Payments

At least three of the nation’s largest credit card issuers, as a result of their strategic actions and market positioning, may eke out growth this year despite the sluggish economy, according to a new report from Keefe, Bruyette and Woods.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU on Wednesday announced it has signed a contract extension until 2017 for credit and signature debit processing with PSCU Financial Services.

McGREGOR, Texas – Rocket FCU has signed with Vantiv for single-sourced electronic processing servicing, including: debit card services, card production, gateway services, debit portfolio management, fraud mitigation, enhanced chargeback processing and ATM driving.

LONDON – Monitise on Tuesday said it was awarded a UK patent for a “virtual payment card” that will allow consumers to make payments in shops and online with their mobile phone without divulging their card details.

In a move designed to streamline cross-border funds-transfers in the South Pacific, mobile funds-transfer service Vodafone MPAiSA Fiji on Sept. 9 announced new capabilities enabling consumers from Australia and New Zealand to send funds to anyone in Fiji with a Vodafone mobile phone.

Building on its growing momentum in contactless payments, Bank of Montreal is rolling out the Mobile PayPass Tag, a Near Field Communication-enabled sticker that consumers can attach to their mobile phones to make contactless payments in Canada, the bank announced Sept. 13.

ACI Worldwide has launched ACI Enterprise Banker 7.6, which will be fully enabled for mobile banking.

Citigroup Inc. has appointed several new people to the leadership team of its Citi Cards business.

South Africa’s First National Bank Ltd on Sept. 7 unveiled what it says is the nation’s first service enabling its customers to send funds to one another using only a cell phone number.

Having a smartphone equipped for mobile payments with multiple payment options could weaken the impact of card brands, according to a new report from Morningstar Inc.

Banks that want to reel in retail customers who have gravitated to others' credit cards and card issuers eager to steal competitors' customers have a new weapon: technology from Mitek that lets customers transfer card balances by simply taking a picture of their credit card bill with their mobile device.

MANSFIELD, Texas – Texas Trust CU will offer local school districts cash for classrooms with every swipe of their new Spirit Debit Reward card.

Zimbabwe’s Econet Wireless Ltd. is developing a mobile-payment system designed for small-ticket transactions in that country, the telecommunication company announced Sept. 6.

To help meet rising consumer demand in China, payment-services provider 99Bill Corp. has upgraded its 99Bill+ payment platform to additionally support payments initiated with tablets and smartphones.

POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State University CU is issuing MasterCards that double as student identifications to 15,000 students at the university’s campus this fall.

SUITLAND, Md. – Andrews FCU on Wednesday announced it is rolling out a Globe Trek Visa Rewards credit card with both magnetic strip and the Europay, MasterCard and Visa EMV technology, also known as Chip and PIN.

VeriFone Systems Inc. continues to show positive quarterly results in terms of revenue and net income, and company executives expect the trend to continue as contactless mobile payments grow worldwide and EMV chip-and-PIN takes hold in the United States.

Sallie Mae announced on Tuesday that it had introduced mobile banking to certain Apple products, allowing customers to manage their savings, money market and no-fee student checking accounts remotely. The student lender has wasted no time rolling out mobile check deposit, and lets customers deposit checks not only by snapping a photo with their iPhone or iPad, but also by using their "dorm room scanner."

Joining a growing list of similar companies trying to move more cash payments to cards, Payment Data Systems Inc. will launch iRemotePay next month to meet growing merchant demand for a payment-acceptance option to use away from their actual stores or if they do business in outdoor markets.

Many institutions are considering mobile phone-enabled check capture, a popular way of depositing checks in which consumers use their smartphones to take photos of checks to deposit them remotely.