6.1%.
The SpendingPulse Luxury Index, which measures sales at high-end restaurants, food stores, department stores and general apparel categories, posted a strong year-over-year growth of 6.1%, the second highest growth rate since May 2010.
About MasterCard Advisors
MasterCard Advisors provides payments consulting, information, analytics, and customized services to financial institutions and their merchant partners worldwide. Addressing complex challenges in strategy, marketing, risk, and operations, MasterCard Advisors helps clients maximize the value of their payments businesses. As the professional services arm of MasterCard Worldwide, MasterCard Advisors is uniquely qualified to provide clients with insights and solutions that drive tangible impact and financial gain. For more information, go to www.mastercardadvisors.com.
About MasterCard Worldwide
As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2010, $2.7 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 23 billion transactions each year and has the capacity to handle 140 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 140 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl™. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.

Contacts

Meir Kahtan Public Relations, LLC
Meir Kahtan, +1-212-575-8188
mkahtan@rcn.com
or
MasterCard Worldwide
Naya Larsson, +1-914-249-3916
naya_larsson@mastercard.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110204005480/en/SpendingPulse-January-2011-Retail-Report-General-Momentum
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