There are some fairly basic, decisive steps banks could take to educate people outside the financial mainstream, and it would make banking more profitable, says John Bryant, the chairman and CEO of the nonprofit Operation Hope.

Gemalto, which manufactures SIM cards and EMV chips, is investigating a report that U.S. and U.K. spy agencies hacked into the company's network and stole mobile phone encryption keys, a technology also used to secure card data.

If you thought American Express' loss Thursday of a big antitrust case would help its rivals, think again. Visa, MasterCard, and even card-issuing banks could be hurt by the race to lower merchant fees that the ruling will set off.

American Express rules barring businesses from asking customers to use lower-cost credit cards violate U.S. antitrust law, a federal judge found.

Pay.gov, the federal government's web portal for collecting payments to federal agencies, is now offering PayPal and Dwolla as payment options.

Vladimir Drinkman, a Muscovite charged in the biggest data-breach prosecution in U.S. history, pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he conspired to steal 160 million credit card numbers.

Decisions about when and how to implement EMV technology in credit and debit cards are difficult. Many banks have decided to slowly phase it in, despite the fact the delay will open them up to greater potential liability.

Branch closings draw big headlines, but several large banks are entering new markets — or bulking up in underrepresented cities — by adding branches and hiring lenders. Bank of America, for instance, is planning a retail push in Denver and Minneapolis.

American Express, the biggest U.S. credit-card issuer by customer purchases, said its co-brand and merchant agreements with Costco Wholesale in U.S. stores will end next year.

The bank's most recent ATM update offers something novel: customers can redeem their credit card rewards for cash or deposit them in other accounts at its 12,500 ATMs.

A federal judge has upheld a Texas law that bars the state's retailers from charging an additional fee to customers who pay with a credit card.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $4 million to settle charges that it made secured credit card loans in violation of New York law.

A subprime credit card company in Delaware agreed to pay nearly $3 million in refunds and penalties for allegedly charging fees that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says violated federal law.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to permanently ban a credit provider in Texas from offering any services because of allegations that it ran a "sham credit card" business.

The move likely foreshadows the market impact of proposed regulations requiring prepaid card issuers to assess consumers' ability to repay before extending credit.

Banks partnering with prepaid card providers face the potential of higher deposit insurance fees and other ramifications from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. classifying accounts as "brokered."

American Express, Discover and Capital One all reported significant increases in their marketing spending last quarter, part of a larger upward trend in expenses.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

Capital One Financial posted a 17% rise in net income in the fourth quarter thanks largely to growth in its U.S. credit card business.

2014 ended roughly for some of the biggest payment companies, and 2015 will bring even more challenges from rapidly changing technology and nimble startups.