Credit

Consumer borrowing rose in October by the largest amount in more than two years, a jump led by a recently enacted law that makes the government the primary lender to students, the Federal Reserve reported earlier this month.

Banks have gotten over the fear that offering online account transfers will put them at risk for deposit flight.

The 3M Company announced Dec. 6 that its Non-Metallic Foil technology has been accepted for use by MasterCard for credit, debit and gift cards, giving credit unions and banks the option of cards with a metallic-like finish.

Battle Creek, Mich.-based OMNI Community Credit Union is paying its third consecutive Cashback Rebate – an estimated $800,000 this year – as a way to say “thank you” to its members for banking with the credit union.

Banks may soon do the work of their vendors as they are handed the tools to design software for core banking functions — just as new services demand that systems be developed with greater speed.

Among the companies supporting alternative payment services, PayPal Inc., a division of eBay Inc., remains the dominating force and continues to grow, new research from New York-based management-consulting firm Auriemma Consulting Group shows.

Cardlytics Inc. and ClairMail Inc. have announced a partnership to enable financial institutions to deliver coupons and other merchant offers to customers’ mobile phones, Atlanta-based Cardlytics reported on Dec. 7.

Barclaycard UK and Affiliate Window have launched an online store where Barclaycard Freedom cardholders may earn cash-back rewards when shopping at participating merchants, the United Kingdom-based issuer announced Dec. 8.

In a foreign takeover battle that could reverberate among U.S. financial institutions, cards maker Oberthur offered to acquire Britain’s venerable bank notes and cash machine manufacturer De La Rue for $1.4 billion, but the offer was rejected as insufficient.

The Federal Trade Commission charged three debt-relief operations with making unsubstantiated claims to lure consumers nationwide into paying thousands of dollars in upfront fees, but failing to reduce credit card debts as promised, the agency announced in early December.

DataCard Corp. said its recently acquired Dynamic Card Solutions unit has been granted a U.S. patent on instant issuance printing technology for unembossed “flat” financial cards.

Payment-terminal company RDM Corp. says Intuit Payment Solutions, a division of Intuit Inc., has certified its Synergy II payment terminal for use on Intuit’s National Check Deposit Network check-processing system.

Merchant-services company Newtek Business Services Inc. has become a member of Charge Anywhere LLC’s certified distributor program, South Plainfield, N.J.-based Charge Anywhere announced Dec. 7.

The most desirable credit card customers–those who are younger and continue to build buying power–have lower ownership of proprietary store cards and network-branded credit cards than do consumers in other age groups, according to a cobranded card report from Mercator Advisory Group.

CashEdge Inc., known almost exclusively as an electronic payment provider, is venturing into new and potentially lucrative territory with plastic gift cards.

Jaccs Co. Ltd. has launched a MasterCard-branded credit card designed to help improve the environment, the Tokyo-based card-issuing subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced Dec. 10.

WASHINGTON — For the first time in its history, the Federal Reserve Board said Friday it would host a live webcast of an upcoming open board meeting.

A suspect was arrested for allegedly taking part in Wednesday's online attacks against MasterCard Inc., Visa Inc. and PayPal Inc.

SunTrust Banks Inc. keeps embracing new payments systems rather than try to steer customers to the older payment types that most banks favor.

SunTrust Banks Inc. keeps embracing new payments systems rather than try to steer customers to the older payment types that most banks favor.