Cards

HSBC Finance Corp. has promoted Patrick “Pat” Burke to CEO of the company’s U.S. consumer finance division. Burke also serves as senior vide president and CEO of HSBC’s credit card and retail business. He succeeds Niall Booker, who was recently promoted to CEO of HSBC North America Holdings Inc.

USAA Federal Savings Bank is shifting mobile banking into high gear by offering auto loans through customers' phones.

Consumers Credit Union in Waukegan, Ill., has joined the list of financial services companies using Fiserv Inc.'s Acumen account processing software.

Harland Clarke Holdings, the nation’s largest check printer, said yesterday its core checks business continued to decline in the second quarter, as consolidated revenues declined almost 1% to $423.3 million.

Cardtronics Inc. is crediting record transaction volumes and a growing global presence to its significant rise in second-quarter net income, which rose 228% to $8.2 million from $2.5 million during the same period last year.

Shortages of key components cost Hypercom Corp. $6 million in second-quarter product revenue, despite strong demand for the company’s point-of-sale products and services, says Philippe Tartavull, Hypercom CEO and president, during an Aug. 4 conference call to discuss earnings with analysts.

Consumers continue to show a preference for using debit cards at the point of sale, but increasingly many are using alternative payment services for online purchases, new research suggests.

Reductions in consumer card use in casinos is adversely affecting Global Cash Access Holdings Inc.’s financial performance, Scott Betts, the company’s president and CEO, informed analysts during an Aug. 4 conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.

Supported by CardSmith LLC, New England Conservatory this week launched an upgraded multiapplication campus card program that makes the campus virtually cashless, the Doylestown, Pa.-based campus card service provider announced on Aug. 2.

Turkish bank Akbank TAS is hoping to bring contactless mobile payments to its customers through a partnership agreement announced this week with Visa Europe.

Point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp. late on Aug. 4 reported revenues of $103.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, down 1.6% from $105.6 million during the same period last year. However, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company reported a $1.26 million net loss, in part because of component shortages that affected revenue; it reported net income of $1.26 million during the same period last year.

State Farm Bank is the latest financial services company to offer a remote deposit capture service to its mobile customers.

Plastyc Inc. has revamped its mobile banking website for prepaid card customers.

ATM independent sales organization Cardtronics Inc. on Aug. 4 reported net income of $8.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, up 228% from $2.5 million during the same period last year. Revenues totaled $133 million, up 6.6% from $124.7 million.

Improving same-store sales and a stabilizing economy appear to be helping Heartland Payment Systems Inc. turn itself around financially.

A new product designed to reduce the potential for card skimming will be available by early November, says Bellatrix Systems Inc., developer of the Card At Table Service.

The Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore, commonly referred to as NETS, and telecommunication operator Nera Telecommunications Ltd. on Aug. 2 launched a contactless smart card payment system for one of Singapore’s private bus networks.

The Australian city of Melbourne on July 25 extended the use of the Myki smartcard transit system to include trams and buses, according to the Transport Ticketing Authority, which operates the contactless card program.

More than one-fourth of bank customers plan to pay for ATM and debit card overdraft protection under new rules taking effect this month that require consumers to opt in to receive the services, according to a new survey from a nonprofit credit-counseling organization.

MasterCard Inc.’s role as the second-largest brand to Visa Inc. in the U.S. credit and debit card markets along with economic uncertainty will continue to cast a shadow on the company’s domestic performance for the remainder of the year, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga told analysts during an Aug. 3 conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.