Policy & Regulation

Regulatory reforms may help MasterCard Inc. steal debit card market share from Visa Inc., but it's not clear whether that would do much for its bottom line.

The Federal Reserve Board or the planned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau likely will have considerable input into any future regulation regarding network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards, two industry observers suggest.

MasterCard Worldwide expects to increase its U.S. debit market share as a result of new network-routing rules included in pending federal changes in debit card interchange policies, Chris McWilton, MasterCard’s U.S. Markets president, said Sept. 23 at the company’s symposium for media and analysts at its headquarters in Purchase, N.Y.

Bharti Airtel Ltd. has become the first mobile operator in India to receive a license from the Reserve Bank of India to offer mobile-payment services, the New Delhi-based company announced Sept. 22.

As community banks adjust to big rule changes on overdraft fees, a new threat looms in the courtroom.

US Search Inc., an online data broker that charged consumers $10 based on a promise that it could lock their records so others could not see or buy them, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its claims were deceptive and violated federal law.

The Federal Trade Commission moved to strengthen an enforcement program aimed at stopping deceptive mortgage advertising by proposing a rule to ban all material misrepresentations in advertising about consumer mortgages.

A federal judge allowed a member to sue Pentagon FCU for breach of contract and discrimination after it canceled his Visa account, allegedly because his income dropped following a railroad injury.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that his office will file lawsuits against three credit repair companies he believes defrauded three consumers of more than $12,000.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is soliciting public comment on guidelines it has drafted for mobile-payment systems, an official from the bank tells PaymentsSource.The bank’s director of payments and settlements is accepting comments through Oct. 18, according to the official. “Our aim is to ensure safety and effectiveness of mobile-payment schemes,” he says. Under the draft guidelines, the central bank will allow mobile payments in Sri Lanka only through licensed banks, registered finance companies and custodian account-based systems operated by nonbank service providers. Banks and financial institutions would be allowed to offer mobile-payments services to their accountholders, which would allow customers to operate their accounts via their mobile phone. Under the custodian account-based system, mobile operators may open e-money accounts for customers and issue e-money in exchange for actual money from customers, according to the guidelines.The central bank would allow mobile-payment services to be conducted only in Sri Lanka rupees and only for domestic transactions, and providers must route all foreign inward remittances to mobile accounts through the custodian banks and credit them in rupees. The draft rules also would require mobile-payments providers to report any suspicious transactions based on the guidelines of the central bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The draft also requires providers to use security measures to prevent criminal activity while using Near Field Communication-based mobile-payment systems.