Payments

By offering a mobile service that addresses a common need, JPMorgan Chase & Co. might also get people to use their phones for a type of payment of which few people are even aware.

U.S. consumers’ average credit card debt in June inched up after falling to its lowest level of the year in May, while the average credit score dropped for the first time in 2010, according to new data Credit Karma released this week.

Fremont, Calif.-based Patelco Credit Union has become the first financial institution in the U.S. to launch Mobile Popmoney, which will enable Patelco's members to send an electronic payment directly to another person via an e-mail or text message from their mobile phone.

Monitise PLC, a United Kingdom-based provider of mobile banking and payments services, on July 13 announced plans to raise £32.4 million (US$48.6 million or 38.7 million euros) through the sale of company shares and a subscription by Visa Inc. that will raise the card brand’s shareholding interest in the company to 14.4% from 12.6%.

Lawsuits filed in the U.S. against units of HSBC Holdings PLC charge that the lender's credit card payment-protection service defrauds disabled, retired and unemployed consumers, according to Bloomberg News.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has become the first financial institution in the United Arab Emirates to launch mobile-payment services in collaboration with Etisalat, according to a spokesperson for the mobile operator.

CINCINNATI-Fifth Third Bancorp last week said its Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC unit had acquired the assets of credit union processor TNB Card Services from credit union-owned Town North Bank of Dallas.

Fifth Third Bancorp has announced its Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC unit has acquired the assets of credit union processor TNB Card Services from credit union-owned Town North Bank of Dallas.

Bluepoint Solutions, a provider of remote deposit capture solutions, announced the release of QwikDeposit To Go, a mobile remote deposit capture application.

The allure of mobile payments, which Generator Research, a United Kingdom-based research firm, estimates will grow to an estimated $600 billion worldwide by 2014, has drawn AT&T Inc. into the fray, as have the merchants accepting payments via their phones. The telecommunication giant announced July 7 it will work with Apriva to sell the wireless-payments company’s AprivaPay and AprivaPay Professional mobile-payment services.

MasterCard Inc. announced a free application for Apple Inc.'s iPhone that lets users track special deals offered through the payments network's online shopping portal, MasterCard MarketPlace.

CINCINNATI – Fifth Third Bancorp said this morning its Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC unit has acquired the assets of credit union processor TNB Card Services from credit union-owned Town North Bank of Dallas.

After the financial crisis forced them to retrench, credit card issuers are again on the hunt for new customers.

Why would a merchant need to identify the card in any case? The "Honor all Cards" rules set forth by the card networks apply to all products.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-PSCU Financial Services has introduced a "Design Your Own Card" (DYOC) solution that allows cardholders to select a personal photo and have it placed on their credit card. Members can upload the photo, such as a wedding scene or family pet, at the time they are applying for the card online. Members also have the option of choosing from a library of stock photographs.

Bling Nation Ltd. has struck a partnership with PayPal Inc. that could help the mobile payments network operator expand beyond its hyperlocal business model.

American Express Co.’s near-term forecast is looking rosier because of improving economic trends plus its role as the lone payment network escaping nearly unscathed from the latest round of card-industry regulations, one analyst says.

When my client called me June 21 in a panic saying they had just received a call from Springbok representative to let them know Springbok was closing its doors, I had to bite my tongue and only whisper to myself "I told you so."

Better economic conditions helped boost net profits at Discover Financial Services during its fiscal second quarter. The numbers were aided by higher cardholder spending, lower delinquencies and chargeoffs and a reversal in loan-loss reserve requirements.

Springbok was mostly a B2B prepaid provider, so the CARD Act would have a minimal effect on its business. The company was founded by two people, one of whom was so upset that he and his wife couldn't redeem a gift card to pay for movie tickets that he founded Springbok.