Bank technology

Visa U.S.A. Inc. has introduced what it calls the first general-purpose prepaid card with a contactless payment chip.

U.S. Bancorp expects to be able to process check images in all parts of the company next year and probably will clear a majority of its checks that way by the end of that year.

More financial services companies are studying the open-source format as a way to save money by working together on projects that do not provide competitive differentiation.

Few financial companies are offering their customers password-generating tokens, but two computer memory companies are offering consumers devices with authentication capabilities.

Prudential PLC, the United Kingdom's second-biggest insurer, turned down an offer for its Egg Internet banking unit.

Slow third-quarter sales at the payments technology vendor Carreker Corp. kept earnings close to break-even, but the company, which is shopping itself, said it expects better results next year.

Oracle Corp. is trying to acquire a larger stake in the Indian core processing software company i-flex solutions ltd., and is willing to pay more for it.

Online Resources Corp. has provided guidance for 2007 that includes a boost in revenue from the acquisition of a rival online bill-payment vendor this year and the loss of two major clients.

Fiserv Inc. watchers received a measure of satisfaction this week when the banking technology company provided its first substantial peek at a long-expected corporate overhaul that executives have termed "Fiserv 2.0."

CU Hawaii Federal Credit Union has installed a video remote teller system from Diebold Inc. to let three tellers handle 14 customer windows at its new Keaau branch.

Though transaction growth and earnings have been slow this year for companies that deploy automated teller machines at merchant sites, manufacturers of those machines say they are finding other growth opportunities.

Deluxe Corp., the nation's largest check printer, has extended its takeover defense plan for another decade, with some tweaks.

AmSouth Bancorp of Birmingham, Ala., improved the efficiency of its Birmingham data center and reduced accidents by using a computer system that contains a visual representation of the facility to manage it.

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Smithtown Bancorp of Hauppauge, N.Y., has agreed to use core processing software and other applications from Jack Henry & Associates Inc. to help its expansion plans.

Synovus Financial Corp. says it has saved money and improved its customers' experience by integrating a growing array of in-house and outsourced data processing systems.