Credit

The credit-card issuer has agreed to loosen its restrictions on fees charged by retailers to consumers, following a similar move by Visa and MasterCard.

If Target can't protect itself from a data breach, how can any retailer hope to do so?

Target has confirmed the compromise of the credit and debit card data of 40 million Target shoppers and says the problem has been identified and resolved. However, thieves are selling the card account information as fast as they can on underground sites, according to security blogger and expert Brian Krebs.

The docket at the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals quickly attracted appeals to Judge John Gleeson's Dec. 13 ruling to approve the class-action swipe-fee settlement on an antitrust case that has lingered in his court for nearly nine years.

Mobile commerce provider Spindle and mobile payment company iPayMobil have partnered to enable merchants to offer credit.

A federal judge approved the multi-billion dollar settlement of a lawsuit over credit card swipe fees, resolving an eight-year long battle between banks and retailers.

MasterCard Inc. said its board of directors approved an 83 percent dividend increase and a 10-for-1 stock split.

Payments servicing provider Nortridge is integrating with PayNearMe's electronic cash transaction network to enable borrowers to make payments at 7-Eleven and ACE Cash Express stores, thus reducing the risk lenders would face in in accepting cash payments at their own locations.

Mobile wallet providers such as PayPal, Google and LevelUp already allow consumers to add funds by scanning a credit or debit card with a smartphone's camera. Banks can use similar technology to allow customers to open and fund new accounts from a mobile phone.

American Airlines and US Airways have argued that the combined airline will be good for "competition, consumers and choice." But just days before the merger's closing, changes that the airlines have made to a popular credit card reward may end up having the opposite effect.

Citigroup Inc. is expanding its ThankYou Rewards program by providing customers with virtual account numbers linked to their Citi credit cards and rewards accounts to redeem points at online merchants.

The number of credit cards issued by banks and retailers hit five-year highs between January and August, according to the latest Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis plans to join the American Express credit card network by fall 2014.

Heartland Payment Systems will be a distributor of American Express Merchant Financing, a program that allows small businesses to obtain credit based on annual card processing volume.

Bank of America Corp. is negotiating with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to settle allegations it deceived customers in the sales of credit-card add-on products, according to two people briefed on the talks.

Total System Services Inc. has made Andrew Mathieson its group executive of relationship management, with responsibilities for marketing, risk management and business consulting services.

MasterCard, echoing remarks made 16 hours earlier by Visa, is placing security at the heart of its emerging payments strategy.

Visa Inc. posted a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that matched analysts’ estimates as U.S. retail spending strengthened.

Fourty-four percent of American consumers have chosen not to sign the back of their payments cards, instead writing “see ID” or leaving it blank, according to a study sponsored by Jumio and conducted online by Harris Interactive.

Issuers of store-branded credit cards are facing new regulatory scrutiny over big retroactive interest charges that can hit borrowers at the end of a promotional period.