Fintech

Touting heavier consumer and commercial card-spending as the economy gradually improves, MasterCard Worldwide on Aug. 3 said its second-quarter purchase volume showed healthy increases in all worldwide regions, with its biggest gains in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Increases in debit-network fees and favorable changes in foreign currency fueled a 5.4% increase in second-quarter revenue for First Data Corp., to $2.75 billion from $2.61 billion a year ago, the company reported Aug. 3.

Higher spending on its credit and debit cards boosted MasterCard Inc.’s second-quarter net revenue by 21.4% from a year earlier.

Payments technology vendor Fundtech Ltd.’s second-quarter revenue rose 16.4% from a year earlier to $40.5 million as it closed 130 new deals and added 14 new bank clients.

For a large international operation such as RBS' wholesale banking unit, drawing a mobile roadmap means scaling the knowledge curve posed by fast-developing new devices and technology to find the best match between innovation and client demand.

Cardtronics has acquired LocatorSearch, LLC, a provider of location search technology deployed by financial institutions to help customers and members find the nearest, most appropriate and convenient location based on the service they seek.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Service CU expanded its footprint in New Hampshire’s Seacoast area with the grand openings of two new branches in Hampton and Exeter, because of its merger with Seacoast CU.

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Black Hills FCU, the state’s biggest credit union, has been approved by NCUA to serve the counties of Butte, Haakon, Stanley and Hughes.

Account opening has long been an arduous process for banks and their customers alike, due to banks' procedures and regulatory requirements. But some banks, including Citi and Wells Fargo, are devoting resources to streamlining the onboarding process and making it mirror the experience of shopping at Amazon.com, Apple or Netflix.

Debit card issuers scrambling to ensure they have appropriate fraud-protection strategies in place before new debit-interchange rates kick in Oct. 1 are likely to confront some dilemmas, some analysts suggest.