Credit

Reductions in consumer card use in casinos is adversely affecting Global Cash Access Holdings Inc.’s financial performance, Scott Betts, the company’s president and CEO, informed analysts during an Aug. 4 conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase Card Services unit is revamping the advertising campaign for the Sapphire rewards credit card, which targets affluent consumers, a year after its launch (see story).

Supported by CardSmith LLC, New England Conservatory this week launched an upgraded multiapplication campus card program that makes the campus virtually cashless, the Doylestown, Pa.-based campus card service provider announced on Aug. 2.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd. and Universiti Teknologi Mara formed a strategic partnership in Malaysia to offer the Bank Islam-Alumni UiTM platinum MasterCard.

Turkish bank Akbank TAS is hoping to bring contactless mobile payments to its customers through a partnership agreement announced this week with Visa Europe.

Point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp. late on Aug. 4 reported revenues of $103.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, down 1.6% from $105.6 million during the same period last year. However, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company reported a $1.26 million net loss, in part because of component shortages that affected revenue; it reported net income of $1.26 million during the same period last year.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced an investigation into predatory health care lending where consumers - especially seniors and vulnerable patients - are being misled about financing terms, causing them to be pushed into debt.

State Farm Bank is the latest financial services company to offer a remote deposit capture service to its mobile customers.

Plastyc Inc. has revamped its mobile banking website for prepaid card customers.

Improving same-store sales and a stabilizing economy appear to be helping Heartland Payment Systems Inc. turn itself around financially.

Consumer confidence declined in July for the third consecutive month as pessimism about the economy rose, according to survey data Discover Financial Services released Aug. 4.

A new product designed to reduce the potential for card skimming will be available by early November, says Bellatrix Systems Inc., developer of the Card At Table Service.

The Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore, commonly referred to as NETS, and telecommunication operator Nera Telecommunications Ltd. on Aug. 2 launched a contactless smart card payment system for one of Singapore’s private bus networks.

The Australian city of Melbourne on July 25 extended the use of the Myki smartcard transit system to include trams and buses, according to the Transport Ticketing Authority, which operates the contactless card program.

The fallout from the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, most of which went into effect in February, has not produced the expected negative results in terms of less-appealing credit card offers issuers are mailing to consumers, according to Mintel Comperemedia, which tracks card-offer mailings.

MasterCard Inc.’s role as the second-largest brand to Visa Inc. in the U.S. credit and debit card markets along with economic uncertainty will continue to cast a shadow on the company’s domestic performance for the remainder of the year, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga told analysts during an Aug. 3 conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.

MasterCard Worldwide on Aug. 3 reported double-digit growth in worldwide purchase volume and cross-border spending for the second quarter ended June 30.

Merchant cash-advance company AmeriMerchant LLC’s merger with CanaFunding LLC this week is enabling independent sales organizations to sell cash-advance services in either the U.S. or Canada, says David Goldin, AmeriMerchant president and CEO.

MasterCard Inc. on Aug. 3 reported net income of $458 million for the second quarter ended June 30, up 31.2% from $349 million during the same period last year. Revenues net of operating expenses totaled $1.37 billion, up 7% from $1.28 billion.

Though many banks began to increase their card-marketing initiatives earlier this year, consumer response rates have been low, and that is likely to continue, Mark Greene, CEO of FICO, an analytics and decision management technology company, told analysts during a conference call to discuss third-quarter earnings.