MasterCard Rings Up 23% Profit, But Below Forecasts

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

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

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.