Among the initial changes was an increase in the Merit III transactions (electronically authorized and settled cardholder debit and credit card purchases) to 1.4 percent, plus 10 cents per transaction, up from 1.38 percent plus 10 cents. Additionally, the supermarket standard rate rose to 1.2 percent, up from 1.15 percent.
   However, those and other rates weren't set in stone. The card issuers are known to react to each other's interchange rates, and Visa's are released after MasterCard's. So these and other rates announced earlier could very well change.

   The case started in 1996 when certain retailers and retail trade associations filed suit against Visa and MasterCard International. The plaintiffs claimed that the card issuers and their member banks have violated federal antitrust laws by forcing merchants who accept either company's credit cards to also accept the debit cards. The merchants claim this has caused them to pay excessive fees on online, PIN-based debit transactions, and "have injured the competition, merchants and consumers."
   The plaintiffs seek an injunction prohibiting Visa and MasterCard from engaging in the alleged violations and the recovery of damages for the alleged excess portion of fees paid on Visa and MasterCard credit and debit transactions and on online PIN-based debit transactions, as well as costs and attorneys' fees.
   The plaintiffs are asking for more than $13 billion in damages.

   The New Orleans-based company has at least 4,200 ATMs under contract, primarily in hotels. Robert Cannon, former Momentum CEO and now President of Innovus' Momentum division, says the new company will be nationwide in scope. It also will create new product offerings and have access to growth capital through First Bank. First Bank will supply Innovus with financing as needed by Innovus' clients as part of the agreement.
   Infinity Data Corporation recently signed an agreement with Lipman, valued at approximately $1.8 million dollars, to purchase and deploy thousands of NURIT POS terminals over the next 14 months. Infinity is an ISO providing "Class A" support for NURIT POS Solutions.
   Infinity's primary focus is the NURIT 2085 Card Payment Terminal and the NURIT 3000 series Countertop Payment Solutions. The ISO also sells and supports NURIT wireless POS solutions, a growing industry segment within the Infinity client portfolio.
   "NURIT terminals represent about 95% of our business, due to their user-friendly interface and intuitive menu structure," stated Brian Mills, President of Infinity Data Corp. "The combination of these two features makes it simple to train our help desk [employees] and provide first-rate ŚClass A' support for our merchants. This is why we remain loyal Lipman customers."

   The Visa POS check acceptance system provides direct online access to consumer demand deposit accounts for authorization, similar to credit and debit card transactions. TouchNet will be the first company to offer this new service to the higher education market for checks initiated over the Internet and at the point-of-sale.
   The new service is expected to help TouchNet customers reduce risk and processing costs associated with accepting checks by utilizing Visa's real-time authorization network, VisaNet. Other existing check acceptance systems typically rely on a variety of historical databases, or negative files, to electronically process check transactions. Using TouchNet solutions, checks accepted via the Internet and/or at the point of sale can be immediately converted into electronic items.

   Rather than requiring merchants to purchase new systems, ViVOpay enables them to easily and cost-efficiently upgrade their current magnetic-stripe POS to accept payment from contactless cards.
   ViVOtech also accepts both forms of payment cards - the new contactless cards or the traditional magnetic stripe - without altering the hardware. By avoiding expensive and time-consuming replacement of current hardware, installment of new software, and upgrading of transaction networks, ViVOpay could enable the retail and financial industries to save billions of dollars in capital expenditures.
   "ViVOtech is answering the emerging needs of the proximity payment marketplace," said Jorge Fernandes, ViVOtech CEO. "Interoperability with existing POS systems is mission-critical for merchants looking to incorporate convenient contactless solutions at a low cost. Utilizing existing hardware not only hastens the adoption of proximity payment solutions with merchants, but also gives a boost to card issuers, acquirers, and ISOs."
   ViVOpay is designed to accept RF payments, as well as infrared proximity payment technologies -- using the same system. In addition to contactless cards, consumers will soon be able to make payment by pointing or clicking their cell phones or PDAs.

   The convenience store chain plans to install Vcom kiosks in 1,000 of its stores by the end of May and, based upon the kiosks' performance, the company could deploy an additional 2,500 kiosks in its stores starting in late 2003. Customers also will be able to use their Vcom stored value cards for most purchases within the store and at the gasoline pump.
   Using Alliance Data's Dynamic Value program, which combines stored value and loyalty marketing functionality, 7-Eleven stores' Vcom kiosks will begin offering this spring the ability for consumers to store money on the Vcom card after either cashing checks at the kiosks or loading cash onto the card. Vcom members can later benefit from new loyalty capabilities that can include real-time, point-based rewards and other customized loyalty programs developed by 7-Eleven and Alliance Data.

   Finali's netSage Virtual Agent, now offered by First Data, answers consumers' questions during the purchase process, using links and pre-determined script to answer as many as 50 different customer questions regarding pricing, required information to purchase a card, etc.
   If the virtual agent can't answer a question, it will "upgrade" the customer to a live agent for a Web chat session, featuring a text-based discussion with a live agent. If that doesn't work, the virtual agent or the human agent on the text chat can provide the consumer with a toll free number for further information.

   First Horizon Merchant Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Tennessee Bank National Assoc. Terms of the transaction, which closed Jan. 3, were not disclosed.
   "The expertise, customer focus and leadership skills of the MCMS team will be tremendous assets in the resort market," said Frank Jacobsen, Senior Vice President of FHMS. "They share First Horizon's commitment to building valuable and lasting relationships with their customers."
   MCMS was formed in 1992 and quickly focused on the ski resort industry, currently supporting more than 50 ski areas in the U.S. Providing processing, host-based and LAN-based loyalty card solutions, networked terminal applications and customized transaction reporting has given MCMS above-average client retention. MCMS's client base also includes other travel and entertainment merchants as well as general retail.

   If Target doesn't derive additional loyalty from the smart card experiment, McPherson doubts that other major retailers will opt for the chip-based cards over the traditional magnetic stripe cards. The latter are much less costly to produce.
   If the pilot is successful in generating additional customer loyalty, the number of smart cards and devices, like the Exxon Mobil Speedpass, could double to nearly 70 million in the next 12 months, according to McPherson.

   During the first nine months of 2002, the latest figures that were available at press time, holders of those company's debit cards conducted nearly 6 billion signature-based transactions, compared to 4.8 billion during the first nine months of 2001.
   Total debit card spending during that period increased by a similar percentage, growing from just under $185 billion in the first three quarters of 2001 to nearly $230 billion in the first three quarters of 2002. More growth is expected in 2003.

   "We interpret this growth as a positive sign that online retail is alive and well, though growing at a slower pace than in previous years. Online retail continues to grow while offline retail has suffered because it is becoming a more mainstream shopping channel. Moreover, the ongoing growth of Internet usage continues to bring more potential online shoppers/buyers to the table," says Lori Iventosch-James, Harris Director of e-business research.