Payments

SYDNEY, Australia — In what may offer a preview of what is to come in the U.S., the Australian payments industry expects to reduce card fraud losses through a continuing migration to chip technology on payment cards, but fraud losses are rising during the transition period.

Mobile banking’s of little use as an innovation if apps can’t ensure the identity of the user, creating a lucrative security market in which Tyfone just scored a pair of patents.

Telecommunication firm Tata Indicom, the brand name of Mumbai-based Tata Teleservices Ltd., has signed a mobile-remittance deal with eSSecom Pvt. Ltd., the company announced Dec.15.

The Central Bank of Nigeria earlier this month reportedly granted its approval to allow FirstBank Nigeria PLC to offer mobile-payment services in the East African country.

A startup called Maxamum Inc. is trying to break down the credit system’s long-standing Catch 22–consumers generally cannot establish a credit history without having a credit card, but they typically cannot get a credit card without a credit history.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve Board’s proposed debit card interchange rules would slash issuers’ revenue by $11.8 billion, cutting large issuers’ debit card revenue by 73% per transaction on average and making debit cards “significantly unprofitable,” according to a new report.

Think Computer Corp. has introduced a digital-coupon system integrated into its mobile-payments application that relies on facial recognition to confirm a user’s identity at the point of sale to help combat payment fraud.

Visa Inc. unveiled its new special offers mobile payment app, placing it in a crowded market for merchant perks that also includes a major push by rival MasterCard Worldwide.

As credit card portfolio health continues to improve and consumer spending gradually picks up, card issuers are poised to see the first increase in overall credit card receivables next year, Moody’s Investors Service predicts in a report released last week.

The company behind the popular mobile-phone game Angry Birds is adding a payment option using a model that has gained traction in recent months with U.S.-based wireless operators.

WASHINGTON – Contrary to expectations, the Federal Reserve Board’s draft report on debit interchange did not resolve the debate on the cost of fraud in card payments.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The pace of growth in outstanding credit card balances among CU members slowed as of Sept. 30.

WASHINGTON – For Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and competing payments networks, a more critical provision than interchange pricing remains unresolved in the Federal Reserve’s proposed debit rules.

MESSENA, N.Y – The Federal Reserve’s proposal to cap debit interchange fees at 12 cents per transaction has credit union CEOs facing larger issues than just how their own organizations may take the blow.

WASHINGTON – In the latest congressional assault on card fees, a group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation Friday that would limit the types of fees that could be charged on prepaid cards.

WASHINGTON – Industry experts are predicting that the Federal Reserve’s proposal to cap debit interchange fees at 12 cents per transaction could lower revenues for credit unions and banks by billions of dollars a year.

U.S. consumers’ average credit card debt fell by 7.4% through the first 11 months of the year, while the average November credit score dropped a point from October’s score, according to data Credit Karma released this week.

Discover Financial Services is banking on a mobile future. Executives at the Riverwoods, Ill.-based company said during a Dec. 16 conference call with analysts to discuss its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that its deal with wireless carriers AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. will play heavily in its future.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve this afternoon proposed rules aimed at lowering interchange fees on debit transactions that could cap fees at 12 cents per transaction, about what the current median cost of authorization, clearance and settlement is.

Citibank reported Wednesday that its charge-off rate on credit cards fell to 9.4% of balances from 10.3% in October, the largest drop among the top six U.S. credit card issuers for November.