Credit

Nxgen International is opening operations in the United Kingdom and Italy as part of a European expansion strategy the Whitefish, Mont.-based merchant-service provider announced this week. Diversifying geographically can help Nxgen grow and differentiate itself further, says Giuseppe Caltabiano, Nxgen president.

U.S. credit card charge-offs rose again through January, reaching levels close to the peaks set last fall, according to data Fitch Group’s Fitch Ratings released Wednesday.

Merchants appear to like VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s PayWare mobile-phone payment service on Apple Inc.’s iPhone and their customers are completing big-ticket purchases using the devices.

Credit unions sold 22 credit card portfolios last year, and while the total number of deals was the same as the previous year, the total asset value of the portfolios sold more than tripled, card-portfolio consulting firm TRK Advisors says.

As the economic crisis lingers, many credit cardholders continue to watch their spending habits and personal finances, although some are showing greater optimism, New York-based management consulting firm Auriemma Consulting Group states in its most recent Cardbeat market research report.

Visa Inc. says U.S. consumers drove $61.1 million in Visa cardholder spending in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, more than half of the total $115.3 million attendees spent locally on Visa cards during the event.

Nokia Corp. plans to team up with Mumbai-based Yes Bank to plot Nokia Money, a mobile-commerce platform, in India, a Bangalore-based official at the Finnish Handset Maker tells PaymentsSource.

American Express Co. this week announced the expansion of its Open Savings program through a new partnership with AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc. designed for business travelers.

Mastercard Worldwide’s MasterCard Advisors consulting arm has named Kevin Stanton president. Stanton previously was president of MasterCard’s Canada region.

New restrictions on card issuers raising interest on existing balances under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act is far more important to consumers than the law’s other provisions that also went into effect last week, the results of a recent poll suggest.

Point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp. yesterday reported a $624,000 fourth quarter profit, marking the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company’s third consecutive profitable quarter. Hypercom reported a $74.8 million loss for the fourth quarter of 2008.

Barclays Group PLC is increasing the transaction-size limit for its consumer contactless payment cards to 15 pounds (US$22.50 or 16.60 euros), the company announced this week. The previous limit was 10 pounds.

Dynamic Card Solutions, a provider of instant card issuance and PIN selection solutions for credit unions, banks and retailers that issue magnetic stripe, EMV and contactless cards, last week said Team One Credit Union has implemented DCS' instant issue software and hardware.

The Supreme Court of India has upheld its earlier ruling that overturned a National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission decision restraining banks from charging excessive interest rates on credit cards, court filings reveal.

Noor Islamic Bank plans launch the United Arab Emirates’ first mobile Internet-banking service in Arabic, the Dubai-based bank announced on March 1.

Reserve Bank of India To Propose New Rules Regarding Settlements

Japan Net Bank Ltd. recently launched a service called “one-time debit” to combat growing online card fraud, the Tokyo-based Internet bank said recently.

No official movement is afoot to switch to EMV in the U.S., which is becoming increasingly Balkanized as the only major global region not moving to the more-secure chip-and-PIN technology. But a Visa Inc. executive is among experts suggesting that, though issuers, acquirers and merchants may be resisting the shift for a variety of reasons, EMV technology itself is not the biggest obstacle preventing the U.S. from adopting the standard.

First National Bank of Omaha plans to relinquish controlling interest in its First National Merchant Solutions merchant-acquiring arm to Total System Services Inc. in a joint venture the companies announced today.

Mocapay Inc., a Denver-based mobile loyalty and gift card technology company, last week unveiled a platform enabling merchants to give customers a one-time authorization code to conduct point-of-sale payments from prepaid accounts using mobile handsets.