Cards

Karur Vysa Bank Pvt. Ltd. is partnering with payments provider enStage Inc. to launch a prepaid travel card in India, the bank announced in a Sept. 16 statement.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is soliciting public comment on guidelines it has drafted for mobile-payment systems, an official from the bank tells PaymentsSource.The bank’s director of payments and settlements is accepting comments through Oct. 18, according to the official. “Our aim is to ensure safety and effectiveness of mobile-payment schemes,” he says. Under the draft guidelines, the central bank will allow mobile payments in Sri Lanka only through licensed banks, registered finance companies and custodian account-based systems operated by nonbank service providers. Banks and financial institutions would be allowed to offer mobile-payments services to their accountholders, which would allow customers to operate their accounts via their mobile phone. Under the custodian account-based system, mobile operators may open e-money accounts for customers and issue e-money in exchange for actual money from customers, according to the guidelines.The central bank would allow mobile-payment services to be conducted only in Sri Lanka rupees and only for domestic transactions, and providers must route all foreign inward remittances to mobile accounts through the custodian banks and credit them in rupees. The draft rules also would require mobile-payments providers to report any suspicious transactions based on the guidelines of the central bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The draft also requires providers to use security measures to prevent criminal activity while using Near Field Communication-based mobile-payment systems.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. is giving customers some extra time to avoid booking overdraft fees.

The Obama administration filed two trade cases Wednesday against China, covering electronic payments and steel duties, reports Bloomberg News.

MasterCard Inc. shares have surged this week after it announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan and said it expects profit to rise faster than some analysts have predicted, reports Bloomberg News.

MasterCard Inc. is using frequent-flier miles to entice more banks to offer its debit cards.

The need to diversify a merchant portfolio with small and midsize merchants that typically afford better profit margins than large merchants likely drove Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC’s acquisition of National Processing Co., observers say.

With interest in mobile payments growing, First Data Corp. and South Korea-based SK C&C Co. Ltd. reportedly plan to collaborate to enable consumers in the United States, Canada and Mexico to use their mobile phones in place of physical wallets to initiate payment.

College Of The Holy Cross’ recently announced deal with a unit of Heartland Payments Systems Inc. not only will enable students to shop on or off campus using their school identification cards, but they also may use their cards to give back to the community through the processor’s Give Something Back program.

The State Bank of Vietnam reportedly has again denied a request by banks in that country to allow them to charge their own customers fees when using their ATMs to withdraw cash. They also failed to receive permission to increase the ATM surcharge fees they charge noncustomers.

A bank considering the rollout of new retail technology naturally wants a new service to help foster customer loyalty and drive more business to its branches.

UMonitor’s financial-institution customers now may offer consumers person-to-person funds-transfer services to make payments via mobile phones or e-mail, the Web-based division of Memphis, Tenn.-based Parsam Technologies LLC reported on Sept. 14.

An online payments system that could help banks compete against alternative service providers like PayPal Inc. is getting the green light from NACHA.

Thefts of entire automated teller machines are becoming more common, and the more forceful the theft, the less evidence police have to go on.

Vakifbank in Ankara, the fifth-largest bank in Turkey, has signed an ATM and software deal with Diebold Inc.

Regions Financial Corp. has agreed to use a merchant-funded rewards program from Cardlytics Inc. that sends consumers targeted offers through their banking websites.

After JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s website went down Wednesday for the second time this week, the company said it would refund late fees and help fix other outage-related problems for the 16.6 million online customers who were unable to access their accounts, reports Bloomberg News.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions, a joint venture between private-equity firm Advent and Fifth Third Bank, said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy National Processing.

Delta Air Lines and MasterCard Worldwide on Sept. 15 announced they are launching cobranded Delta SkyMiles Debit MasterCards for consumers and businesses.

More than three-fourths of bank customers did not pay any debit card overdraft fees over a recent 12-month period, suggest survey data the American Bankers Association released Sept. 15.