Cards

Various terminal makers have come out with their own devices and services designed to support payment card acceptance using mobile phones. But one independent sales organization has decided to do so on its own, and at least one observer says the company could succeed with the proper marketing.

The PCI Security Standards Council is seeking to broaden the scope of industry participation as it empanels its third set of new advisory board members since the initial board convened in 2007.

Zimbabwe’s Cross-border Traders Association, in collaboration with Selafin South Africa, a financial-services subsidiary of Selacor Group of Cos., has launched a reloadable prepaid card for its members who travel to South Africa, the trade group announced last week.

Federal Bank Ltd. on Jan. 26 became India’s first debit card issuer to stop charging its customers who use other banks’ ATMs, regardless of how many times they do so, a spokesperson for the Kochi-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Visa Inc. said Thursday that it had shed seven members from its board of directors.

Verizon Wireless is working with two mobile payment companies to allow its customers to charge digital content purchases to phone bills.

North Alabama Bank will use ACH Federal’s automated clearinghouse processing services to support its business customers, ACH Federal announced Jan. 26.

With buying power increasing for many cultural groups in the United States, card companies expectedly would be looking for ways to get their products into the hands of those consumers, many of whom are of Hispanic, African or Asian descent.

Starbucks Corp. customers loaded a record $700 million into Starbucks prepaid card accounts during its most recent quarter, up 39% from the same period a year earlier, Troy Alstead, the company’s chief financial officer, told analysts Jan. 26 during a conference call to discuss earnings.

Barclaycard and wireless-network operator Everything Everywhere Ltd. this summer plan to launch the United Kingdom’s first contactless mobile-payment system, the companies announced Jan. 27.

For the second consecutive year, North American online merchants improved their fraud-management performance, demonstrating they can counter crooks’ efforts when using appropriate fraud-prevention systems, new research suggests.

American Express Co. is awaiting a patent for its Diverse Marketplace Intelligence analytical system that it designed to help identify and target cultural groups for marketing opportunities.

NuVision Networks Corp. has upgraded its campus card program suite to enable students and faculty to order from participating local shops online using their card’s closed-loop prepaid account, the company announced Jan. 25.

Mobile banking in rural India received a huge push this month with the country’s two biggest banks signing agreements with the two largest mobile-network operators in India for the launch of mobile platforms designed to bring banking services to more consumers.

A panel within the Reserve Bank of India formed in April has released recommendations for fighting ATM, POS and online fraud.

Bank of America Corp. is upgrading the majority of its ATMs to help them fight viruses and more effectively do their own maintenance.

Western Union Co. is working with the prepaid card distributor InComm Inc. to offer a Western Union reloadable card.

For bank customers who can't keep big balances, free checking is on its way out. New overdraft rules and the proposed cut in interchange rates have ushered in a new reality in banking.

RoyalBank has added Compass Plus’ TranzWare service to support the launch of an in-house transaction-processing center at the bank, the retail banking software provider announced Jan. 25.

The treasurer of Australia reportedly has launched a probe into the fees ATM providers are charging at machines deployed in the Australian outback.