Cards

Vertifi Software, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Corporate Credit Union, said it has developed a fully-featured mobile banking iPhone application for members of Randolph-Brooks FCU in Live Oak, Texas, and it is now available on the App Store.

MasterCard Inc. Thursday fired what analysts say is the next shot in the payments industry’s battle to gain ground in the burgeoning e-commerce market with its planned $520 million purchase of DataCash Group PLC.

Visa Inc.’s most recent statistics of merchant compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard shows that 100% of the largest U.S. merchants—those processing more than 1 million annual Visa transactions—have validated their point-of-sale systems as not storing prohibited data.

Checks may be getting an extended life now that financial institutions are developing and rolling out mobile remote-deposit capture technology as part of their mobile-banking applications, observers say.

Barclays Bank PLC of London said Monday that it is outsourcing ATM services to NCR Corp.

India’s Punjab National Bank Ltd recently launched two new MasterCard Worldwide-branded cards, including a prepaid card for travelers and an rewards-based debit card for upscale customers.

MasterCard Inc. on Thursday said it agreed to buy London payments technology developer DataCash Group PLC for $520 million in a move aimed at growing its e-commerce presence.

Banks' budgets for technology spending are loosening, but the overall sales environment is a "mixed bag," Jack Henry & Associates Inc.'s top executive said Wednesday on an earnings conference call.

Online Resources Corp. said it has signed up more than 40 utilities for its bill payment services in the past six months.

Bonneville Bancorp is taking an unusually drastic — and seemingly counterintuitive — approach to fighting fraud. To make sure its customers use their PIN codes, shoring up security for debit purchases, it is prohibiting signature debit payments in some states.

A new iPhone application that lets consumers rack up reward points by simply walking in to stores could give banks and card issuers the foundation for a truly mobile loyalty program.

Australians reported the largest amount of unaccountable cash spending at $59 per week, representing 34% of their weekly cash expenses, survey data from Visa Inc. show.

Certain definitions within new Internal Revenue Service rules requiring payment processors and merchant acquirers to track merchants’ transactions and report them to the IRS beginning next year are creating additional hassles, some industry observers say.

Mitek Systems Inc. on Aug. 18 announced it has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its mobile remote-deposit capture application.

The government in India’s Karnataka state is developing a new smart card-based system that would enable local silkworm farmers to sell their products directly to customers, potentially eliminating losses from middlemen and other corrupt channels.

The city government of Hong Kong recently ordered officials for Octopus Cards Ltd to cooperate with an investigation surrounding the inappropriate sharing of customer data related to a rewards program for mass-transit fare-payment cards, according to local media reports.

PayPal Inc.'s next round of mobile payment features, including its rumored future as an additional payment system for Google Inc. phones, shows the strength of PayPal's mobile strategy and the weakness of Google's historical approach to payments.

The transaction marketing company Cardlytics said Monday it has raised new funding.

A woman accused of robbing a Consumers Credit Union branch in Waukegan, Ill., of more than $11,000 Monday afternoon was identified after leaving behind a debit card with her name on it and the robbery demand note, which was written on the back of a prescription form made out to her.

Legions of potential investors want to buy a piece of the merchant-acquiring business, but most independent sales organizations would prefer not to sell. Both camps appear to believe the industry represents a safe haven in hard times and promising opportunities during a recovery.