Cards

Visa Inc. has promoted Elizabeth Buse to group executive, international from global head of product. Jim McCarthy, previously senior sales executive for North America, succeeds Buse. Rupert Keeley, previously group president for several international regions, is leaving the company.

Speakers at a recent Internal Revenue Service hearing on proposed transaction-reporting requirements that take effect next January largely focused on the potentially detrimental effects their companies may experience from a foreign-merchant rule contained within the law, according to comments from the hearing.

The board of directors of HomeATM ePayment Solutions on March 30 named Mitchell Cobrin president and CEO, replacing Kenneth G. Mages, who left the Chicago-based company to pursue other interests.

Ukash, a London-based firm that sells prepaid cash vouchers, has signed a deal with Transact Network Ltd. to issue a “virtual” prepaid MasterCard for Ukash customers in two countries, PaymentsSource has learned.

As many as 100,000 contactless key fobs could be in use this year in a new transit scheme launched in Rio de Janiero, according to Inside Contactless, a France-based contactless-technology firm.

An Indian technology vendor plans to launch a service later this year that will enable investors in India to buy and sell mutual funds using mobile phone text messages.

State Bank of India has ordered 300 solar-powered ATMs from Vortex Engineering Pvt. Ltd., an official from the Mumbai-based-based technology vendor tells PaymentsSource.

DataTreasury Corp.'s courtroom victory over three major payments companies is expected to give the check-imaging technology provider more ammunition in its ongoing patent battle with some of the country's largest financial companies.

Discover Financial Services said Monday that it has extended its network agreement with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. through 2015.

Flagstar Bank in Troy, Mich., has agreed to use NYCE Payments Network LLC as its exclusive carrier for point of sale debit purchases and automated teller machine transactions.

Fiserv has launched a bill payment widget that enables consumers to pay bills from within their online banking homepage.

PSCU Financial Services yesterday launched a new overdraft opt-in service that is part of the CUSO’s efforts to help credit union prepare for the changes to Reg E to be implemented July 1.

Ukash, a United Kingdom-based firm that sells prepaid vouchers for online shopping, on March 29 signed an open-ended agreement with QIWI, a Russia-based electronic-payments company. Under the deal, QIWI will make Ukash vouchers available for purchase at 100,000 kiosks throughout Russia.

Small-business owners’ confidence in March fell to its lowest level in more than a year, according to new data Discover Financial Services released March 29.

Retailer The Wet Seal Inc. acknowledged March 29 it was one of several retailers targeted by a card data-theft ring involving Albert Gonzalez, the hacker a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts sentenced last week for his role in stealing consumer card and financial information from a string of companies.

Citing an increased use in smartphones, the Arkansas state government earlier this month launched a mobile Web site that enables residents to use their phones to pay for certain government services. Residents may access the Arkansas.gov mobile Web site using their phone’s browser to make prison inmate trust-account deposits; probation, parole and restitution payments; and Pulaski County property tax payments.

Hoping to cut its payment card acceptance costs, Royal Dutch Shell PLC in January last year launched its own debit card after learning a $20 purchase settled over the automated clearinghouse system would cost the petroleum company about 60% less to accept than traditional credit cards. Thus far, the company says, the product has exceeded expectations.

ACH Payments is expanding its payment-processing services to Canada to satisfy its U.S. merchants that have Canadian customers, marking the company’s initial foray into Canada.

The Obama administration reportedly is weighing complaints from U.S. payments companies that China is violating trade rules by shutting them out of its $723 billion payment-processing market, trade representative Ron Kirk said Friday.

About 20% of approximately 15,000 merchants in the Solveras Payment Solutions portfolio thus far have been notified as part of a program designed to bring them into compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the Arlington, Va.-based independent sales organization says. The initiative began in late February.