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Transaction Trends Online |
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In the December 2009 Issue of Transaction Trends: 
- Sales Incentives That Work
- PCI’s Evolutionary Process
- Brave New World for Payments
- Special Series: Startup Stories, Part 2
- And much more...
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ETA Glossary Online |
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The ETA Encyclopedia of Terminology for the Acquiring Industry is now online! Need a good definition for P2P? Need to know what a Merchant Descriptor is? Our online glossary has the information and its been vetted by industry experts, so you can depend ion it. Give it a try! |
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Featured Articles
Visa Inc. unveiled its long awaited IPO Tuesday and when trading opened today (Wednesday), shares quickly rose to more than $65 before settling back to the $60 range by midday.
The public offering went off at $44, raising nealry $18 billion for Visa -- the largest IPO is US history. The stock now trades on the NYSE under the symbol "V".
While the immediate direct impact on the merchant acquiring industry is small, the influx of cash will help some issuing banks who are troubled by the current mortgage and debt crisis and may have a longer term effect on Visa's exposure to litigation over interchage and antitrust issues. |
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Iowa May Ban Gift Card Fees |
An
Iowa Senate proposal would ban some widespread practices involving slosed loop prepaid cards, banning expiration dates and fees on unused balances, among other things. The measure was recommended Wednesday by the Senate
Commerce Committee in a 9-3 vote.
Opponents of the bill say it clashes with current law and creates an unfair burden for businesses but the measure has widespread consumer support.
It includes an exception for gift cards that are given away as
charitable prizes or as part of a promotion. Those cards would still be
allowed to have expiration dates or other conditions that would reduce
the face value.
One of the more complicated parts of the measure
is how it works with current law. Right now, if a gift card is
purchased in Iowa and not redeemed for three years, businesses are
required to declare the cash value as unclaimed property and transfer
it to the Iowa Treasurer’s Office. The cards add up to about $500,000
per year.
Opponents of the bill say retailers would be in a bind
if a customer tries to redeem a gift card after three years. Supporters
say this is unlikely to happen very often, but if it does, retailers
would be able to get the money back from the Treasurer’s Office.
If
the bill becomes law, Iowa would join more than 30 states that either
ban expiration dates or say a certain amount of time must pass before
expiration.
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Visa Inc. Plans Massive IPO |
Visa Inc, says it may raise up to $18.8 billion in what would be the largest U.S.
initial public offering ever, amid concern the global credit crunch could eat
into card volumes.
The company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 406
million Class A shares at $37 to $42 each, resulting in $15 billion to $17.1
billion of proceeds. Visa said it might sell another 40.6 million shares to meet
demand, boosting the IPO's potential size to $18.8 billion. San Francisco-based Visa plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "V."
Visa's offering comes amid worries that the U.S. economy
might be entering a recession, which could dampen investor demand for stocks and
IPOs.
Investors may hope Visa shares will fare as well as those of rival MasterCard Inc. MasterCard shares have more than quintupled since that Purchase, New
York-based card network went public in a $2.4 billion IPO in May 2006.
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Hypercom Names Goff President & Managing Director, the Americas |
Hypercom Corporation announced
the appointment of Heidi R. Goff as President and Managing Director, the
Americas. She will join the Company
on February 25, 2008 with responsibility for directing and driving Hypercom’s
sales, service and support throughout North America, South
America, Mexico,
the Caribbean and Central America. Ms. Goff
will report to Philippe Tartavull,
Chief Executive Officer and President.
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Read more...
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Versa Pay Acquires Wireless Provider |
VersaPay Corporation today announced today that it has acquired control of
Positive Inc. (“Positive”), a leading provider of wireless point of sale
terminals and merchant services in Canada.
Following the closing of the transaction, Positive will
operate as a separate subsidiary of VersaPay Corporation.
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Read more...
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The already-delayed $7.8 billion buyout of Alliance Data Systems Corp. by The Blackstone Group may not be take place as planned, according to a January 28 announcement that indicated the deal may be the latest victim of the turmoil in the credit markets.
An Alliance
Data press release said Alliance was told on January 25 that Blackstone does not
anticipate satisfying a condition laid down by banking regulators requiring a change in control of an Alliance-owned bank. Alliance Data
owns World Financial Network National Bank. The company also owns a
Utah-chartered industrial bank, World Financial Capital Bank, which is regulated
by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Collectively the two banks issue more
than 100 million private-label credit cards for about 85 retailers.
According to
the release, Blackstone says the OCC is has demanded "extraordinary measures” on the part of Alliance and various Blackstone entities, changes Blackstone isn't willing to make. The company said it believes that further talks with OCC are futile, but doesn't list the issues in dispute.
Alliance says it “strongly disagrees” with
Blackstone’s position that the OCC’s proposal to Blackstone’s
lawyers are the agency’s “final position” about the required approvals.
The company also took issue with Blackstone’s dire characterization of the OCC’s conditions.
By invoking federal regulators to halt the deal, Blackstone may be disguising the underlying cause of its new aversion to buying Alliance, which may stem from the fact that financing is getting more difficult to obtain. Blaming regulators may also help Blackstone escape payment of a $170 million termination fee if the deal
falls through.
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