Credit

American Express Co.'s affluent base of cardholders apparently felt pretty confident about the economy, driving strong growth in card purchases that helped to produce record first-quarter profits for the card company.

South Korea’s financial regulators have issued new rules to govern credit card issuance to stem what many experts say is a vulnerable card market.

Increased consumer spending and rewards redemptions helped all three of Alliance Data Systems Corp.’s business units, including private-label card services, to report significant first-quarter gains, the company announced April 19.

Debit card interchange-rate reductions that took effect Oct. 1 triggered a big reduction in Fifth Third Bancorp’s first-quarter card and processing revenue compared with the same period last year, the company reported April 19.

Benefitting from higher cardholder spending and low loss rates, American Express Co. posted record profits for the first quarter.

Within a couple of months, MasterCard Worldwide expects its cardholders to have easy access to daily coupons from merchants.

Despite new rules and legislation that have cut into certain revenue streams, credit and debit cards are showing some positive trends at U.S. Bancorp.

The state of Hawaii has sued seven major credit card issuers over the marketing of credit card insurance-like products, known as payment-protection plans.

U.S. Bank is moving to roll out mobile instant-credit apps for its key cobranded retail credit card partners after a successful pilot.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s credit card unit is evolving into a leaner, more upscale transaction machine.

Orange continued its push to stay at the forefront of mobile payments in the United Kingdom, expanding its Quick Tap contactless payment system to handsets powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

This story was updated from its original version with more information.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking comment on a proposal to revise a Federal Reserve rule limiting credit card fees issued before a borrower opens an account.

By backing off a plan to limit large up-front fees banks can charge on credit cards, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau feels it has protected cardholders from other increased costs, the Associated Press reported April 12.

Alliance Data Systems Inc. has agreed to buy the existing private-label credit card portfolio of jewelry retailer Premier Designs.

SmartMetric Inc. came up empty in federal appeals court April 11, but the payments-technology provider plans to continue its fight against three of the major card brands it says stole its patented technology.

Visa Inc. has rolled out another point-of-sale fraud-fighting tool for payment card issuers already facing costly changes to block fraud at the checkout level with EMV technology.

Visa Inc. has launched a new tool to help issuers spot fraud, the card brand announced April 11.

The credit card industry is slowly turning a corner.

ING Vysya Bank India Pvt. Ltd. will issue a new Kisan Credit Card targeting Indian farmers that incorporates an ATM function, the Indian subsidiary of the Netherlands-based bank last week.