Friday, December 13, 2002

MasterCard tests high-tech payments. The credit-card giant is trying out a new system designed to speed the payment process at check-out counters and replace cash transactions at places such as fast food restaurants. [source: CNET News.com] TaiwanNews.com: Mondex Taiwan expands card's reach to Hi-Life. Cash is good but a smart card is better, e-wallet advocate Mondex Taiwan said yesterday. Mondex Taiwan, a subsidiary of MasterCard, announced that 600 Hi-Life convenience stores would be accepting its store value card starting next Tuesday. "You can purchase anything from newspapers to pientang (lunchboxes) using our Mondex card," said company spokesman Harrison Hou. "You don't have to worry about loose change and large bills anymore." Mondex's electronic cash program can store value for up to five currencies and is globally inter-operable, said Hou. In Taiwan, cardholders are allowed to store up to NT$10,000 in their e-wallets, he continued. [source: Scott Loftesness] 12:00:34 PM

Indianapolis Star: New card makes credit a present. Chris O'Malley writes about the surge in interest in gift cards. "The proliferation of gift cards is tremendous," said Robert G. Markey Jr., vice president of consumer retail financial services at Bain & Co. in New York. Bain estimates that sales of gift cards -- proprietary store cards and Visa/MasterCard versions -- have grown from about $13 billion in 1998 to $38 billion in 2002, and "this may be on the low side," Markey said. [Scott Loftesness] 11:55:28 AM

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