Cards

New requirements that credit unions and banks receive permission from customers to sign them up for overdraft protection for their checking accounts proved to be a positive–not a negative–with credit unions expanding their overdraft protection business as a result.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. has agreed to make Heartland Payment Systems Inc.’s SmartLink payment system available to its 6,500 Citgo retailers, payment processor Heartland announced Dec. 2.

Think Finance wanted to give underbanked consumers access to credit when they needed it and help them avoid a bad cycle of debt.

Consumer spending online during the five-day period that started with Black Friday last week grew by double digits compared with the same period in 2009, merchant processor Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC announced Dec. 1.

Affinity Solutions Inc. is partnering with Sovereign Bank to launch a mobile, merchant-funded rewards program for the bank’s debit cardholders, the New York-based marketing and loyalty program provider announced Dec. 3.

EMV cards are entering the U.S., thanks to cardholders exiting it.

DULUTH, Minn. Members Cooperative CU has become the latest credit union to offer members tax deductible Health Savings Accounts.

VeriFone Systems Inc. this afternoon reported fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $276 million, up 26.7% from $217.8 million during same period ended Oct. 31 last year. The quarter’s performance pushed the point-of-sale terminal maker’s annual revenue past the $1 billion mark for the first time.

Singapore’s telecommunication regulator, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, has issued a “call for collaboration” seeking participation in the deployment of an interoperable Near Field Communication payments infrastructure in the country.

Heady growth in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America made for a strong third quarter for France-based point-of-sale equipment maker Ingenico S.A.

A one-time gang member was sentenced to jail in Sacramento, Calif. Monday for his role in fraudulent card ring that stole as much as $2 million from 37 credit union and banks in late 2007 and early 2008.

Advent International and Bain Capital have completed their acquisition of a majority interest in RBS WorldPay, the payment-processing arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, the two private equity firms announced Dec. 1.

Visa Europe is implementing ValidSoft Ltd.’s fraud-prevention technology, which uses the location of a consumer’s mobile phone to help prevent credit and debit card fraud, the card brand announced late last month.

Citibank Bahrain is collaborating with a travel operator in Bahrain to introduce an interest-free card-payment initiative for travelers leaving the country, the bank announced Nov. 29.

As some Republican lawmakers continue to press for a repeal of the recently enacted U.S. health care system reforms, one provision of the new law already will affect consumers’ ability to use prepaid debit cards linked to health care savings and flexible spending accounts.

Starbucks Corp. has begun a national rollout of the mobile-payment system it began testing more than a year ago, the company announced Dec. 1.

Competition is heating up among the several companies that provide merchant-funded card-rewards programs to financial institutions seeking loyalty mechanisms and revenue from alternative sources.

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to pay $9.5 million in a proposed settlement with customers who claim they were improperly charged debit card overdraft fees caused by the bank’s policy of manipulating the sequence of posted transactions.

MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. on Wednesday reported higher spending on their U.S. debit and credit cards.

With pending debit interchange rules tipping the power scale in favor of merchants over issuers, payments networks are expected to use their issuer playbook on retailers.