Credit

Industry groups continued their full-court press Wednesday to keep an interchange provision out of the final regulatory reform bill, but whether they could succeed was an open question.

MasterCard Inc. announced Wednesday that it has formed a joint venture with Smart Hub Inc. to develop a global mobile payment system.

One place exists where Christopher Kenyon, chief information officer and executive vice president of systems and technology at Elavon Inc., does not want to see his company’s name: in a headline for a story about a data breach.

U.S. Bancorp has purchased grocery retailer Kroger Co.’s credit card portfolio from a Royal Bank of Scotland Group subsidiary.

Punjab National Bank Ltd. has become India’s first financial institution to offer credit cards to visually impaired customers, a spokesperson for the New Delhi-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

The recent changes in quarterly processing volume at Total System Services Inc. reflect the effects of an undulating global economy and market consolidation.

Merchant acquirers that fail to follow Visa Inc.’s safeguards to prevent processing certain high-risk merchants’ transactions face paying $100 per charge-back on top of regular penalty fees under a program Visa announced to its acquirers in March.

Gemalto NV’s consulting-services unit has became the first company to join MasterCard Worldwide’s M/Chip Accredited Third-Party program, the France-based chip maker announced this week. The accreditation enables Gemalto Consulting Services to help MasterCard clients with EMV chip-and-PIN and contactless technology.

American Express Co. and Air New Zealand have launched a rewards credit card, according to the Auckland-based airline.

Doha Bank Ltd. is looking to increase its credit card base by at least a quarter this summer holiday season by offering new and existing cardholders an unprecedented 25% cash-back reward on their card spending on travel, an official from the Qatar-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Executives from U.S. Bank opened the kimono yesterday at SourceMedia's 4th Annual Mobile Banking and Emerging Applications Summit, laying out the bank's mobile roadmap in great detail.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., a Warren, Mich., debt buyer that is under federal investigation for its collection practices, said lenders have agreed to loosen some restrictions in its credit facility and increase its borrowing limit.

Long frustrated at being shut out of China's domestic credit card market, Visa Inc. may have found some leverage to help it gain access, according to Dow Jones.

The CPI Card Group is manufacturing the next-generation of mobile payment stickers for Discover Financial Services and MasterCard Worldwide, the Littleton, Colo.-based card producer announced last week. Both stickers use contactless technology from Inside Contactless SA.

More than 100 Ingenico S.A. point-of-sale terminals are afloat on 14 cruise ships operated by Costa Cruises as part of an initiative to enable travelers to use a “Costa Card” for their onboard purchases, Ingenico recently announced.

Efforts to create a common set of requirements for so-called “end-to-end” encryption moved forward last week when the Secure POS Vendor Alliance released its End-To-End Encryption Security Requirements.

Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., has launched the Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card and added new benefits to its existing Continental Airlines Presidential Plus Card. Both cards will provide cardholders with travel benefits and more options to earn and redeem Continental OnePass miles.

Global mobile-payment services provider Mobibucks Pvt. Ltd. has inked a strategic-partnership deal with Emirates Net Systems LLC, an official from the Abu Dhabi-based information-technology provider tells PaymentsSource.

Paymate Pvt. Ltd. plans to introduce its Green Money Transfer service to Sri Lanka by the end of this year, an official from the Mumbai-based mobile-payments provider tells PaymentsSource.

Issuers in Europe are rolling out payment cards featuring built-in display screens that offer improved security and can provide access to balance information — but there are major hurdles that make it unlikely any banks would offer the technology in the U.S. anytime soon.