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Idaho Central Credit Union, the state's largest credit union based on assets and members, is converting all 40,000 of its signature- and PIN-debit cards to PSCU Financial Services' debit-processing platform, the companies announced yesterday.

The Desoto, Tex., bill-to-phone payment processor eTelcharge.com Inc. has a deal to buy a larger rival, PaymentOne Corp. of San Jose.

The Dutch transaction processor Equens NV is testing a biometric fingerprint payment authorization system with a supermarket chain there — a model that has failed to catch on in this country.

Two providers of payment services for utilities are collaborating to deliver a prepaid wireless metering system for electricity providers.

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Visa Europe will keep its cross-border interchange rates as is, even though MasterCard Europe, facing hefty fines from European regulators, said Thursday it would "temporarily repeal" its rates while continuing its appeal of the regulators' decision. "The announcement has no impact in Visa Europe's interchange," Visa said in a statement issued Friday. "We are in ongoing talks with the European Commission about how we (will) set our interchange in the future, and these continue." The commission is investigating Visa Europe's interchange and card practices. In December, it gave MasterCard six months to lower its rates or face paying daily fines amounting to 3.5% of global revenues. Regulators say the rates are anticompetitive. On Friday, Visa Europe repeated that it hoped to reach agreement with the commission. But one analyst questioned how much negotiating power Visa has in the wake of MasterCard's interchange decision. "The way the situation is evolving, it's clear that MasterCard and Visa have little leverage over the [commission]," Gwenn Bézard, senior analyst for the Aite Group, a United States-based consultancy, tells CardLine Global. "It's not good news for Visa." Meanwhile, European retailers welcomed MasterCard's decision to repeal its rates. "This signals a major victory in the battle against this hidden taxation of purchasing, which will bring significant benefits to consumers and retailers," retail trade association EuroCommerce said in a statement issued Friday.

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United States-based auction Web site eBay Inc. says it is reviewing a directive from Australian competition authorities that delays company plans to mandate PayPal, eBay's payment service, as the only online-payment option on the company's Australian Web site, a spokesperson tells CardLine Global. EBay officials worked through Thursday night to "digest the information," the spokesperson says. "We will make further comment following the review process," the spokesperson says. On Thursday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was determining if eBay's mandate is anticompetitive (CardLine Global, 13 June). The mandate was scheduled to start Tuesday.

Global Payments Inc., an Atlanta provider of payment processing and cash access services to casinos, said four customers have signed up to use its VIP Lightspeed package of check-cashing, cash advance, and automated teller machine products and services.

Citibank, which operates the nation's eighth-largest bank-owned ATM network, next week will begin replacing most of its ATMs in a bid to improve customer service.

Bank of America Corp. is raising its ATM surcharge in the Chicago market to $3 from $2

Mastercard Worldwide has some catching up to do in the debit card market to

Chevron Federal Credit Union and Technology Credit Union have joined the

More than 90% of Nautilus Hyosung America Inc.'s customers order ATMs through a Web ordering system, MinibankATM.com, Chan Park, company president and CEO, told ATM&Debit News at the company's Second Annual Users' conference. The Coppell, Texas, company launched Web site ordering in June 2007.

Barclays PLC

MasterCard Europe has "temporarily repealed" its interchange rates that European regulators say violate antitrust rules, the card company said Thursday. The action applies to cross-border interchange merchant acquirers pay card issuers when customers use cards carrying the MasterCard or Maestro debit brands. On 19 Dec. 2007, the European Commission ordered MasterCard to lower the rates within six months or face daily fines amounting to 3.5% of global revenues. On 1 March, MasterCard filed an appeal with the European Court of First Instance. The card organization is continuing that appeal, though MasterCard does not expect a judgment until "the second half of 2010," a MasterCard spokesperson tells CardLine Global. The interchange rates average 1% of the sale for MasterCard-branded cards and 0.5% for Maestro-branded cards, the spokesperson says. "MasterCard believes its cross-border interchange system has kept the cost of payment cards low for cardholders," Javier Perez, MasterCard Europe president, says in a statement. In March, the European Commission said it was investigating the interchange rates applied to Visa card transactions in Europe and the card organization's rule that merchants must accept all Visa-branded cards regardless of the issuer or type of transaction. Visa said it expects to reach a "negotiated settlement" with regulators (CardLine Global, 3 April).

First Data Corp. has extended an agreement to provide merchant processing services for customers of Webster Financial Corp. of Waterbury, Conn.