Cards

Central Bank of Nigeria is considering introducing biometric cards in the country to combat ATM fraud, bank Gov. Mallam Sanusi Lamido noted March 24 during the institution’s monetary policy committee meeting.

Cardtronics has broken into the Puerto Rico market with agreements with credit unions to manage their ATM operations.

WorldPay UK Ltd., formerly RBS WorldPay, has extended its payment-processing agreement with McDonald’s UK, which operates 1,200 restaurants in the United Kingdom, WorldPay announced on March 24. Terms were not disclosed.

Acculynk Inc.’s PaySecure online PIN-debit payment system is now compatible with banks and credit unions on Shazam’s electronic funds transfer network, the company announced March 29.

Bank Freedom, a marketer of prepaid debit cards, has signed a new issuer that eventually will replace its existing issuer MetaBank. MetaBank notified the Newport Beach, Calif, company, a subsidiary of Prepaid Card Holdings Inc., last week that it would not be renewing its existing contract after it expires in November, Bruce Berman, Bank Freedom's chief executive, said Monday.

Inetco Systems Ltd. has released Insight 4.7, which the company designed to enable users to integrate detailed transaction information within their ATM-monitoring service for a fuller view into the performance of their entire ATM network infrastructures, the provider of transaction-monitoring services announced March 29.

Tap Group subsidiary Tap e-Payment Services (HK) Ltd. will provide electronic funds transfer processing integration services to A.S. Watson stores in Hong Kong and China under a service agreement reached with Sino Payments Inc., the companies announced March 28. Tap Group is a venture partner of Sino Payments.

The Smurfs may have an important security lesson for banks and credit card networks getting into mobile payments.

Lawmakers’ efforts to pass a “stop-and-study” law that would delay implementation of the Durbin amendment are gaining ground, a growing number of analysts say.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. has joined the interbank funds-transfer service National Payments Corp. of India launched last fall. The Mumbai-based bank launched the service on March 24 for the bank’s customers across the country, an official at the institution tells PaymentsSource.

Following the lead of other big banks, SunTrust Banks Inc. is ending rewards for its primary debit card.

MasterCard Worldwide on March 28 announced a five-year “roadmap” for electronic payments in Australia that will require issuers and card-accepting merchants there to adopt its PayPass contactless-payment service beginning next year.

Visa said March 28 it is converting another $400 million of its Class B shares owned by credit unions and banks to replenish to its litigation fund that is expected to be used to pay a settlement in a pending antitrust suit.

Many consumers are not happy with retail loyalty card programs, including those tied to cobranded credit cards, new research suggests.

Many consumers are not happy with retail loyalty card programs, including those tied to cobranded credit cards, new research suggests.

American Express Co., going against its image as a brand for the elite, is launching a digital wallet that would make it the payment choice for the masses — in person, online and in mobile.

SAN FRANCISCO – Visa said this morning it is converting another $400 million of its Class B shares owned by credit unions and banks to replenish to its litigation fund that is expected to be used to pay a settlement in a pending antitrust suit.

Mobile-payments company Monitise PLC is testing a service targeted at unbanked consumers in Nigeria that enables users to transfer funds with their cell phones.

Despite the heightened activity around mobile payments, there are still too many unresolved questions for the payment form to have mainstream success this year, one analyst contends.

Though Google Inc. has yet to deliver on a true near-field communication payment phone, it is rumored to be working with key players on the acceptance side.