U.S. bank credit card active accounts (accounts with sales activity) grew 16.8% year-on-year (Y/Y) and 13.4% quarter-to-quarter (Q-Q) in 2014. This comes despite the slight erosion in gross accounts of 1% by Chase, Bank of America and Citibank last year.
MasterCard (MC) Canada’s Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) rose year-on-year (Y/Y) 10.5%, on a local currency basis, in the fourth quarter (Q4/14). Growth exploded in the fourth quarter despite surveys showing Canadians reined in their wallets for the holiday season.
It is likely American Express will continue to lose U.S. marketshare to Visa (VS) and MasterCard (MC) in the first quarter, with MC doing the most damage, according to forecaster RAM Research. The AmEx erosion will continue throughout 2015 and will be impacted in the second quarter of 2016 when AmEx ends the Costco card, which accounts for 10% of AmEx Cards-in-Force (CIF).
Travelex and Austin, TX-based Rev Worldwide have unveiled the launch of The Travelex NiHao Card, a reloadable prepaid travel card in association with UnionPay International. The Nihao Card launch in Hong Kong marks the first Rev processed UnionPay card.
GA-based Agilysys has beefed-up its POS software solutions to include a number of enhancements designed to boost efficiency, increase revenue and improve guest service, including support of Apple Pay, new mobility options and more.
The biggest Croatian bank, Zagrebačka Banka, has inked a deal with UK-based Paysera, an e-money institution licensed in Europe. The partnership will drive the costs of international money transfers to Croatia
to 1 HRK (0.13 EUR).
CardWeb.com’s CardExecs database of payments industry movers and shakers today features Pattie Money, senior vice president of human resources of Mercury.
Bluefin Payment Systems and Small Business Workbench have teamed to provide Bluefin’s PayConex and QuickSwipe PCI-validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) solutions to Small Business Workbench® clients.
Los Angeles-based CurbStand has entered Denver. CurbStand currently has launched 16 locations in Denver, with plans to expand to 50 locations in the next four months.
A February survey reveals 71% of business owners were not aware that by October of 2015, Visa and MasterCard will hold the merchant responsible for credit card fraud if they do not have an EMV compliant terminal.
MasterCard’s new marketing platform, Priceless Surprises, has been a smash hit globally in its first year. Priceless Surprises is among the highest social media engagement generating initiatives live today.
San Francisco-based CARDFREE has inked an exclusive agreement to use Bluedot Innovation’s location services technology in restaurants in the U.S.