Credit

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.

The alternative payment provider Dwolla has launched a credit-based instant payments capability, built on partnerships with banks and credit unions.

The coveted "Millennial" generation of consumers ages 18 to 34 is central to the success of any new payments technology – but this group also has a wide range of financial goals that make it hard to target with a one-size-fits-all product.

Although its third quarter net income dropped 7% year-over-year, Discover Financial Services remains confident in the opportunities it has invested in for the future.

Wonga, a London-based provider of short-term loans, has purchased BillPay, a Berlin-based online payment and financing platform.

American Express Co., the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases, posted a third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as customer spending climbed.

Capital One and General Motors are extending their co-branded card partnership with the introduction of a new GM MasterCard from Capital One.

eBay's $800 million purchase of Braintree is the latest in a series of acquisitions that are steadily building PayPal into a powerhouse in mobile payments. Most of these acquisitions took place within the past two years.

American Express plans to sell a 50% stake in its business-travel division in a bid to expand the operation.

PayPal has launched PayPal Working Capital, a credit offering that merchants can apply for based on their PayPal transaction history instead of their credit history.

Just hours after agreeing to pay $910 million in regulatory fines related to the London Whale trading scandal, JPMorgan Chase agreed Thursday to repay $309 million in restitution to customers harmed by its credit card practices as well as face an additional $80 million more in civil money penalties.