Payments

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.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – North Coast CU signed with Fifth Third Processing Solutions to provide it with single-sourced, comprehensive processing services including: ATM and debit card transaction processing, ATM driving, card production and network gateway access.

Tanzania Posts Corp. and Vodacom Tanzania Ltd. have inked a mobile-banking agreement in which Vodacom will use the postal service’s network of branches as agents to support its M-Pesa funds-transfer service.

Acculynk Inc. has worked over the past two years to position its PaySecure product as the standard for Internet PIN-debit transactions. It now plans to bring the same payment technology to smartphones.

Starbucks Corp.’s Grande-sized mobile payments trial has gone Venti.

Several of the biggest credit card issuers in December posted their lowest rates for chargeoffs than in any other month of 2010, meaning fewer accounts are slipping into default.

Gemalto NV is participating in a Near Field Communication payment pilot in Japan that launches this quarter, the France-based technology provider announced Jan. 18.

At least 10 new clients adopted Mitek Systems Inc.’s mobile check-capture software last quarter, including three of the top 10 U.S. retail banks and a top-30 credit union, the San Diego-based vendor announced Jan 18.

QUINCY, Mass. – Quincy CU has signed a credit card processing deal with Fifth Third Processing Solutions.

Using mobile phones to track and redeem credit and debit card loyalty points soon may become key elements of loyalty marketing, according to Andrew Davidson, senior vice president at Mintel Comperemedia.

Merchant-level salespeople who use POS Portal Inc. as their point-of-sale equipment distributor now have a mobile-phone tool that enables them to check the availability and wholesale pricing of devices, POS Portal announced Jan. 4.

The universe of bonds backed by credit card loans shrank by about a fifth last year as an era of off-balance-sheet accounting ended and the industry re-engineered its funding base.

Discover Financial Services' execution of its long-expected "mobile wallet" will define its role in mobile commerce, a future where consumers make contactless payments with their cell phones and receive wireless deals as they enter stores. "Unlike existing mobile technologies that are transactional in nature, the mobile wallet truly facilitates mobile commerce," predicts Gloria Colgan, Discover's svp of emerging payments.