First it was PCI, now retailers have to prepare for the widespread launch of Near Field Communications, which is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the U.S. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. The convenience store industry is increasingly turnings its gaze outdoors to the forecourt, not only for [...]
Heartland Payment Systems shows average savings per merchant in states across the U.S. following Durbin. Heartland Payment Systems, a national payments processor, has released the first state-specific data about the Durbin Amendment’s actual impact on business owners in specific states. The data was gathered between Oct. 1-16, 2011, from across Heartland’s 250,000 merchant locations. The [...]
Visa and MasterCard to face litigation on antitrust charges. The National ATM Council, a group representing operators of automated teller machines (ATMs), filed a lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard accusing the credit and debit card issuers of violating antitrust laws by fixing the price of ATM access fees, the Huffington Post reported. The lawsuit was [...]
General purpose prepaid debit cards are rapidly gaining favor with consumers as an alternative to closed-loop gift cards. By John Lofstock, Editor. Sales of open-loop prepaid cards, issued by banks and credit card companies and able to be used at multiple establishments, are only going to go up as more consumers come to appreciate their [...]
For many, many years the power of the Big Oil brands was indisputable. They owned the refineries, the stations and the credit card networks to boot. While my father was an Exxon dealer and jobber for more than 30 years I distinctly remember seeing Shell and Texaco credit cards lying around the house. In those [...]
In the wake of the Durbin Amendment, merchants to face new fees from Visa, as the credit card company lowers transaction rate. Visa Chief Executive Joseph Saunders, in a conference call with analysts, said the payment processor would introduce a network participation fee in the U.S. for all of its debit, credit and prepaid card [...]
The Senate’s rejection of an amendment offered by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) demonstrates the power of consumer and retail industry advocacy efforts and is a major victory for the convenience and fuel retailing industry, said NACS Chairman Jeff Miller. The Tester-Corker amendment needed 60 votes for passage in the Senate, however [...]
It’s a huge victory for convenience store retailers and merchants across the U.S. today, as the Senate rejected an amendment offered by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) to delay swipe fee reform. The vote was 54-45 in favor of the Tester-Corker amendment, six short of the 60 needed to delay swipe fee [...]
NACS is urging retailers to call their Senators in one final push before the 2p.m. EST vote. Today, June 8, at 2 p.m. EST, the Senate is set to vote on an amendment by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), which seeks to delay and effectively kill swipe fee reform. The debate ( happening now) and the [...]
“We’re not looking for a free ride. What we’re looking for is fair and reasonable,” notes 7-Eleven Franchisee Dennis Lane. Thursday, Feb. 17, marks the eighth public hearing on debit and credit card swipe fees. The hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. is set to be held in the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer [...]
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) called the Dec. 16 release of the Federal Reserve’s proposed rulemaking related to debit card swipe fees a “positive step” and said it will continue to push for the reforms demanded by Congress and consumers alike. While no interchange fees should be allowed on debit transactions, the Fed’s [...]
The long and winding road to controlling credit card fees took yet another turn on Oct. 12, 2010, when TCF National Bank, a subsidiary of TCF Financial Corp., filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Durbin Amendment, which was included in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, also known [...]
Blackhawk Network, a provider of prepaid and financial payments products offers PayPower, a suite of prepaid products and services designed to help consumers stay in control of spending with simple and safe solutions that provide value, transparency and budgeting. The suite of products is targeted to consumers looking for alternatives to traditional financial credit, whether [...]
“Since credit cards were introduced more than 60 years ago, no one dared step in to challenge the powerful banks. We did. And we got change,” said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour in his Opening General Session address on Oct. 6 at the NACS Show. NACS’ “audacious goal” to fight swipe fees, said Armour, [...]
Many retailers are breathing a sigh of relief in regard to PCI, after this summer’s deadline for software compliance was relaxed after a request by the major oil companies, giving scrambling retailers a little more time to comply. But retailers be warned: chains that face a breach could still get hit with huge fines. “Some [...]