Cards

South Africa’s First National Bank Ltd on Sept. 7 unveiled what it says is the nation’s first service enabling its customers to send funds to one another using only a cell phone number.

The Indian government reportedly has approved plans to establish a single electronic-payments gateway to accommodate the processing of all state and central government services by the end of the fiscal year.

Having a smartphone equipped for mobile payments with multiple payment options could weaken the impact of card brands, according to a new report from Morningstar Inc.

The challenges of complying with Federal Reserve Board rules implementing provisions of the so-called Durbin amendment and new elements of the Americans With Disabilities Act are uniting at least one sector of the financial-services industry.

A new bulletin from Visa indicates that it is increasingly concerned about point of sale terminals being adapted to steal card data over Bluetooth connections.

New data about employees' attitudes toward direct deposit released on Sept. 7 found that Gen Y is more likely than other generations to use direct deposit as a means to reduce their impact on the environment.

Cardlytics Inc., which provides a merchant-funded rewards program to banks and prepaid card companies, is on the verge of expanding outside the U.S. after receiving funding from a company that owns loyalty programs in Canada and the United Kingdom.

In an effort to make the technical aspects of credit card security compliance easier for its small-business customers, Century Payments Inc. will put Trustwave fraud-protection programs in place within three months, the company said Sept. 7.

Visa Europe is making more headway promoting its contactless card and mobile technology in France, as it launches a second contactless pilot in Strasbourg. Visa also has a contactless pilot operating in Nice, France, which launched in May 2010.

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles FCU has formed a partnership with Shop LA to launch a new Visa card that will establish LA as a retail shopping destination by offering triple rewards points on any purchases made within the city.

Andrews FCU on Wednesday announced it is rolling out a Globe Trek Visa Rewards credit card with both magnetic strip and the Europay, MasterCard and Visa EMV technology, also known as Chip and PIN.

A recent renewal of a sports sponsorship deal may enable Visa Inc. to show to card issuers its “strength” against rival brands, but the actual benefits the deal provides Visa are “limited,” one analyst contends.

MasterCard Worlwide is urging ATM owners to add hardware for accepting chip card payments. Those that do not may be faced with a higher level of liability.

The Pulse electronic funds transfer network has relaunched a website dedicated to educating consumers about debit cards to better reflect increasing use among younger cardholders.

VeriFone Systems Inc. continues to show positive quarterly results in terms of revenue and net income, and company executives expect the trend to continue as contactless mobile payments grow worldwide and EMV chip-and-PIN takes hold in the United States.

SAN FRANCISCO – Biometric card manufacturer SmartMetric filed suit today against Visa and MasterCard claiming technology the card giants are piloting infringes on their patents covering chip-based “contact” and “contactless” smart card technology.

ACI Worldwide Inc. and Fundtech Ltd. are squaring off in a protracted and very public tug of war over a combination with S1 Corp., and the prize could go to either company.

Sallie Mae announced on Tuesday that it had introduced mobile banking to certain Apple products, allowing customers to manage their savings, money market and no-fee student checking accounts remotely. The student lender has wasted no time rolling out mobile check deposit, and lets customers deposit checks not only by snapping a photo with their iPhone or iPad, but also by using their "dorm room scanner."

Federal restrictions on debit interchange are still causing sleepless nights for many bankers — even those whose institutions are exempt from the new fee caps.

Joining a growing list of similar companies trying to move more cash payments to cards, Payment Data Systems Inc. will launch iRemotePay next month to meet growing merchant demand for a payment-acceptance option to use away from their actual stores or if they do business in outdoor markets.