Credit

The American Bankers Association’s Business Solutions subsidiary on Oct. 1 announced it has selected Affinity Advisors LLC, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based consulting firm, as a resource for community banks seeking guidance on payments strategy.

Jack Henry & Associates Inc.'s ProfitStars division has begun offering Mitek Systems Inc.'s mobile remote-deposit capture software, pairing it with its own Alogent Mobile Remote Deposit system.

Research In Motion Ltd. is expanding the payment capabilities of its BlackBerry smartphones.

NCR Corp. said Wednesday that it is providing a mobile banking system to customers of Hancock Holding Co.'s Hancock Bank.

By proposing to combine two of the world's three largest makers of payment terminals, VeriFone Systems Inc.'s hostile bid for Hypercom Inc. appears to raise antitrust issues.

MasterCard Worldwide will lean heavily on technology to seek an edge in the expanding global commercial payments market, the company signaled with a pair of announcements this week, including naming a payments-technology guru as the new head of its global card operations.

Datacard Group has acquired Dynamic Card Solutions, a leading provider of instant-issuance software for financial card programs, Minnetonka, Minn.-based Datacard announced Sept. 30.

VeriFone Systems Inc. announced Wednesday an unsolicited bid to buy rival Hypercom Corp. at $5.25 per share, which it described in a letter to Hypercom's board.

Elizabeth Warren, the top Obama administration official in charge of setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, made it clear late Wednesday that she intends to target financial disclosures as one of her top priorities.

Private-label credit cards are making a comeback with retailers.

At a time when many of the big card issuers are scrambling to create new fees and raise rates on existing balances, Harrisburg, Penn.-based Pennsylvania State Employees CU is lowering the rate on certain card balances.

A Web-based incentive company is hoping Facebook Inc.’s virtual currency system can become a more-effective and less-expensive way for Internet retailers to develop consumer loyalty.

Online payment gateway GoToBilling Inc. has a new reseller program that it hopes will attract more independent sales organizations and, subsequently, more merchants, the Bozeman, Mont.-based company says.

Charles Schwab Corp. on Oct. 1 will end its sponsorship of its two rewards credit cards for its investment clients, resulting in a $20 million pretax charge the company expects to absorb during the third quarter.

Sales representatives for TransFirst will sell merchant services to business customers of MainSource Bank, the Hauppauge, N.Y.-based merchant-services company announced Sept. 28.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka last week ordered the country’s banks to cut the annual interest rate they apply to credit card balances to 24% by the middle of October.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC has signed processing contracts with four Texas-based financial institutions, the Cincinnati-based company announced Sept. 29.

Masabi Ltd. has secured $2 million from m8 Capital, a United Kingdom-based mobile-technology investment company, to aid in the global rollout of a barcode-based mobile application designed to enable consumers to purchase train tickets using their mobile phones from any location, London-based Masabi announced on Sept. 28.

Improving product delivery in the face of new payments regulations is among the top priorities for First Data Corp.’s new chief executive.

Consumer confidence fell in September as pessimism about the economy increased, The Conference Board Inc., a New York-based research organization, reported Sept. 28.