Payments

Visa Inc.'s planned purchase of CyberSource Corp. shows that the payments company is serious about mobile commerce — and the potential risks of this emerging channel.

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The credit card charge-off rate rose again in March, reaching a point that is “at or near a peak,” Moody’s Investors Service said in a report this week.

Citing the continued effects of the economic downturn, Wells Fargo & Co. today reported a higher credit card charge-off rate on a slightly smaller pool of credit card receivables for the first quarter ended March 31 compared with the same period last year.

Visa Inc.’s planned $2 billion cash purchase of CyberSource Corp., a payment-services and fraud-management provider, suggests the card company is serious about mobile payments–and the risks that the mobile channel may attract.

U.S. Bancorp yesterday reported credit and debit card revenue of $258 million for the first quarter ended March 31, up 0.8% from $256 million during the same period last year.

DENVER – Sponsors of a Senate bill that would have barred the growing practice of merchants assessing surcharges on debit card transactions pulled the bill yesterday after it was amended to bar all ATM surcharges.

Two multi-billion-dollar credit unions have expanded their remote deposit capture (RDC) services for members by launching the DeposZip Mobile program, including a suite of downloadable software applications for smartphones, from Vertifi Software, a subsidiary of Eastern Corporate Federal Credit Union.

Greater New Orleans FCU has launched a mobile banking and account alert service.

Interest in Roam Data Inc.’s mobile-payment service appears to be high among independent sales organizations. Most of Roam Data’s 35 resellers are ISOs, says Will Graylin, founder and CEO of Boston-based Roam Data.

Aided by a substantial release of its credit card loan-loss reserves, Bank of America Corp. on Friday announced that its Global Card Services unit earned $952 million in net income during the first quarter ended March 31; the unit reported a $1.75 billion loss during the same period a year ago.

Marketing technology vendors are helping issuers pump up their transaction volume by transferring mobile-coupon redemption to a debit or credit card.

Early-stage delinquencies ticked up at a handful of credit card issuers in March, possibly a bad sign for future credit trends.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard Worldwide on Thursday announced the launch of MasterCard Labs, a new global research and development arm aimed at bringing new payment solutions to market with greater speed than before.

Community banks are planning to improve their mobile banking offerings, according to research by Banc Investment Group LLC.

Citing modest improvements in its recession-battered card portfolio, JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week reported a $303 million loss within its Card Services unit for the first quarter ended March 31; it reported a $547 million net loss during the same period last year.

Aptys Solutions LLC said it is counting on changes to the automated clearing house system to help its mobile business-to-business payment system take off.

Hypercom Corp. announced April 13 plans to sell two versions of a card reader that plugs into an iPhone and uses its wireless connection to handle card payments. The products, called SmartPayments Mobile, are designed for merchants that want to accept card payments but cannot be tied to an office location because of the nature of their business.

MasterCard Inc. has what it needs to thrive, but its next chief executive says he still has to put the pieces together.

SK Telecom Co. Ltd. has launched a Near Field Communication mobile-payment service called T Smart Pay in cooperation with Hana SK Card, the company announced recently.