Cards

Elavon, U.S. Bancorp’s merchant-acquiring unit, has purchased Citizens National Bank’s portfolio of more than 300 merchant-processing accounts, according to the companies. Terms were not disclosed.

Retail sales in December increased slightly compared with the same month in 2008, but the weak job market continues to subdue consumer spending, according to two retail organizations. The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association last week both revealed their retail sales numbers for December.

Mobile-payments company Apriva announced today the launch of the AprivaPay and AprivaPay Professional mobile-payment services. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Apriva operates its own network that connects mobile-payment terminals to processors.

Citibank customers in Thailand can now use their cell phones to access their bank accounts with Citi Mobile, Citi announced earlier this month. The company says it is the first foreign bank to offer mobile banking in Thailand.

Axis Bank soon will outsource its ATM operations, an official for the Mumbai-based bank tells PaymentsSource. The financial institution is in the final stages of selecting a vendor for the outsourcing, says the official, who wished to remain anonymous.

China UnionPay last week signed an agreement that will allow Chinese tourists to use their China UnionPay cards to access a Standard Chartered Bank subsidiary’s ATMs in several African countries, a spokesperson for the China-based card company tells PaymentsSource. Standard Chartered is based in the United Kingdom, and the subsidiary is based in Kenya.

SourceMedia Inc., publisher of PaymentsSource, today announced the appointment of Douglas J. Manoni as chief executive officer. He replaces James M. Malkin, who has left the company.

Barclaycard will launch another contactless marketing push, this one featuring a rollercoaster ride through New York City, the issuer announced this week. The advertising effort follows an earlier one designed to promote contactless card payments through the use of commercials featuring waterslides.

Merchant cash-advance company AdvanceMe Inc. this week announced it has added data to its statements to enable merchants to compare their monthly card sales from the same month a year earlier and how their sales measure up against a peer group.

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based Co-op Financial Services announced Thursday it has extended its electronic funds transfer network access agreement with First Data Corp.’s Star Network.

Consumers would be able to make cash-back withdrawals from certain prepaid card accounts at the point of sale under a proposal the Reserve Bank of India is considering.

Arcot Systems Inc. has released an application for mobile phones that enables consumers with EMV cards to authenticate card-not-present transactions, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said this week.

Each of the four major U.S. card brands is waiving interchange fees on Haitian relief donations made to select charities for a limited time to ensure a greater portion of contributions made with their cards reaches victims of the massive earthquake that struck the region Jan 12.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard said yesterday that SunTrust Banks will convert the company's debit card programs to MasterCard.

An effort designed to increase identity controls in India could boost mircopayment and remittance services in that country, an official at the Unique Identification Authority of India tells PaymentsSource.

NCR Corp.’s German subsidiary today announced it has signed agreements with 20 banks to monitor their self-service systems, increasing the time the machines are available for customer use.

SunTrust Banks Inc., the nation’s seventh-largest debit card issuer, announced today it will convert its debit card portfolio to MasterCard from Visa. MasterCard’s joint marketing programs will enable the Atlanta-based bank to grow its portfolio faster and help generate more revenue to better compete in the Southeast banking market, a bank official says.

The Secure Remote Payment Council Jan. 14 named former NYCE Payments Network LLC CEO Dennis Lynch as its first chairperson and Paul Tomasofsky, president of Two Sparrows Consulting, as the organization’s president and executive director.

The National Bank of Kuwait has renewed its credit card processing agreement with United States-based First Data Corp.

EProcessing Network LLC, a Houston-based online payment gateway company, says its ePNJPOS payment software now supports VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s PINpad 1000SE PIN pad.