Credit

Chinese online-shopping Web site Taobao.com has inked a deal with the Bank of China and Alipay.com to launch a cobranded credit card, an official from Alipay, a third-party payments provider, tells PaymentsSource.

India’s plans to have a domestic card-payment system will take another three years to roll out, an official from the National Payments Corp. of India tells PaymentsSource.

Banks in India will have to pay National Financial Switch 1 rupee (2 U.S. cents or 1.5 euro cents) for every ATM transaction they route through the network, an official at the Reserve Bank of India tells PaymentsSource. The Institute of Development and Research in Banking Technology, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, had waived the previous 2 rupee switch fee in 2007 to reduce ATM charges.

Australians in November spent AU$20 billion (US$18.1 billion or 12.1 billion euros) using credit and charge cards, up 13.6% from AU$17.6 billion during the same month in 2008, data from the Reserve Bank of Australia show. They initiated 133.7 million transactions during the month, up 14.5% from 116.8 million.

Cardtronics Inc. has appointed Steven A. Rathgaber CEO, replacing Jack M. Antonini, who left last year. Rathgaber previously was president and chief operating officer of NYCE Payments Network LLC.

The U.S. Supreme Court has signaled interest in hearing arguments from a JPMorgan Chase & Co. unit in a fight over the notice credit card companies must give customers before imposing an interest rate increase, reports Bloomberg News.

Under an agreement with Korean payments network BC Card, Discover Financial Service is enabling BC Card holders to use the Discover, Diners Club International and Pulse networks for international purchases and cash access outside of Korea, Discover announced yesterday.

The 5,000 merchant locations and more than 50 independent sales organizations Payment Alliance International acquired from Comdata Processing Systems already have transitioned to using Payment Alliance’s products and services, says Donna Embry, senior vice president of Louisville, Ky.-based Payment Alliance.

Sino Payments Inc., a U.S.-based payments processor that operates out of Hong Kong, says it has signed its first agreement with a European acquirer, Valitor. Under the deal, European merchants will be able to use Sino Payments to process online and card-present transactions.

Torrance (Calif.) Community Credit Union said it successfully accepted its first mobile phone deposit over an iPhone.

St. Paul, Minn.-based Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union members have found a new way to give to charity and agreed to donate 774,442 credit card rewards points accumulated in October, November and December valued at $15,500 to local charities.

PayPal Inc. helped drive its parent eBay Inc. to its first profit increase in more than a year, reports Bloomberg News.

The "new frugality" is still very much alive, and nowhere is this more evident than in the major credit card lenders' fourth-quarter results.

Credit and debit card issuers face another tough year this year as the economic recovery continues, consumers keep the brakes on spending, and new legislation and data-security rules kick in. But even as they plug holes that could lead to data breaches, adjust business plans to comply with new card rules and monitor the ongoing debate over interchange rates, issuers eagerly are watching and preparing to experiment with new mobile-payment initiatives.

Citibank is enabling its 13 million ThankYou Network rewards members to donate points to the American Red Cross International Response Fund that is assisting in relief to Haiti following the earthquake on Jan. 12. Members can make donations of $50 and $100.

Indian banks increasingly are cutting the credit limits for their cardholders to reduce risk within their credit card portfolios, banking officials confirm.

Ingenico SA this week added the chairman title to CEO Philippe Lazare’s role at the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker. Jacques Stern, who had been Ingenico’s chairman since 2007, remains a director of the company.

First Data Corp. recently announced a shakeup of its international division as part of an effort to unite the company into a single global organization designed to develop and deliver products faster.

Has "Tap and Go" come and gone?

Citigroup Inc. announced Thursday that it has integrated credit card account information into its downloadable Citi Mobile application for the Apple Inc. iPhone.