Bank technology

Western Union Co. says its new foreign exchange unit could open doors into new markets though the purchase is unlikely to have any quick impact on its bottom line.

Conficker bug refuses to die; wifi networks less secure than ever?; laptops appear at government agencies; WP tech editor the target of a worm; and more.

This borders on invoking Murphy's Law: Most community banks haven't yet rolled out mobile banking, yet these institutions are the most likely to be hit by smishing, an emerging security risk that targets the mobile channel. And tech weapons have only limited powers to stop it.

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United Airlines will accept only credit and debit cards for onboard purchases on flights to Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Brazil and Argentina, signaling the beginning of what could become a widespread movement among major airlines to eliminate cash on international flights.

Cardtronics Inc. has entered Puerto Rico, the Houston company's third market outisde the continental United States and its second in a Spanish-speaking location.

The Debt Exchange Inc. announced Monday that U.S. Bancorp is now using DXSyndicate for its loan syndication and agency functions.

Corporate credit card issuers are beefing up their analytics and using sourcing controls to help business customers manage their employees' spending.

Co-op Financial Services has signed agreements with six credit union organizations to promote mobile banking.

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The Japanese mobile network operator NTT DoCoMo said it has signed up 10 million subscribers for its mobile-credit service.

Legacy Bank of Florida, a $276 million-asset start-up in Boca Raton, is now using the WireXchange automated wire transfer system, the technology vendor Fiserv Inc. announced.

Fifth Third Bancorp's new online loan application process educates consumers as they apply, giving the Cincinnati company a more informed customer and more approved applications.

Vivotech has introduced software designed to support "large-scale commercial deployments" of near field communication, a short-range, contactless payment and downloading technology.

MyECheck Inc. said the warranty provider Metropolitan Benefit Group has signed up to use its check-image payment system.

Reval.com Inc. has announced its purchase of the treasury software provider FXpress Corp.

MasterCard Inc. is expanding its corporate travel and expense management business with an eye toward stealing share from market leader American Express Co.

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RBS WorldPay Inc. has announced that it and Value Payment Systems LLC will begin processing consumer and business tax payments for the Internal Revenue Service on Jan. 1 under a multiyear contract.

MasterCard Inc. said it has approved special card readers from four vendors for consumers to authenticate themselves online with chip cards.