Credit

Commonwealth Bank Ltd. has added an extra security measure for its customers who shop online, according to the Australia-based bank.

A prepaid card company is trying to drive down fraud with an application that replaces plastic cards with virtual accounts that users access with mobile phones.

Andrew Kahr, a preternaturally intelligent and occasionally controversial architect of the credit card industry, has spent his career solving intricate problems for financial companies, often by finding loopholes in regulation.

Only acquiring banks and the largest ISOs have to file formal written plans with the card brands to explain how they intend to bring the nation’s 5 million small retailers, restaurateurs and other mom-and-pop businesses into compliance with Payment Card Industry data security standards. But everybody in the credit and debit card “food chain” feels the sometimes-unpleasant effects of those plans.

VeriFone Systems Inc.’s $9 million deal this week to buy mobile point-of-sale terminal maker Way Systems Inc. is not surprising to analysts who follow the POS device industry (see story).

Consumers are willing to purchase high-ticket items such as concert tickets through mobile-payment services, although many are dissatisfied with the process, according to a survey Netsize NA released this month.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. on Sept. 1 announced it has entered a $5 million agreement with Discover Financial Services to settle claims stemming from the 2008 security breach of the Princeton, N.J.-based company’s processing systems.

Interchange-fee costs are the top concern among merchants, acquirers and processors that primarily handle card-not-present transactions, new survey data suggest.

FNBO Direct, a division of First National Bank of Omaha in Nebraska, and Cardlytics this week announced the launch of a digital rewards program that enables consumers to access merchant discount offers directly from their online bank accounts.

BancVue, an Austin, Texas-based product-development and marketing company focused on community banks and credit unions, on Sept. 2 announced the purchase of the Silverton Bank credit card portfolio from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Terms were not disclosed.

Spending on foreign-issued Visa-branded payment cards jumped by nearly 40% during the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games from a year ago, suggesting large, sponsored events can help drive considerable increases in card spending, data from Visa Inc. reveal.

Experts say Android is the hottest smartphone for mobile banking, but when it comes to payments, the Seattle coffee retailer hopes there is still a big opportunity in the increasingly neglected BlackBerry.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. waited longer than any other major hotel chain to launch a cobranded credit card, but the Hyatt Visa Card, introduced Sept. 1 with JPMorgan Chase & Co., underscores a few significant trends emerging in the rewards cards arena, analysts say.

Cielo S.A., a Brazil-based merchant acquirer with approximately 1.2 million active merchant accounts, is buying 30,000 Optimum T4205 point-of-sale terminals from Hypercom Corp., the terminal maker announced Sept. 2.

Inner Fence, which makes the Credit Card Terminal application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, on Sept. 1 announced it is shipping the Credit Card Reader, which attaches to an iPhone’s dock connector.

Consumers who use Exxon Mobil Corp.’s proprietary Personal Card to purchase Exxon and Mobil-branded gasoline can receive gift certificates for Restaurant.com under the petroleum retailer’s latest promotion announced on Sept. 1.

In its latest marketing promotion, MasterCard Worldwide is offering cardholders who live in or who visit New York City rich and “priceless” experiences, such as sporting, concert, shopping and culinary events. The card company’s goal is to demonstrate to cardholders the added value in using a MasterCard product for payment.

With several smart card-based transit projects developing around the globe, shipments of smart cards supporting transit applications will grow at an 11% compound annual rate through 2015, new research suggests.

Visa Inc. hopes to prove to banks that a contactless payment chip in a mobile phone is a much more compelling product to consumers than the same chip in a plastic card.

VeriFone Systems Inc. plans to use its acquisition of Way Systems Inc. to attract more merchant interest in its mobile-payment systems. But the deal also eliminates a competitor, analysts say.