News, Plastic cards

A reloadable prepaid card provider nFinanSe is reducing its fees for cardholders on their ATM withdrawals and electronic bill payment transactions. The company’s aim is to have its customers more actively use its Visa® and Discover® Reloadable Prepaid Cards.

Global financial services company Visa Inc has teamed up with Japan Net Bank (JNB) for the first in the country virtual debit card program fro online payments at Internet merchants.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group introduced JNB in 2000 as Japan’s first Net-only bank that at the moment claims to have two million customers.

Under the initiative of the two companies customers will be able to request a virtual debit card which in turn will be issued with a unique 16-digit debit account number which will draw funds from a nominated JNB account.

Visa Inc. has lunched a new premium travel offering called Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection (VSLHC) to provide its cardholders with benefits of selecting from a group of prestigious properties throughout the world.

Visa Signature cardholders can now book accommodations at luxury properties across the globe from celebrated hotels and resorts to new boutique gems.

MasterCard Worldwide has established a brand-exclusive partnership with Plastic Cash International, LLC for MYPLASH open-loop prepaid gift cards and reloadable prepaid gift cards starting summer 2010. Previously, MYPLASH prepaid cards, Plastic Cash International's teen prepaid brand, were co-branded with Visa. They are the world's largest teen branded prepaid product.

A $16 million program was launched conjointly by Opportunity International, Melinda Gates Foundation and The MasterCard Foundation to help people in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa gain easier access to savings accounts and agricultural loans.

A provider of financial services technology solutions Fiserv has entered into a five year agreement with Space Coast Credit Union, a $3.2 billion credit union headquartered in Melbourne, Fla. Under the terms of the agreement Fiserv will provide the union with services including debit, credit and ATM processing, online banking and electronic bill payment.

The credit union selected the Fiserv services following an evaluation of the institution's technology infrastructure, which was prompted by a merger with Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union (EFFCU) in June 2009.

Acculynk has made a formal announcement that it established the Internet PIN Debit Advisory Council with partner EFT networks. It is the first company to introduce a software-only service for PIN debit payments on the Internet, PaySecure.

Under the aegis of the Advisory Council the company consolidates leaders from partner EFT networks, including ACCEL/Exchange, Alaska Option, Credit Union 24, PULSE and SHAZAM. The main focus of the Council is establishing the processes, procedures, rules and best practices around PaySecure for Internet PIN debit.

A financial social network WikiLoan has entered into a 2 year definitive agreement with SDI Distributors to issue up to 5 million "Wiki" branded phone and cash equivalent cards to be sold through SDI via over 20,000 retail locations across the US.

The companies expect the revenue reach up to $20 million over the next two years while leveraging the "Wiki" financial brand on the cards gaining valuable exposure to millions of users throughout the country.

Visa Inc followed the actions taken by MasterCard a few weeks ago and blocked all online gambling transactions, as reported by CasinoNews.

The move of Visa and MasterCard surprised the Internet community as the US seems to adopt the proper legislation to regulate online gambling across the nation.

As the new credit card legislation comes into effect starting February 22, the Federal Reserve has created a new website that helps consumers better understand the protections provided under the new law.

On the website consumers will find a collection of main points of the rules along with explanations on how these rules affect cardholders. By means of two interactive features on the website users will learn more about the terms and fees of credit card offers as well as new features introduced to their monthly statements.

TxVia is delivering American Express Incentive Services (AEIS) with prepaid processing platforms based on TxVia’s platform-as-a-service (PaaS) delivery model.

PreCash is launching its new general purpose Visa branded reloadable prepaid debit card with free transaction. The company says that the program offers rewards to users who “adopt the prepaid card as a lifestyle product for everyday use”.

Each of the plans – Vision Preferred, Vision Premier and Vision Platinum – provides a different range of features and services, including Direct Deposit, online bill pay, text message and e-mail alerts.

The plans feature the following functionality in particular:

Barclaycard has demonstrated its new application that turns smartphones into a chip and PIN payment terminal. The solution targets small businesses like plumbers, electricians and market traders. The system will be piloted in the second half of 2010 before the Christmas period.

A reloadable card provider nFinanSe Inc. have teamed with its entertainment partner Inspire to launch its own online music website www.nFinanSeMusic.com. The website offers free downloads of new artists and targets the audience of young adults aged 18 to 25.

“Music is an integral part of each of our lives and we want to use it to connect the nFinanSe brand with the young fans of the emerging, cutting edge artists featured at nFinanSeMusic.com,” said Jerry R. Welch, Chairman and CEO of nFinanSe.

Gemalto has launched its World Traveler program, which includes a globally accepted dual interface EMV payment microprocessor card and complete issuance service for U.S. banks and card issuers.

Under the program US banks and card issuers will be provided with a complete end-to-end portfolio of service offerings including return on investment (ROI) and technical consulting to ensure a quick and easy introduction of this product to their top tier customers.