Technology

MasterCard Worldwide has signed a letter of intent with Russian cell-phone carrier Mobile TeleSystems to bring PayPass contactless-payment functionality to Russian mobile phones, the card brand announced Oct. 28.

Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC will provide an advanced encryption service for its point-of-sale retail clients in Canada, the Dallas-based payment processor announced Oct. 26.

Use of mobile financial services rose sharply during the second quarter compared with the end of last year, according to comScore’s latest mobile banking adoption research.

Heartland Payment Systems reported favorable third-quarter earnings Oct. 27, but it is still too early to tell if its “Durbin Dollars” promotion is paying off, an analyst says.

Apriva LLC plans to launch a mobile wallet next month that could help independent sales organizations and agents stake their claim on part of the mobile-payments market.

Bracing for the loss of some debit transactions as a result of new Federal Reserve rules requiring debit cards to carry at least two card network brands, Visa Inc. next year plans to ramp up a series of incentives for merchants and acquirers, Joe Saunders, Visa chairman and CEO, told analysts Oct. 26.

Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority has put together an industry group to develop a system under which consumers may pay for taxi fares and small purchases with their mobile phones.

MoneyGram International Inc. on Oct. 27 reported solid third-quarter earnings growth, with a 58% increase in net income to $15.8 million from $10 million during the same period last year. Revenue increased 9.9%, to $321.9 million from $292.9 million.

Banks are combating fraud with technology on a number of fronts, according to a Novarica study released this week.

Visa Inc. on Oct. 24 reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $880 million, up 13.7% from $774 million a year ago. Operating revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 14.3% to $2.4 billion from $2.1 billion.