Visa Inc. and Marathon Oil Corporation are rolling out Visa ReadyLink—Visa’s prepaid reload network—in 4,000 Marathon Brand retail stations. To date the service has rolled out to approximately 2,000 locations, with the remainder expected to be active by the end of 2010. Marathon markets through approximately 4,600 branded locations in 18 states in the Midwest [...]
In a letter addressed to all members of the U.S. Senate, 134 trade associations endorsed an amendment (S. Amdt. 3932) to the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) that will address excessive debit card swipe fees and the anti-competitive practices of credit card companies and the [...]
More than 170 amendments have been filed to the financial regulatory reform bill now before the Senate, and to expedite the process, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has asked senators to consolidate their amendments, NACS reported. On Monday night, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) filed a new amendment (#3932), merging the main provisions of [...]
More convenience store operators are phasing out their drop safes and replacing them with sophisticated cash management systems that perform a variety of functions more easily and quickly than ever before. One of those is the linking of computer networks for easier access to information throughout the organization. In doing so, cash shrinkage due to [...]
The state of Vermont is proposing an amendment to S. 138 being introduced today in the Vermont Senate. This amendment would allow merchants to set minimum and maximum transaction amounts for all debit, credit and charge card transactions, permitting them to reject a customer’s card. The Electronic Payments Coalition has spoken out against the amendment [...]
nFinanSe Inc., a reloadable prepaid card provider, is reducing its fees to cardholders for ATM withdrawals and also for electronic bill pay transactions. The company believes that these reductions will encourage greater trial and usage of its Visa and Discover Reloadable Prepaid Cards and promote greater retention among cardholders. The company stated that it is [...]
The major prepaid areas c-store retailers are going to want to watch over the next year are general purpose reloadable cards (GPR), both open and closed loop gift cards, and cards for digital media, game and ring tones. The economy especially has spurred the growth of GPR products. “You’re going to see more folks buying [...]
Wilson Farms has introduced a combination ACH debit and loyalty card to their customers in the Batavia, N.Y. market. The Red Hot Rewards Card allows Wilson Farms’ customers to earn free and discounted products as well as 5% cash back on both fuel and non-fuel purchases and earn rewards every time they shop with Wilson [...]
Transparent Financial Services (TransFS.com), a marketplace for businesses seeking financial services, has launched the TransFS Credit Card Processor Directory, the first comprehensive Web site through which businesses can research, rate and review credit card processors. In the past, researching the quality of a new credit card processor required a business owner to conduct hours of [...]
Toronto-based Loblaw Companies Limited is upgrading more than 750 fuel dispensers at 200 locations across Canada with Gilbarco’s FlexPay EMV CRIND Card Reader in Dispenser. The new CRIND complies with EuroPay MasterCard Visa (EMV) payment system requirements, as it handles “chip and PIN” debit and credit cards. “Gilbarco has been our preferred dispenser supplier for [...]
TOP PERFORMERS PaySpot (dba epay) Coinstar HONORABLE MENTIONS Incomm First Data Prepaid services are changing the way customers do business. Low-income families, unbanked and underbanked customers, students, those with poor credit and customers that spend much of their time on the road are among those taking advantage of prepaid debit cards and bill services that [...]
Look no further than recent headlines to learn about payment security breaches and PIN pad tampering incidents involving merchants of all sizes. Sophisticated criminal organizations are targeting retailers and obtaining compromised account data with more regularity. Whether it’s fair or not, the fault of these attacks is increasingly being placed squarely on the shoulders of [...]
Savvy c-store operators are using customer loyalty/scan-data-analysis programs to improve merchandise planning, forecasting and point-of-sale (POS) data management, and to provide a technology platform for long-term growth. When done well, the inevitable result is to empower store personnel to react quickly, make more informed decisions and improve cost effectiveness, so they can simplify customers’ lives. [...]