Credit

Hypercom Corp. will provide more than 12,000 PIN pads with EMV contactless card readers to European retailer Carrefour, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based point-of-sale terminal maker announced Thursday.

The city of Jakarta soon plans to deploy a prepaid electronic-ticketing system called JakCard for its bus and train networks, an official from the Indonesian city’s transport authority tells PaymentsSource. The Jakarta Transportation Agency says it developed the contactless smart card system in collaboriation with Jakarta-based Bank DKI, bus operator BLU Transjakarta and PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek.

Indian Banks increasingly are offering defaulters on their credit cards lower-interest loans to pay off their card debts.

Automated clearinghouse transaction processor ACH Federal LLC, is introducing a merchant-referral partner program for independent sales organizations in the hopes of expanding its client base, according to the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company.

A growing number of financial companies are trying to foster creativity with in-house innovation labs.

MoneyGram International Inc. said earnings fell in the fourth quarter despite increased transfer volume in several crucial regions.

Equifax Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit fell as solid international revenue could not completely offset lower U.S. revenue, reports Dow Jones.

Citing the continued clamp down on consumer spending caused by the recession, MasterCard today reported healthier global purchase volume for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, while U.S. credit card volume fell.

Buoyed by improving economic trends around the world, Visa Inc. on Wednesday reported purchase-volume growth in all categories except U.S. credit for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Visa also for the first time reported its operational performance data and financial results simultaneously for the same quarter. It previously reported operational data a quarter later than its earnings.

North American Bancard’s decision to hire Deutsche Bank Securities is to “explore the opportunity to strategically align ourselves with financial partners to pursue any opportunities,” Marc Gardner, the independent sales organization’s president, tells PaymentsSource. North American Bancard earlier this week announced the Deutsche Bank hiring.

Six Pay S.A. plans to target merchant-processing opportunities in Eastern Europe as part of an effort to expand its operations, the Luxembourg-based payment-services company says.

United San Antonio Community Federal Credit Union has seen its cardholder base grow by 58%, to 3,250 from 2,049, and card balances have increased 89%, to $12.3 million from $6.5 million, since the credit union began in-branch marketing with TNB Card Services Inc. at its six branches in 2007.

Some bus passengers in the Vietnamese capital of Ho Chi Minh City soon will be able to pay their fares using a contactless smart card as part of test of the technology, an official from the city’s transport authority tells PaymentsSource.

Indian Overseas Bank has launched its first mobile ATM as part of its drive to expand access to the institution’s services, an official from the Chennai, India-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Household balance sheets may be in shambles, and lenders badly wounded by the banking crisis, but, compared with some previous downturns, the recent contraction in consumer credit appears to have been middling so far.

Visa Inc.'s profits jumped by a third in its fiscal first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, and use of the company's debit and credit cards picked up in the U.S.

Western Union Co., the world's biggest money-transfer business, has reported that its fourth-quarter profit fell, and it forecast little or no revenue growth for 2010.

Consumers are continuing to place a higher priority on making their credit card payments than their mortgage payments, affirming a trend that began with the recession, according to a new data TransUnion released this week.

Card readers that attach to mobile phones suddenly have become a hot industry topic, and HomeATM ePayment Solutions is about to throw its own device into the mix, PaymentsSource has learned.

American Payment Systems increased compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard among its roughly 1,200 merchant clients to 48% currently from roughly 10% Oct. 1 with a phone-call campaign, according to the Omaha, Neb.-based independent sales organization.