NEWSCard Activation Technologies Inc., owners of patented POS technology for the activation and processing of transactions related to gift, phone and other stored-value cards, settled its lawsuit against OfficeMax Inc. Details of the settlement remain confidential.
A federal grand jury in Miami indicted five individuals for allegedly engaging in a fraudulent prepaid phone card sales operation, said the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. According to the indictment, the defendants were involved with Global Resources Inc., a company that sold prepaid business opportunities. Potential opportunity purchasers were told that for approximately $15,000, GRI would provide terminals, numerous prepaid cell phones, advertising material and other forms of assistance. They were purportedly also promised they would earn their investments back in approximately six months to a year.The nine-count indictment charged the defendants with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Some of the defendants were also charged with aiding and abetting the fraudulent activities. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years on each count, possible fines and mandatory restitution.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is promoting its Home Safe Card in advance of Super Bowl XLIII. Each time the prepaid, Discover Financial Services-branded card is purchased, a portion of the proceeds are donated to MADD to support education against drunk driving.
At a Jan. 20, 2009, ceremony in Dallas, prepaid card distributor NetSpend Corp. and check cash chain store operation ACE Cash Express Inc. presented five Dallas-area families with $100 March of Dimes prepaid reloadable debit cards.
The families selected to receive the cards had completed Comenzando Bien, a prenatal education program sponsored by the not-for-profit March of Dimes Foundation and the Dallas branch of Avance, an organization that serves families in low-income, at-risk communities.
ANNOUNCEMENTSGift and loyalty card marketer Alliance Data Systems Corp. signed a multiyear deal to provide co-branded and private-label card services to the interactive lifestyle network and retailer HSN, a division of HSN Inc.
Dynamic Card Solutions LLC reported a 2008 increase in customers, number of product orders and revenue: Its customer base grew to more than 442 financial institutions; revenue increased 23 percent compared to 2007; DCS issued 72 CardWizard Software licenses for instant issue and had numerous existing customers expand their deployments of the company's software and hardware.
Event Innovation Inc. developed a stored-value solution for stadiums, arenas and performing arts centers. The company's Ovation online social network integrates with existing POS and ticketing solutions. Event Innovation stated that, at domestic and international events where stored-value systems are employed, users typically increase spending from 18 to 40 percent.
Contactless chip maker Inside Contactless received global media company Red Herring's Top 100 Global Companies award. The Red Herring editorial team selected Inside Contactless after an evaluation process that included financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy and ecosystem integration metrics.
In 2008, Moneygram International added 13 countries and territories and more than 33,000 locations to its global network. In 2006, Moneygram launched its "owned-retail" strategy in France and Germany. Coun-tries and territories recently added to Moneygram's global network include Serbia, French-speaking Algeria, Central African Republic, Comoros, French Polynesia, Gabon, Madagascar and New Caledonia. Other countries include Angola, Bermuda, Bhutan, Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovenia.
Prepaid Expense Card Solutions Inc. released its administrative interface. PECS is the provider of the PEX Visa Prepaid Card, issued by The Bancorp Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bancorp Inc. The PEX Card administrative Web site helps companies control spending on cards issued to employees by setting merchant category restrictions, daily spending limits and, now, automated funding options for replenishing card balances.
Foreign exchange specialists Tor Currency Exchange Ltd. (TorFX) rolled out the MasterCard Worldwide-branded Travel Money Card. The prepaid card allows users to buy euros or U.S. dollars at commercial exchange rates by registering online and paying by debit card.
PARTNERSHIPSPayroll program manager Payoneer Inc. teamed with reseller management solutions distributor Avangate to offer Avangate's vendors and affiliates the Avangate Prepaid MasterCard.
Zbill Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Payment Data Systems, reached an agreement with an undisclosed company to add PDS' private-label bill payment services to its payroll card programs. The undisclosed company reportedly is a leading provider of stored-value cards and transaction processing services to a variety of industry segments.
APPOINTMENTSPrepaid processor i2c tapped Stephen Diamond as its Vice President, Client Account Management. Diamond has 30 years' experience in the payments industry, with eight years of prepaid experience and a background in business and product development, strategic marketing and risk management. Diamond was a senior business leader of prepaid products at Visa Inc.
MasterCard appointed Matthew Lanford to the position of Senior Business Leader, Europe Prepaid Product Development. Lanford will assume regional responsibility for innovation, product development, go-to-market strategy and commercialization of the MasterCard portfolio of prepaid products.
InComm hired Mark Leonard as its Executive Vice President of Business Development. Leonard will be responsible for developing new revenue opportunities, spearheading mergers and acquisitions; he will also oversee strategic projects. Leonard most recently served as Group Vice President of Alliances at Blackhawk Network.
MoneyGram Intl. appointed Pamela Patsley Executive Chairman of its board of directors and named Anthony Ryan President and Chief Executive Officer. Ryan also was elected to MoneyGram's board of directors. Patsley spent seven years at First Data Corp., most recently as President of First Data International, where she was responsible for the company's business interests outside the United States. Ryan joined MoneyGram in 1995 and has been responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of the company since June 2008.
ECommLink Inc. reorganized its executive team. Ennio Ponzetto was promoted to CEO and will oversee all domestic business. Victor Newsom was promoted to COO, and Paul Smith was hired as Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development.
In addition, Raymond Lu was appointed Senior Vice President, Engineering and named Chairman of the eCommLink Technology Steering Committee. And T. Jack Williams was named Corporate Development Officer.
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