Consumers are still using credit cautiously, as credit quality measures are still improving rapidly, charging less and increasingly paying down balances. With this, credit card defaults registered the second largest monthly decline since 2005 and are on par with historical averages, just as the prime card monthly payment rate (MPR) and late stage delinquencies improved…
The Prime monthly payment rate (MPR) improved for the second consecutive month by 36 bps in July to 21.76%. Meanwhile, on the retail credit card index, MPR was flat. The payment rate is still approximately 25% higher than the historical average of 16.30%. This index is primarily comprised of general purpose portfolios originated by Bank…
Global Cash Access posted its 2Q/11 revenue down 14.1% to $135.1 million, from the year ago figure of $157.2 million, due in great part to having lost its largest customer in late 2010 which accounted for approximately $21.3 million in revenue during the second quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, operating income was $7.1 millionas GCA incurred approximately $1.6 million in one-time expenses in the quarter, consisting primarily of $1.2 million in one-time charges associated with additional depreciation and amortization expense associated with the final purchase price allocation of the acquisition of Western Money Systems in 2010 and approximately $0.4 million associated with executive severance costs. Income before tax in the second quarter of 2011 was $2.5 million, which included the one-time charges discussed above. With this, the Company estimates that cash earnings per share for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 will be between approximately $0.38 and $0.43.
HSBC has agreed to sell its card and retail services business in the United States to Capital One, which consists of HSBC’s monoline US credit card and private label credit card business. Included in the sale are the Business’s MasterCard, Visa, private label and other credit card operations. The products of the Business are offered throughout the United States primarily via strategic affinity and co-branding relationships, merchant relationships, direct mail and via the internet. All HSBC employees in the Business will be offered the opportunity to join the Purchaser. The Business to be sold however does not include HSBC Bank USA’s US$1.1bn credit card program. The Business being sold has performed strongly through the financial cycle but it is not aligned with HSBC Group strategy.
ElectraCard Services (ECS) software solutions for electronic payment systems signed an agreement with Sutherland Global Services Technology and Analytics enabled Business Process services to enhance its US presence. With this, Sutherland Global Services will be authorized to market ECS’s entire electra suite of products and services to their banking and financial services customers. Sutherland has provided a wide range of Business Process and allied services to the global banking and financial services domain.
American Express launched ‘Friends of Japan’ global program on Facebook to revive global attention on relief efforts since the East Japan Great Earthquake struck the region five months ago. People from around the world are encouraged to share ‘Messages of Hope’ through the ‘Friends of Japan’ section of American Express Japan’s Facebook page (facebook.com/americanexpressjapan). American Express, which has more than 1,100 employees in Japan, will donate $1 towards the relief efforts for every message of hope posted from anywhere in the world. The ‘Friends of Japan’ area on the American Express Japan Facebook page will be translated into Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
Citi through its Citi ThankYou Rewards is offering a ticket presale for Beyoncé’s performances next week at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on August 14, 16, 18 and 19, 2011. On Facebook, Citi will also feature exclusive video content of Beyoncé and a limited number of tickets that are available only by redeeming Citi ThankYou Points. Through a series of exclusive one-hour presales, tickets to ‘4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé’ can be purchased only with an eligible Citi card before they are available to the general public. The set on each night of the ‘4 Intimate Nights With Beyoncé’ concerts is the entire collection of her critically acclaimed album, 4. At each performance, Beyoncé will perform her new songs to a standing room only audience.
Central Corporate Credit Union (CenCorp) has implements the Viewpointe “Pointe2Pointe” with Internet connectivity. The organization selected the Viewpointe “Pointe2Pointe” solution as a quick, cost-effective means for conducting check image exchange. The “Pointe2Pointe” with Internet connectivity service provides organizations with a secure, efficient means of exchanging electronic check images with Viewpointe’s other exchange customers. The service helps financial institutions move toward eliminating the financial and logistical burdens associated with processing paper-based checks.
Bank of Internet USA announced the launch of their new Rewards Checking account that offers a comprehensive array of desirable features with no fees. Bank of Internet’s Rewards Checking is a checking account with no monthly fees, no minimum balance and the opportunity to earn 1.25% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Rewards Checking comes with interest rewards, unlimited ATM reimbursements, free bill pay and also free cash-back Purchase Rewards, as well as free FinanceWorks(TM) money management software. Starting with 0% APY, users can add 0.3125% APY for receiving direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more; paying two bills with free online bill pay; making at least one purchase with their Rewards Checking Debit Visa Card; and making at least 6 purchases with their Rewards Checking Debit Visa Card.
Fiserv financial services technology solutions opened registration to its “Focus 2011” fall client conference, to take place at the end of September in Orlando. The event will give participants access to Fiserv experts and industry innovators, and will feature sessions developed specifically for Fiserv clients utilizing the Signature bank platform, Currency Supply Chain Management (formerly Cash & Logistics), Investment Services, and Lending Solutions. All registrations must be completed by September 16. The conference will assemble thought leaders, Fiserv executives, and industry and product experts, who will introduce enhanced solutions and emerging technologies, as well as specialized discussions that will focus on several key financial services markets. Through presentations, dedicated session tracks, key product demonstrations and peer networking, participants will learn what’s new, what’s next and how to stay ahead in an ever-changing industry.
PrepaYd closed a private placement restricted stock offering, having issued 80,500,000 restricted common shares in return for $2,012,500. PrepaYd now has 537,653,870 issued common shares of stock of which 56,003,209 are free trading, and 481,650,661 are restricted. PrepaYd’s CEO owns 289,525,000 shares of the restricted common stock and its Senior Vice President owns 15,000,000 shares of the restricted common stock.
GigaSpaces Technologies, a leading provider of a new generation of virtualised application platforms delivering end-to-end scalability, announces that Gresham Computing will be using GigaSpaces eXtreme Application Platform (XAP) as the infrastructure for its transaction and cash management solutions. GigaSpaces XAP is an end-to-end virtualised application platform that brings together an in-memory data grid, application processing and messaging services, providing extreme performance, dynamic linear scalability, and high availability. Gresham solutions reduce control failure risk and optimise business performance, providing certainty through greater transparency and reduced transaction risk in customers’ operations.