3.3.2. Business developments

 
In October 2004, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling in Discover Card's favor that challenged exclusionary policies of Visa and MasterCard. Before this ruling, Visa and MasterCard would not allow banks to issue a Discover Card if they issued a Visa or MasterCard. Within days of the court ruling, Discover Card filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking damages from Visa and MasterCard. In 2005, Discover Card acquired PULSE, an electronic funds transfer association, allowing it to issue and market debit and ATM cards.

Shortly after the 2004 Supreme Court ruling, Discover also struck its first deal to have its card issued by another bank, GE Consumer Finance, which now issues three cards for retailer Wal-Mart and its wholesale warehouse stores, Sam's Club; transactions for both cards are processed on the Discover Network. Sam's Club exclusively accepted Discover Card for many years, although, since November 2006, it has also accepted MasterCard for purchases.

HSBC has also issued credit cards processed through the Discover Network, and branded with the Discover logo, since its acquisition of card issuer Metris in late 2005. Metris had originally signed an agreement with Discover in September 2005, only three months prior to the HSBC acquisition.

Morgan Stanley was long thought to want to sell the Discover Card business, and in April 2005, it announced that it would divest Discover Financial Services as an independent company within six months. However, by June industry sources reported that Morgan Stanley was reassessing its plan to spin off Discover. Finally, in August 2005, the company confirmed it would not sell Discover. In yet another reversal, in December 2006, Morgan Stanley announced it would, again, spin off Discover as a standalone company by the end of August 2007. The spin-off was finalized ahead of schedule, on June 30, 2007.

Source: wikipedia.org

3.3.2. Business developments

3.5.10. PayPass

 
MasterCard PayPass is an EMV compatible, "contactless" payment feature based on the ISO/IEC 14443 standard that provides cardholders with a simpler way to pay by tapping a payment card or other payment device, such as a phone or key fob, on a point-of-sale terminal reader rather than swiping or inserting a card.

In 2003, MasterCard concluded a nine-month PayPass market trial in Orlando, Florida, with JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and MBNA. More than 16,000 cardholders and more than 60 retailer locations participated in the market trial. In addition, MasterCard worked with Nokia, AT&T Wireless, and JPMorgan Chase to incorporate MasterCard PayPass into mobile phones using Near Field Communication technology, in Dallas, Texas.

In 2005, MasterCard began to roll out PayPass in certain markets. As of September 2008, the following financial institutions have issued the MasterCard PayPass:

1. Bank of America
2. JP Morgan Chase (available through its "blink" contactless feature in the United States)
3. Citibank (both MasterCard credit and debit cards)
4. HSBC Bank USA (debit card only)
5. Washington Mutual (WaMu Debit MasterCard with PayPass) "Gold & Platinum Debit Cards"
6. Key Bank (debit card only)
7. Citizens Bank and Charter One Bank (both MasterCard credit and debit cards)
8. Commonwealth Bank (Australia)
9. Garanti Bank (Turkey, available through its Bonus Trink Card)
10. Banco de Oro Universal Bank (Philippines, available through its BDO International ATM Card)
11. Bank of Montreal (Canada, available on most Mosaik cards issued after November 1, 2007)
12. President's Choice Financial (Canada)
13. CIMB Bank (Malaysia)
14. Bank Zachodni WBK SA (Poland)
15. Deutsche Kreditbank AG (Germany, issuer of Lufthansa Miles & More credit cards)
16. Natwest (United Kingdom), on Maestro cards; limited use in the London Docklands and City of London)
17. HSBC (United Kingdom), on credit cards; limited use in selected areas of London
18. Canadian Tire Options Mastercard (Canada)
19. Capital One (Canada)
20. Barclaycard (UK)
21. Shinhan Bank (South Korea)

A U.S. issued HSBC Debit MasterCard with PayPass can be used in the U.K.

Source: wikipedia.org

3.5.10. PayPass