Payments

Ukash, a United Kingdom-based firm that sells prepaid vouchers for online shopping, believes a new free Apple Inc. iPhone application finally can help it break into the United States market after establishing its payment method in more than 50 other countries.

With the emergence of smartphones, the next evolution in point-of-sale transaction processing has begun, fueled by devices not designed for the POS environment yet becoming increasingly popular nonetheless.

RESTON, Va. — Sallie Mae this week said it is now offering no-fee checking accounts and MasterCard Debit cards to universities that in turn can be used by the millions of students with whom it has lending relationships.

WASHINGTON – Turning up the heat in the battle over debit fees, Senator Richard Durbin vowed yesterday to filibuster a growing move to delay the Fed’s interchange rule, throwing new hurdles in the way of delay efforts.

Union Bank of India Ltd. is partnering with Nokia India Pvt. Ltd. to launch a mobile-based payment service, a spokesperson for the Mumbai-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Experian unveiled an income model this week to help lenders comply with the Federal Reserve’s amendment to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) of the CARD Act. The amendment requires credit card issuers to judge borrowers’ ability to pay individually rather than relying on household income.

Manchester, N.H.-based Bellwether Community CU has rolled out a new mobile banking service provided by NCR Corp., one of the first credit unions to use the NCR mobile banking solution.

The average charge-off rate on U.S. consumer credit cards inched upward in February, ending a streak of five consecutive months of declines. But the uptick is the result of “seasonal patterns” and is unlikely to affect the general trend of improving card-portfolio health, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Continued improvement in Discover Financial Services’ card portfolio driven by higher Pulse, Diners Club and third-party issuer volume helped the payments company generate net income of $465 million for the fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 28, the card company reported Tuesday. Discover reported a $104 million loss for the same period last year.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU said it is providing members with 5% cash back on every gas purchase paid for at the pump and 1% cash back on all other purchases with the use of its PenFed Visa Platinum Cash Rewards Card.

Diners at Field of Greens and VooDoo BBQ & Grill may receive discount coupons and eventually may pay for purchases through Mobibucks Corp.’s mobile marketing and payment service under a deal Mobibucks announced with the two restaurants March 21.

First Data Corp. is rolling out a mobile-coupon program for merchants called mVoucher that uses 2-D barcodes and text messages, the Atlanta-based processor announced March 22 at the International CTIA Wireless convention in Orlando.

FreeScore LLC now offers an iPhone app that consumers can use to receive their credit scores and calculate mortgage rates.

Certain card issuers grappling with the fallout of new and pending regulations are beginning to recognize that a dramatically different approach to designing payment products may be needed to cope with even more potential regulatory changes ahead.

T8 Webware said March 21 it is offering new mobile capabilities for its card personalization software over Apple’s iPad.

Allied First Bancorp Inc. of Oswego, Ill., is using technology from VSoft Corp. for remote deposit capture services, the companies announced March 21.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – T8 Webware said yesterday it is offering new mobile capabilities for its card personalization software over Apple’s iPad.

Vivotech Inc. has launched a new software suite called Vivonfc to manage payment systems that use Near Field Communication chips, the company announced March 21.

LOMBARD, Ill.-To make up for a 73% loss in interchange revenue, a $750-million CU will either have to cut 18 employees, lower deposit rates by 16 basis points, impose a $6.08 monthly fee on checking balances below $1,000, or add a monthly $3.65 debit card fee.

WASHINGTON-A powerful group of banks and credit unions convinced Congress last week to introduce a bill that would delay implementation of the Federal Reserve's rule capping fees in debit interchange, but the bill faces a steep climb as the deadline for final passage of the rule is rapidly approaching.