PORTLAND, Maine

Maine banks and credit unions could face greater exposure to theft of credit and debit card numbers from the Hannaford Bros. Co. data breach than from the far-larger TJX Cos. breach because of the concentration of Hannaford supermarkets in the state, an official said Friday.

Maine has 51 Hannaford supermarkets and another 19 independent markets that sell Hannaford products, compared to just 15 TJX-owned stores. And people tend to spend more in supermarkets since they’re often shopping there once or twice a week, said John Paradise of the Maine Credit Union League.

“Food is one of those things that everyone needs, so of course the pool of users in the state would be much larger,” Paradise said. “We’re still trying to get our arms around it and figure out what the whole scope of it is.”

Already, the 68 credit unions that belong to the Maine Credit Union League are reissuing upward of 100,000 credit and debit cards to try to limit the amount of fraud, Paradise said.

Hannaford, based in Scarborough, disclosed Monday that 4.2 million credit and debit cards were exposed during a data breach and that 1,800 of the cards had been used fraudulently. The data breach affects Hannaford stores in the Northeast and Sweetbay stores in Florida. Both are owned by Delhaize America.

So far, the scope of the breach pales in comparison to the TJX data breach involving at least 45 million credit and debit cards, along with card users’ personal information.

Mark Walker of Maine Bankers Association agreed Friday about the potential for exposure for Maine banks and credit unions. “Clearly there is more potential risk because almost every Maine resident has shopped at a Hannaford’s, and many of them use credit cards and debit cards,” he said.

But Walker remained hopeful that the amount of fraud would be low because of the type of data breach and the fact that the hackers didn’t get access to information beyond card numbers and expiration dates.

“So far, we haven’t seen a lot of fraud,” Walker said Friday. Some banks are reissuing cards, while others are taking a wait-and-see attitude, he added.

Hannaford first became aware of unusual credit card activity on Feb. 27. Investigators discovered that the data breach began on Dec. 7; it was contained on March 10.

Hannaford warned customers to watch their credit and debit card statements and alert authorities in the event of unusual transactions. It also told customers to beware of hoax e-mails and calls from people claiming to represent Hannaford and seeking to collect personal information.

But Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Friday that consumers may want to take the additional steps of placing a fraud alert with one of the three major credit bureaus, ordering and examining credit reports, and contacting the fraud departments of card-issuing institutions.

She also encouraged consumers to consider placing a security freeze on their credit reports. The $5 cost is waived in the event of credit or debit card fraud.

The investigation was continuing Friday and Hannaford was still trying to sort out exactly what happened, said Carol Eleazer, Hannaford’s vice president for marketing.

“It was an attack and we don’t know who did it,” Eleazer said. “We don’t know if we’ll ever know. We’re all reeling from its effects.”

Source : Business Week

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VI11D80.htm

JAKARTA (AFP) — Credit card companies and Indonesian authorities said Tuesday they were investigating card counterfeiting estimated by police to have caused more than three billion dollars in losses.

“The estimate up to now is 30 trillion rupiah (3.24 billion dollars) in losses, but it could increase as we investigate further,” Indonesian national police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira told AFP.

Police are searching for Malaysian national Simon Woon, who is suspected of leading a ring here that produced counterfeit cards using bank customers’ identities.

MasterCard and Visa are working with police, though both declined to put a figure on losses.

“An investigation into a case of data compromise in Indonesia that affects all payment brands is ongoing and the full extent of the compromise is not yet known,” Visa said in a statement.

The company added that none of the identities had been stolen from its database.

MasterCard executive Barry Wong said in a statement sent to AFP it “promptly alerted banks of the account numbers that are potentially compromised.”

Police announced earlier this month the ring was uncovered during a raid related to drugs and gambling in a Jakarta apartment in which forged cards and the materials for making them were found.

From AFP

by: Bekki Kante

Raleigh, NC — Overseas telemarketers are using credit card offers to steal customers’ personal information.

The Attorney General’s office warns that scammers are using robo calls that promise better rates on credit cards to try to steal identity and run up charges in victims’ names.

“These scammers are out to steal your information and your money, not help you get a better credit card,” Attorney General Roy Cooper said. “If you get one of these calls, hang up and call my office instead.”

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division has gotten hundreds of reports from North Carolina consumers about prerecorded telemarketing calls from outfits with generic sounding names like “account services,” “customer accounts” or “card services.” As many as 20 people a week report getting the calls.

These robo calls tell consumers that they qualify for better rates on their credit cards and ask them to dial a one-digit number to be connected with a representative. People who respond get a sales pitch and are asked to share their credit card number and other personal financial information. The telemarketers have no intention of giving consumers better interest rates on their cards and instead use the information to commit identity theft and run up unwanted charges.

More than 300 North Carolinians have reported these calls to Cooper’s office in the past year, including many people who had placed their telephone number on the Do Not Call Registry. The recorded calls tell consumers to press a certain number to be placed on the telemarketer’s internal Do Not Call list but even people who take that step continue to get the calls.

Cooper’s office is investigating the scam which appears to originate overseas, probably using voice-over internet technology. The scammers have used several different “spoofed” caller ID numbers that don’t belong to a particular telephone account. Telemarketers who answer those numbers have been trained to not give out information that would help investigators track down their operation.

Under North Carolina law, pre-recorded sales pitches are illegal unless a live caller first introduces the call and asks you if you want to hear a recorded message. Legitimate credit card companies know about the law and are not using robo-calls to pitch their services in North Carolina.

“Fortunately, we haven’t heard from anyone yet who has fallen victim to this scam,” Cooper said. “But if you’ve responded to one of these pitches, it’s important to act fast to protect yourself from identity theft.”

People can go to www.noscamnc.gov for an ID theft victim tool kit and other helpful resources. To report getting one of these calls, call 1-877-5-NO-SCAM toll-free within North Carolina.

By Tracy Withers

March 19 (Bloomberg) — New Zealand consumer spending on debit, credit and store cards fell in February, adding to signs record- high interest rates and a slumping housing market are curbing domestic demand.

The value of transactions on electronic cards at retailers declined 0.1 percent from January, Statistics New Zealand said in an e-mailed statement today. Transactions excluding fuel and vehicle sales rose 0.6 percent.

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard kept the official cash rate unchanged at a record-high 8.25 percent this month to combat inflation, which is he expects will be above his target range until mid 2009. Slowing consumer spending suggests economic growth will slow sharply this year, increasing the prospect of rate cuts before Christmas.

“Spending has gone nowhere in the first two months of the year,” said Darren Gibbs, chief economist for Deutsche Bank AG in Auckland. “This is good news for the Reserve Bank. There could be an earlier and more substantial rate cut than expected.”

Bollard said on March 6 that interest rates may have to stay high for a “significant period.” Eight of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expect he will keep borrowing costs unchanged all year. Seven forecast a cut during 2008.

There is a greater chance of two quarter-point rate cuts in the fourth quarter, said Gibbs.

Housing Slump

“People are more cautious,” said Gibbs. “That reflects a lot of negative talk since the turn of the year around housing, the drought and offshore conditions.”

While Bollard has kept interest rates unchanged since July, the rising international cost of credit has prompted banks to raise home-loan rates.

A drought in the South Island and parts of the North Island has cut farm production.

House sales fell 32 percent in February and prices dropped to a 12-month low, according to Real Estate Institute figures.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday said he couldn’t rule out the possibility the economy may fall into recession.

Gibbs said regardless of whether there is a recession, growth will slow substantially this year to about 1 percent from 3 percent in 2007. That will provide the catalyst for rate cuts, he said.

Total card transactions, which include spending on medical services and utility payments that are not measured by retail sales figures, fell 0.2 percent from January, the statistics agency said.

The government statistician said the retail transactions series represents about 58 percent of total retail sales.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at twithers@bloomberg.net.

by Gerri Willis
Monday, March 17, 2008

Congress is holding hearings on legislation that aims to reform credit card industry abuses. While consumers may not see protections anytime soon, here are some top tips on how you can fight back now against credit card fees.

Watch your interest rate

Credit card companies reserve the right to change your interest rate at any time and for any reason.

If you make a late payment or go over your limit, your credit card interest rate could skyrocket to over 32%. And despite the recent spate of Federal Reserve cuts, some of the more popular cards have barely budged with their variable rates according to Bill Hardekopf of Lowcards.com.

Pay attention to your mail and notices from your credit card company. You may be mailed a notice of a rate increase and being given the choice to either close the account, or keep the card with the increased rate.

You’ll have to write an opt-out letter if you want to close the account. Keep in mind, there is no opt-out form, you have to write your own letter.

“Be sure to send it by certified mail,” says Hardekopf. If your opt-out letter is not received, your credit card company may automatically increase the rate.

If your rate increases, call and ask for a lower rate. If you have a good credit score and good payment history, don’t accept the rate increase. You can negotiate.

If they don’t lower your rate, then it is time to comparison shop to find a lower rate card.

You may also want to check your credit report. It is possible that your rate increased because your credit score dropped. Look for errors that should be corrected, or changes that you can make to improve your score.

Be wary of late fees

If you make a late payment you’re usually charged a penalty that can be $35, not to mention your interest rate could increase.

Right now, credit card companies are allowed to mail billing statements out two weeks before the statement is due. That means you need to send in your payment - stat. Sometimes companies even specify to the hour when a payment must be received in order to avoid late charges.

Make sure you follow the guidelines for late payments clearly. If you find that you just put your billing statements aside and forget about them, it may be worth your while to automate your payments. You can sign up for these services on your credit card’s web site.

Of course, since your credit card bills vary, you’ll want to keep a close eye on how much money you have in your checking account. And if you find that you really need a last-minute fix, you may be able to pay by phone. Keep in mind you may be charged a few dollars, but it’s better than the alternative.

Be aware of the gotchas

As I mentioned, rates, fees and terms of your credit card may change.

Your minimum payment due may increase according to Lowcards.com. For the most part your minimum payment due is 2%-2.5% of your balance. But that could be raised to 4% in some cases. And while transferring a high credit card balance to a card with lower rates can be a great move, it’s becoming more and more expensive.

It used to be that balance-transfer fees were capped at $75 or so. But more often credit card companies are getting rid of caps on balance transfer fees or increasing the fees, says Arnold of CardRatings.com.

The other pitfall with balance transfer fees is that you’ll only get that introductory rate on the amount you transfer.

“If you make more purchases on the card, you’ll be hit with a higher ongoing interest rate,” says Hardekopf. And sometimes you may get service fees for redeeming your credit card rewards.

“This $25 fee could be quite a surprise for people looking forward to their free airline ticket,” he says.

Copyrighted, Bankrate.com. All rights reserved.

This is the last article about American Express Story, you can read the other articles here :

American Express - Our Story Part 1

American Express - Our Story Part 2

American Express - Our Story Part 3

American Express - Our Story Part 4

FULL CIRCLE
More than 4,000 American Express employees were in Lower Manhattan the morning of September 11, 2001. Eleven of them lost their lives that day. Eight were hospitalized with injuries, and dozens more lost family members, friends and loved ones.

Even as the horrifying events of that day unfolded, American Express business operations continued without interruption. People quickly shifted into emergency mode, adjusting schedules and procedures to meet the urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of travel customers, cardmembers and financial services clients – plus countless others the world over who needed help and had nowhere else to turn.

Directly across the street from ground zero, American Express’ headquarters building sustained considerable damage. Thousands of employees would work from interim locations for the following eight months, some longer.

The company’s mettle was tested time and time again in the months after 9/11, but employees pushed ahead with great focus, determination and resourcefulness. When it mattered most, American Express employees acted instinctively to help their customers, colleagues, neighbors and community.

Within a year of the tragedy, most of the New York workforce had reunited in Lower Manhattan. The company’s improved financial performance – despite the persistently harsh economic climate – was enabling it to step up growth initiatives to further strengthen its competitive position in the coming years. And while battling the toughest crisis in American Express’ history, employees had not only honored the company’s long-established commitment to providing extraordinary customer service, they had raised the standard.

Today, American Express has never been more competitive. It is a world leader in providing charge and credit cards to consumers, small businesses and corporations. It is the world’s largest travel agency, offering travel and related consulting services to individuals and corporations around the world.

As it has throughout its long and varied past, American Express continues to deliver valuable and innovative services to its customers. It remains committed to its longstanding core values. And, as it was in 1850, it is poised to seize new opportunities in a rapidly changing industry and world.

 This is the fourth article about American Express. You can read the previous articles here:

American Express - Our Story Part 1

American Express - Our Story Part 2

American Express - Our Story Part 3

TRYING TIMES
In 1987, American Express Bank added $950 million to its reserves against outstanding loans in Latin America. Later the same year, the U.S. stock market experienced its largest drop since the Great Depression; and in the aftermath, Shearson was rocked by a series of serious missteps and setbacks. The situation ultimately became so dire that in 1990, American Express repurchased all of Shearson’s remaining publicly traded stock for more than $1 billion and provided a critically necessary capital infusion.

Continuing problems at Shearson masked an ultimately more disturbing development. Serious problems were developing in the core American Express Card business. Despite the introduction in 1987 of a new revolving credit product in the United States, the company’s share of the U.S. card market fell during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Trouble was also brewing on the merchant front. In Boston in 1991, a group of restaurateurs, upset about what they felt were American Express’ unfairly high rates, staged a revolt that came to be known as the Boston Fee Party. Outside the United States, card suppression – when merchants try to dissuade customers from using the American Express Card – began to rise.

Years later, the company’s chief executive would say, in retrospect, “If not for the strength of our brand name, American Express would have collapsed by the late 1980s.”

TURNAROUND AND GROWTH
American Express divested several businesses to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and concentrated on shoring up its core payment, travel and financial planning businesses. The 1984 acquisition of IDS (Investors Diversified Services) – which had initiated American Express’ transformation from what had become known as a card and travel company into a true financial services power – proved to be a valuable investment, particularly as other parts of the enterprise underwent major reengineering efforts to overhaul business processes and slash operating costs. The company eventually lopped $3 billion from its cost base, freeing up money to invest in a number of new products and services.

Rebuilding relationships with merchants became a top priority, as did significantly increasing American Express Card acceptance across a wide range of industries and geographical markets. The company also began forming a number of strategic partnerships with selected airlines, banks, retailers and other key businesses around the world. Proving highly successful, these alliances have enabled American Express and its partners to efficiently leverage their brands and business strengths while providing premium products and services to their mutual customers.

Within the decade, American Express was again operating from a position of strength. As the company celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2000, its earnings, market share, core businesses and share price were strong. Even so, the company began taking steps to counter several external economic issues on the horizon.

No one could have predicted the magnitude of the challenges to come.

This is the third article about American Express, if you miss the first and second article you can read it here American Express - Our Story Part 1 and American Express - Our Story Part 2

MATTERS OF SURVIVAL
American Express nearly disappeared as an independent company in 1929. Chase National Bank had been quietly buying up shares of the company for several years. Not until Chase completed a tender offer for American Express did it come to light that its prospective buyer already owned 97 percent of the company.

Two unforeseen and unrelated events saved American Express from becoming fully absorbed by Chase. First, the majority of the owners of the remaining 4,702 shares of American Express balked at selling them, either refusing outright or demanding exorbitant prices. Second, in 1933, the U.S. Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act, which prohibited banks from engaging in nonbanking businesses. Chase was left with no choice but to divest the American Express investment it had acquired just a few years earlier.

Roiled by the Chase incident and battered by the Great Depression American Express struggled through the 1930s. Since it was not a financial institution, per se, the company continued operations during the U.S. bank holiday, and in some respects became a de facto banker for the American people. As in Europe at the outbreak of World War I, American Express offices maintained cash reserves that were sufficient to meet the demands of customers who wanted to encash their travelers cheques or money orders. The company even paid against competing products, many of which were otherwise virtually worthless since the issuing institutions had closed.

During 1938 and 1939, as the prospect of another world war loomed over Europe, there was still a sizable group of longtime American Express managers and employees who had worked for the company 25 years before, during World War I. Their past experiences – and their advance planning, in this instance – helped the company survive World War II.

Even before the official declaration of war, American Express had mounted extensive preparations to protect its financial and real estate assets, including its principal offices in Berlin, London, Paris, Rome and Rotterdam. Throughout Europe, American Express offices continued operating until the last possible moment in countries about to be invaded – often long after American embassies and consulates had been ordered to evacuate. Ultimately, the Berlin office at 3 Unter den Linden was destroyed, and the Rotterdam office sustained extensive damages.

In England, the Liverpool office and the company’s London headquarters in the Haymarket were hit by German bombs during the blitz, as was the Cornhill (London) office, which somehow managed to open the morning after a devastating air raid. Amid the wreckage, local employees posted an “Open for Business” sign and continued to work frantically, making travel arrangements for Allied military leaders and diplomats, and for the evacuation of British children to America and Canada.

Throughout the conflict, company officials feared not only for the safety of employees but also for the very underpinnings of the business. There were predictions that the war might prove to be the death knell for travelers cheques, as sales would plummet when the public ceased to travel. The exact opposite proved to be true. As U.S. soldiers joined the war effort, they were encouraged by the U.S. government to carry their accumulated pay in travelers cheques. Soldiers and sailors used millions of dollars’ worth of cheques; and despite the dire predictions, American Express’ business did not crumble.

Between the end of the war (when the company had 1,500 employees and 50 offices) and 1950, American Express rebuilt its business and enjoyed tremendous growth. By the time of the company’s centennial celebration in 1950, the American Express family had grown to include more than 5,500 employees working in 173 offices worldwide, and reported net income of more than $3 million.

As travel within and beyond the United States blossomed, the company’s volume of travel business grew and set new records.

What could not be overlooked, however, was consumers’ increasing use of a new device – the credit card – for travel and entertainment expenses. Opinions within American Express’ ranks differed about whether or not the company should issue a card. Aware that doing so could cannibalize travelers cheque sales, the company’s leaders eventually agreed that it was a better option than losing cheque sales to competitors’ cards.

THE CARD ERA
American Express issued its first charge card in 1958. Within five years, more than 1 million cards were in use at approximately 85,000 establishments within and outside the United States. Soon, the company began introducing local currency cards in markets outside the United States, adding programs that made it possible for cardmembers to extend payment on large travel expenditures, and launching additional products, such as the American Express Gold Card in 1966. Within ten years, the card business was growing steadily and generating a healthy profit. And, to the surprise of many, so was the company’s travelers cheque business.

In the late 1970s, American Express – like many other large companies of the era – was intent on becoming a global conglomerate, with huge, multifaceted businesses and diversified income streams that could protect the company in the event of hard times in one of its core businesses. During the next several years the company acquired several large acquisitions toward that end, including Shearson Loeb Rhoades, First Data Resources, Trade Development Bank, Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, and Investors Diversified Services (rebranded American Express Financial Advisors in 1995 and spun off as Ameriprise, Inc. in 2005).

The synergies between the subsidiaries that American Express’ leaders had envisioned didn’t come to pass, however. By 1985, following the string of expensive acquisitions, American Express embarked on a somewhat different strategy – to continue to build the company’s core businesses from within and shed the noncore activities.

A few investments were unloaded, and it appeared as though the plan was working. American Express had a banner year in 1986, with earnings exceeding $1 billion for the first time in its history. Each of the company’s operating units posted record-breaking profits. Reflecting the triumphant mood was the cover of the 1986 annual report, which showed the new American Express Tower amid the fireworks of the nearby Statue of Liberty’s centenary celebration.

This is the second article about American Express, if you miss part one here is the link American Express - Our Story Part 1

INNOVATION AND EXPANSION
In 1882, American Express launched the money order business, which proved an almost instant success. The company introduced the world’s first travelers cheque in 1891 and within ten years was selling more than $6 million in cheques annually.

In the course of building the money order and travelers cheque businesses, the company established correspondent banking relationships with a number of European banks that accepted and encashed the products. As a result, the American Express name became increasingly visible throughout Europe. In 1895, the company established its first European office, in Paris, at 6, rue Halévy, followed by the 1896 opening of an office at 3 Waterloo Place in London. By 1910, American Express had expanded to Southampton, Liverpool, Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Naples and Genoa.

Although foreign exchange transactions were conducted as early as 1895 by the Paris office, the official initiation of the company’s overseas banking operations took place in 1904, when the Rotterdam office opened in Netherlands and began conducting commercial banking services.

Meanwhile, back in New York, millions of immigrants were entering the United States through Ellis Island. After uncovering several examples of flagrant swindling among the independent moneychangers on the premises, the U.S. Immigration Department awarded a contract to American Express in 1905 to provide official currency exchange services. Over the years, countless newcomers completed their first business transactions in the United States at the American Express teller’s window on Ellis Island.

A singular historic event – the outbreak of World War I in Europe – brought about the next dramatic transformation of American Express and more fully shaped it, willingly or unwillingly, into a travel services company.

WAR AND THE AGE OF TRAVEL
During the summer of 1914, approximately 150,000 American tourists were stranded when war engulfed Europe, many without access to funds. Banks had ceased to pay against foreign letters of credit or any other form of foreign paper. Panic-stricken travelers lined up inside and outside the offices of American Express in whatever city they happened to be visiting. American Express was able to cash all travelers cheques and money orders in full, enabling quick passage home for thousands. Many of those remaining were able to book passage home soon after a decision by American Express and a consortium of nine U.S. banks to ship $10 million in gold to Europe so that local banks could once again honor foreign drafts.

Throughout the war, American Express provided other services as well. The company was appointed official agent of the British government to deliver relief parcels, letters and money to British prisoners of war in Germany. Eventually, American Express was delivering 150 tons of packages a day to British prisoners in Bulgaria, Germany, Holland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Employees also went into the prisoner of war camps to cash drafts for British and French prisoners, and made arrangements whereby they could receive money from home.

American Express officially entered the travel business in 1915. As one executive wrote to the company’s president earlier that year, “Already, we supply travelers with the tickets for their European tours; we receive and forward their mail; we provide reading and writing rooms for their convenience; we store and forward their baggage and packages; we engage their return steamship accommodations. In fact, we are doing already for travelers practically everything except that which is most remunerative to ourselves, namely, furnishing eastbound steamship tickets to Europe; providing hotel accommodations and conducting small parties desiring such a service.”

Within the decade, American Express was undertaking tours to Europe, South America, the Far East, the West Indies and other destinations around the globe. The company became synonymous with luxury travel after its successful charter in 1922 of the first around-the-world cruise, a four-month, 30,000-mile voyage of the Cunard liner, Laconia, with stops in Cuba, Panama, Honolulu, Japan, China, Java, Singapore, India, Cairo and the Mediterranean. (The Laconia went on to carry passengers around the world for another 20 years, before being torpedoed and sunk during World War II.)

American Express’ focus on travel continued through the next several decades. The sale of travelers cheques and money orders – and, more specifically, the float on them and the prudent and profitable investment of that float – generated the revenue that supported this phase of the company’s travel endeavors.

INTRODUCTION
The story of American Express is a fascinating one, filled with interesting and sometimes quirky characters who — through a combination of brains, perseverance and luck — shaped the company’s development during the past century and a half.

The express company that forwarded freight and valuables evolved into a company that created and sold financial products like money orders and travelers cheques. Following an era of international expansion, the company became an entity perhaps best known for its charge card. Today, American Express is a global payments company.

The attributes that today are the hallmarks of the American Express brand — trust, integrity, security, quality, customer service — all have their roots in this compelling story. In this history, as well, are the genesis and development of the company’s aspiration to become the world’s most respected service brand.

EXPRESSMEN JOIN FORCES
Established in 1850 in New York, American Express Company was among the first and most successful express delivery businesses to arise during the rapid westward expansion of the United States. The U.S. Postal Service at the time was slow, expensive and nonexistent in many areas. Nothing larger than a letter-sized envelope could be sent by mail, and certainly nothing valuable, as a fair number of deliveries were lost or stolen enroute.

The express companies served as a lifeline to the growing nation. Intrepid expressmen, typically on horseback or driving stagecoaches, traversed from the eastern cities to the western frontier, transporting correspondence, parcels, freight, gold and currency, among countless other goods. American Express quickly earned a reputation as the best in the fledgling industry – the company that delivered, literally.

Although in its early years American Express was not itself a financial services company, its largest and most consistent clients were banks. Delivering the banks’ typically small parcels – stock certificates, notes, currency and other financial instruments – was considerably more profitable than transporting larger freight. Soon the company would scale down its parcel and freight delivery business in favor of creating and selling its own financial products.

To be continued……