Cards

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of Senators is planning to introduce a bill as soon as next week that would delay implementation of the controversial Federal Reserve rule to cap fees on debit transactions for two years while the Fed studies the issue. But the Senate bill, which is expected to be matched by a similar measure being introduced in the House, faces rough sledding because it would need 60 votes to overcome an expected filibuster by Sen. Richard Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who crafted the interchange language. The bill is being drafted by two members of the Senate Banking Committee, Democrat Jon Tester of Montana and Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee, Capitol Hill sources confirmed for the Credit Union Journal this morning. The legislative action comes as the clock is running down on the interchange proposal, required as part of last year’s Wall Street reform bill, giving the Fed until April 21 to enact a final rule, which would take effect by July 21. The stakes are huge as some $20 billion a year in interchange fees accrues to credit unions and banks, with credit union earning an estimated $2.6 billion last year.

Visa Inc. soon will display its advertising through social networking software designed by Skype Inc. and Meebo Inc. for desktop computers and smartphones.

The banking industry’s fraud-protection initiatives are having an effect in the United Kingdom, as fraud losses related to payment cards, checks and online banking decreased last year, according to recent research by the UK Payments Council.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The general consensus among attendees here at the Prepaid Card Expo is that, while the industry continues to experience growth, potential state and federal government regulations are casting a storm cloud over the sector.

Customers of Singapore Airlines Ltd. now may pay for their flights using their PayPal Inc. accounts, according to the Singapore-based airline.

Some 92 incidents of crooks cloning debit and credit cards issued by Citibank Pvt. Ltd. occurred between January 2008 to December 2010, tops among India’s card issuers, the country’s finance minister told the country’s Parliament on Mar. 4.

Citizens in the Indian state of Punjab may pay their electricity bills online using bankcards under a new service the Punjab State Power Corp. launched on March 1.

WASHINGTON — Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh warned Tuesday that a Federal Reserve Board proposal to limit debit interchange fees could hurt banks of all sizes.

MasterCard Inc. on March 8 announced new fraud-fighting technology that could alleviate the headaches issuing banks face when card accounts have been compromised.

Cardtronics Inc. announced Monday an agreement to provide Intuit Inc.'s Pay Card and Refund Card customers surcharge-free access to its fleet of ATMs.

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of neighborhood business are calling on the Federal Reserve to proceed with the debit interchange provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act in hopes of passing on the savings back to their communities.

CashEdge Inc. has landed Huntington National Bank as a customer for its person-to-person payments software, the New York-based vendor announced March 7.

Iberiabank Corp. is consolidating various outsourced debit card processing functions with services from Fiserv Inc., the Brookfield, Wis.-based vendor announced March 7.

ORLANDO, FLA.–Companies increasingly are using prepaid debit cards as an incentive to drive customer loyalty and to reward employees, and merchants are benefiting because consumers generally are spending more than the value loaded into their card accounts, according to new research commissioned by Total System Services Inc., or TSYS.

American Express Co. cardholders that attend the South by Southwest Interactive music festival in Austin, Texas, later this week will be able to secure merchant discounts with their cards through Foursquare Labs Inc., the location-based mobile system that rewards consumers for using its service. Media reports say the two companies are piloting the system with 60 merchants at the festival and are offering a “spend $5, save $5” promotion.

PHOENIX–Credit and debit card fraud leads all other types of fraud at most U.S. banks and credit unions, but most institutions are fighting illegal account access with constrained budgets and relatively small teams averaging one to five workers, regardless of institution size, new survey data from ISMG Corp.’s BankInfoSecurity.com suggest.

Many consumers still are not familiar with the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act and believe it has not had any effect on them, new research suggests.

“No dogs, no bare feet … no community bank debit cards”?

Aptys Solutions has enhanced the automated clearinghouse functionality of its PayLogics processing platform by adding its Active Archive service, the company reported March 7.

Merchants whose customers buy multiple prepaid cards contained within one pack would be able to save time by activating the cards all at once, and not individually, under a patent the U.S Patent and Trademark Office recently issued to First Data Corp., the Atlanta-based payment processor announced March 7.