Payments

CHICAGO–Google Inc., Isis and PayPal Inc. each are attempting to position their mobile wallets as the one consumers will prefer to use on their smartphones.

Two new Blackberry devices are the first Subscriber Identity Module-based Near Field Communication smartphones to receive MasterCard Worldwide PayPass certification, Research In Motion Ltd. announced Oct. 26.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia on Oct. 26 unveiled a mobile-payment platform to enable iPhone-owning customers to do online banking, instantly send funds to Facebook friends or to anyone’s email address or telephone number, and, with the use of a special cover, make contactless payments.

The nation’s largest credit card issuers in September reported significantly fewer charge-offs than a month earlier, driving the average bankcard charge-off rate to its lowest level since 2007, according to new data Moody’s Investors Service released Wednesday.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Fort Worth Community CU has signed a single-sourced processing, card production and card management contract with Vantiv.

PARCHMENT, Mich. – First Community FCU said it will return an estimated $200,000 to members as part of a three-month debit card campaign called “Skip the Fee, Swipe for FREE.”

Taking mobile payments to new heights, MasterCard Worldwide soon will conduct a test of contactless-based payments at 30,000 feet, enabling passengers to purchase refreshments using its contactless PayPass technology aboard planes from WestJet, a Calgary, Alberta-based airline.

CHICAGO–The mobile-commerce market is littered with various wallet models, acceptance devices and applications, and this is forcing merchant-service providers to seek out ways to bring the elements together to help retailers maximize the channel’s potential, notes one mobile-payments executive.

The Beijing branch of China Telecom Corp. Ltd. has begun enabling customers to make payments using their China UnionPay cards over its mobile network as part of a pilot that launched Oct. 20.

Roughly half of adults in major global markets are interested in mobile payments because of the ease and simplicity they offer, but significant doubts persist about mobile-payment security, according to a study of consumers in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Germany and Malaysia released in early October.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – OMNI Community CU is encouraging members and non-members to switch to its debit card with a drawing to win $250 in free debit card purchases each month for a year.

Accepting card payments with a mobile phone is becoming as American as baseball and apple pie now that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is selling the Square Inc. reader that turns any smartphone into a card-acceptance device.

Security Service Federal Credit Union has signed with VSoft Corp. to implement the company’s back counter capture and ATM remote deposit capture services to decrease response times and improve employee and member experiences.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Carolina Postal CU is giving members a "Dime Every Time" they swipe their debit card over 12 times a month, significantly increasing signature debit transaction volume and revenue.

Capital One Financial Corp. is looking for another private-label credit card portfolio to buy on the heels of absorbing the U.S. card business of HSBC Bank USA and last year’s acquisition of the Kohl’s Corp. store card portfolio, CEO Richard Fairbank tells analysts.

WARMINISTER, Penn. – Freedom CU last week announced an alternative to new debit fees – the $500-million credit union said it will be paying $5 each month a member makes a purchase with his or her debit card.

Eliminating the need for Near Field Communication hardware or computer chips, French electronic transactions provider Tagattitude is using digital sounds at the point of sale to accommodate mobile payments without storing card data in smartphones, the company announced Oct. 19.

Google Wallet is riding on an active trend to connect retailer loyalty programs to mobile-payment systems.

USAA always has been an early adopter of new digital banking technology, partly because of its customer base of military personal, who often are dispatched to locations around the world on short notice.

FAIRFAX, Va. – Apple FCU on Thursday said it signed an extension of its card servicing agreement with PSCU Financial Services through 2014.