Fix that microfinance story
I am a frequent reader of The Green Sheet and usually find information that is useful to pass along to the members of our trade association. However, today in your article, "The United States of microfinance," I found two errors that gave me pause.
The first: "Treasury also plans to redouble efforts to get more recipients of federal payments to accept direct deposit and to enroll those who don't want to deal with banks in a prepaid debit card program using the MasterCard Worldwide Direct Express debit card. More than 12 million benefits recipients have signed up for the Direct Express card since it was introduced in 2008, according to a Treasury spokeswoman."
Treasury is not merely redoubling their efforts to get federal benefits recipients to use direct deposit - they have made it law! As of March 2011, all federal benefits recipients will be required to receive their benefits direct deposited either into bank accounts of their own or into the Direct Express card. Consumer groups are actually lobbying against this restrictive law, as for some people, a paper check is the best instrument for them to use to manage their finances.
The second: "Mango is the brainchild of two brothers, Roy and Bertrand Sosa, who previously founded NetSpend Corp. and sold the prepaid debit card company to Capital One Financial Corp. for a reported $700 million."
While it is true that the Sosas founded NetSpend, they did not sell it to Capital One. The acquisition of NetSpend by Capital One fell through; NetSpend remained independent and changed CEOs. Now NetSpend is in a quiet period awaiting their IPO.
This is the kind of information I expect The Green Sheet to be distributing to readers - not the other way around.
Cynthia Vega
Financial Service Centers of America Inc.
Cynthia,
Thank you for calling the errors in the lead article "The United States of microfinance" to our attention. In addition to printing your correction, we will also see that the HTML online version of the article is corrected.
We endeavor to produce an entirely accurate publication. We regret that we let you down this time and hope it doesn't happen again.
Editor
Statistics wanted
I've just subscribed to your service; I'm looking for industry statistics and information in order to put together a business plan.
Would you be able to direct me to where I could find transaction statistics like number, value, credit card versus debit, average swipe amount by types of retailer (for example, restaurant, gas, groceries)? Anything that could help me develop a forecast - also, any information on the large providers like PayTech and Electronic Payments.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Marcel Mercia
Cybersurf Internet Access
Marcel,
Thank you for subscribing to The Green Sheet. We have a wealth of information archived on our website, www.greensheet.com, but we have not organized the type of industry statistics you seek in a central location. But you can develop a good sense for the market by reviewing back issues of the GSQ, a quarterly available on our website for download. Each issue delves into a specific topic, for example, top acquirers, payment security requirements and technology issues.
In addition, a search function, Fast Finder, in the upper left-hand corner of our home page can locate articles in past issues of The Green Sheet that contain relevant information. This will likely be helpful to you in learning about specific companies and markets.
Please note, however, that we are a trade magazine and not a consulting service.
Editor
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