Cards

Uber is starting a pilot program on Thursday in San Francisco for its service, called Instant Pay. Drivers in the program sign up for a bank account with Green Dot Corp.'s GoBank, which usually costs $8.95 a month but is free if drivers make a deposit at least once every six months.

Thames Card Technology Ltd. is providing the plastic payment card production for startup "challenger bank" Mondo in the U.K. to test a debit card paired with a mobile banking app.

Bluetooth beacons — small nightlight-sized devices that can communicate with a mobile app as shoppers move throughout a store — may have the same potential for bank branches as they do for mega-retailers like Target Corp.

SVM LP, which provides gift cards for corporate promotions, incentives and loyalty programs, has acquired 1to1 Card, another operator in the same niche, the companies announced March 8.

Atlanta is flush with payment processors that handle more than 70% of the nation's transactions. These players now plan to expand their reach even further, hoping to make the southern city a fintech hub to rival Silicon Valley and New York.

A new Federal Reserve Bank report opens the door for retailer groups to push again for even lower transaction fees by deflating the argument that small banks have been harmed by the Durbin amendment's reduced debit transaction fees for larger banks.

NCR Corp. has customized a payment kiosk for E. Sun Bank in Taiwan, the first of its kind for the island nation.

A large investor in the prepaid card pioneer Green Dot plans to nominate three directors to the prepaid card company's board, as the activist investor group seeks to remove founder and Chief Executive Steve Streit.

German bank and payments provider Wirecard AG is issuing a new prepaid Visa card to consumers, calling it the first Simply One Visa product in the market to combine the functions of a traditional credit card with a V Pay debit card.