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FEATURED ARTICLES
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Commerce: Retails Sales Up, But Not Much |
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Retail sales in October rose more than analysts expected, the government reported November 16. The Commerce Department said total retail sales jumped 1.4% last month, compared with September's revised decline of 2.3%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had anticipated that October sales would grow 0.9%. With the start of the holiday shopping season fewer than two weeks away, the Nove. 16 report shed little light on whatretails sales willl look like. Sales excluding autos and auto parts edged up only 0.2%. That's slightly worse than the 0.4% increase predicted by economists, but better than revised September numbers.. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and data are closely watched to determine whether a recovery is underway. With unemployment at a 26-year high of 10.2%, however, consumers remain cash-strapped, driving down4th-quarter sales predictions.
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International Payments Launches $150 Million Acquisition Plan |
A team of veteran merchant services executives, backed by over $150 million in private funding, is setting out to expand a new company by acquiring independent sales organizations that provide payment card processing services in the U.S. and Canadian markets and the merchant card processing portfolios of financial institutions.
International Payments Corporation (IPC), the new San Jose-based company, is directed by David McMackin, a 15-year merchant services professional and President and CEO of AmericaOne Merchant Services, Incorporated. |
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Consumer Debt Drops for Sixth Straight Month |
U.S. consumers are cutting back on borrowing like never before, according to the Federal Reserve.
With banks and card issuers cutting credit, and with unemployment rising, housing prices still falling, and generally poor economic news, consumers are hesitant to borrow. Credit card balances, auto loans and other forms of consumer credit fell by by $21.6 billion in July, the biggest decline on record.
That's equivalent to an annual decline of 10.4 percent, the Federal Reserve said. It's the sixth consecutive month the measure of consumer credit has contracted. In June, it fell by a revised 7.5 percent.
Both Visa and MasterCard say the proportion of debit transactions on their networks is growing. At Visa, the world's largest payment network, they've surpassed credit card purchases.
Revolving credit, comprising mostly credit card balances, fell eight percent in July. Meanwhile, non-revolving credit fell 11.7 percent.
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ETA Members Discuss Interchange System With GAO |
Representatives of ETA and several member companies participated in a 90-minute conference call on August 13 to explain the components and operation of the interchange system to representatives of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
GAO is conducting research for two reports on the interchange system, one requested by the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the other required by the CARD Act, signed into law in May, 2009.
During the call, ETA members explained the different layers of the electronic payments system and defined the types of third-party businesses engaged in processing electronic payments. They also drew distinctions between the interchange rate and the discount rate, emphasizing that interchange is but one component of what merchants pay for electronic payments services. ETA detailed the high level of competition in the discount market and that, in fact, a small retailer has a greater ability to negotiate a favorable price for transaction processing than for any other utility required to run a business.
ETA directed GAO to data on the numbers, types, and value of transactions processed in a year, as well as to information showing the essential role of merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations (ISOs) in the electronic payments system.
ETA representatives will continue to work with various government agencies to provide assistance and information about the businesses they represent. ETA will also continue to engage legislators and regulators to ensure that they receive a balanced and complete picture of the electronic payments system. |
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ETA Releases Policy Position on Data Security, Breach Notification |
ETA has released a policy position on data security and breach notification, in which the association srongly supports industry self-regulatory efforts for the protection of cardholder data, foremost of which is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS). In the area of government regulation, ETA believes that a uniform national standard for data security and breach notification with respect to Personal Financial Information would best balance the rights of consumers to be notified of a breach when the security of their Personal Financial Information is truly at risk, while minimizing the compliance and legal risk to businesses.
Read the full position paper . |
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ETA Glossary Online |
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