Cards

LAS VEGAS–Mobile-wallet providers Google Inc. and Isis continue to position their products as more than just payments vehicles to replace plastic cards.

An estimated 650,000 consumers have closed their bank accounts and opted for credit-union membership over the past four weeks, according to Credit Union National Association, bringing the approach to the Nov. 5 Bank Transfer Day to a crescendo.

MasterCard Worldwide has entered into a partnership with Taiwan-based online retailers PayEasy Co. Ltd. and GoHappy Co. Ltd. to offer a cross-border shopping service, the payment card brand announced Nov. 1.

Alfa-Bank has received Russia's first certification for Visa Inc.’s payWave contactless-payment platform for credit and debit cards.

Bank technology provider Fiserv Inc. has positioned itself for a wave of growth in electronic payments.

American Express Co. will provide prepaid campus ID cards to University of North Florida students, the card company announced Nov. 2.

Income growth may be stagnant and consumer confidence weak, but spending has been “surprisingly resilient” and has helped fuel modest revenue increases for First Data Corp., executives told industry analysts Nov. 2 while discussing third-quarter earnings.

MasterCard Worldwide will offer special incentives to certain merchants to offset the effects of new Federal Reserve Board rules requiring debit cards to carry at least two card-network brands in contrast to Visa’s plan to offer broad merchant incentives, Ajay Banga, MasterCard chairman and CEO, told analysts Nov. 2.

Cardtronics Inc. has signed an agreement to provide ATM services to North Carolina-based Harris Teeter, a regional chain of supermarkets located primarily in U.S. Mid-Atlantic states, the ATM independent sales organization announced Nov. 2.

Technology Credit Union will be the first U.S. financial institution to enable immediate person-to-person payments from its ATMs to almost anyone in the world with a mobile phone or email address using a new payments service from NCR Corp. and PayPal Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based institution announced Nov. 2.

Citing higher purchase volumes for credit and debit cards in all regions, MasterCard Worldwide earned net income of $717 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 38.4% from $518 million a year earlier, the company said Nov. 2.

Call it a defeat for banks, a publicity debacle, or a whole lot of hollering for no good reason. Whatever one’s read is on the brief life of the debit card usage fee, its demise is just a prelude to more checking fees at the major banks.

Can "Stop.Think.Connect" become the new "Stop, Drop and Roll"?

WASHINGTON–U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is working behind the scenes on a new effort to ensure small banks are not being hurt by the cap on debit card interchange.

Prepaid card marketer NetSpend Corp. is teaming with PayPal Inc. in a deal that so far has been the subject of little fanfare by either company.

Bank of America Corp.'s decision to drop its controversial debit-card fee may have come too late to retain some accounts because a large number of big-bank customers already have defected to smaller banks in protest over fees (see story).

On the same day that Bank of America Corp. bowed to pressure and decided to nix a $5 monthly debit fee it had planned to impose next year, a consumer financial-literacy organization released data suggesting the fee would have disastrous results.

Co-op Financial Services is enabling credit unions to offer a merchant-funded rewards program tied to their debit and credit cards, leveraging an online shopping portal to earn cash back for members.

A new rebate program from UniRush LLC is the latest attempt by a prepaid card marketer to make its product as sticky as a bank account without generating a backlash from its fee-sensitive audience.

Bank of America Corp. has caved to customer pressure and the competition and will not charge a $5 monthly fee for debit card use after all, the bank announced Nov. 1.