Cards

Consumer-electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. is partnering with Tio Networks Inc. to deploy self-service bill-payment kiosks in stores in four cities as part of a pilot to determine whether they encourage more foot traffic.

The loss of large clients, price compression, negative currency-exchange rates and the difficult economy contributed to a difficult fourth quarter and 2009 overall for Total System Services Inc., known as TSYS. The same themes also likely will affect the Columbus, Ga.-based transaction processor this year, executives noted yesterday during a conference call with analysts.

Acculynk Inc. CEO Ashish Bahl last year spent much of his time introducing the company’s PaySecure Internet PIN-debit product to merchants, processors and electronic funds transfer networks. This year, Acculynk will concentrate on increasing merchant acceptance and making more debit cards compatible with the service, Bahl tells PaymentsSource.

Apriva says it will integrate Visa Inc.’s payWave contactless technology into its vending machine transaction-processing service.

The Federal Reserve banks have announced plans to conduct a comprehensive study this year of check and electronic payments in the U.S.

Staring at the potential loss of billions in overdraft fees, some banks are generating income by abandoning the commoditylike nature of checking accounts.

When Sue Rexford decides to open a banking account for her new venture, Bodhi Tree Therapeutic Massage. she will look for a financial company that can provide two things: convenience and low fees.

I&M Bank Ltd. in Kenya has received a license from Visa Inc. to process online credit card payments for goods and services in East Africa, reports Bloomberg News.

HOUSTON – Lawyers representing more than 50 financial institutions – including some two dozen credit unions – are urging their clients to reject a $60 million settlement offer in the Heartland Payments System cards breach, saying the pro rata share amounts to pennies on the dollar of costs.

Payment Alliance International today announced it has acquired Comdata Processing Systems’ merchant-processing business, which includes 5,000 merchant locations and more than 50 independent sales organizations.

Hong Leong Bank Bhd is looking to establish a cardholder base of 2 million for its so-called combi debit card over the next five years, an official for the Kuala Lumpur-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Wells Fargo & Co. today reported fourth quarter net income of $2.8 billion, helped in part by significantly higher credit and debit card fees. Wells Fargo reported a loss of $2.7 billion during the same quarter a year ago. Total bank revenues were $22.7 billion, up 139% compared with $9.5 billion a year ago.

U.S. Bancorp today reported credit and debit card revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 of $273 million, up 6.6% from $256 million during the same period a year earlier. For the year, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based bank reported card revenue of $1.06 billion, up slightly from $1.05 billion in 2008.

Hammered again by weak economic conditions in the United States, Europe and Canada, Bank of America Corp.’s Global Card Services unit today reported a net loss of $1 billion for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31; the unit reported a $9 million loss for the same period a year ago.

The continuing evolution of mobile technology has prompted a fledging mobile-payments company to develop a system that enables consumers to send free text message-based funds transfers to Central America.

Visa Europe this year expects spending on Visa debit cards to overtake spending with cash in the United Kingdom because of the recession.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. this week announced it will offer members of the National Restaurant Association a suite of payment products that includes card processing, check services, and payroll, tip-reporting and compliance reports as part of an agreement between the payment processor and the Washington, D.C.-based trade group.

Bank of America Corp.’s Global Card Services unit today reported a net loss of $1 billion for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31; the unit reported a $9 million loss for the same period a year ago.

Bank of India is looking to acquire more than 100,000 point-of-sale terminals this year as part of its POS-network expansion drive, an official from the Mumbai-based financial institution tells PaymentsSource.

The Canadian Minister of Finance’s draft code of conduct for the credit and debit card industry is too restrictive, contends Visa Canada, while MasterCard Canada contends “vigorous debit competition can thrive” under the proposed code. Both card brands submitted their comments on the proposal Jan. 18.