Credit

HDFC Bank Ltd. has launched a card designed for working women in India in hopes of garnering a greater share of the country’s overall credit card market, the issuer announced Nov. 30.

The Indian Ministry of Finance is considering reducing the interest rates banks can charge on consumers’ outstanding card debts to make owning credit cards more affordable and to encourage mobile payments.

A cybercrook attempting to purchase online products with fake credit cards or under a phony name likely would not be able to hide from a Retail Decisions Ltd. fraud-protection upgrade designed to enable merchants to know where their online shoppers are located, the fraud prevention consulting and payment processing firm announced Nov. 28.

Seamless Distribution AB believes it has developed a mobile-payment method that replaces the need to shop with credit and debit cards, thus saving money for merchants who no longer would have to pay card-related fees, the payments software company announced Nov. 29.

Acculynk Inc. is banking on its relationships with major U.S. retailers to help it secure card-network partnerships in the international market to deploy PaySecure, its Internet PIN-debit product.

Credit cardholders have high satisfaction levels with their most frequently used cards mainly because they never have had problems with them, according to new research from Auriemma Consulting Group.

American Airlines’ bankruptcy could create some collateral damage for Citigroup Inc., which runs the airline’s large rewards credit card program.

Processor 99Bill Corp. has entered the cross-border electronic-payments market in China, offering payment-processing services for Chinese merchants that sell their products and services internationally, the Beijing-based company announced Nov. 19.

The Financial Service Authority in the United Kingdom has authorized Euronet Worldwide Inc. to acquire ATM and credit card transactions throughout most of Europe without the requirement of a sponsor bank, the e-payments provider announced last week.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday were robust for retailers, which could translate into a profitable start to the holidays for cyber criminals as well, a data security expert suggests.

Dissatisfaction with high annual percentage rates is the main reason consumers cancel credit cards, according to new research from Auriemma Consulting Group.

Navy Federal Credit Union has partnered with Cartera Commerce to launch a rewards program that offers members extra cash back and rewards points with online-shopping offers linked to their credit card accounts, the financial institution announced Nov. 29.

Three Chinese men in Grand Rapids, Mich., last week each were sentenced to 102 months behind bars for skimming credit cards at area Meijer stores and stealing $285,000 from credit-union members and bank customers.

Toronto-Dominion’s U.S. bank is slowly carving out a wider wedge of the tumultuous market for retailers’ credit cards.

Starbucks Corp. plans to ride the U.S. success of its in-store mobile-payment method by introducing the application to customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Jan. 5, the Seattle-based company announced Nov. 24.

Consumer use of credit cards online is making a comeback, new research suggests.

Air New Zealand has launched a smart prepaid card that supports MasterCard PayPass contactless functionality, the airline announced Nov. 22.

Consumer credit card originations rose 32% during the first eight months of this year, though the amount of total new credit issued still lags behind pre-recession levels by a full 45%, recently released data show.

Microsoft Corp. insists the online service associated with the Xbox 360 video-game console did not experience a security breach despite some United Kingdom consumers who say they fell victim to a phishing scam tied to the system.

Consumers who travel overseas may present the best opportunity for U.S. card issuers to roll out EMV chip cards and remain competitive in that market, according to Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.