Merchant

WASHINGTON – Visa and MasterCard are telling their credit union and bank owners the uncertainty they will face over litigation costs for a pending antitrust case over the networks’ anti-steering provisions will continue indefinitely, even as the controversy escalates over the Federal Reserve’s proposed rules on debit fees.

Guest Column

China UnionPay has signed an acceptance agreement with US-based Citibank that will see UnionPay cards being accepted in seven other Asian nations, a spokesperson for China’s bankcard association confirms PaymentsSource.

American Express Co.’s plans to test an application program interface that connects its cardholders with social media giant Foursquare Labs Inc. creates a “powerful combination of digital behavior and spending behavior,” David Wolf, AmEx vice president of global marketing capabilities, tells PaymentsSource.

Continued global expansion of EMV smart card programs helped drive revenue and profit growth last year for Gemalto NV’s Secure Transactions unit, which includes banking cards, the France-based smart card vendor announced March 11.

WASHINGTON – Senator Dick Durbin insisted yesterday he will fight every effort to delay the pending implementation of his initiative to lower interchange fees paid to credit unions and banks.

Checking accounts have long been the core product for bank customers. Times may be changing. The newest banking regulations are pushing banks toward charging fees for services that used to be free and cutting rewards programs in order to recoup their losses.

As the health care industry eyes new systems to streamline and improve the collection of payments from patients, New York-based Phreesia Inc. is promoting a tablet-like device that records patients’ personal and insurance information and doubles as a card-payment terminal.

A year after testing mobile capabilities with its customers, Wow Bao, an Asian restaurant with three Chicago locations, is planning to launch a mobile gift card program with Mocapay Inc. by the end of April, PaymentsSource has learned.

Credit card debt among consumers with at least one account dropped 15% nationally in February to $7,168, with every state lowering its credit card debt, according to CreditKarma.com, a San Francisco-based company that tracks credit scores and household debt.