Credit

Visa Inc. is making a bigger play in person-to-person payments by teaming with CashEdge Inc. and Fiserv Inc. for new options in money transfers to and from Visa cards.

Visa Inc.’s continued push to promote its card products in Latin America and the Caribbean region helped produce considerable growth for the company, as sales volume rose 28%, to $270 billion from $211 billion in 2009, according to the card brand.

WASHINGTON—The banking industry saw the first tangible signs of progress March 15 in its fight to overturn the Durbin amendment, as House and Senate lawmakers officially introduced bills that would delay implementation of a plan to restrict interchange fees on debit cards.

Payments-industry representatives rushed to throw support behind legislation introduced March 15 in the U.S. Senate that would delay implementation of new Federal Reserve Board rules that would cap debit interchange beginning this summer.

PayPal Inc. has paid LML Patent Corp., a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of LML Payment Systems Inc., $7.5 million to settle a patent dispute that stemmed from an infringement complaint involving 19 other financial institutions, LML announced in a press release.

Major credit card networks on March 14 announced they are waiving interchange fees charities otherwise would pay card issuers on donations cardholders make to provide support for Japanese relief efforts in the wake of the devastation caused by last week’s earthquake and tsunami.

Google Inc.’s interest in Near Field Communication technology might be more about advertising than establishing its own payments network, observes one analyst.

American Express Co. cardholders borrowed less on using their cards in February compared with the two previous months, AmEx reported in a March 15 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

WASHINGTON – Senator Jon Tester will introduce a bill later today that would delay implementation of the controversial rule on debit interchange for as long as two years while NCUA and bank regulators study its impact on credit unions and community banks, with a similar bill to be introduced later in the House.

Dm-drogerie markt GmbH + Co. KG, one of the top two drugstore chains in Germany, is deploying more than 3,700 Hypercom Artema Hybrid payment terminals at its nearly 1,200 retail outlets nationwide, terminal maker Hypercom Corp. announced March 15.

A leading consumer group filed a brief in federal court calling for the judge to reject the pleas by credit union and bank groups to block implementation of the Durbin amendment on debit fees, saying consumers will benefit from regulation of the $20 billion-a-year market.

International energy company National Grid PLC has begun offering electronic bills to its U.S. customers through Fiserv Inc.’s e-Bill Distribution system, the companies announced March 14.

Apple Inc. boasts that its iPhone “changes everything,” but against the expectations of many bankers, it may not be changing payments–at least, not this year.

The Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council has begun using AppNinjas Inc.’s Swipe Credit Card Terminal for iPhone to accept credit and debit cards from consumers buying members’ cookies, the organization announced March 9.

Younger credit cardholders are more likely than the general population to apply for a new card in the next year, new survey data from Auriemma Consulting Group suggest.

Yespay International Ltd. has released its application programming interface specifications that merchants may use to integrate Yespay’s mobile-based services into their point-of-sale systems, the London-based payment-services provider announced on March 11.

WASHINGTON – Visa and MasterCard are telling their credit union and bank owners the uncertainty they will face over litigation costs for a pending antitrust case over the networks’ anti-steering provisions will continue indefinitely, even as the controversy escalates over the Federal Reserve’s proposed rules on debit fees.

Apple Inc. may not be building a contactless payment capability into its next iPhone.

TCF Financial Corp.'s William Cooper is rethinking his long-held belief that economies of scale don't matter in banking.

Indian Overseas Bank Ltd. has entered into a distribution agreement with American Express Co., a spokesperson for the Chennai-based bank tells PaymentsSource.