Credit

Online merchants in India increasingly are turning to cash on delivery as a payment method to cater to growing numbers of shoppers who prefer not to use credit cards.

Stating it no longer was a core part of its main consumer credit card business, MBNA Europe Bank Ltd. has sold its small business credit card portfolio to Barclays Bank PLC, Barclays announced April 4.

Recent data indicating that U.S. consumer credit card delinquency rates continue to improve is a positive for card issuers, despite what analysts view as a short-term uptick in U.S. consumer credit card defaults during February.

To cater to cardholders traveling internationally, American Express Co. has added three new benefits to its Platinum card, including eliminating the card’s foreign-transaction fee, the card brand announced April 5.

Most consumers hold at least one rewards-based credit card and would consider paying an annual fee if it meant they would receive and earn more rewards, new research suggests.

Navy Federal Credit Union’s move to eliminate balance-transfer fees for new credit card accounts is further evidence that the credit card industry has recovered sufficiently from economic and regulatory setbacks to return to more-aggressive marketing, one analysts contends.

Isis, the mobile payment venture founded by AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, said it is opening up its network and preparing for a pilot next year.

Another major security breach, this time at the email marketing company Epsilon, has underscored the threat banks face when they outsource services that are not normally considered sensitive.

Hoping to improve cardholder protections, the Reserve Bank of India on March 29 announced it will require banks in that country to send e-mail alerts to their debit and credit card customers when any transactions are initiated with their cards.

After a lull caused by the ailing economy, advertising spending for card products is on the rise.

Three large credit card issuers poured promotions into consumers’ mailboxes during last year’s fourth quarter, continuing the post-recession resurgence of direct-mail credit card offers that began in late 2009, according to new data from Mintel Comperemedia.

Visa cardholders traveling to Mexico spent US$4.4 billion in 2010, 10% more than US$4 billion they spent the previous year and on par with spending before the global recession began in 2007, according to a tourism outlook report Visa Inc. released in late March.

Consumers in Taiwan soon might not be able to pay for gas using their credit cards because the state-owned gas retailer later this year may be without a credit card processor.

Discover Financial Services on April 4 announced the appointment of R. Mark Graf as the company’s executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief accounting officer, replacing Roy Guthrie, who is retiring.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has removed the foreign-transaction fee from its Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Credit Card, resulting in 3% savings when cardholders make purchases abroad, Chase announced on March 31.

Researchers say they’ve found a security hole that exposes EMV chip-and-PIN protected cards, adding wrinkle to the hot debate over the use of the security standard in the U.S.

An estimated 417 different collection agencies and creditors were sued between March 1-15, down from 444 in the Feb. 1-15 period, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

MasterCard Worldwide has named Michael F. McEneney to the new position of deputy general counsel, the card brand announced March 31. McEneney will oversee global public policy, regulatory advocacy, litigation, and the legal teams for MasterCard’s products and advisory services.

This article was revised after Vivotech distributed a follow-up press release containing various "corrections."

Western Union Co. is expanding an initiative to enable Kenyan migrants to send funds to recipients in their home country who subscribe to Safaricon’s M-Pesa mobile wallet, the companies announced March 31.