Credit

The average U.S. bankcard charge-off rate in December declined 144 basis points to 6.73% from 8.17% a year earlier, according to data Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and ExperianPLC released Jan. 18.

Global Payments Inc. will provide multi-currency processing services to merchants in the United States and Canada through a deal with Planet Payment Inc., the Atlanta-based merchant processor announced Jan. 18.

Netherlands-based RePay International Ltd. and Chinese loyalty-management company China Rewards Pvt. Ltd. jointly plan to introduce the ClimaCount Card Scheme, a carbon-offset program, to the Chinese market, the two companies announced on Jan. 11.

Merchant-level salespeople who use POS Portal Inc. as their point-of-sale equipment distributor now have a mobile-phone tool that enables them to check the availability and wholesale pricing of devices, POS Portal announced Jan. 4.

Punjab & Sind Bank Ltd. has awarded a contract to HCL Infosystems Ltd. to provide smart card technology support for a rural financial-inclusion project, according to a regulatory filing by the state-owned bank.

UniCredit Group has awarded GmbH a three-year contract to supply electronic-payment services for banks in UniCredit’s international banking network, the Germany-based technology provider announced Jan. 17. The contract took effect Jan. 1.

Person-to-person payment services increasingly are becoming available, but most consumers are using them to substitute check use to pay bills to small businesses instead of to exchange funds with other individuals, such as when splitting a dinner check, new research suggests.

As business lending begins to show some vigor, fainter signs of life have cropped up in other credit categories.

Discover Financial Services' execution of its long-expected "mobile wallet" will define its role in mobile commerce, a future where consumers make contactless payments with their cell phones and receive wireless deals as they enter stores. "Unlike existing mobile technologies that are transactional in nature, the mobile wallet truly facilitates mobile commerce," predicts Gloria Colgan, Discover's svp of emerging payments.

Target Corp. is seeking a buyer for its $6.7 billion credit card receivables portfolio, but it plans to retain operational control of its card program because of its “deep integration” with the company’s broader retail operations, the company announced Jan. 13.

MasterCard Worldwide has hired an executive who has been integral in French wireless carrier Orange’s rollout of mobile-payment services, according to an online report by NFC Times.

Driven by a lower provision for credit losses, partially offset by lower net revenue, the Card Services unit at JPMorgan Chase & Co. generated fourth-quarter net income of $1.3 billion; it reported a $306 million loss during the same quarter ended Dec. 31 last year, Chase reported this morning.

Fleet card provider and processor Wright Express Corp., which over the past few years has focused on building an international presence, is setting its sights on new regional opportunities, including Latin America, Mike Dubyak, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, tells PaymentsSource.

First Data Corp.’s decision to consolidate its merchant and card-issuer processing operations could help the payments company trim costs and better seize opportunities stemming from pending debit card regulation, analysts said Jan. 13.

VeriFone Systems Inc. confirmed its plans to spin off Hypercom Corp.’s U.S business after its planned merger is completed in the second half of this year, according to regulatory filing Wednesday.

Compliance with Payment Card Industry data-security standards is a top concern among smaller merchants, but many remain unaware of the scope of their potential liability regarding data breaches and are unclear on specific requirements, new survey data released Jan. 12 suggest.

U.S. consumers’ average credit scores slipped one point in the past year, and credit card debt fell by 8% to $7,404 during the same period, according to data released Jan. 12 by Credit Karma.

Pitney Bowes Inc., perhaps best known for manufacturing postage-meter machines, has created a free online bill-payment system designed to help consumers not only to receive, view and pay bills, but also to manage other important financial communications.

North American Bancard will use Partner Commerce Inc.’s advertising network to find prospective merchants to help drive account growth, the Troy, Mich.-based independent sales organization announced Jan. 6.

Consumers in the United Kingdom are using credit cards less to avoid debt, but issuers still have opportunities to increase card use by better conveying the benefits and value credit cards offer, new research suggests.