MasterCard Rings Up 23% Profit, But Below Forecasts
February 4, 2010 by Staff
Filed under Latest News & Financial Reform

A day after its dominant rival posted higher-than-expected earnings, MasterCard came in below analysts’ estimates with a 23 percent profit increase for the fourth quarter. The No. 2 card payments network saw single-digit growth in both dollar volume and processed transactions, compared to double-digit increases in transactions reported this week from rival Visa.
Twitter Founder’s Credit Card Device Faces Challenges

With much fanfare recently, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey started public testing of a new device, dubbed Square, that attaches to an iPhone and accepts the swipe of a credit card for small business owners. But the outlook has changed for the start-up that would cater to business owners who can’t deal with the cost or hassles of merchant accounts. A long-established company in the credit card transactions business will beat Square to market with a smart phone card reader, PAYware Mobile, which also targets low-volume businesses.
Merchants to Get $1B Left from Visa/Mastercard Settlement
December 8, 2009 by Staff
Filed under Latest News & Financial Reform

Checks totaling more than $1 billion will be mailed this week to more than a half million merchants in the final payouts from Visa and Mastercard stemming from a 2003 lawsuit settlement, said the National Retail Federation. The retailers alleged that Visa and Mastercard violated federal anti-trust law by requiring merchants who accept their credit cards to also accept their signature debit cards.
Report: Consumer Benefit Uncertain in Card Fee Debate
November 19, 2009 by Staff
Filed under Consumer & Credit Trends

Restricting fees that retailers have to pay banks for accepting credit cards could benefit consumers “if merchants reduced prices for goods and services,” congressional auditors concluded in a report today. But “identifying such savings would be difficult,” the report by the General Accounting Office found.

















