Fintech

EUGENE, Ore. – SELCO Community CU entered the Portland market with the merger of Forest Park FCU, a $40-million failed credit union with two branches in Portland.

In the interval before the U.S. broadly adopts the EMV chip card standard or devises more-secure online card-payment technologies, certain vendors are hoping to make some hay.

One of the nation's largest medical collection agencies allegedly placed employees in emergency rooms, cancer wards and delivery rooms to extract payments from patients before they were seen by medical staff, according to a report released Tuesday by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson's office.

Calling it a first quarter that “fell in line with expectations” and was helped by growth in electronic payments, Western Union Co. reported $247.3 million in first-quarter net income, up 17% from $210.2 million a year earlier.

Two more credit unions have settled ATM suits brought by a local retiree who has filed almost 40 suits against credit unions and banks under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

STURGIS, S.D. – Northern Hills FCU said it got approval from NCUA to expand its community charter to include 100,000 residents of Pennington County.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Spartanburg Regional FCU is paying it forward with employees directed to find someone who needs $50 and give it to them.

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Bellco CU is teaming up with LiveWell Colorado on a two-year campaign to encourage Coloradans to maintain a healthy overall lifestyle – both physically and financially.

India appears to be on a parallel course with that of the U.S. in terms of merchant complaints over the fees applied to debit and credit card transactions, only it’s about 16 years behind.

Prepaid cardholders increasingly are being targeted for mobile-payment applications that allow money management and payment services similar to a traditional bank account.