Cards

Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, has moved quicker than it originally anticipated in acquiring First National Bank of Omaha’s stake in First National Merchant Solutions LLC.

During the just-completed holiday season, PayPal Inc. experienced a surge in consumers making purchases using its online payment service with their smartphones and other mobile devices, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

Hoping to tap an emerging market, Visa Inc., MasterCard Worldwide and American Express Co. have been working to open their networks to third-party developers of software and smartphone applications.

India’s Seed Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. has secured yet another a contract from Chennai-based Indian Bank Ltd. to support a smart card-based financial-inclusion project, the New Delhi-based financial-services provider announced Dec. 29.

Western Union Co. plans to acquire one of its European funds-transfer agents, the Englewood, Colo.-based company announced Jan. 3.

Fiserv Inc. has hired a former H&R Block Inc. official as an executive vice president and its chief operating officer.

Company profits in the payment card industry generally are on track to increase in 2011 if credit and debit card purchase volume continues its post-recession growth. But the fortunes of the four largest card networks may vary significantly in 2011, a new report suggests.

VeriFone Systems Inc. has completed its acquisition of Gemalto N.V.’s point-of-sale terminal business, VeriFone announced Jan. 3.

As part of a continuing effort to diversify its gift card base, American Express Co. is offering a prepaid Chinese Lunar New Year card for the second consecutive year. The Lunar New Year is Feb. 3.

Ukash is hoping a fraud-prevention service offered by Iovation will help to reduce the potential for improper use of its prepaid voucher service, the Portland, Ore.-based vendor announced Dec. 28.

In a major turnaround in plans, lawmakers in the Australian state of Victoria reportedly have proposed scrapping the Myki transit card system.

PayPal Inc. this year will set up its first foreign currency settlement platform in Chongqing, China, along with five international e-commerce centers under an agreement the unit of eBay Inc. signed with the Chongqing Municipal Government on Dec. 28.

Like the early-'90s floral dresses and flannel shirts that became fashionable again, two retro credit products — secured lines of credit and personal loans — staged a comeback in 2010.

For all the hullabaloo mobile remote-deposit capture generated in 2010, the availability of the service that enables consumers to deposit checks from home using the cameras on their smartphones remains limited to a few banks’ customers.

Credit cardholders in the United Kingdom will gain more control over their card accounts in the New Year because of recent changes in industry policy.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is trying something unusual this holiday season. The Canadian bank is encouraging consumers to spend sensibly, and that means swearing off credit card use and shopping with cash instead.

Mobile banking’s of little use as an innovation if apps can’t ensure the identity of the user, creating a lucrative security market in which Tyfone just scored a pair of patents.

China UnionPay has expanded its global reach by making a substantial entry into Vietnam’s payments market in collaboration with Sacombank Ltd., a spokesperson for the Vietnam bank tells PaymentsSource.

Telecommunication firm Tata Indicom, the brand name of Mumbai-based Tata Teleservices Ltd., has signed a mobile-remittance deal with eSSecom Pvt. Ltd., the company announced Dec.15.

The Central Bank of Nigeria earlier this month reportedly granted its approval to allow FirstBank Nigeria PLC to offer mobile-payment services in the East African country.