Payment processing

China UnionPay last week signed an agreement that will allow Chinese tourists to use their China UnionPay cards to access a Standard Chartered Bank subsidiary’s ATMs in several African countries, a spokesperson for the China-based card company tells PaymentsSource. Standard Chartered is based in the United Kingdom, and the subsidiary is based in Kenya.

SourceMedia Inc., publisher of PaymentsSource, today announced the appointment of Douglas J. Manoni as chief executive officer. He replaces James M. Malkin, who has left the company.

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based Co-op Financial Services announced Thursday it has extended its electronic funds transfer network access agreement with First Data Corp.’s Star Network.

Each of the four major U.S. card brands is waiving interchange fees on Haitian relief donations made to select charities for a limited time to ensure a greater portion of contributions made with their cards reaches victims of the massive earthquake that struck the region Jan 12.

NCR Corp.’s German subsidiary today announced it has signed agreements with 20 banks to monitor their self-service systems, increasing the time the machines are available for customer use.

The National Bank of Kuwait has renewed its credit card processing agreement with United States-based First Data Corp.

EProcessing Network LLC, a Houston-based online payment gateway company, says its ePNJPOS payment software now supports VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s PINpad 1000SE PIN pad.

Gemalto NV said Wednesday it will set aside between 6 million euros (US$8.7 million) and 10 million euros to “cover the potential consequences related” to an apparent programming glitch that left millions of German payment cards useless earlier this month (see story).

The difference between Mophie LLC’s payment card reader for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and similar products competitors have debuted is that Mophie’s Marketplace product will work with any merchant account, according to the Paw Paw, Mich.-based provider of technology accessory products such as smartphone batteries. Retailers can set up a merchant account through Mophie or use an existing account, and “this is the main difference between the Marketplace and competitors,” says a company spokesperson.

Visa Inc.’s devotion to signature-based contactless transactions has caused one large retailer to take a stand against the card network, and it also poses an obstacle to adoption of EMV cards in the United States, says an industry analyst.

Global Payments Inc.’s North American merchant-services revenue grew 10.5% during the payment processor’s second quarter. ISOs largely drove the growth with their “strong performance ... as evidenced by U.S. transaction growth of 19%,” Paul Garcia, Global chairman and CEO, said during a conference call with analysts last week.

MasterCard Worldwide today announced the availability of a merchant data service called MasterCard Advisors Merchant Solutions.

Total online transactions and spending volume in the U.S. rose again during the recent holiday shopping season compared with a year earlier, while the average transaction amount fell for the second consecutive year, according to new data Chase Paymentech released Jan. 12.

U.S. Bancorp's merchant acquiring unit, Elavon, has started a hosted payment gateway it calls Fusebox.

Gemalto has increased its capital investment to become the majority shareholder in mobile-payments firm Netsize, the company announced Tuesday. Amstercam-based Gemalto has an option to buy the company at a later date, but it did not disclose terms of the transaction.

The fee structure of eBay Inc.’s Bill Me Later instant credit service might violate a consumer-protection law in California, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP alleges. The Seattle-based law firm last week said it filed a lawsuit against the San Jose, Calif.-based company on behalf of consumers and is seeking class-action status.

Mophie, a Paw Paw, Mich.-based provider of technology accessory products such as smartphone batteries, last week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas unveiled details regarding its payment card reader for Apple Inc.’s iPhone (see story) , according OhGizmo.com, a technology blog.

Two point-of-sale terminal makers on Jan. 11 announced product updates. Ingenico S.A. says its new iSC350 payment terminal can display full-motion video on its consumer-facing screen with stereo sound.

Does the world need another automated clearing house processor?

Warning that the weak U.S. economy will continue to drag down consumer spending this year, Wells Fargo & Co. issued a blanket downgrade of the transaction processing segment.