Fintech

MADISON, Wis. – New marketing strategies that focus on electronic game-playing could help in attracting millions of young people to credit unions, according to a new study issued this morning by the Filene Research Institute: Get in the Game: How Credit Unions Can Engage Members, Solve Problems, and Improve Skills with Game Thinking.

Thieves know: there's money in credit cards.

Thieves know: there's money in credit cards. Credit card numbers are still the hottest items stolen in data breaches, far surpassing debit card numbers and Social Security numbers, according to data from Javelin Strategy & Research.

Merchants have never before had so many options for accepting cards, but a stubborn core that deals only in cash may never change its ways.

Prepaid cardholders are certain to enjoy more federal protection soon. But it remains open to debate how much those protections should resemble those for conventional bank accounts.

Buffalo Wild Wings is all about overwhelming its patrons with options — it has over a dozen wing sauces to choose from, and it is testing a system that adds more variety to how people order and pay.

The prominent daily-deals provider Groupon is reportedly branching into payments with a device that competes with Square Inc.

Elavon, a unit of U.S. Bancorp, is taking a different approach to mobile card acceptance by using a wireless card reader that is as big as the phone it pairs with.

Consumers are being more cautious in their use of credit cards — accounts are growing, and overall their balances are down 28% from their peak in January 2009, according to a report from Equifax.

MIDLAND, Mich. – Members First CU is combining with Central Michigan Community CU of Clare, Mich., to create a $317-million credit union.