The answer is "Yes" but not to the extent that it is true today.

Prior to the introduction of the dial terminal in the early 1980s, the opportunity for external development was primarily for authorization call centers and for issuer and acquirer processing which dealt with a paper input stream. Some innovators from that period, such as First Data Resources and Columbus Bank and Trust's Total Systems have survived and prospered, many have passed on.

One topic of discussion during the period when the dial terminal's experimental period had to do with what would happen to bank and third party processor authorization centers, which were significant income producers at the time. It was soon discovered that development of better and cheaper ways to deliver value to consumers was an opportunity for both employers and employees.

Even though almost everything has changed during the past thirty years, not much has really changed.

Posted by Scott Harrison, 11/01/2011 1:42pm (1 year ago)