Credit

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.

Freedom Debt Relief, a debt-settlement agency based in San Mateo, Calif., will pay $1.1 million to refund more than 5,000 New York residents who were misled about the amount of money they would save, according to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office.

The number of personal bankruptcy filings in February rose to 102,686, up 11% from January but down 8% from a year earlier, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

China UnionPay has signed an acceptance agreement with US-based Citibank that will see UnionPay cards being accepted in seven other Asian nations, a spokesperson for China’s bankcard association confirms PaymentsSource.

American Express Co.’s plans to test an application program interface that connects its cardholders with social media giant Foursquare Labs Inc. creates a “powerful combination of digital behavior and spending behavior,” David Wolf, AmEx vice president of global marketing capabilities, tells PaymentsSource.

U.S. consumer credit card defaults declined again in January, reaching their lowest levels in more than two years as the economy gradually stabilized and more consumers were able to meet their payment obligations, according to new data from Fitch Ratings Inc. and Standard & Poor’s.