Bank technology

Wachovia Corp. and other financial companies are reaching out to customers through Twitter, an online messaging tool known more for social networking than financial management.

MicroBilt Corp., a Kennesaw, Ga., consumer data unit of Bristol Investments Ltd., is requiring that all its clients use Fair Credit Reporting Act training software, which it hopes will prevent data security breaches.

Shares of Diebold Inc. plunged last week after United Technologies Corp.'s chairman said chances for an acquisition of the North Canton, Ohio, automated teller machine company have diminished.

The table lists daily composite stock prices at 4 PM (unless otherwise noted) as measured by market capitalization.

At least three banks have settled a long-running patent dispute with DataTreasury Corp., a move that could put pressure on dozens of other financial companies to follow suit.

The number of check images sent through the SVPCO Image Payments Network in August grew 79% from a year earlier, helped in part by two new users.

Customers of Southern Communications Services Inc. can now pay their bills at participating Southern Communications dealers that use a payments service from Fiserv Inc., the biller has announced.

Harland Clarke Corp., the San Antonio check printing unit of M&F Worldwide Corp. of New York, said Tuesday it has promoted Dan Singleton to chief operating officer.

Acquiring PaymentsNation would give Viewpointe LLC a settlement capability to complement its image-clearing service, along with a foothold in the automated clearing house market.

S1 Corp. said that it plans to repurchase up to 4 million more shares, and that a director installed at the behest of an activist investor group has resigned.

Prosper Marketplace Inc. said the credit crunch is continuing to drive more prime borrowers to its online lending service.

The retailer Kohl's Corp. is using a service from Solutran Inc. of Minneapolis to convert customers' checks into automated clearing house transactions.

Total System Services Inc. has opened a sales office in Warsaw as part of a continuing effort to expand in Europe.

Viewpointe Archive Services LLC said Monday that it has agreed to buy the assets of PaymentsNation as part of its effort to provide both clearing and settlement services to its financial company owners and customers.

Users of Cardtronics Inc.'s surcharge-free Allpoint Network can now use automated teller machines at 7-Eleven Inc. convenience stores for free.

Rudder Inc., the provider of a new financial management and aggregation service, plans to reach users by e-mail — a contrast to the growing number of companies that offer similar capabilities primarily through Web sites and say the social experience of the Internet plays a critical role in their model.