Payments

Mobile banking in rural India received a huge push this month with the country’s two biggest banks signing agreements with the two largest mobile-network operators in India for the launch of mobile platforms designed to bring banking services to more consumers.

DES MOINES, Iowa – TMG Financial Services (TMGFS) said it experienced credit card portfolio growth last year, both organically and through portfolio purchases.

A fresh round of Apple Inc. rumors indicates the technology giant will include Near Field Communication in the next versions of its iPhone and iPad. And while the technology continues to stay atop the leaderboard as the payments industry’s ideal mobile-payments method, at least one observer believes barcode technology ultimately will prevail.

MasterCard Worldwide and Spanish telecommunication company Telefonica SA are starting a joint venture to develop mobile payments services in 12 Latin American countries, the companies announced Jan. 25.

BROCKTON, Mass. – HarborOne CU said it has installed Datacard Group’s CardWizard software to instantly issue Visa debit cards on demand at the branch level.

Visa Europe and Wireless Dynamics Inc. are teaming up to offer a mobile contactless-payment service for Apple Inc. iPhone users in the United Kingdom, the card association announced Jan. 25.

Citing increased consumer spending, American Express Co. is reporting fourth quarter net income of $1.1 billion, up 53.6% from $716 million during the same period in 2009. Total revenue net of interest expense rose 12.3%, to $7.3 billion from $6.5 billion, the company announced Monday.

MasterCard Inc. confirmed that it is hiring Mung-Ki Woo as group executive for its mobile business.

MILWAUKIE, Ore. – Cutting Edge FCU has signed a comprehensive cards processing deal with Fifth Third Processing Solutions.

Safaricom Ltd., the largest mobile operator in Kenya, is working with U.S.-based payments provider PayPal Inc. on a platform to enable consumers to pay school fees directly to institutions’ bank accounts using their mobile phones, the companies announced earlier this month.

First Data Corp. will handle credit card processing for Kohl’s Corp.’s private-label credit cards in a multiyear agreement the two companies announced last week.

After a year in testing, RDM Corp.’s smartphone check-imaging application Simply Deposit Mobile is now available for all merchants, RDM announced Jan. 20.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve’s proposal to slash interchange fees on debit transactions by as much as 70% could devastate the finances of some credit unions, forcing them to institute fees on no-charge services such as checking, credit unions are telling the Fed.

SoftBank Mobile Corp. will start a Near Field Communication payment pilot with smartphones powered by Android 2.2 operating system late this quarter, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Japanese telecommunication operator SoftBank Corp. announced Jan.18.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has filed suit against a local college professor over the patent rights to Square, a credit card reader that can be attached to smartphones.

Wells Fargo & Co.’s credit card portfolio shrank somewhat in 2010 as charge-offs declined sharply, the San Francisco-based company said Jan. 19 when announcing fourth-quarter earnings.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico Energy FCU signed a credit card processing deal with Fifth Third Processing Solutions.

ST. LOUIS – Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has filed suit against a local college professor over the patent rights to Square, a credit card reader that can be attached to smartphones.

EBay Inc.’s PayPal Inc. unit in 2010 nearly tripled its eBay Mobile gross merchandise volume to $2 billion from the previous year, driven by strong holiday shopping, John Donahoe, eBay president and CEO, told analysts Jan. 19 during a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.

At first glance Xipwire Inc.'s mobile payments system seems obsolete next to competing services — its software isn't based on a sleek-looking digital wallet application on a smartphone and it doesn't rely on payment chips that turn mobile devices into tap-and-go credit cards.