Cards

Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union members now can pay bills using their mobile phones through a recent agreement the Merced, Calif.-based institution made that provides them access to Fiserv Inc.’s Mobile Money service.

Diebold Inc. Thursday named Charles E. (Chuck) Ducey Jr. executive vice president of North America operations, a region where the company has faced significant challenges because small and regional banks have refused to buy ATMs and open new branches, key revenue drivers for the ATM maker.

Best Buy Co. Inc. has made good on threats it made in July to drop acceptance of Visa Inc.’s contactless payWave cards because of the interchange rates the network applies to them, according to an industry analyst.

Best Buy Co. Inc. has made good on threats it made in July to drop acceptance of Visa Inc.’s contactless payWave cards because of the interchange rates the network applies to them, according to an industry analyst.

British issuer Barclaycard and mobile-network operator Orange UK have launched a cobranded contactless credit card, a product that brings the two firms closer to offering payments via mobile phones.

U.S. consumers are planning to spend less this month following the holidays, and they are slightly more pessimistic about their finances, according to survey data Discover Financial Services released on Jan. 6.

Product rebates present yet another potential niche for prepaid cards, and a rebate-processing company is working with MasterCard Worldwide on a prepaid initiative designed to improve its rebate fulfillment and redemption process.

"Dialing for dollars" could take on new meaning this year.

Hypercom Corp. on Jan. 6 announced its Optimum L4150 point-of-sale terminal can send consumers digital receipts to their e-mail addresses, an option the terminal maker says could save merchants in terminal printer and ink costs.

Meru Cabs will enable its customers to pay fares with credit and debit cards under a deal signed with Mumbai-based Axis Bank, according to a spokesperson for the India-based taxi operator.

UCO Bank plans to undergo a major ATM-expansion drive this year, according to a spokesperson for the government-owned, Mumbai-based financial institution.

German consumers are facing problems using their debit and credit cards at home and abroad this week because of a programming glitch. The glitch renders some 30 million chip cards unable to recognize the year 2010, making it impossible for millions of consumers to use their cards at ATMs and point-of-sale terminals. Unclear was whether the glitch originated in cash machines and terminals or on card chips.

At the start of 2009, consumers said, almost timidly, that it would be nice to be able to manage their bank accounts with mobile phones. Now, they are demanding such services.

Co-op Financial Services, operator of one of the nation’s largest surcharge-free ATM network for credit unions with more than 28,000 machines, last week named Bruce Fielder regional sales manager for credit-union ATM services.

Count the merchant acquirer First American Payment Systems LP among the U.S. payment processors looking abroad for growth.

PSCU Financial Services Monday reported a record year for debit and credit card transactions processed despite the economy and the turmoil in the nation’s financial markets.

Spain-based financial institution Grupo Santander announced Tuesday it will offer free use of 4,300 ATMs in Spain to consumers from the United Kingdom. The offer will begin on Monday, the financial institution says in a statement.

International payment services company Global Collect announced today that it has joined the PCI Security Standards Council as a participating organization that will help develop the data protection standards.

Mophie, a Paw Paw, Mich.-based provider of technology accessory products such as smartphone batteries, later this week expects to reveal an external card reader and an application that manages transactions for Apple Inc.’s iPhone at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Banks are taking a tag-team approach to attract customers in the increasingly automated health care market, bundling commercial lending services with payments, technology management and other services.