Companies remind card holders not to give personal information out over the phone, unless you called them yourself

A warning about a credit card scam that is spreading through Metro Moncton like wildfire is just a hoax, but there are still lessons to be learned from the tale, credit card companies say.
Even though the story is fake, it serves as a good reminder not to give out any personal information over the phone - unless it is you who initiated the call to your financial institution or credit card company.
The hoax has been going around the Internet for years.
As the story goes, someone purporting to be from Visa or MasterCard calls, saying your card has been flagged for unusual activity. Unbeknownst to you, they already have your credit card number, your name and your address. They gain your confidence by using this information and convince you to read the three-digit security code on the back of the card, which they then use to make online purchases or cash withdrawals.
In fact, the story is an urban myth that has been making the rounds for years.
Nevertheless, say banks and credit card providers, the tale serves as an opportunity to remember that it's never a good idea to give out personal information to strangers.
"No bank, retailer or credit card company will contact you with the request to provide personal information or passwords by phone, in an e-mail or online," MasterCard Canada's Tony Maraschiello says.
"If you initiate the call to your financial institution or credit card company directly, it is safe to verify this information."

URL: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1417421


 

Jim Renacci gets help from Visa, Mastercard while they try to stop fee limits. But he's hardly unique.

By Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Large banks and credit card issuers such as Visa and Mastercard  have tried to block a federal rule that will limit the amount they can charge merchants for processing debit-card transactions. Congressman Jim Renacci of Ohio sides with the card companies, saying the government should stay out of the fee-fixing business. So far, though, Renacci and others have failed. The restrictions on so-called swipe fees, which are supposed to help consumers and merchants (but could result in the banks looking for money elsewhere, including higher checking account fees), are scheduled to take effect July 21.
So what can Visa and Mastercard do?
There's always golf.
Visa and Mastercard's political action committees hosted a golf fund-raising outing on Monday for Renacci, the former Wadsworth mayor who's in his first year in the House of Representatives. Held at the Washington Golf and Country Club in Arlington, Va., the fund-raiser's participation fees started at $1,000, according to an invitation obtained by PartyTime, the Sunlight Foundation's fund-raising transparency blog. 
Renacci is on the House Financial Services Committee. Banks and credit cards are part of his legislative portfolio. That's why good-government groups like Sunlight raise eyebrows at these kinds of fund-raising relationships. But Renacci's spokeswoman, Karin Davenport, says her boss's legislative and political activities are driven by core beliefs in the effectiveness of the private market, not some craven quest for campaign dollars.
"Whether from individual donors or political action committees, the decision making process behind political donations is a topic that can only be addressed by those making the donations," Davenport said when asked about the golf outing. "As for Congressman Renacci's position on interchange fees, he has always been a supporter of the free market and an opponent of government price fixing on any item, whether on the price of milk, a loaf of bread or the cost of swipe fees."
A Sunlight report in April said that for the first three months this year, Renacci got 36 percent of his political donations from the banking, insurance and real estate industries. It could have been worse. Seven of the 10 freshman Republicans on the committee got at least 40 percent of their campaign cash from those industries in the first quarter of the year.
Steve Stivers, a Coumbus Republican, ranked second among the freshmen, at 58 percent, according to Sunlight.
This is a perennial issue, and the potential for conflicts is driven partly by lawmakers' need to raise money for elections. This blog noted earlier this week that Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who has filed to run for U.S. Senate, came to Washington on Monday to raise money at the offices of lobbyists with interests before Congress.
But what about Democrats?
They do it too. Sen. Sherrod Brown was to be the beneficiary of a fund-raising breakfast on Wednesday hosted by the Fluor Corp. PAC, according to Sunlight, but Brown's office says the event was canceled. Fluor is a global construction company with government contracts and a host of interests that can be affected by Washington, including energy and military matters.
In April, the National Association of Realtors' PAC hosted a Brown fund-raising breakfast. Brown is on the Senate Banking Committee, chairing its financial institutions panel and serving on its housing subcommittee. The Realtors have a stake in how the committee will handle mortgage and credit-worthiness issues in the wake of the recession and mortgage meltdown.
The broken-record question, then: Is the lawmaker getting a favor, in the form of a fund-raising event, from a group that could benefit from his vote or legislative sponsorship? Taken even further, is there a quid pro quo?
"Absolutely not," maintains Brown spokeswoman Meghan Dubyak. "The senator has a long record of independence and of standing up to special interests and putting the people of Ohio first."
Congess isn't the only branch of government where these issues arise. Worth reading is a new report from the Center for Public Integrity on President Barack Obama and bundlers, or individuals who helped raise large sums for his 2008 election. The title: "Obama rewards big bundlers with jobs, commussions, stimulus money, government contracts and more."

URL: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/06/jim_renacci_gets_help_from_vis.html



 


 


 

Spat between Visa, China UnionPay spills into BC Card

SEOUL -- The world's largest payment network Visa has been in a one-year-long battle with China's biggest electronic payment network China UnionPay over royalty payments.

The battle is poised to enter a new phase as South Korea's leading credit card firm BC Card plans to file a case against Visa with the country's antitrust watchdog over the issue.

"BC Card plans to file a complaint against Visa with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) over its unfair transaction activities by end-June," an official at the South Korean card firm told Xinhua.

According to the official, Visa has recently imposed fines of a combined $100,000 on BC Card claiming that the local credit card firm did not process international transactions through the VisaNet payment system.

Visa has required international transactions to be processed only through its network, warning fines will be imposed on the partners disobeying the rules.

BC Card said Visa forcefully withdrew $50,000 from its settlement account as it used the network established between BC Card and China UnionPay for international transactions.

Chinese holders of UnionPay card co-branded with BC Card do not have to pay the normal 1 percent service charge for transactions in South Korea, but Visa imposed fines on BC Card over not using the VisaNet system.

Another fine of $50,000 was imposed on BC Card as the local card issuer processed international transactions through the network set up between BC Card and Star Network, a US automated teller machine (ATM) firm.

After starting cooperation with China UnionPay in January 2005, BC Card sealed a business partnership with Star Network in October 2009, enabling BC Card customers to get card services with no need of paying the 1 percent service fee for international transactions.

BC Card said its alliance with UnionPay and Start Network has benefitted both the card issuer and its customers because the card firm does not need to pay royalties to Visa, with its customers saving the 1 percent charge for international transactions.

South Korea's credit card issuers pay 0.2 percent of card bills for international transactions as royalties to Visa, and 0.04 percent for local transactions. Royalties paid to foreign payment networks such as Visa and MasterCard reached 180 billion won ($166 million) in 2010.

Users of local credit card normally pay the 1 percent service charge for international transactions to foreign payment networks, with the charges amounting to 80 billion won last year.

This is half the story, however. Visa has been locked in battle with China UnionPay over royal payments for one year.

Back in June 2010, Visa said it will stop banks from using China UnionPay's payment system to settle international transactions for co-branded Visa and UnionPay credit cards, warning penalties will be charged if they do not obey the rule.

Visa argued that it was simply enforcing its existing regulations that require global transactions to be processed through the VisaNet system, adding it was not specific to China UnionPay.

In response to that, the banking card association said Visa does not have the right to block the use of its own payment network for dual-currency credit cards abroad.

China UnionPay also noted it is unfair to pay royalties for co- branded credit cards to settle domestic transactions.

As the sole bank card processor in China, China UnionPay's overseas presence has grown significantly, with its cards accepted in more than 90 countries and regions.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-06/27/content_12784785.htm

     

Oceanic Bank ATMs now accepts master card

In another move aimed at delivering convenient and accessible services to its teeming customers, Oceanic Bank has announced that its ATMs can now accept Euromoney MasterCard and Visa.
This connotes that all foreign and local cardholders in Nigeria can now take advantage of Oceanic Bank’s extensive ATM Network for their daily transactions like cash withdrawals, bill payments, mobile recharge and non financial transactions such VISA iPIN for internet based transactions.
According to a statement released by the Bank, the bank’s extensive ATM network is available to all such cardholders, including those without existing account relationships with Oceanic Bank. “The beauty of the EMV (EuroMoney, Master Card and Visa) platform is that any Chip+PIN card, foreign or local, can conveniently access their bank accounts on EMV-compliant ATMs like those of Oceanic Bank.
The statement further stated that “ a bank customer from the UK can conveniently withdraw the Naira equivalent of funds in his foreign bank account from any of Oceanic ATMs in Nigeria; similarly, any other local bank customer can use his Visa Card and MasterCard/Verve Combo to withdraw cash from an Oceanic ATM”.
Oceanic Bank applauds the strategic direction of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in advocating the upgrade of all bank cards to the more secure EMV, Chip+PIN platform.
This development has assisted the e-payment sector to restore customer confidence and promote the associated benefits of embracing alternatives to cash transactions in line with CBN policy.
In a related development, Oceanic Bank has recently upgraded all its ATMs to enable cardholders get their Visa Card Internet Personal Identification Number (iPIN) required for purchases on the web.
This connotes that all foreign and local cardholders in Nigeria can now take advantage of Oceanic Bank’s extensive ATM Network for their daily transactions like cash withdrawals, bill payments, mobile recharge and non financial transactions such VISA iPIN for internet based transactions.
According to a statement released by the Bank, the bank’s extensive ATM network is available to all such cardholders, including those without existing account relationships with Oceanic Bank. “The beauty of the EMV (EuroMoney, Master Card and Visa) platform is that any Chip+PIN card, foreign or local, can conveniently access their bank accounts on EMV-compliant ATMs like those of Oceanic Bank.
The statement further stated that “ a bank customer from the UK can conveniently withdraw the Naira equivalent of funds in his foreign bank account from any of Oceanic ATMs in Nigeria; similarly, any other local bank customer can use his Visa Card and MasterCard/Verve Combo to withdraw cash from an Oceanic ATM”.
Oceanic Bank applauds the strategic direction of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in advocating the upgrade of all bank cards to the more secure EMV, Chip+PIN platform.
This development has assisted the e-payment sector to restore customer confidence and promote the associated benefits of embracing alternatives to cash transactions in line with CBN policy.
In a related development, Oceanic Bank has recently upgraded all its ATMs to enable cardholders get their Visa Card Internet Personal Identification Number (iPIN) required for purchases on the web.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/06/oceanic-bank-atms-now-accepts-master-card-2/

 
  

Justice Department Seeks OK for Pact With Visa, MasterCard

By DAVID BENOIT

The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal court in New York to approve a settlement it reached last year with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over an antitrust suit that alleged the card industry was illegally forcing consumers to use certain cards.
Visa and MasterCard had settled with the Justice Department before the allegations were made public last October, agreeing to end restrictions on merchants and allowing merchants to offer discounts, rebates or other incentives to get customers to use cards with lower merchant fees, such as "plain-vanilla" cards with no rewards or points programs.
The Justice Department slapped American Express Co. with a civil antitrust suit in October after the company refused to join the industrywide agreement. AmEx is fighting the case, contending the settlement potentially hands Visa and MasterCard more market power because it would permit merchants to direct away customers from AmEx, which typically charges merchants higher fees.
Certain cards carry higher interchange fees for retailers—that is, the amount the card issuers charge per swipe.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department said in a filing in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., that it had received six public comments on the proposed settlement, but that none were enough to derail the settlement.
However, the Justice Department did note that some important points were raised by the merchant groups that did submit comments. For instance, the Justice Department described as "important" a comment from the Retail Industry Leaders Association expressing concern that merchants can't distinguish which cards carry higher interchange fees on sight.
The Justice Department said that it has worked with Visa and MasterCard and that they "will soon offer such an electronic means to differentiate among card types."
Still, the settlement left open questions and doubts for some merchants, including Retail Industry Leaders Association.
"We applaud the Department of Justice for attempting to address the major anticompetitive practices regarding steering and discounting; however, serious doubts remain as to whether the settlement offers merchants the tools they need to take action," said Katherine Lugar, executive vice president for public affairs at the group. "We expect Visa and MasterCard will continue to tie merchant's hands by not providing the information needed to give consumers the credit card discounts and other valuable incentives as intended by this remedy."
—Aparajita Saha-Bubna contributed to this article.

Visa & MasterCard gone. Rupay card, bring it on

Finally it's here! The much talked about India card which will replace global payment players MasterCard and Visa in India. CNBC-TV18's Gopika Gopakumar finds out more about the Rupay Cards.
It may not be long before the logos of Visa and MasterCard disappear from your plastic cards. Instead these will be replaced by an Indian name Rupay. This is the new card payment scheme launched by the National Payment Corporation of India, a company started three years back by 10 banks, to oversee all retail payment systems in India. Currently, all card payments are routed through Visa or Mastercard which process these transactions outside the country, but this may not be the case in the future.
"There should be something domestic. Payment information is very sensitive. So there has to be repository of payment information with some institution. Why should banks in India pay such high fee to MasterCard or Visa," AP Hota, CEO, National Payments Corporation of India said.
Currently, banks pay around Rs 300 crore every year to Visa and MasterCard for processing all debit and credit card payments. NPCI says Rupay will reduce the cost for both banks and customers.
"We believe that it's possible to reduce the processing fee that banks pay to MasteraCard and Visa by half if not more. Rupay will be aiming at reducing the cost for the bank," Hota added.
Bankers too feel Rupay will be a viable option.
Alok Mishra, CMD, Bank of India , said, “It is indigenous and will be cheaper. Most people here don't travel abroad nor do they need settlement for Visa, MasterCard. What they require is a settlement here. And I think Rupay will work for them.”
Rupay's strategy
To begin with it focuses on tying up with 82 regional rural banks and 100 urban cooperative banks. Having issued 10,000 debit cards, it now plans to scale up by issuing Aadhar-enabled financial inclusion cards.
NPCI says it will be a while before the commercial banks start issuing Rupay debit cards as most of them already have tie-ups with global players. Besides, the regulator favours competition in this segment and so unlike the Chinese, may not make it mandatory.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/visamastercard-gone-rupay-card-bring-it-on_559115.html