Cards

Wikileaks and Iceland-based data-hosting service DataCell ehf. say they will file a complaint on July 7 with the European Commission against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide if the payment companies continue to block their payment-processing.

Western Union Co. has struck a deal that will make it a competitor, but also a potential partner, for banks trying to capture a bigger chunk of the business payments market.

Key credit union industry leaders this month are scheduling meetings with members of Congress to make sure credit unions will be appropriately protected in the Federal Reserve Board’s final debit-interchange rules that go into effect Oct. 1.

Fresh off moving its Citi Ventures unit to the Bay Area to get close to the latest payments tech buzz, Citi’s investing in mobile payments firm Billing Revolution.

To encourage online shopping, which faces resistance in India because of security concerns over using credit cards online, Axis Bank Ltd. has launched an e-Wallet card, the India-based announced June 29.

In India, noncash transactions, such as balance inquiries, PIN changes and ministatement requests, must be included in the number of free transactions banks’ customers may conduct at other institutions’ ATMs, according to a directive from the Reserve Bank of India that takes effect July 1.

Western Union Co. said Tuesday that it is buying the business payments unit of London-based Travelex Holdings Ltd. for 606 million pounds, or about $1 billion.

American Express Co. is expanding its prepaid payments business through a partnership with CardSmith LLC, which develops and manages campus ID card programs for colleges.

In an unintended consequence of the newly revised federal rules on cybersecurity, banks are likely to fare much worse in lawsuits over fraud losses.

Most prepaid cardholders are content with their cards, with nine out of 10 customers being “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their prepaid cards. However, issuers could do more to keep customers for the long haul, new research suggests

To make health care transactions more transparent and simpler, Qatar is making the use of bankcards for the payment of health care bills mandatory at its hospitals and clinics.

Visa Inc. is expanding efforts to promote its prepaid card products through a sponsorship of the Essence Music Festival taking place in New Orleans over the July 4 holiday weekend.

Visa Inc. is expanding efforts to promote its prepaid card products through a sponsorship of the Essence Music Festival taking place in New Orleans over the July 4 holiday weekend.

Online and mobile-payment startup Dwolla Corp. has been building a payment network called Grid that company executives believe to be more secure than MasterCard Worldwide’s and Visa Inc.’s card networks.

PIERRE, S.D. – TCF Financial agreed yesterday to dismiss its suit challenging the Federal Reserve’s cap on debit fees, but said it may decide to come back with a subsequent challenge later on after it reviews the Fed’s final rule.

WASHINGTON–TCF Financial Corp. on June 30 abandoned pursuit of a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board on its proposed debit interchange rule.

Bill-payment processor Tio Networks Corp. is making headway with its mobile bill-payment application.

In its first major play to connect its mobile-payments service with social media, Starbucks Coffee Co. on June 30 unveiled a mobile-payment application it developed in-house that consolidates the features of previous apps with links to enable users to send Starbucks gift cards via Facebook.

States’ efforts to rein in fly-by-night companies are starting to have an effect on some payments startups’ operations.

The marketplace is beginning to take shape for mobile card readers with the June 29 disclosure that VeriFone Systems Inc. plans to introduce a card-reading accessory for tablet computers this year.