Card Notes
November/December 2007
DEBIT CARDS
Pressure continues for
third scheme in Europe
All the signs are that the European Central Bank, in its role as cheer-leader for a European debit scheme, is making progress towards its objectives. While the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes looks capable of playing a role at the margin in some eurozone countries, the ‘Falkensteiner group’ of big eurozone banks is potentially a much more serious contender.
More spin from DG Competition’s ‘spokesman’
Following rejection by the European Court of First Instance of Groupement des Cartes Bancaires’ legal action to annul the European Commission’s investigation into its practices (ECR, Sept/Oct p4), DG Competition has addressed a decision to GCB stating that it infringed the EC Treaty’s Article 81, which prohibits anti-competitive behaviour.
SMART CARDS
EMV migration – not yet half-way
Though some eurozone countries have effectively completed their EMV migration, notably France, Ireland and Luxembourg, some have yet to make a serious start. As of spring 2007, EMV compliance was 42% for cards, 47% for POS terminals, and 61% for ATMs, according to analysis provided by the European Payments Council (EPC) and published in Capgemini’s World Payments Report.
PAYMENTS PROCESSING
Swedish banks continue their drive for economies of scale
The restructuring of payments processing in Sweden, which reflects the country’s open economy and banking links around the Nordic and Baltic region, just as much as the SEPA process, has continued with a partnership between VocaLink and Bankgirocentralen (BGC).
Equens links with ICBPI
Equens and Seceti, the payments processing subsidiary of the ICBPI group of banche popolari – popular banks – in Italy are to establish a joint new company, Equens Italia, under Equens’ current holding structure. This follows the agreement announced in June for Seceti and Equens to clear their SEPA ‘cross community’ payments via each other as from January 1 2008 (ECR, July/Aug, p34), and appears to be a response from ICBPI to the formation of SIA-SSB, the dominant Italian processor.
ACQUIRING
euroConex rebrands
After its acquisitions and change of control over the past two years, US Bank’s merchant acquiring processor euroConex has rebranded itself as Elavon and has emerged as the fourth biggest card processor in Europe, after Streamline, Barclays and Crédit Agricole. CEO Roger Alexander says payments processed are expected to reach 620 million and turnover of €44 billion in 2007.
