Cards

The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is working to redesign banknotes so blind and visually impaired consumers more easily may identify their denominations. Though details are sketchy, the changes will affect segments of the ATM industry differently, observers say.

The Shazam electronic funds transfer network has introduced a fraud-prevention service that enables debit card issuers to respond quickly to fraud trends by blocking select transactions.

Automated teller machines may no longer be the one-trick pony of banking.

Blackboard Inc., a technology company that caters to education facilities, last week announced the availability of a university identification card that uses contactless technology to enable payments and building access.

Ingenico SA has introduced a suite of mobile-commerce applications designed to work with most mobile devices merchants already own, thereby simplifying the sales process for independent sales organizations hoping to convince more merchants to accept payment cards, contends the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker.

As one of the first resellers of VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s PayWare Mobile service, Merchant 360 Inc. says some mobile merchants like that the service includes a card reader that enables them to get card-present transaction rates.

BOSTON – Fiserv filed suit in federal court here last week claiming a senior executive laid off from its CheckFree unit took a confidential customer list with him and is now using it to solicit customers on behalf of a competitor, Charles River Systems.

Capital One Financial Corp. Chairman and CEO Richard Fairbank reportedly received stock options and awards valued at $6.1 million in 2009, 35% less than his 2008 pay, according a Dow Jones report citing the bank's proxy filing Thursday.

Automated teller machines may no longer be the one-trick pony of banking.

Lingering effects of a weakened U.S. economy continue to inhibit U.S. small businesses from making significant payment-systems upgrades, according to VeriFone Holdings Inc.

Firethorn Holdings LLC is offering consumers free access to their accounts at more than 3,700 financial institutions through a single mobile application, according to the Atlanta-based mobile-service provider.

Giftcards.com Friday announced the launch of its first Apple Inc. iPhone application. The free application enables consumers to activate Visa-branded prepaid cards or check the balances in their card accounts.

A recent study that focuses on Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance among large merchants also is helpful for educating independent sales organizations and the smaller merchants with which they typically work, observers note. ISOs should educate themselves not only about their specific markets but also about all aspects of data security and compliance in the payments industry to better serve their clients and ensure all merchants protect card data, they say.

Australian credit and charge card holders in December initiated 153.6 million transactions, up by 3.7% from the 148.1 million during the same month a year earlier, data from the Reserve Bank of Australia reveal. Sales volume grew by 4.8%, to AU$22 billion (US$857 million or 627 million euros) from AU$21 billion.

BOSTON – The state Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a suit by CUMIS Insurance Society and 130 credit unions claiming they were owed recompense in the 2004 credit card breach at BJ Wholesale Club.

EMVCo LLC this week launched an initiative enabling all payments-industry stakeholders to participate in guiding the organization’s strategic and technical direction.

ATM independent sales organization Global Axcess Corp. Wednesday reported record-high net income for 2009 despite lower revenue as the company focused on high-volume locations. The ISO also is using its ATM business as a bridge to cross-sell its growing DVD rental-kiosk business to clients.

Monoprix Group, a France-based retailer with more than 300 locations and approximately 4,000 point-of-sale devices, is using Hypercom Corp.’s Wynid payment server to process its transactions, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based terminal maker says.

Plastic Cash International LLC returned to its roots last week when it signed a brand-exclusive agreement with MasterCard Worldwide for its teen-oriented Myplash reloadable prepaid debit card. The card currently is Visa-branded but will relaunch this summer under the MasterCard brand. Myplash was MasterCard-branded when it debuted in 2005

China Merchants Bank has launched an online cash-advance service for its credit cardholders, the Shenzhen-based financial institution announced late last month. The launch marks the first time a bank in China has offered such a service, which draws from a card’s line of credit to fund the cardholder’s debit card account.