Credit

Citigroup Inc., Capital One Financial Corp. and a host of other issuers appear bullish on retail credit card programs following recent announcements of their plans to recommit and expand in private-label cards. But a caution flag suddenly has emerged.

No, Wells Fargo & Co. is not feeling the heat to issue more credit cards. But consumers applying for an interest-free loan to purchase a furnace might automatically land a new Wells card, too.

A state in India is demanding that the central government upgrade its Kisan Credit Card so farmers may use it at ATMs and keep it longer before requiring a new one.

Payment Card Industry data-security standards continue to fail merchants in their most vulnerable hour, as one restaurant chain might have prevented a credit card fraud scheme if it equipped its payments systems better to address third-party intrusions, a security expert contends.

The silence is almost deafening.

FleetCor Technologies Inc.’s latest acquisition puts the number of company buys at more than 40 within the past eight years as the fleet fuel card pursues a global growth strategy.

Credit-union members spent 8.1% more and made 10.1% more transactions during this year’s Black Friday than they did on the same day last year, according to a new analysis conducted by Co-op Financial Services and Saylent Technologies, a provider of payment-intelligence services.

Fleet fuel card provider FleetCor Technologies Inc. has acquired AllStar Business Solutions Ltd. from United Kingdom-based The Arval Group for US$304 million (£194 million or 229 million euros), the companies announced Dec. 13.

Isis, still almost a year away from launching its mobile-payments application, is partnering with an industry heavyweight to serve as the security guard for its wallet.

Hold the phone! Google Wallet appears to have a security leak.

Litigation fears may impede industry support for shorter credit card term agreements, even though most issuers agree reducing the amount of text is a nice idea, legal experts say.

Next year could be a “transition” year in which consumer deleveraging slows significantly and borrowing improves, spurring credit card market growth.

Despite new limits on debit card interchange, the price of Slurpees has stubbornly remained the same, according to a survey completed by the payments industry’s lobbying group.

Executives from merchant-funded rewards companies dislike the title attached to the service they provide.

NEW YORK–It is a brave new world for retail bankers, who are struggling to mend their reputations and relationships with their increasingly disgruntled customers.

American Express Co. has seen strong growth in Asia and is continuing to find partners for its global network services unit, which processes credit card transactions for banks.

WASHINGTON–Key congressional backers of a 2009 law that strengthened consumer protections for credit card users are now concerned that the Federal Reserve Board has gone too far with regulations that could restrict credit to stay-at-home mothers.

U.S. consumer credit card balances rose slightly in October, which could be a harbinger of heavier credit card use over the holidays, one expert suggests.

Barclaycard plans to issue contactless corporate cards to all of its United Kingdom-based customers beginning this month in what appears to be the first example of broad contactless commercial card distribution, observers say.

Many merchant-funded rewards companies try to entice bank credit or debit card holders with offers in their online statements. Two vendors are teaming up to bring those offers to the broader Web.