Credit

Nebraska state officials are warning lawmakers that the debit-interchange amendment in the Senate financial-reform bill could have grave implications for states using prepaid debit cards to disburse government benefits.

Mobile merchants in nations where chip-and-PIN cards using the EMV standard are used will have an opportunity to use VeriFone Systems Inc.’s PayWare Mobile service for the iPhone later this year, VeriFone says.

Melbourne’s Myki smart card ticketing system reportedly has failed another test. Local newspapers in the Australia city report the system was unable to adjust fares for senior cardholders automatically, forcing operators to manually adjust their accounts.

The Central Bank of Oman has decided to cap interest rates on credit cards banks in the sultanate issue. The policy takes effect June 1 and applies to existing and new card accounts.

The Independent Community Bankers of America and the Credit Union National Association have once again joined forces to oppose Sen. Richard Durbin's interchange amendment in the Senate regulatory reform bill, arguing the provision should not be part of the final legislation.

The Federal Reserve this week fulfilled a little-discussed requirement from the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act when it displayed online the credit card agreements of more than 300 of the nation’s top issuers. But the database’s usefulness to consumers is dubious at best, observers say.

VeriFone Systems Inc.’s taxi business is taking on increased importance for the point-of-sale terminal maker.

Barclaycard U.S. and Travelocity Global have launched a travel-based American Express rewards credit card that offers cardholders lower point-redemption options and points on nontravel purchases.

Fledging mobile-payments company RegaloCard LLC announced May 26 a distribution agreement with IDT Corp. to place its card-based funds-transfer service in more than 150,000 retailers across the United States.

Deutsche Card Services GmbH this week signed an agreement to become the acquirer and service provider supporting Media-Saturn Holdings GmbH’s online commerce. The Germany-based electronics retailer says the deal will enable it to accept transactions online more securely.

The Indian Ministry of Agriculture as of the end of February had issued 90.6 million Kisan credit cards to eligible farmers in the country, an official from the ministry tells PaymentsSource.

Chinese lawmakers have approved new regulations to help stem the rise in credit card defaults in that country.

Looking for stable, short-term investments, banks are starting to purchase corporate accounts receivable from small businesses through an online auction site called the Receivables Exchange.

U.S. credit card charge-off rates that began rising in the fall of 2008 likely hit their peak during the first quarter of this year and are beginning a march back to lower levels, Moody’s Investors Service announced today.

Mirroring what others are saying about the future of Near Field Communication-enabled mobile payments in the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reveals in a May 23 report that widespread adoption of the technology will not occur for at least another five years.

VeriFone Systems Inc.’s new PIN-entry device authentication service adds another element of security by periodically monitoring PIN pads to ensure they are legitimate, the terminal maker announced May 25.

Some Thailand credit card issuers reportedly plan to waive penalty fees for late payments because the two-month-long antigovernment protests that engulfed the country through mid-May made it difficult for many customers to make their payments.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has dropped its antitrust probe of the local subsidiary of eBay Inc. after the online auction site said it would remove a requirement that sellers offer PayPal as a payment option, the regulator announced recently. PayPal is eBay’s online-payment unit.

Visa Inc. and Monitise PLC plan to form a joint venture to provide mobile financial services in India, the companies announced May 26. They expect the joint-venture deal to close in June.

Credit Union National Association on Tuesday said it has terminated talks aimed at minimizing the onerous interchange provisions in the bank reform bill and has changed focus to knocking the provision out of the bill when Senate and House leaders meet to reconcile different versions of the legislation.