Payment processing

Carrefour Group, a France-based retailer with operations in Europe, Asia and South America, has launched its first prepaid card through a bank in Romania, the company announced Dec. 27.

Credit cardholders in India starting Saturday must enter a passcode whenever they make a transaction by phone under new regulations the country’s central bank announced Dec. 24.

The Federal Trade Commission is taking legal action against a massive Internet enterprise that allegedly has made millions of dollars by luring consumers into "trial" memberships for government-grant and money-making schemes, then charging various fees to their credit and debit card numbers.



Network International LLC has entered into a strategic partnership with Abraaj Capital, which announced the deal Dec. 22.

HDFC Bank Ltd. and Jet Airways Ltd. have entered into an agreement that enables the bank’s credit cardholders to pay for tickets on installment, the India-based bank announced Dec. 15.

Many online merchants in the United Kingdom may experience downtime during the holiday shopping season because their systems used to detect fraud card-not-present fraud may not be reliable or current, new research suggests.

Think Computer Corp. has introduced a digital-coupon system integrated into its mobile-payments application that relies on facial recognition to confirm a user’s identity at the point of sale to help combat payment fraud.

PerkStreet Financial will offer MasterCard Worldwide financial products through its checking-account rewards program, switching fewer than 50,000 debit cards away from Visa Inc., the Wilmington, Del.-based financial-services company announced Dec. 21.

Snapper Services Ltd. has become the latest organization to join the new “super ticket” system planned for Auckland, New Zealand’s public transport system, the integrated ticketing provider announced Dec. 16.

I agree there well may be short-term benefits with subsidies in assisting retailers/merchants in upgrading terminals to test NFC. However, the comment from Troy Bernard is most pertinent.

As major financial services providers sever ties to WikiLeaks, a little-known alternative payments startup in the U.K. has stood by the embattled organization.

An Ingenico S.A. board member reportedly contends a takeover bid for the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker could be renewed.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC will handle ATM and debit card processing services for two Colorado retail banking companies, the Cincinnati-based processor announced Dec. 22.

The Fed’s proposed new interchange rules may bring a quick end to free checking, two analysts say.

Merchant acquirers might be breathing a sigh of relief following the Federal Reserve Board’s proposal to cap debit card interchange rates at 12 cents per transaction (see story). But though the proposed rules would not directly affect them, issuer reaction might, observers say.

With so-called debit card fees poised to take a severe hit, some payments analysts say a similar attack on credit card interchange rates is inevitable.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule Dec. 21 to move to electronic payments instead of checks for federal benefits and nontax payments.

Targeting underbanked consumers in the United States, US Alliance Group Inc. and Chexar Networks Inc. have launched a check-cashing product that enables consumers to deposit checks directly into accounts tied to MasterCard-branded prepaid cards, US Alliance Group announced on Dec. 15.

Australia’s ongoing migration to using chip technology on payment cards instead of magnetic stripes, which the country will complete in 2013, should reduce the country’s card-fraud losses, according to the Australian Payments Clearing Association, a self-regulatory body of the Australian payments industry.

Various factors may have come into play regarding Ingenico S.A.’s Dec. 19 rejection of an unsolicited, nonbinding offer.