Fintech

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU has launched an Estate Planning Essentials Pilot Program for basic estate planning and will preparation, which initially will be available to the 3,000 volunteers of the $21 billion credit union.

Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co. Ltd. has acquired 14.9% stake in Qiwi Ltd., a Russian company registered in Cyprus that specializes in instant-payment kiosks, the two companies announced Jan. 18. Terms were not disclosed.

SoftBank Mobile Corp. will start a Near Field Communication payment pilot with smartphones powered by Android 2.2 operating system late this quarter, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Japanese telecommunication operator SoftBank Corp. announced Jan.18.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has begun offering the state’s unemployed workers the option to receive unemployment benefits either through an account tied to a Visa-branded prepaid debit card or through direct deposit to a traditional bank account.

Neovia Financial PLC’s $50 million acquisition of Montreal-based Optimal Payments will provide Neovia with a “meaningful” presence in North America, the United Kingdom-based merchant processor announced Jan. 20.

First Data Corp. will handle credit card processing for Kohl’s Corp.’s private-label credit cards in a multiyear agreement the two companies announced Jan. 20.

Citing the effects of fewer losses and healthy growth in new accounts and purchase volume, Capital One Financial Corp.’s credit card unit earned $586 million during the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up 14.9% from $510 million a year earlier. Revenues were down 13.8%, however, to $2.5 billion from $2.9 billion, driven by a full quarter of lower late fees resulting from implementation of the CARD Act, Cap One reported Jan 20.

WASHINGTON – NAFCU began efforts today aimed at repealing the Dodd-Frank Act’s debit interchange amendment, calling on Senate leaders to eliminate the provision they approved just last year. “The Durbin Amendment, which called on the Federal Reserve to implement burdensome new price caps on debit interchange fees, was a hastily included provision that was never fully considered or even debated by the Senate,” Dan Berger, chief lobbyist for NAFCU, told leaders of the Senate Banking Committee in a letter this morning. “Last-minute handwritten modifications on the Senate floor were never deliberated and did little to alleviate the concerns of small financial institutions like credit unions.” The NAFCU leader was referring to the introduction of the controversial amendment to the landmark financial reform bill which was added to the bill with no debate by Democrats or Republicans. “Instead,” wrote the credit union lobbyist, “this price-fixing language interjects the government between two industries and destroys a system that was developed by the free market and has worked successfully for the American public, as evidenced by the continued record use of debit cards during the holiday season. In fact, based on the Federal Reserve’s proposed rule, it appears that the worst case scenario is materializing.” NAFCU sent a similar letter to leaders of the House Financial Services Committee today and the Electronic Payments Coalition, comprised of banking and credit union groups, as well as Visa and MasterCard have also begun working for repeal. NAFCU’s bid comes as credit unions, which are meant to be exempt from the interchange provision, are deluging the Federal Reserve with comments saying the Fed’s proposal to slash interchange by an average of 70% for the largest institutions will negatively impact them too. The credit unions overwhelmingly say the market will not support a two-tiered system–one tier of lower fees for large institutions and one for smaller ones.

Citing reductions in charge-offs and a rise in interchange revenue, Bank of America Corp.’s Global Card Services unit earned net income of $1.5 billion for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30; it reported a $994 million loss during the same period last year, BofA reported on Jan. 21

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has filed suit against a local college professor over the patent rights to Square, a credit card reader that can be attached to smartphones.