New products, services, and company news from Bank of America, Discover Financial, The Clearing House Payments Co., and more.

Continue reading "New Products, Services, and Company News from Bank of America, Discover Financial and others" »

Right around the corner is a world with neither cash nor payment cards. Contactless payments mechanisms—built into cell phones or even jewelry—are helping create this world, and the result will help change banking, thinks Theodore Iacobuzio, managing director of Tower Group’s executive research office.

The reality is that companies that once fed the banks’  payment networks—merchants, for instance—will be future competitors. But banks shouldn’t panic about this, any more than when, not so long ago, the Internet was supposed to be extinguishing banks. And banks won’t be disappearing now, either, thinks Iacobuzio: the anxiety over banking’s future, so prevalent in boardrooms around the country, is overdone.

Continue reading "Cash and Cards Are Both Endangered Species" »

The potential of cellphone-based mobile payments to eventually squeeze banks out of their central role in payments can already be seen in East Asia, says Andrei Hagiu, a principal at Market Platform Dynamics, and by ignoring it, American banks have nothing to lose but their business.

Hong Kong’s Octopus prepaid debit card (see inset) is one example: Issued by Hong Kong’s subway system and several other transportation companies—with no bank involved—Octopus cards drive about $2.2 billion in annual payments volume.

Continue reading "Mobile Payments: Japan Leads the Pack" »

Discover Card

www.discovercard.com

Discover Card, a division of Dean Witter, Discover and Co. (Riverwoods, IL; 39 million card accounts), has gone online in a big way. Cardholders can access their accounts on the Web at www.discovercard.com/discover/data/accountinfo.htm  and can download transactions directly into Microsoft Money 97 or 98 from the Web using ActiveStatement.

Users can access current account information and an archive of the previous six statements. An online sign-up form requires social security number and mother’s maiden name for security. Passwords are mailed to the cardholders’ billing address to arrive in 7-10 days. Passwords are selected by Discover and if lost the user must sign up again and wait 7-10 days for a new password. We think that’s a sound reissue policy, but cardholders shouldn’t have to wait 7-10 days, three or four would be plenty.

Sample Discover Card statement on the Web.

In a September mailing to cardholders, Discover touted its new online statement and cross-sold Discover Brokerage Direct, better known by its previous name, Lombard Brokerage. Discover cardholders are offered two free trades (worth up to $40) as an incentive to open a brokerage account. A telephone call is required to get a brokerage new account kit. No online sign-up option is offered. Lombard was renamed in June to take advantage of the more widely known Discover brand name. Lombard, acquired by Dean Witter in Dec. 1996, has been named best online broker by Barrons for the past two years.

Discover Card transactions can now be downloaded into Microsoft Money from the card’s Web.

The September mailing also included a 3.5 x 8.5 inch stuffer offering a free copy of Microsoft Money 98 for cardholders charging at least five purchases between Sep. 1 and Oct 31, 1997. Cardholders must mail receipts to Discover to claim their free software.

Contact: Stephen R. Miller is Chairman/COO at Discover Brokerage Direct; Robert E. Wood is EVP Card Marketing, 847.405.0900.

Web Tip

Discover includes an option to cancel account access. All the user has to do is enter their name, e-mail address, card number, and password to instantly disable account access. This is an excellent peace-of-mind feature that recognizes the perceived security issues surrounding the Internet. Every provider of sensitive online data should include this option.