Credit

MasterCard Inc.'s e-commerce and mobile technology initiatives could help it impress banks whose debit contracts with archrival Visa Inc. are set to expire in the next few years.

Vermont merchants are a step closer to being able to set minimum purchase amounts for card payments after the state's Senate passed a bill Tuesday giving retailers more control over card acceptance.

Monett, Mo.-based Jack Henry & Associates yesterday reported net income for its fiscal third quarter surged 28%, based on a 19% rise in revenues.Net income for the third quarter was $31.6 million and revenues were $215.5 million.

Despite a continued slump in consumer spending, MasterCard Worldwide today reported strong results for the first quarter ended March 31, especially in worldwide purchase volume and cross-border spending. U.S. debit purchase volume also continues to grow.

More than half of consumers contend a new rule requiring credit card issuers to disclose how long it would take to eliminate balances by making only minimum payments is irrelevant to them. But one in four consumers believe the debt snapshot has inspired them to increase monthly payments toward their credit card debts, suggest new survey data the National Foundation for Credit Counseling released this week.

Inside Contactless is buying the secure microcontroller business from chip maker Atmel Corp., France-based Inside announced today.

Euronet Worldwide Inc., which conducts the majority of its operations outside the United States, last week reported net income of $2.8 million for the first quarter ended March 31. The Leawood, Kan.-based electronic-payments processor reported a net loss of $12.3 million during the same period last year. Revenue totaled $250 million, up 7% from $233.7 million.

Australians increasingly are using debit cards more than credit cards in an economy that has begun recovering from a financial crisis that begun in late 2008, analysts say and government data show.

With merchants and card companies pushing people to abandon paper statements, financial companies are using electronic billing services to keep customers from abandoning their online bill payment sites as well.

MasterCard Inc.'s new rewards program is a step closer to the industry's goal of real-time redemption.

Credit bureau Equifax’s first-quarter profit climbed 4.2% as a slight increase in revenue more than offset higher operating expenses and lower operating margins.

With prospects for the Japanese economy still dismal after years of stagnation, Japan-based JCB Co. Ltd. is continuing to look abroad for growth. Since hitting bottom in March of last year, Japanese economic activity has shown signs of “gentle,” but not necessarily sustainable, growth, and it appeared ready to slip back into decline in the first half of this year, according to the Japan Research Institute Ltd., a local think tank.

Yes Bank Ltd. plans enter the credit card market in India by next March, an official from the Mumbai-based bank tells PaymentsSource. However, the rollout could occur sooner.

Shell Oil Products U.S. and Citigroup Inc. today announced the launch of the Shell Drive for Five proprietary credit card, which offers cardholders savings on fuel purchased at Shell petroleum stations. Citi issues the card and processes the transactions.

Citing a desire to remain competitive and drive issuer participation and innovation in its network, Visa Inc. in April increased the interchange rate it applies to purchases switched through its Interlink PIN-debit electronic funds transfer network.

Credit card interest rates in general likely will continue rising this year as a direct result of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, Richard D. Fairbank, chairman, CEO and president of Capital One Financial Corp., told analysts during a recent conference call.

The day when the U.S. joins many other large markets globally in converting to EMV chip-and-PIN cards from magnetic stripe versions will not occur any time soon. But it will come eventually, observers predict.

Independent sales organizations may realize such benefits as lower costs and faster sales cycles from using digital signatures and contracts, but they likely will find difficulty adopting a technology not widely used in the payments industry. Potential legal difficulties also exist, and not all processors and sponsor banks may approve of digital contracts, note observers.

Banks are ready to spend more on technology, but concerns over compliance expenses could keep some of them from moving forward soon with major upgrades.

China UnionPay Co. Ltd., the Shanghai-based national electronic-payments network and card brand, grew prodigiously last year but is coming under attack from domestic and foreign rivals vexed by its monopoly powers and runaway expansion.