Credit

As the mobile-payments ecosystem continues to take shape, Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, is dipping its toe into the pool for the first time through a partnership with a Singapore-based trusted service manager for financial institutions, retailers, transit operators and mobile-service providers.

Telefónica O2 UK Ltd. is adding its name to a growing list of wireless carriers planning to launch Near Field Communication initiatives to enable consumers to use their smartphones to initiate payment at the point of sale.

U.S. credit cardholders boosted their overall borrowing in December for the first time in more than two years, according to a Feb. 7 Federal Reserve G.19 report. But card issuers should not break out the champagne just yet, analysts say.

U.S. credit cardholders boosted their overall borrowing in December for the first time in more than two years, according to a Feb. 7 Federal Reserve G.19 report. But card issuers should not break out the champagne just yet, analysts say.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., or FIS, says demand is picking up for core processing upgrades, contradicting a report last week from rival Fiserv Inc., company executives said during a Feb. 8 conference call to discuss earnings.

French bank Crédit Agricole SA has selected Gemalto NV to support its deployment of Near Field Communication mobile-payment services in Nice, the France-based technology provider announced Feb. 8.

Aeromexico operator Airways of Mexico SA de CV plans to CyberSource Corp.’s fraud-management software, the Visa Inc. subsidiary announced Feb. 8. The Mexican airline will use CyberSource’s technology to protect its card-not-present ticketing transactions at its call centers and website.

Technology is driving down the rate of fraud for banks, though the cost to consumers for identity theft crimes is going up.

Maas Global Solutions Corp. has become the exclusive processor for Pride Payments Network LLC after making a “significant investment” in the merchant acquiring independent sales organization, the companies announced Feb. 5

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Pvt. bank has become the 10th bank in India to launch the Internet Mobile Payment Service in India, a spokesperson for the Karur-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Credit card issuers in South Korea have stopped charging customers cash-advance handling fees, a spokesperson for the Credit Finance Association of Korea confirms to PaymentsSource.

As merchants crack down on fraud, resources to help investigate and recoup their losses from so-called “friendly fraud” are on the rise, helping to thwart the trend, observers say.

Sage Payment Solutions Inc. hopes to capture a new group of retail customers with the launch of a mobile service that provides small and midsize merchants lacking storefronts a low-cost option to accept credit and debit cards, the company announced Feb. 7.

Visa Inc. will allow merchants to offer discounts or other incentives to steer customers to a particular form of payment, including to a specific network brand or to any card product such as a “nonreward” Visa credit card, under terms of its settlement of an antitrust suit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, the card brand announced last week.

Seeking to cater to its consumers who do not have Apple Inc. iPhones or Google Inc. Android smartphones, TD Bank NA last week launched a mobile-banking application for Research In Motion Inc.’s BlackBerry devices.

Many risk managers across Europe expect an improvement in credit card and auto-loan performance in the next six months, with much less optimism for mortgage and small-business loans, recently released survey data suggest.

Most consumers in the United Kingdom have not changed their payment habits, but some say they will rely less on credit cards even if the economy improves, suggest recent survey data from New York-based Auriemma Consulting Group.

Many banks have reported financial improvements, but their technology spending is still at a trickle.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the financial-services watchdog agency Congress mandated last year as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, on Feb. 3 launched its website, laying the groundwork for soliciting consumer complaints about credit cards and other financial-services products.

NCR Corp.’s investments in improving its technology are helping it recover from the economic downturn by sparking more demand from retail banks, the ATM and kiosk maker noted Feb. 3 during a quarterly earnings call with analysts.