Fintech

The chief sponsor of a Senate bill to delay the interchange rule for as long as two years maneuvered last night to ease passage of the controversial measure by attaching it to popular legislation on small business investment.

Certain effects of the economic downturn have begun to ease, but one recession-hatched trend persists: Cash-strapped consumers continue to show a preference for paying their credit card bills over their mortgages, according to new data TransUnion LLC released Tuesday.

Banks and ATM providers have made it a top priority to integrate their ATMs with other services such as mobile payments and online banking, new survey data suggest.

Financial-technology provider COCC, formerly Connecticut On-Line Computer Center Inc., is working with mFoundry Inc. to provide mobile-banking services to its bank clients, the companies announced March 28.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board will not meet its upcoming April 21 deadline to issue final rules that would limit interchange fees for debit cards.

WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke notified Congress this afternoon that the Fed will not be able to meet an April 21 deadline for approving a final rule on debit fees, but said it still expects to meet a July 21 implementation deadline. The Fed Chairman told House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus of Alabama in a letter the complexity of the rule combined with sorting through more than 11,000 public comments on the proposal makes it impossible to finalize a rule by April 21, the deadline mandated in last year’s Wall Street reform bill. The bill also mandates a July 21 implementation deadline. The Fed’s delay comes as members of both the House and Senate are beginning to debate bills that could delay a final rule for as long as two years.WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke notified Congress this afternoon that the Fed will not be able to meet an April 21 deadline for approving a final rule on debit fees, but said it still expects to meet a July 21 implementation deadline.

Meta Financial Group Inc. could turn its recent regulatory troubles into a positive as it seeks new business opportunities in prepaid debit card issuing, an analyst notes.

Citigroup Inc.’s deal to join Syncada could boost momentum for the receivables processing network, which has announced only one other third-party bank participant.

Central Bank of Nigeria is considering introducing biometric cards in the country to combat ATM fraud, bank Gov. Mallam Sanusi Lamido noted March 24 during the institution’s monetary policy committee meeting.

Cardtronics has broken into the Puerto Rico market with agreements with credit unions to manage their ATM operations.