Credit

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is continuing to revamp its credit card program by resurrecting a rich, and now rare, cash-back reward — with a new, seasonal twist.

Credit card issuers this week began scrambling to formulate models for what they consider to be “reasonable and proportional” customer penalty fees for late payments and overlimit charges. They must submit their penalty fee models within a month to the Federal Reserve Board, which intends to use the information when it sets final rules implementing the last portion of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.

Lingering effects of a weakened U.S. economy continue to inhibit U.S. small businesses from making significant payment-systems upgrades, according to VeriFone Holdings Inc.

The ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on one or more of their credit cards increased to 1.21% in the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 1.1% in the previous quarter, according to data from credit-tracking firm TransUnion. The delinquency rate for the fourth quarter of 2008 also was 1.21%.

GE Money, a leading provider of retail banking and credit services to consumers and retailers, and guitar maker Fender Musical Instruments Corp. this week launched the GE Money Music credit card. The Kettering, Ohio-based unit of General Electric Co. will provide the consumer financing for the private-label card under the multiyear agreement, the companies announced in a news release.

A recent study that focuses on Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance among large merchants also is helpful for educating independent sales organizations and the smaller merchants with which they typically work, observers note. ISOs should educate themselves not only about their specific markets but also about all aspects of data security and compliance in the payments industry to better serve their clients and ensure all merchants protect card data, they say.

Australian credit and charge card holders in December initiated 153.6 million transactions, up by 3.7% from the 148.1 million during the same month a year earlier, data from the Reserve Bank of Australia reveal. Sales volume grew by 4.8%, to AU$22 billion (US$857 million or 627 million euros) from AU$21 billion.

BOSTON – The state Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a suit by CUMIS Insurance Society and 130 credit unions claiming they were owed recompense in the 2004 credit card breach at BJ Wholesale Club.

Credit card industry profits fell sharply last year primarily because of record numbers of consumer-account defaults caused by the economic downturn. But in their efforts to prevent further losses banks may have overreacted, one analyst contends.

EMVCo LLC this week launched an initiative enabling all payments-industry stakeholders to participate in guiding the organization’s strategic and technical direction.

American Express Co. reportedly awarded its chairman and CEO, Kenneth I. Chenault, compensation totaling $17.4 million last year.

Monoprix Group, a France-based retailer with more than 300 locations and approximately 4,000 point-of-sale devices, is using Hypercom Corp.’s Wynid payment server to process its transactions, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based terminal maker says.

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.