Payment processing

Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. will buy a 98.73% stake in KSNet Inc., a South Korea-based payment processor, the South Africa-based payments-technology provider announced last week.

A judge has denied a motion by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by SmartMetric Inc., according to court filings published Wednesday.

A recent partnership between Western Union Co. and Toronto, Canada-based electronic-wallet provider EnStream LP will enable Canadian consumers to send funds both domestically and internationally using their mobile phones. The companies plan to launch a pilot in Canada in December.

Bank of the West is planning to offer its small-business customers an ACH payment service that could make costly wire transfers unnecessary.

Citigroup Inc. has appointed Jud Linville as CEO of its Citi Cards credit card unit, replacing Paul Galant, who was named Citi’s CEO of global enterprise payments. Linville previously was president and CEO of American Express Co.’s U.S. Consumer Services operations.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC has bought Springbok Services Inc.'s prepaid card processing business as part of Springbok's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Merchants using VeriFi Inc.’s charge-back re-presentment service no longer have to use the Los Angeles-based company’s online payment gateway. Instead, merchants now may use any online payment gateway, and they do not have to switch payment processors, Jeff Sawitke, VeriFi chief product officer, tells PaymentsSource.

Telecom Canada International, a telecommunications and energy consultancy with offices in Canada, the United States and Hong Kong, will refer its Canadian and U.S. clients wanting merchant-processing services to Elavon Inc., the Atlanta-based payment processor announced Sept. 21.

A bank in the United Arab Emirates reportedly soon plans to launch a credit card designed for use exclusively online at Jordan-based Aramex Ltd.’s Shop&Ship service.

With another solid quarter behind Discover Financial Services, the Riverwoods, Ill.- based company now says it is focused on increasing merchant acceptance of its cards, growing its Pulse PIN-debit network and boosting customer retention.

As new legislation and economic issues tighten available credit lines, more and more consumers are turning to network-branded reloadable prepaid debit and payroll cards as alternative payment methods to credit cards and cash, new research suggests.

Loyola University in Chicago this fall plans to help make the areas around the campus safer by reducing the need for students to carry cash when the university updates its campus card program to include off-campus restaurants.

The Apple iPad is being hyped as the future of computing.

Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. earlier this month rolled out an online-payment service to bolster inbound tourism to the country, an official from the Nairobi-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Two of India’s largest banks reportedly are looking to outsource the management of their ATM networks.

China's largest mobile-network operator China Mobile is suspending its project involving an RFID-SIM, a mobile-payment technology based on the 2.4GHz standard for contactless payment, local media in China reported last week.

In what will be a landmark event for the heavily closeted banking sector in Myanmar, a private bank in that country reportedly soon will begin offering online-payment services in partnership with a government ministry.

SafetyPay Inc.’s recent partnership with Banco Nacional de Costa Rica will enable the bank’s customers to shop online more securely worldwide, Miami Beach, Fla.-based SafetyPay notes in a Sept. 15 announcement.

Mobile-payments firm RegaloCard LLC is bringing its card-based funds-transfer service to an additional 4,000 U.S. retail locations through a distribution agreement with iPayStation LLC, the companies announced Sept. 20.

MoneyGram International Inc. has agreed to offer its payment services through the processor BillingTree Inc. under the brand PaynCash.