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American Express Profit Boosted by Higher Cardmember Spending

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By Reuters

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Credit card company American Express Co.’s quarterly revenue came in below analyst expectations as cardmember spending growth remained muted.

Cardmember spending in the first quarter increased 7 percent, adjusted for foreign currency translations. This was the fourth successive quarter of single-digit growth after nine quarters of double-digit growth.

Expense accounts have come under greater scrutiny as companies look to cut costs to protect profit margins, hurting the credit card lender, which gets more than a quarter of its U.S. billed business from affluent corporate customers.

However, American Express‘s billed business was up 6 percent at $224.5 billion and total cards in force crossed 100 million during the quarter.

The company has the lowest delinquency rate among the large credit card companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Discover Financial Services, Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (C).

It set aside $497 million to cover future bad loans in the quarter, 21 percent more than it had provisioned last year, reflecting its larger lending portfolio.

American Express Co. (AXP), which lends directly to consumers and also competes with Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA) to process credit card transactions, said global network and merchant services revenue increased 4 percent to $1.3 billion.

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Consolidated expenses during the quarter remained in check, rising marginally, as the company looks to control costs and maintain a leaner operating structure.

The company said in January it would cut about 5,400 jobs as part of a global restructuring and took a related $600 million charge.

Profit for the quarter ended March 31 rose to $1.28 billion, or $1.15 a share, from $1.26 billion, or $1.07 a share, a year earlier.

Total revenue, net of interest expense, increased 4 percent to $7.88 billion.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.12 a share on revenue of $8.03 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

American Express shares were marginally down in trading after the bell. They closed Wednesday at $64.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/18/american-express-earnings/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

ADP® Renews Agreement with Visa amid Rising Adoption of U.S. Prepaid Cards

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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ADP ® Renews Agreement with Visa amid Rising Adoption of U.S. Prepaid Cards

Four Million Checks Lost Annually Cost Businesses $8 to $10 per Replaced Check 1

FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Visa Inc. (NYS: V) and ADP today announced an agreement to offer employers the ALINE Pay by ADP® electronic payroll program. The ALINE Pay program includes the award-winning ALINE Card by ADP®, a Visa prepaid card that can be integrated into an organization’s current payroll system as a standalone product or as part of the ALINE Pay solution. The agreement is a multi-year extension of their existing relationship that helps make employer payroll more efficient.

“Increasingly, employees are benefitting from the prepaid suite of products for receiving payroll with immediate and secure access to their funds, especially underbanked and unbanked employees who have limited or no access to traditional banking relationships,” said Brian Triplett, head of North America prepaid products, Visa Inc. “By working together, Visa and ADP continue to help businesses address the needs of an evolving workforce, while saving time and money with a paperless solution.”

“As a leader in payroll distribution and processing, ADP helps organizations streamline payroll administration by enabling them to make the switch to 100 percent electronic payroll,” said Gary Lott, ADP general manager and division vice president, ADP Electronic Payments, Unemployment Claims, Employment Verification and Wage Garnishment Services. “Through the ALINE Card and our agreement with Visa, we’re empowering today’s workforce to save money and time through online bill pay, mobile access, account balance alerts via text or email and the ability to make purchases in stores, online and over the phone.”

The electronic payroll solution ALINE Pay by ADP®, which includes the ALINE Card by ADP®, provides employers of all sizes a convenient way to achieve 100 percent electronic pay. ALINE Pay is one component of ADP SmartComplianceSM, a cloud-based unified platform of outsourced services that helps medium and large businesses better manage payroll, tax and employment compliance.

Tweet This: @Visa & @ADP renew agreement for convenient #paycard option to employees with ALINE Card by ADP® http://bit.ly/11JXW05#ADPcompliance

About Visa:

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Overstock.com Joins Roster of 35 eCommerce Merchants that Accept V.me by Visa

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Overstock.com Joins Roster of 35 eCommerce Merchants that Accept V.me by Visa

Tweet this: Shopping for a table, t-shirt, or toothbrush and need to checkout fast? V.me and Overstock.com have you covered #eCommerce #shopping

FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Visa Inc. (NYS: V) today announced that Overstock.com, Inc. (NAS: OSTK) is the latest top eCommerce merchant to accept V.me by Visa payments. The discount retailer added V.me as a streamlined checkout option, making it simple to enroll in the digital wallet service and checkout using only a username and password.

Overstock.com joins other leading online merchants 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, LivingSocial, Newegg.com and 31 more since V.me’s launch. With annual online sales of more than one billion dollars, Overstock.com is among the top five most-visited mass merchandiser websites, selling a broad range of products including furniture, rugs, bedding, electronics, jewelry and cars.

“Overstock.com is a prime example of a top online merchant understanding the importance of a simple and secure checkout experience,” said Jennifer Schulz (@Jen_Schulz), global head of eCommerce, Visa Inc. “Delivering V.me to Overstock.com visitors means eliminating the time and hassle at checkout, time we’d all much rather spend shopping for great Overstock.com deals.”

Visa continues to make next-generation commerce a reality with V.me, partnering with 64 financial institutions including 13 of the top 25 U.S. banks. The free V.me wallet service is designed to simplify the eCommerce experience for merchants and consumers alike, whether shopping from a PC, laptop, or mobile device.

“V.me adds yet another quick, simple and safe method to purchase on Overstock.com,” said Dave Nielsen, co-president, Overstock.com. “Visa is a trusted and reliable brand that reinforces our commitment to our customers.”

To access V.me video, images and other editorial materials, please visit: www.corporate.visa.com

About Visa Inc.

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Travel Spend Rises Six Percent over 2011 to $57 Billion According to Visa Insights

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Travel Spend Rises Six Percent over 2011 to $57 Billion According to Visa Insights

FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– According to the 2012 Travel Snapshots released today by Visa Inc. (NYS: V) , Visa account holders continued packing their bags as aggressively as they did in 2011. According to VisaVue® Travel data, spending by Visa account holders traveling to Brazil, Canada, Mexico and United States jumped six percent to $57 billion compared to 2011.

VisaVue Travel Data Spending Highlights

  • China knocked the U.K. out of the top three inbound countries traveling to the U.S. for the first time since 2009 – increasing travel spend by 30 percent compared to 2011.
  • Visa account holders from Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. showed more interest in Japan, boosting tourism spend in the country by an average of 25 percent ($948M in 2012).
  • Visa account holders in Africa dramatically increased travel spending in the U.S. in 2012 by 17 percent, spending $585M on their Visa accounts. In fact, 80 percent of African countries with Visa account holders who traveled to the U.S. experienced double-digit growth in tourism spending in 2012.

“Tourism is a driver of economic growth, and Visa works closely with governments and tourism entities to seamlessly connect merchants and Visa account holders,” said Nick Talwar (@NickTalwar), head of North America Consumer Credit, Visa Inc. “For the past two years, we’ve seen an upward trend in international travel spend. And as it becomes easier for international travelers to safely pay for goods and services using electronic payments, more countries will experience the economic benefits that international travel brings to their overall revenues.”

Visa’s suite of travel products and services advances the value and reach of electronic payments as a key component of sustainable global tourism. Visa products offer account holders peace of mind in knowing they have the ability to make purchases at tens of millions of merchants worldwide, access to local currencies at more than 1.9 million ATMs, the protection of Visa’s Zero Liability Policy1 for fraudulent transactions and a range of travel perks and benefits which can save time and money.

To view complete copies of the 2012 Visa Travel Snapshot reports for the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil,click here <a target=_blank …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Safeway's Prepaid Card Issuer Files for IPO

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By 24/7 Wall St.

Credit cards

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The unit of Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) that issues gift cards and other prepaid and reloadable cards this morning filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering. The unit, which will be called Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc., will trade on the Nasdaq Exchange under the ticker symbol HAWK.

Safeway currently owns about 96% of Blackhawk and “will continue to hold shares of Class B common stock representing a significant majority of the combined voting power” of Blackhawk’s outstanding shares after the offering. The lead underwriters for the offering are Goldman Sachs, BofA/Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank Securities.

According to the filing, Blackhawk currently counts among its gift-card customers such high-profile companies as Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes. The company also serves the three large payment networks: American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA). Blackhawk also issues reloadable cards for Green Dot Corp. (NYSE: GDOT) among others, including its own PayPower brand.

Blackhawk’s filing indicates that the company will receive none of the net proceeds from the offering. Class A shares will have one vote and Class B shares will have 10 votes on all matters that are put to a shareholder vote.

According to the filing, Blackhawk posted net income of $48.165 million in 2012 on operating revenues of $959.07 million, up from $362 million in revenues and $22.7 million in operating profits in 2001, the year the company was founded.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Business Services, Financial Stocks, IPOs, Retail Tagged: AAPL, AMZN, AXP, GDOT, LOW, M, MA, SBUX, SWY, V

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Evolution1 Wins 2013 Paybefore Award

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Evolution1 Wins 2013 Paybefore Award

Industry Leader Provides Innovation, Simplicity in Healthcare Market

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Evolution1®, an established leader in the employee benefits debit card market, was recently chosen as a 2013 Paybefore Award winner in the Best Benefits Distribution Card Program category. The winning card program, Evolution1 Card Program for Taft-Hartley Trust Funds, in conjunction with Visa Inc.®, seeks to provide innovation and simplicity in healthcare, ultimately providing a better experience for consumers.

Evolution1 was chosen from a record number of entries from around the world. The Visa-branded employee benefits payment card enables union members to have a convenient, consumer-friendly card to access their health reimbursement account (HRA) pre-tax funds to pay for their current health care expenses.

“Visa has been vital to us and for the Evolution1 ecosystem,” said Jeff Young, chairman and CEO of Evolution1. “Innovation, security, and reliability are synonymous with Visa, and we’re proud to collaborate with them to simplify the business of healthcare.”

Chris Byrd, president and chief operating officer of Evolution1, recently participated in the 2013 Visa Prepaid Forum. He and other prepaid industry leaders served on a panel titled “Meeting Evolving Consumer Financial Needs”. The 10th annual event brought together a broad group of senior level attendees from the prepaid industry.

Visa will also have a strong presence at Evolution1 Partner Conference 2013, March 19 – 21 at Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida. Visa is a Gold Sponsor at the sixth annual premier Partner event where record attendance is expected.

About Evolution1

Evolution1 and our Partners serve more than 8 million consumers, making us the nation’s largest electronic payment, on-premise and cloud computing healthcare solution that administers reimbursement accounts, including Defined Contribution, HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, VEBAs, PRAs, Wellness, and Transit Plans. It is the only solution that offers a single end-to-end user experience, provides innovative auto-substantiation technologies, and automates workflow for Partners, employers, and consumers. Learn more at evolution1.com.

Evolution1
Tiffany Wirth, 701-499-7215
twirth@evolution1.com
www.evolution1.com/about-us/latest-news

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Florida  Minnesota  North Dakota

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Visa Named One of the World's Most Ethical Companies

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Visa Named One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies

Recognized by Ethisphere Institute for leadership in promoting ethical business standards

FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Visa Inc. (NYS: V) , the global payments technology company, today was recognized for leadership in business ethics when it was placed on the 2013 list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute, a leading international think tank. Visa joins a group of global brands who are dedicated to doing business with world-class ethical practices and promoting ethical business standards.

The Ethisphere Institute is dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption, and sustainability. This is the seventh year that the Institute has produced its annual list, and the first time Visa has earned a position on it since becoming a publicly-traded company in 2008.

“Visa is honored to be part of this group of companies who are committed to operating at the highest level of ethics,” said Ellen Richey, Chief Enterprise Risk Officer of Visa Inc. “This recognition reflects the commitment of Visa’s employees worldwide to the highest levels of ethical business practices and trust. Trust is critical to our business of enabling electronic commerce, and that’s what we’ve done for more than 50 years.”

Ethisphere uses a proprietary Ethics Quotient (EQTM) rating system to evaluate companies’ performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The EQ framework consists of five core evaluation categories including ethics and compliance program; reputation, leadership and innovation; governance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; and culture of ethics.

“Visa Inc. continues to set the bar within its industry for a number of its ethics programs,” said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute. “As more companies each year strive for recognition, Visa Inc. was added to World’s Most Ethical 2013 by demonstrating its strong commitment to ethical practices.”

Visa takes a comprehensive approach to ethical business practice, including industry-leading policies, trainings and programs. For example, Visa’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which applies to all employees and directors, emphasizes that honesty and integrity are of paramount importance in every activity. In addition, Visa’s Corporate Responsibility program is focused on areas where its business expertise and philanthropic contributions can contribute to financial inclusion, humanitarian support, community involvement, and responsible business practices.

View the complete World’s Most Ethical Companies 2013 …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

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Here Are Some Factors Driving PayPal's Rich Growth Prospects

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By Trefis Team, Contributor

Quick Take PayPal accounts for about 45% of our $54 price estimate for eBay eBay’s revenue growth over the past two years driven by PayPal’s The number of active accounts and payments per account are the driving factor behind PayPal’s revenues Expansion of PayPal’s services offline through card swiping device (PayPal Here), tie-up with Discover Financial Services and PayPal mobile app to drive revenue growth in near term eBay’s acquisition of PayPal in 2002 has proved to be an excellent strategic move that has helped the company come out of the 2008 recession stronger than before. The astonishing growth in PayPal’s revenues has been driving eBay’s overall revenue growth over the past couple of years as PayPal’s revenue growth over the past three years has averaged around 25% YoY. We expect PayPal to continue growing at similar rates for the next couple of years before the slowing down. Our forecasts for the next couple of years are supported by PayPal’s efforts to expand its presence offline. The company has entered into an arrangement with Discover Financial Services and launched hardware to enable payments through mobile devices and cards at merchant’s cash registers. Here we take a detailed look at factors that support our forecast that the number of payments per account on PayPal are going to increase from 1.6 per month to about 2.5 per month in 2019. PayPal has about 123 million globally active accounts which we expect to increase to 275 million by 2019. We expect growth in the number of active accounts and payments per account to drive the growth in Paypal’s revenues. Check out our complete analysis of eBay The Tie-Up With Discover Financial Services PayPal announced an arrangement with Discover in August last year which is expected to come into effect in the second quarter of 2013. As part of the deal, PayPal will issue payment cards to its more than 50 million active users in the United States over the next year. The new card will have a Discover Issuer Identification Number, or IIN, which is a code that identifies the card holder, and will allow users to buy from merchants that are part of Discover’s network. PayPal will charge merchants when users pay with the new cards, and, in turn, will pay Discover for access to its network, on a per-transaction basis. Paypal’s footprint will expand to cover an additional 7 million stores post the deal. We expect the enhanced ubiquity of the payment service will positively impact the number of transactions per PayPal account. However, PayPal, will face tough competition from other card companies such as Visa Inc., MasterCard and American Express. To be successful, PayPal will need to convince users that its low hassle payment method is better than the old stale version of transacting. Additional competition for PayPal will come from Square, the brainchild of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. PayPal Here As A Replacement For Cash Registers Besides the tie-up with Discover, PayPal also launched a point of sales solution, PayPal …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest