Technology

Charles Schwab Corp. customers with Android smartphones can now deposit checks into their bank and brokerage accounts.

Spanish police authorities have arrested three computer hackers who allegedly breached the Sony Corp. networks affiliated with the PlayStation 3 video-game console and the company’s streaming music and video service.

Gift and loyalty services company SparkBase LLC is using $3 million in new funding to hasten the development and deployment of its technology platform and mobile services, which includes a smartphone application that enables consumers to quickly enroll in merchant-loyalty programs.

Regions Financial Corp. may not be the only bank planning to buy back its credit card portfolio now that the worst of the recession’s damage is receding, according to one expert who tracks credit card portfolio sales.

The twin effects of lenders keeping a tight rein on credit card lines and consumers borrowing less with cards in April drove the average card-account default rate down to levels not seen since February 2009, according data Fitch Ratings released June 10.

U.S. Bancorp plans to begin issuing EMV chip credit cards that also include a tap-and-go payment function to its customers this month.

Mirroring the growing chatter about the possibility of U.S. card issuers one day adopting EMV chip-and-PIN technology, panel discussions related to the topic were well attended during the Smart Card Alliance’s annual conference in May.

NEW ORLEANS–For all talk about how mobile technology can rapidly bring financial services to emerging markets, it has really only worked in a few countries so far, most notably Kenya and the Philippines. Much of mobile money’s success in Kenya can be attributed to the work of Michael Joseph, a strategic advisor to Safaricom, who discussed here on June 7 his experiences building a new financial infrastructure in that country.

Verification using India’s national biometric-identification system could provide a second level of authorization needed to secure card-present transactions initiated with magnetic stripe cards under a proposal outlined in a central bank working group report released June 2. It also may serve as an alternative to moving to EMV chip-and-PIN cards.

Bharti Airtel Telecom Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pan-African banking group Ecobank Transnational Inc. to provide mobile-banking services across Africa, the companies announced June 7.