Credit

WASHINGTON — Calling proposals that would require lenders to retain a portion of the loans they securitize "imprecise" and "indirect," Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said Tuesday that policymakers should focus on tougher underwriting standards.

Capital One Financial Corp.'s credit card business is "showing the greatest profitability because of lower provisioning," Chief Financial Officer Gary Perlin said during a webcast Tuesday of the Morgan Stanley financial services conference, reports Dow Jones.

Gemalto NV said Tuesday that it would provide chip cards to BNP Paribas SA in France and Belgium, expanding an existing relationship.

U.S. Bancorp's merchant acquiring operations are getting into Mexico on the ground floor.

Watch for healthier credit and debit sales volumes when Visa Inc. tomorrow reports its most recent quarterly data, with MasterCard to follow on Thursday, one analyst says.

Some payments organizations want the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to clarify aspects of a law that takes effect next January requiring acquirers to report merchant credit and debit card transactions to the IRS, and they want penalty fees mitigated in the early stages of enforcement, according to comments submitted to the government agencies.

JetPay LLC, a Carrollton, Texas-based payment processor, says it has won a trademark-infringement issue involving its Web site address, www.jetpay.com.

I&M Bank has become the first financial institution in Kenya to enable merchants to accept Visa cards for the purchase goods and services online, an official from the Nairobi-based banks tells PaymentsSource.

Not all marketing tactics merchant-service providers use are equally effective at piquing merchants’ interest, some observers note. Independent sales organizations often go through multiple marketing techniques to determine which ones are less effective.

Smart Communications Inc. has signed a mobile-payments deal with Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc., the Philippines-based company announced on Jan. 31.

Visa Inc. is making a big Olympic advertising push at the Grand Central Terminal in New York. The company today announced the launch of a month-long campaign at the train station featuring three-dimensional video and static images in the station’s subway corridor using its “Go World” theme focusing on Olympic achievement.

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.