Credit

The tide continues to shift in favor of the payments industry in the United Kingdom’s battle against card fraud.

FleetCor Technologies Inc. has signed agreements to expand its emerging markets coverage by acquiring the Mexican assets of NovoPayment Inc.'s subsidiaries Tebca and Servitebca, the fleet card provider announced March 12.

If Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects to continue its scheduled distribution of chip-and-PIN smart cards to commercial clients in the United States, it intends to provide a significant amount of education to those clients about how the card works overseas.

Discover Financial Services is partnering with the National Payments Corp. of India, part of the company’s ongoing effort to increase card acceptance abroad by teaming with local networks.

LAS VEGAS–The U.S. may look like a ripe field of opportunity to some international vendors of EMV card technology and related services as the world’s largest remaining magnetic stripe card market slowly begins a five-year conversion to chip technology.

Almost a year after credit card loans hit bottom, banks have given little slack in credit lines.

Some eight out of 10 adults in South Korea own at least one credit card, highlighting the saturation in the country’s card market, new survey data suggest.

LAS VEGAS–The relatively late timing of the U.S. move to adopt the EMV smart card technology means it could dodge some of the headaches other countries experienced in shifting to EMV.

American Express Co. and Twitter on March 6 announced a partnership that should help Amex glean a wealth of information about its customers and likely customer prospects. It also should help strengthen merchant relationships and get Amex’s cardholders to speak up for its brand, creating what’s called in social media-speak “promoters” through the lure of coupons.

Merrill Halpern received an “unexpected benefit” when traveling recently in Europe without an EMV smart card in his wallet. He got a free cup of coffee from a coffee shop employee who felt sorry for him because she couldn’t initiate the transaction on her terminal with just Halpern’s signature.

The top South Korean financial-services regulator has a hit a roadblock in its process of phasing out the magnetic stripe in credit cards and replacing it with a smart chip.

WASHINGTON–The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has hit its stride on consumer complaints.

U.S. Bancorp is offering a new Apple Inc. iPad app that will allow stores to offer instant credit to customers.

Barclaycard US is courting customers who are frustrated by hidden bank charges with a credit card that lays bare not only its fees but also its profitability for the issuer.

WASHINGTON–The American Bankers Association on March 5 unveiled a task force to develop strategies to ensure an efficient payments market.

LAS VEGAS–The number of EMV payment smart cards shipped worldwide passed the 1 billion mark in 2011, the Smart Payment Association announced here March 5 at the inaugural Cartes in North America Expo & Conference.

Plastic cards likely aren’t going away anytime soon, so some card networks and issuers are creating ways to make cards more valuable to consumers, such as by enabling them to provide access to multiple accounts.

American Express Co. has added Japan to the markets where it provides corporate employee expense-reporting services in conjunction with Concur Technologies Inc., the card brand announced March 1.

Credit card portfolio premiums are on the rise as demand begins to increase with improving economic conditions.

Looking to further diversify its income channels, Al Ansari Exchange Ltd. has signed an agreement to accept payments from National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s credit cardholders, the exchange house announced earlier this week.