Payments

Barclaycard and wireless-network operator Everything Everywhere Ltd. on May 19 officially launched the United Kingdom’s first contactless mobile-payment system, which uses a pay-as-you-go handset from Samsung Group. But its success could hinge on merchant acceptance of the technology continuing to grow.

WASHINGTON-Responding to progress credit unions and banks have made in Congress to delay or derail new interchange caps that are included in the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd Frank Act, the National Retail Federation is rolling out a major, nationwide, 60-day lobbying, grassroots and media campaign aimed at ensuring that the law goes into effect as scheduled.

Danal Inc.'s BilltoMobile is launching a payment service for e-commerce sites to route payments through the phone bills of more than 200 mobile carriers across 60 countries.

In another sign that U.S. consumer credit card issuers are beginning to see some new-account growth following the recession, Equifax Inc. on May 20 reported new bankcard accounts in February were up 28% compared with a year earlier.

Dramatic reductions in credit card bad-debt and total expenses, plus gains in customer use of private-label cards within its stores driven by a 5% rewards discount launched in October, helped boost fiscal first quarter profitability within Target Corp.’s Credit Card segment.

PHOENIX – Desert Schools FCU is offering its members around-the-clock credit monitoring to thwart identity thieves.

CHICAGO–Evolving mobile technology is leading payment companies to develop new business models to capture revenue in a market many observers believe soon will offer enormous opportunities, executives said here May 20 during a panel discussion at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s annual conference.

Forming new partnerships with mobile-payments players is a top priority for Barclaycard, the new head of the issuer’s U.S. mobile business said May 19.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Tester, leading the effort to delay the controversial debit interchange fee rule, has agreed to shorten his proposed delay to 15 months from 24 months, giving credit union and bank regulators time to study the impact of the rule on the institutions they supervise.

A payment-terminal maker and a restaurant-software provider are teaming up to enable restaurant patrons to use Near Field Communication-equipped smartphones to pay their tabs at the table. The contactless technology also integrates transaction information with business software.

PayPal Inc. has added the ability for users of Android smartphones to fund their accounts by taking a picture of a paper check.

In the rush to offer mobile banking to as many customers as possible, several banks have taken a fragmented approach, making different apps for separate regions, customer bases and even different functions tied to the same account. But a startup says it doesn't have to be that way.

WASHINGTON – Responding to progress credit unions and banks have made in Congress to delay or derail new interchange caps that are included in the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, the National Retail Federation is rolling out a major, nationwide, 60-day lobbying, grassroots and media campaign aimed at ensuring that the law goes into effect as scheduled.

The average U.S. credit card charge-off rate in April likely fell again as it headed toward historic lows, suggest preliminary monthly account-default data from the nation’s top credit card issuers Moody’s Investors Service analyzed.

Dwolla Corp., an alternative payments provider, is developing technology to help banks cut fraud as they start allowing transactions from mobile devices — and also help them decide which mobile devices are worth investing in to begin with.

Prepaid debit card providers might gain new customers by adding mobile remote deposit capture services because underbanked consumers see value in the technology, suggests new survey data.

Global shipments of handsets with Near Field Communication technology should increase to nearly 550 million units by 2015, helped by the decision earlier this month by three major U.S. wireless carriers to partner with leading credit card companies on a mobile-commerce initiative, according to new IHS iSuppli research.

MARION, Ind.-For many parents, the only thing scarier than putting the car keys in a teenager's hand is putting a credit card in those same hands. Afena FCU here is determined to change that-and throw in an incentive for local schools — with its student credit card program.

WASHINGTON-Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Senators he is doubtful the Fed can develop a rule adequately protecting CUs and small banks from the cuts in debit fees mandated for the biggest banks.

Consumer demand for credit is rising just as credit card issuers are relaxing their lending criteria, making way for new opportunities in credit card marketing, according to Federal Reserve Board data cited in a Tower Group report “Business Strategies for Credit Card Issuers to Address New Regulation and Increase Profits”.