Cards

LAS VEGAS–The number of EMV payment smart cards shipped worldwide passed the 1 billion mark in 2011, the Smart Payment Association announced here March 5 at the inaugural Cartes in North America Expo & Conference.

Plastic cards likely aren’t going away anytime soon, so some card networks and issuers are creating ways to make cards more valuable to consumers, such as by enabling them to provide access to multiple accounts.

In the weeks leading up to April 15, tax accounting giant H&R Block is top of mind for many filers. The company came out with an iPad app for its Emerald Card customers in mid February.

Visa Inc. had a few concerns about how consumers would react to three Arizona credit unions issuing prepaid gift cards carrying its brand through their ATMs.

The recent explosion of new mobile-payment initiatives, from new startups backed by heavy venture capital to formidable players such as PayPal Inc. is enough to give the average banker heartburn.

Cardtronics Inc. is deploying a series of NCR Corp.’s new SelfServ 14 ATM, billed as the world’s smallest cash machine, the ATM independent sales organization announced March 1.

Co-op Financial Services has contracted with Diebold to offer Co-op ATM Managed Services, a complete ATM fleet-implementation and management suite for credit unions.

Manilla soon could have a Hong Kong-like citywide transit smart card if a city-backed proposal to connect all the metro networks proceeds as planned.

A partnership between First Data Corp. and CardSpring to create open redemption platform called OfferWise is more about making physical payment cards intelligent than it is about generating digital wallet use.

In a move that could benefit thousands of debit card accountholders in Kenya, the PesaPoint ATM network has launched a service providing small-bank customers ATM access at a standard and reduced fee.

Credit Union National Association is calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to use its new authority over the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to amend requirements that force two separate disclosures on fees to a single, on-screen disclosure.

Banks have been loath to cede any ground to carriers and handset makers in designing mobile wallets, so it seems out of character for two major issuers to support Isis, the carrier-controlled entrant in the mobile payments race.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has chosen digital security provider Gemalto NV to protect and support delivery of data in Chase’s mobile-payment program, Chase announced Feb. 27.

Fresh off working with Google Inc. in merchant pilots testing its mobile wallet last year, VeriFone Systems Inc. says it is ready to expand its own wallet-acceptance service and software to all wallet providers, mobile networks and merchants.

In a crowded mobile-payments market, companies that can focus their products with the merchant in mind have a decent chance to differentiate themselves from a pack seemingly targeting consumers.

Details trickling out about new monthly network-participation fees Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide plan to charge merchant acquirers hint at complex negotiations going on behind the scenes.

Arguing against the introduction of more third-party ATMs in India, HDFC Bank Ltd. says it does not want to slow the rollout of its own teller machines as the central bank pushes for deployment of nonbank white-label ATMs.

Cardholders in Oman soon may be receiving EMV chip-and-PIN debit and credit cards to replace their magnetic stripe cards under a proposal from the country’s central bank.

What better venue than the Olympic Games to showcase the latest in payments trends? Or, better put, what better place to showcase a payments trend that is groping for consumer exposure and acceptance?

Toys “R” Us is taking aim at supermarkets and competitors that sell diapers and other core baby supplies with a new rewards program linked to a reloadable gift card for its Babies “R” Us stores.