Fintech

Consumers in the United Kingdom are using credit cards less to avoid debt, but issuers still have opportunities to increase card use by better conveying the benefits and value credit cards offer, new research suggests.

Global Payments Inc. will provide Caesars Entertainment Corp. with a credit and debit card cash advance service, the company announced Jan. 13.

The Treasury Department is expected to announce a pilot program Thursday for distributing 2010 tax refunds on a reloadable prepaid card.

U.S. consumer credit card portfolio sales were weak in 2010 as low demand drove the total number of deals down to merely a dozen, according to a report credit card consulting firm R.K. Hammer released this week.

MasterCard Worldwide has signed a six-year sponsorship deal with The Walt Disney Co. and Euro Disney Associés S.C.A. to create marketing opportunities and to do card-related promotions in Europe, the card brand announced Jan. 11.

More than half of corporations plan to increase spending this year on payment-security compliance, while the task of educating employees on the proper methods for handling cardholder data remains a pesky challenge, new survey data released Jan. 12 suggest.

Payment-services company Merchant Link LLC and point-of-sale terminal maker Pax Technology Ltd. have signed agreements to use Voltage Security Inc.’s advanced SecureData encryption service, the security technology company announced in separate news releases Jan. 11.

Mobile-banking applications are plentiful and easily available, but new research suggests consumer awareness of them is low despite the buzz surrounding the service.

An online version of US Dataworks Inc.’s Clearingworks payment service is now available to businesses looking to automate many of the nonelectronic payments they receive, the Houston-based company announced Jan. 11.

The Central Bank of Oman has launched a national ATM and point-of-sale PIN-debit switch called OmanNet, an official at the country’s top banking authority tells PaymentsSource.