Credit

Global Payments Inc. plans to start a credit and debit card processing service in Brazil this year to compete in the $250 billion market, the Valor Economico newspaper reported Tuesday.

Credit card issuers were expected to raise fees and cut rewards to compensate for lost revenue from new regulations. But some have done the opposite, eliminating fees they are still permitted to charge.

Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, has moved quicker than it originally anticipated in acquiring First National Bank of Omaha’s stake in First National Merchant Solutions LLC.

During the just-completed holiday season, PayPal Inc. experienced a surge in consumers making purchases using its online payment service with their smartphones and other mobile devices, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

Hoping to tap an emerging market, Visa Inc., MasterCard Worldwide and American Express Co. have been working to open their networks to third-party developers of software and smartphone applications.

Banks in the United Arab Emirates have begun to increase credit card fees, and some are introducing charges for services that previously were free.

India’s Seed Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. has secured yet another a contract from Chennai-based Indian Bank Ltd. to support a smart card-based financial-inclusion project, the New Delhi-based financial-services provider announced Dec. 29.

Citibank NA on Jan. 4 announced the launch of a line of credit cards designed to enable consumers to earn more benefits within Citi’s ThankYou rewards program.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has paid Pier 1 Imports Inc. $28.3 million as part of a deal to retool the companies’ private-label credit card agreement.

Public Savings Bank is issuing a new secured credit card with a $200 minimum credit limit. The limit replaces a $300 minimum that the Huntington Valley, Pa.-based Internet bank required for a previous card.

Western Union Co. plans to acquire one of its European funds-transfer agents, the Englewood, Colo.-based company announced Jan. 3.

Fiserv Inc. has hired a former H&R Block Inc. official as an executive vice president and its chief operating officer.

Company profits in the payment card industry generally are on track to increase in 2011 if credit and debit card purchase volume continues its post-recession growth. But the fortunes of the four largest card networks may vary significantly in 2011, a new report suggests.

Credit card account originations are on the rise again as account-delinquency rates continue to fall and consumers continue to show discipline in their borrowing, a new report Equifax Inc. released Dec. 29 suggests.

U.S. credit card profits rose in 2010, as the total net pretax net income for bankcard and private-label card issuers rose 36%, to $18.5 billion from $13.6 billion in 2009, according to data credit card consulting firm R.K. Hammer released Jan. 3.

VeriFone Systems Inc. has completed its acquisition of Gemalto N.V.’s point-of-sale terminal business, VeriFone announced Jan. 3.

In a major turnaround in plans, lawmakers in the Australian state of Victoria reportedly have proposed scrapping the Myki transit card system.

PayPal Inc. this year will set up its first foreign currency settlement platform in Chongqing, China, along with five international e-commerce centers under an agreement the unit of eBay Inc. signed with the Chongqing Municipal Government on Dec. 28.

Like the early-'90s floral dresses and flannel shirts that became fashionable again, two retro credit products — secured lines of credit and personal loans — staged a comeback in 2010.

For all the hullabaloo mobile remote-deposit capture generated in 2010, the availability of the service that enables consumers to deposit checks from home using the cameras on their smartphones remains limited to a few banks’ customers.