Bank technology

Banks that want a partner network to help them offer remittances now have more options, and at least one of the alternatives is gaining traction.

FIRM: CashEdge

Banks have devoted much of their mobile banking efforts to making apps for Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone, but a rival system may be more important to consumers who handle their finances by phone.

As attacks against small business bank accounts in the U.S. rise, an increasingly hot-button topic is who is responsible for the losses. Consumers are covered by their banks of course, but many small business owners erroneously assume they are too. In response, some banks are stepping up publicity around their education and cyber response programs hoping to head off losses. "These are important for security and to build trust between the bank and the client," says Nancy Atkinson, a senior analyst at Aite.

Three New York transit agencies are kicking off a contactless payment test today that they hope will show credit and debit cards can replace closed-loop fare cards — and lead to wider use of contactless cards in general.

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InComm Inc. has announced its purchase of Coinstar Inc.'s electronic payment services operations. The deal came Thursday, less than a month after InComm bought the social networking gift card provider GroupCard.

But looking for details on a specific card from one issuer calls up long lists of card agreements, filled with dense legal language that may seem to have little direct connection to specific card products.

Western Union Co. on Thursday announced plans to streamline its operations by trimming executive numbers and closing facilities.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.'s board has authorized a $2.5 billion stock-repurchase plan, offering to buy back its common shares for between $29 and $31 each, up to a nearly 17% premium over it closing price Tuesday when it announced the plan.

California consumers will soon be able to pay utility bills with Apple Inc.'s iPhone, as part of a test announced last week by Tio Networks Corp.

MasterCard Inc. hopes that the wisdom of crowds will help it eliminate the need to build alternative payment systems.

Looking for stable, short-term investments, banks are starting to purchase corporate accounts receivable from small businesses through an online auction site called the Receivables Exchange.

With the rise of these two practices, the SEC should formalize its approach to the use of technology and markets and mandate the adoption of new technology for fairness.

Sloppy security enables hackers to be hacked; mystery retailer will use MagTek's technology; quantifying intent at the center of identity theft debate; and more.

First Data Corp.'s new chief executive, Joe Forehand, is wasting no time in shaking things up within the debt-laden processor. The company announced Tuesday the departure of three top executives, including its recently hired chief financial officer.

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Banks need to embrace a uniform approach to risk management issues emerging from widespread remote deposit capture adoption before broadening their RDC deployments.

Equity Bank is partnering with telecommunication firm Safaricom Ltd. to launch a mobile funds-transfer service called M-Kesho, the Kenya-based bank announced in a statement. The service will launch by the end of this month.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has added two so-called Instant Action text-alert features to its mobile-banking service.