Kate Fitzgerald

The pending overhaul of debit interchange rates is spurring interest in alternative payment systems, according to executives.

MasterCard Worldwide will lean heavily on technology to seek an edge in the expanding global commercial payments market, the company signaled with a pair of announcements this week, including naming a payments-technology guru as the new head of its global card operations.

Small-business owners' confidence in the economy rose slightly this month as their cash flow improved, according to Discover Financial Services.

Moneta Corp. is changing its name to Rialto Commerce and refocusing its strategy. Instead of working directly with banks, it plans to work with service providers that can persuade their bank clients to adopt its online-payment service.

The ongoing difficulties Canadian merchants have encountered in their conversion to the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications has prompted a new, six-month extension from the card brands.

Amex's launch of a social media application for Apple's iPhone that lets users share information about their purchases is a bold move.

MasterCard Inc. may be set to expand its market share in Canada with some help from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to Mercator Advisory Group.

More than three-fourths of bank customers did not pay any debit card overdraft fees during the 12 months through mid-August, according to a report from the American Bankers Association.

On Tuesday MasterCard announced a memorandum with China UnionPay, the country's sole payments network, to develop a business plan that "aims to forge a platform for potential cooperation including online and other payment areas."

Card issuers within the past two years dramatically reduced consumers' borrowing capacity to cut the risk of losses during the recession, but new data suggests the bulk of the credit line decreases came from closing inactive card accounts, not slashing active borrowers' credit lines.

Consumer confidence in the economy stabilized last month, after declining for three consecutive months, despite the growing number of people with pessimistic views of their personal finances, according to Discover Financial Services.

The average chargeoff rate on consumer credit cards fell to a 16-month low in July; delinquency rates also improved as did credit card portfolio health, Fitch Ratings has reported.

Bank customers are divided nearly down the middle when it comes to opting in to debit card account overdraft protection in accordance with new federal rules, according to data from the American Bankers Association.

Beginning Oct. 31, 2012, issuers, merchants and acquirers in Canada that support American Express Co. cards will become liable for fraudulent transactions initiated with magnetic stripe cards when the fraud would have been averted by cards meeting the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications, Amex Canada said.

Banks' efforts to explain new regulations covering opt-in policies for overdraft protection appear to be working, according to Mintel Comperemedia.

Unregulated mobile payments systems could put consumers at risk for fraud, according to Consumers Union.

The largest U.S. card issuers could lose more than $2 billion of annual debit-related revenues from the combination of regulations limiting overdraft fees and pending debit-interchange rules, according to a report from Javelin Strategy and Research.

U.S. credit card borrowers shed $4.5 billion of debt in June, continuing the pattern of reducing overall outstanding receivables that began in the fall of 2008, according to a Federal Reserve G.19 report on consumer credit.

Wells Fargo & Co. must pay more than $200 million in restitution to California banking customers for deliberately manipulating debit card transactions in order to trigger overdraft fees, a federal judge ruled on Aug. 10.

Arizona state government officials, responding to a recent uptick of incidents, are stepping up efforts to thwart criminals who steal consumers' credit and debit card information at gasoline pumps.