Fintech

If financial-services companies have any reservations about being appointed the front-line enforcers for copyright protections under proposed anti-piracy legislation, now would be their time to strike.

Five more credit unions have agreed to settle pending civil suits alleging they violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act’s fee-disclosure provisions, but at least one of the settlements is raising questions about the more than three dozen suits filed against credit unions and banks by a Michigan retiree and her boyfriend.

A comparison of credit card debt shows that consumers in all 50 states reduced their outstanding balances last year, with averages falling 11% to $6,576 in December compared to December 2010, according to CreditKarma.com, which on Tuesday released its U.S. Credit Score Climate Report.

Dow Louisiana FCU has seen strong loan growth thanks to a sales culture based around what one executive calls "revolutionary service."

Narrower loan spreads and lower average loan balances, partially reversed by lower revenue reversals associated with a reduction in net charge-offs, helped drive fourth-quarter reductions in both net revenue and net income for the Card Services & Auto unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., the issuer announced Friday.

A longtime employee of Loomis Armored US Inc. has been charged with allegedly siphoning about $200,000 from credit union and bank ATMs throughout Seattle he was charged with replenishing with cash.

WASHINGTON¬–Personal-finance guru Suze Orman usually is the one dishing out the tough love. But the moment she put her name on a reloadable prepaid card, she was the one taking it.

Several major cities around the globe have been exposed to contactless-payment methods with cards or mobile phones, but Barcelona, Spain, soon may become the first city in which contactless is the dominant form of payment.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is partnering with tax-preparation companies Jackson Hewitt Inc. and H&R Block Inc. to offer free tax prep at more than 3,000 stores in a move that could boost deposits into the retailer’s prepaid card account.

Green Dot Corp. has been busy lately, closing out its long-awaited and controversial $15.7 million purchase of Bonneville Bancorp and plotting a customer acquisition initiative.