Credit

ZAO Citibank has launched a free service that enables Moscow residents to pay their city real-estate, telephone and energy bills automatically by billing to their Citibank debit or credit card accounts, the Moscow-based company announced Oct. 17.

Accepting card payments with a mobile phone is becoming as American as baseball and apple pie now that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is selling the Square Inc. reader that turns any smartphone into a card-acceptance device.

Travelex Global Business Payments Inc. is using new software to offer an online payment program designed to save U.S. universities time and money by eliminating manual tracking when various exchange fees cause an international student’s payments to be less than what is owed, the Washington, D.C.-based company announced Oct. 13.

The recent arrests in New York related to what some have called the biggest counterfeit credit card scheme in U.S. history prompted some observers to suggest that recent actions in the U.S. to adopt chip card technology could put an end to such crimes.

Discover Financial Services on Oct. 23 launched a redesigned version of its website that promotes more than just credit cards, PaymentsSource has learned.

United Solutions Co., a credit union service organization owned by five area credit unions and one former credit union, has agreed to license the card-customization technology owned by Serverside Group.

Performance reports from Oct. 17 seemed to confirm the new equilibrium in the credit card universe.

Genome projects map the relationship between human DNA and musical preferences, so why not that of consumers and their cards?

Total Systems Services Inc., or TSYS, has purchased the Vanguard Payment Systems Inc. portfolio of 1,200 merchant accounts, which now will receive service through TSYS Merchant Solutions, the Columbus, Ga.-based payments processor announced Oct. 21.

Capital One Financial Corp. is looking for another private-label credit card portfolio to buy on the heels of absorbing the U.S. card business of HSBC Bank USA and last year’s acquisition of the Kohl’s Corp. store card portfolio, CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts Oct. 20.

Google Wallet is riding on an active trend to connect retailer loyalty programs to mobile-payment systems.

Days after South Korea’s card networks agreed to slash the interchange rates they apply to credit card acceptance at small merchants, the Korean government has said that it would strive to unify their rates.

Helped by a lower rate of U.S. cardholder defaults and higher purchase volume, Capital One Financial Corp.’s credit card business generated net income of $663 million during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 5.1% from $631 million a year earlier, the company reported Oct. 20.

American Express Co. turned sharply away from riskier customers during the recession, and that strategy is beginning to significantly reshape its card portfolio.

PayPal Inc.’s brand recognition with consumers is helping parent EBay Inc.’s payment unit to position its mobile offerings as the most secure product in the marketplace, eBay’s CEO noted during a conference call to discuss the company’s third quarter earnings.

Helped by a 10% increase in credit card sales from a year earlier as consumer spending accelerated, Alliance Data Systems Corp. on Oct. 20 reported significant increases in third-quarter revenue and income.

Before undergoing major technical tasks related to preparing point-of-sale terminals for the Single Euro Payment Area, French terminal maker Ingenico SA says it will have a key voice in establishing security and payment scheme standards for the single European market.

Hidden fees are forcing some consumers out of the traditional banking system.

China’s mobile-payments market is expected to grow considerably in the coming years even as concerns remain about security and the lack of cooperation between telecommunication operators and banks, a new report suggests.

Citing strong cardholder spending increases across the board, American Express Co. on Oct. 19 said its U.S. Card Services unit produced income of $733 million during the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 23.2% from $595 million a year earlier.