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Is the UK market moving towards a credit card sector dominated by MasterCard and a debit card sector dominated by Visa? The answer is clearly ‘Yes’ – the direction is established and only its full extent remains to be seen. It’s a remarkable fact that just five years ago, there were twice as many payments [...]

The post A tale of two brands appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.

Following HSBC’s recent decision to change its UK debit card brand from Maestro to Visa (ECR May/June 2008, p5) there are now rumours that the remaining large issuer of Maestro in the UK, Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to follow suit. RBS is refusing to comment on these speculations but if true, they could [...]

The post The future for Maestro appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.

Global Payments has agreed to form a joint venture with HSBC to provide payment processing services to merchants in the UK and internet merchants globally. The new company will operate under the name HSBC Merchant Services. In the UK at present HSBC Bank estimates that its merchant acquiring business commands an approximate 15% market share [...]

The post Processing deals by HSBC and KBC appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.

As predicted in ECR May/June 2008, JPMorgan Chase and First Data have agreed to end their joint venture, Chase Paymentech Solutions by the end of 2008. In reviewing the Chase Paymentech joint venture, both JPMorgan Chase and First Data concluded that the payments and merchant-acquiring businesses were core to their strategies and each owner’s share [...]

The post Chase Paymentech splits appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.

Murkier and murkier grow the prospects for interchange on payment card transactions in Europe, with read-through from the European Commission’s ‘guidance” on the framework for SEPA direct debit suggesting that Brussels is hardening its anti-interchange line. Issued by DG Competition, DG Markt and the ECB on September 4, the guidance on SEPA direct debit – [...]

The post Banks threaten SEPA go-slow appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.