Pulse is an interbank

electronic funds transfer Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems, without the direct intervention of ...

(EFT) network in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It serves more than 4,400 U.S. financial institutions and includes more than 380,000 ATMs, as well as POS terminals nationwide. Rivals of the network include First Data's

STAR A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

and Fidelity National Information Services's NYCE. It is owned by

Discover Financial Discover Financial Services is an American financial services company that owns and operates Discover Bank, which offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, home equity loans, student loans and credit cards. It also owns and ope ...

, issuer of the

Discover Card Discover is a credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985. When launched, Discover did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-normal credit limit, features that were disruptive to the ...

, and is included in Discover's agreement with

China UnionPay UnionPay (), also known as China UnionPay () or by its abbreviation, CUP or UPI internationally, is a Chinese state-owned financial services corporation headquartered in Shanghai, China. It provides bank card services and a major card sche ...

; cards can be used on each other's network leading to better acceptance outside large cities than the larger networks.

History

The Pulse system was based on software that operated the Take Your Money Everywhere (TYME) network operating in the central United States. The network was established as the banking rules that limited banks and branches ability to share services were removed. The data processing facilities were originally provided by First City Bank and later transitioned to Texas Commerce Bank. In 1981, Pulse incorporated and began operating its regional EFT switching facility. In 1995, it launched Pulse Pay, a point-of-sale service where cardholders can use their ATM card at retailers. Pulse announced acquisition of Gulfnet, the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

-based regional EFT network in 1997 and announced acquisition the Cincinnati-based MoneyStation network in 2000. Pulse merged with

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

-based Tyme Corporation in 2002, and was acquired by the Discover Financial Services in 2005. Currently, Pulse is a California residential mortgage licensee (License Number MLS-18827).

References

External links

Official website
Financial services companies established in 1981 Banking terms Interbank networks Financial services companies of the United States Discover Financial {{bank-stub

History

See also

References

External links