Cards

WASHINGTON — Just a month ago, most analysts dismissed the banking industry's chances of persuading Congress to delay, alter or repeal a Dodd-Frank provision limiting interchange fees on debit cards.

Prevailing wisdom suggests that prepaid cards are an alternative or, at best, a bridge to a bank account, not an overlapping product.

Citizens of Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala may pay their property taxes online under an initiative launched Feb. 22

Celcom Axiata Bhd. is teaming with Maybank Bhd. to enable Maybank’s subscribers to make immediate payments of their mobile bills, a spokesperson from the Malaysia-based mobile operator tells PaymentsSource.

Target Corp.’s growth rate for activating new private-label credit and debit cards quadrupled during the fourth quarter after the company’s October introduction of a 5% point-of-sale discount on purchases made with Target-branded cards, Target executives told analysts Feb. 24.

Prepaid debit card marketer NetSpend Holdings Inc. is working with banks to broaden its distribution network beyond retailers and check cashers.

Fresh off of its Dec. 15 initial public offering, fleet card provider FleetCor Technologies Inc. on Feb. 23 reported net income of $17.5 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, down 30% from $25 million during the same period a year earlier. Total revenue rose 3.2%, to $106.5 million from $103.2 million.

The Bank of Tanzania and the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority have agreed to jointly oversee of the country’s mobile-payments market, an official at the central bank confirms to PaymentsSource.

NetSpend Holdings Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income grew 79% from a year earlier, to $6.3 million, as customers loaded more money onto its prepaid debit cards and spent more frequently.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. said it expects first-quarter earnings to be below analysts' estimates.

The ailing economy appears to have played to Cardtronics Inc.’s favor, as the ATM independent sales organization has seen the volume of cash withdrawals it handles rise along with the number of machines it manages.

Union Square Federal Credit Union has chosen Diebold Inc. to provide ATM monitoring and other services, the ATM maker announced Feb. 24.

The Central Bank of Kenya has established new regulations for the country’s mobile funds-transfer market designed to protect consumers and mitigate market risk, a spokesperson for the bank tells PaymentsSource.

Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria has launched a debit card in the country targeting overseas business travelers, a spokesperson for the bank tells PaymentsSource.

Etisalat Group last week inked a strategic agreement to offer Western Union Co.’s Mobile Money Transfer service in the 18 countries where it the Dubai-based mobile operator operates.

VeriFone Systems Inc.’s pending acquisition of rival terminal maker Hypercom Corp. moved a step closer Feb. 24 as Hypercom announced its shareholders had approved the companies’ merger agreement.

In 2012, London will become the first city where domestic and international consumers may access an entire transportation network using open-loop, network-branded contactless credit or debit cards, the Transport for London announced Feb. 24.

News that another credit union is adopting EMV payment card technology to reduce cardholder hassles when traveling abroad adds ballast to the theory that some U.S. payment sectors won’t wait for a mandate to voluntarily embrace the chip-and-PIN method.

In a move some observers say might represent the future of loyalty and mobile payments, loyalty marketer Maritz Real-Time and smart card technology firm Vivotech Inc. have formed a strategic partnership to provide immediate retail promotions to customer mobile phones equipped with Near Field Communication technology.

Consumers in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada soon may use their smartphone as a contactless payment device and mobile wallet using an application from Yespay International Ltd.