Credit

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A new law signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire Monday will lift some of the burdens on credit unions for reissuing credit cards in data breaches by making the offending parties liable.

Etihad Airways has inked a deal with Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah for Etihad Guest, its loyalty program, the two parties announced last week.

Fiserv Inc. Monday announced that SunTrust Banks Inc. will use its mobile-banking service that gives consumers more access to mobile-financial services.

Texas Dow Employees Credit Union has launched what it calls a “family card” to its credit card product offerings.

Most major credit card issuers boosted annual percentage rates in 2009, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey of credit card plans. The Fed surveys the terms of credit card plans offered by financial institutions every six months. Its report includes information from the largest U.S. credit card issuers and any others that volunteer to participate in the survey.

Arkansans can now make payments to the state government over their mobile phones.

The four trade groups that represent the nation's accounts receivables management industry are calling on Congress to retain the Federal Trade Commission as the exclusive regulator of debt purchasers and collectors.

Three years ago banks rushed to be first to offer mobile text-message alerts notifying customers of suspicious credit and debit card transactions. Now Visa Inc. is trying to up the stakes by emphasizing the superior speed of its mobile transaction-notification service compared with other such services.

China Unionpay and Japanese credit company Mitsubishi UFJ Shinpan Card Co. have jointly launched a “gold” credit card in Japan, China's largest card issuer announced on March 17.

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam has begun offering a personal finance service for accountholders who directly deposit their payroll funds. Under the Credit Card Care Program, the bank will consolidate card accounts for customers who have several credit cards.

One of the new credit card law's lesser-known provisions is funneling distressed borrowers to credit counselors, an industry once tarred as predatory. In an ironic twist, that outcome pleases consumer advocates more than it does some bankers.

Both novice and seasoned sales agents for independent sales organizations can have difficulty understanding exactly where they earn their revenue because not every ISO defines and pays residuals in the same way, note observers.

Barclays Group PLC this week rolled out Barclaycard Freedom, a broad-based, merchant-funded rewards program for the United Kingdom-based issuer’s 8 million Barclaycard credit card customers. Through the initiative, the cardholders can earn rewards for purchases at participating retail outlets throughout the UK.

The weak economy, decreased transaction volumes and margin compression in the payments industry are increasing the importance of up-front revenue streams for independent sales organizations and their sales agents instead of revenue purely from residuals, industry insiders say.

The new “rights” for United Kingdom credit cardholders the UK Card Association announced earlier this week demonstrate that the payments industry can make changes and provide a smart and competitive service to consumers, HSBC Holdings PLC contends. The association made the announcement in collaboration with the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (see story).

With consumer demand weak for credit cards and fewer competitors in the private student loan market, Discover Financial Services is making a bid to become a big lender on campuses.

Australia’s central bank is likely to continue regulating payment card interchange fees indefinitely, at least one analyst predicts.

EBay Inc.'s PayPal Inc. says it has partnered with China UnionPay Co., China's biggest card issuer, enabling Chinese consumers to shop online with international retailers using their China UnionPay bank cards.

Ingenico SA, a France-based point-of-sale terminal maker, foresees a return to growth this year after posting declining revenue and profit results for 2009 compared with 2008.

Thieves stole an undisclosed number of PIN pads from Hancock Fabrics Inc. stores, replacing them with counterfeit terminals that illegally captured customer card data. Store officials disclosed the thefts from an undisclosed number of its 264 stores in 37 states earlier this month. Executives believe the thefts occurred in August and September last year.