Credit

Western Union Co. is rebranding Custom House, an international business-payments provider it bought last year, and is planning to expand the unit into new markets, the funds-transfer company announced Nov. 1.

International Business Machines Corp. is zeroing in on the payments industry as part of a revamped banking technology strategy.

TCL Corp., a China-based mobile-phone manufacturer, has inked a deal with China UnionPay in which the companies will provide mobile handsets that support payment functions, the companies announced earlier this month.

AT&T Inc. has signed partnership agreements with three mobile-payment companies that enable its wireless customers to charge online purchases for such digital content as games and music directly to their mobile-phone bills.

MBNA Europe Bank Ltd. will be issuing some 5 million contactless credit cards to its customers in the United Kingdom as part of a two-year initiative the Bank of America Corp. subsidiary announced on Oct. 29.

Residents of Hubli and Dharwad in the Indian state of West Bengal may use credit cards to pay their property taxes through an online tax-payment system set to launch in November.

Apple Inc.’s MFi licensing program for devices designed to work with mobile Apple products has certified Blue Bamboo’s P25-M mobile printer and card reader, the China-based point-of-sale terminal maker announced Oct. 29.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions has signed processing deals with four Hawaii credit unions: Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union, Windward Community Federal Credit Union, The Queen's FCU and Garden Island Federal Credit Union.

Credit bureau Equifax on Wednesday said an 11% rise in third quarter revenues helped fuel a 28% rise in earnings for the period.

Visa Inc. said it is prepared to confront alternative and mobile payments head on.

Citing a resurgence in international spending, Visa Inc.’s total debit and credit card sales volume for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 15%, to $828 billion from $720 billion during the same period last year, the company reported Oct. 27.

Consumers may earn rewards, discounts and comparative pricing based on their purchase histories under a statement-based program BillShrink Inc. launched earlier this month.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Commission reportedly is warning credit card companies in that country against offering personal cash loans to their cardholders.

Visa Inc. on Oct. 27 reported net income of $774 million for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, up 50.6% from $514 million during the same period a year earlier. Net operating revenue rose 12.8%, to $2.12 billion from $1.88 billion, the company said. Currency fluctuations boosted revenues during the quarter by 1%.

Consumer demand for more-robust Internet tools is helping push forward banks’ technology investments, Fiserv Inc.’s chief executive noted during an Oct. 27 earnings conference call with analysts.

MasterCard Worldwide’s premium cardholders in Europe now may receive benefits from both The Hertz Corp. and Accor Hotel Group, the card brand’s European operation announced on Oct. 26.

State Bank of India Ltd. soon plans to begin offering merchant-acquiring services through a new joint venture company after it finalizes how much equity each of the venture partners holds, a spokesperson for the Mumbai-based bank confirms to PaymentsSource.

Euronet Worldwide Inc.’s epay division will install and run the retail operations of Sydney’s much-awaited smart card transit system, the electronic-payments processor announced in a recent statement.

A second merchant acquirer in Brazil and a payment processor in Ecuador will install a combined 26,500 Hypercom Corp. point-of-sale terminals by the end of the year, the terminal maker announced in separate releases this week.

American Express Co. this week signaled its eagerness to tap into new mobile and prepaid payment technologies that will include “debit-like” products, but one analyst says AmEx has far to go before it catches up with competitors’ mobile-payments momentum.