Cards

China’s mobile-payments market is expected to grow considerably in the coming years even as concerns remain about security and the lack of cooperation between telecommunication operators and banks, a new report suggests.

Following growing protests from small merchants against credit card companies, South Korea’s major card networks announced Oct. 17 that they would cut the interchange fees they collect from such merchants, confirms an official at the Credit Finance Association of Korea, which represents card companies, banks and insurers.

China UnionPay has signed a memorandum of understanding in which Korean card issuer Lotte Card Co. Ltd. will issue UnionPay-branded bankcards in South Korea, the companies announced Oct. 11

U.S. Bancorp on Oct. 19 reported positive third-quarter earnings driven by increases in fee-based revenue, including higher payments-related income.

Google Inc. is entering the transit space through a partnership with the New Jersey Transit Agency, which will enable Google Wallet users to purchase tickets at select vending machines and ticket windows and pay fares on seven bus routes.

Putting bankcard security control into the hands of the consumer, Diebold Inc. is providing a service that can enable cardholders to render their cards active or inactive with a text message from a mobile phone.

PayPal Inc. is about to introduce a new plastic card that is something of a Trojan horse.

Criminals using a technique called cash trapping have contributed to a 69% increase in European ATM fraud attacks, a new report reveals.

A former head teller at West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union on Oct. 18 pleaded guilty to embezzling $400,000 by taking cash from three ATMs.

Bank of America Corp. does not fear losing customers because of its controversial $5 monthly debit fee, Brian Moynihan, BofA chief executive officer, told analysts today.

New innovation in remote deposit capture is coming fast as banks move into mobile capture and combine automated check deposits with other mobile and Web-based financial services.

Seeking to provide a means for underserved Hispanics to take a safer first step into financial services, a Des Moines, Iowa-based consulting firm is marketing a Visa-branded prepaid card designed specifically for Latin Americans.

Consumers in the United Kingdom are concerned about security when considering using mobile-wallet payment systems, according to new research Intersperience Research Ltd. released Oct. 14.

The acquiring industry is outsourcing some of the work involved with a new requirement to report merchants’ transactions to the Internal Revenue Service, a task some have characterized as worse than a bad dream.

Banks involved in the creation of a Single Euro Payment Area in Europe must view it as an opportunity to rebuild a payments system from scratch instead of as an overly complex challenge in which applying new standards to an old system will suffice, a new report by Boston-based research firm Celent asserts.

Growing consumer demand for ATM cash-withdrawal options is helping drive deployments in the Asia-Pacific region as expansion slows in mature markets such as North America and Western Europe, new research indicates.

Community Bank in southwest Florida is taking advantage of the recent PR nightmare large banks like Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. created for themselves by instigating debit card fees. The $750 million-asset bank is offering to pay people $5 per month to open a checking account instead of charging for debit transactions. Within just a couple of days, it became the most successful promotion in the bank's two-year history, and the institution partly has the bad mood of consumers to thank.

International Payments Solutions (Shanghai) Ltd and the Bank of China Ltd are collaborating with China-based Golden Holiday Travel Network on a promotion with incentives designed to increase the number of Chinese travelers who book tour packages online.

Nearly 350 members of the merchant-acquiring industry have applied to take the first test for the new Certified Payments Professional credential developed and administered by the Electronic Transactions Association.

Automated testing of ATMs early in the process when new services are being created for consumers could speed the process of bringing them to market and minimize ATM service interruptions, companies that develop ATM testing software suggest.