Fintech

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-The Golden 1 Credit Union is reporting "tremendous" growth in membership and new checking accounts since the beginning of October following the BofA debit fee announcement. Scott Ingram, SVP of marketing for the $7.4-billion CU, said, "We had a great Bank Transfer Day."

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.-The $3.3-billion Kinecta FCU saw a lot of activity on Bank Transfer Day, much of it from one determined member.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-Henry Kertman, a spokesman for the California and Nevada CU Leagues, noted CUNA estimated California has had the largest number of new members for any state since Sept. 29: 90,000 and $624 million in new deposits. He said the leagues estimate credit unions have been seeing 2.5 times the average number of new member sign-ups per week.

Isis has had a big week, as 45 partners of the GSM Association mobile operator trade group agreed to support the joint venture’s preferred payments model: Near Field Communication that uses SIM cards used in many mobile phones.

Consumer groups are banding together to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to require prepaid debit card issuers to provide consumers with the same mandatory protections that come with traditional debit cards under Regulation E of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

In light of recent Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council recommendations regarding advanced encryption, acquirers and processors are giving greater attention to the hardware-security module used to protect card data while transactions are processed, a technician who specializes in security devices suggests.

As major U.S. cities with complex transportation systems explore converting to an electronic fare-collection structure that would accept open-loop contactless cards, mobile payments are becoming a factor in future planning.

More consumers might try making mobile payments if more large merchants supported them, new survey data suggest.

The hotel industry successfully introduced “resort fees.” The airlines gradually added baggage-handling fees. Cell phone and cable TV marketers steadily increase fees for expanding services.

3G Direct Pay Ltd. has signed agreements with telecommunication operators Safaricom Ltd. and Airtel Ltd. to provide immediate transaction settlements for the two African companies’ funds-transfer services, the e-commerce firm announced Nov. 16.