Cards

More than half a year after the centerpiece protections of a sweeping overhaul of credit card regulation took effect, portfolio yields appear to have stabilized at their highest levels in two decades.

ATM independent sales organization Cardtronics Inc. on Nov. 2 reported net income of $17.4 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 172% from $6.4 million during the same period last year. Revenues totaled $136.6 million, up 6.2% from $128.6 million.

MasterCard Inc. on Nov. 2 reported strong third quarter international purchase and transaction volume as the card brand continues its international push with the global expansion of its debit, credit and prepaid cards.

Consumers are conveying mixed messages about the role gift cards will play this holiday season as the struggling economy continues affect their shopping plans, new research from New York-based management-consulting firm Auriemma Consulting Group suggests.

As if the payments industry has not faced enough difficulty with new regulations and the fallout from a poor economy, a new study now links card use to obesity.

MasterCard Inc. this morning reported net income of $518 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 14.6% from $452 million during the same period last year. Net revenues rose 5.1%, to $1.43 billion from $1.36 billion.

The Federal Reserve expects to turn a profit on its check processing operations for a second consecutive year in 2011 as the proportion of payments cleared electronically continues to increase.

Clients of the Chickasaw Nation Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program, known as WIC, now may use an electronic benefits transfer debit card for qualified food purchases under an initiative Chickasaw Nation Ardmore (Okla.) Nutrition Services launched Oct. 25.

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.

MasterCard Worldwide’s recent referral agreement with the MoneyPass ATM Network opens access to more than 19,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the United States and Puerto Rico for participating issuers of MasterCard debit cards, MoneyPass announced on Oct. 29.

The outcome of Tuesday’s Election Day results could have meaningful implications for the card industry, including affecting the odds of credit card interchange legislation emerging next year, analysts at New York-based equity firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a report released Monday.

VeriFone Systems Inc. says its PayWare Merchant managed service for large retailers, petroleum marketers and hospitality companies is now available in Europe.

The Kardashian sisters of reality television fame soon will have their own prepaid card.

The Kardashian sisters of reality television fame soon will have their own prepaid card.

A suspected local drug dealer was charged Friday in Philadelphia with the September theft of a Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union ATM from inside the Delaware County Memorial Hospital with almost $100,000 of cash inside.

Western Union Co. is rebranding Custom House, an international business-payments provider it bought last year, and is planning to expand the unit into new markets, the funds-transfer company announced Nov. 1.

International Business Machines Corp. is zeroing in on the payments industry as part of a revamped banking technology strategy.

TCL Corp., a China-based mobile-phone manufacturer, has inked a deal with China UnionPay in which the companies will provide mobile handsets that support payment functions, the companies announced earlier this month.

AT&T Inc. has signed partnership agreements with three mobile-payment companies that enable its wireless customers to charge online purchases for such digital content as games and music directly to their mobile-phone bills.

MBNA Europe Bank Ltd. will be issuing some 5 million contactless credit cards to its customers in the United Kingdom as part of a two-year initiative the Bank of America Corp. subsidiary announced on Oct. 29.