Credit

Certain large credit card issuers, including Bank of America Corp., last year dramatically altered the funding sources for their credit card loans in reaction to shifting market conditions, according to data Moody’s Investors Service released last week. And Moody’s expects more such shifts this year.

After predicting an upswing in card mailings as issuers worked to comply with the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (see story), Mintel Comperemedia is seeing an uptick in credit card direct-mail solicitations from major issuers.

VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s Payware Mobile payment software for Apple Inc.’s iPhone is now available from Apple’s iTunes store, the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal maker says.

State Bank of India plans to issue 3 million biometric cards this year as it works to comply with an Indian government mandate to bring financial services to more unbanked consumers, an official from the alternate channels department at the Mumbai-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Merchants that sell needs-based products, such as food, building materials or vehicle-repair supplies, have experienced less decline in transaction volumes during the recession than have merchants that sell less-necessary goods, such as luxury or entertainment items, observers note.

Chip card maker Bartronics India Ltd. has won a contract to provide cards and card readers for a smart card-based project that includes fingerprint biometrics for India's vast unbanked rural population, an official from the India-based vendor tells PaymentsSource.

Financial companies are trying to make tax season a bit less taxing for people who bank online.

Meta Financial Group Inc. has secured $5.65 million worth of funding from a very nontraditional — and potentially controversial — source: Cash America International Inc., a payday lender.

Fair Isaac Corp. sees signs that credit card lenders — which make up the bulk of its credit-scoring business — are starting to bounce back from the depths of the financial crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday a South Dakota bank will pay more than $10 million to credit card holders who federal regulators said were unfairly charged fees, reports Dow Jones.

The Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode online card-security protocols are relatively weak compared with other available options. And as fraud continues rising among card-not-present transactions, more-robust authentication methods will be needed to prevent online fraud from skyrocketing, two United Kingdom-based researchers contend in new research released this week.

China UnionPay customers last year initiated 6.94 billion debit and credit card transactions in China in 2009, up by 21.8% from 5.7 billion in 2008, according to China UnionPay. The value of the transactions grew by 66.8%, to 7.7 trillion yuan (US$5.4 trillion or 3.9 trillion euros) in 2009 from 4.61 trillion yuan in 2008.

Viva Macau Airlines has begun to accept credit cards for purchases made onboard flights, an official from the Macau-based low-fare passenger airline tells PaymentsSource. The airline conducts 24 flights each day.

Consumers spent NZ$2.95 billion (US$1.5 billion of 1.05 billion euros) using credit cards in New Zealand in December, down 0.3% from NZ$2.96 billion during same month in 2008, according to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand revealed.

American Express Co.’s small-business division, called Open, has launched a cobranded credit card for small-business owners with home-improvement store operator Lowe’s Cos. Inc.

The hardware works, and consumers worldwide think it's a cool idea. Still, near-field communication chips have made about zero progress morphing mobile phones into contactless payment tools.

Fiserv Inc. said Thursday that Mutual of Omaha Bank has implemented 11 Fiserv systems, including online banking and bill pay.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC said Thursday that five banks have agreed to use its processing services.

The Center for Financial Services Innovation, an affiliate of the ailing ShoreBank Corp., says it is not only insulated from the bank's troubles but thriving.

U.S. card-industry players may be overestimating certain technical barriers perceived to be holding the U.S. back from adopting the EMV smart card payment standard used around the world, smart card industry executives say.