Payments

Five of the six largest credit card lenders posted declines in U.S. card delinquencies in December, helping the overall rate fall to the lowest level since September, reports Moody's Investors Service.

Remote capture services have become an important offering for business customers, and banks are now adapting the technology for mobile phones in an effort to reach the mainstream.

Despite an industrywide improvement in chargeoffs evident in fourth-quarter results, many credit card executives are wary of declaring an end to the harshest cycle in decades, with several issuers forecasting higher loan losses this quarter and beyond.

Torrance (Calif.) Community Credit Union said it successfully accepted its first mobile phone deposit over an iPhone.

American Express Co. reported a 198.3% increase in net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30 compared with a year ago, thanks to improving credit quality among U.S. customers and higher spending both in international regions and on corporate cards.

Citigroup Inc. announced Thursday that it has integrated credit card account information into its downloadable Citi Mobile application for the Apple Inc. iPhone.

The continuing evolution of mobile technology has prompted a fledging mobile-payments company to develop a system that enables consumers to send free text message-based funds transfers to Central America.

Major credit card issuers' delinquency rates declined in December, supporting the growing belief that loan losses are near their peak.

Mobile-payments company Apriva announced today the launch of the AprivaPay and AprivaPay Professional mobile-payment services. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Apriva operates its own network that connects mobile-payment terminals to processors.

Citibank customers in Thailand can now use their cell phones to access their bank accounts with Citi Mobile, Citi announced earlier this month. The company says it is the first foreign bank to offer mobile banking in Thailand.

SourceMedia Inc., publisher of PaymentsSource, today announced the appointment of Douglas J. Manoni as chief executive officer. He replaces James M. Malkin, who has left the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Card Services unit Friday cited continued weakness in the credit card sector and the effects of the recession as key contributors to a $306 million net loss in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

Arcot Systems Inc. has released an application for mobile phones that enables consumers with EMV cards to authenticate card-not-present transactions, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said this week.

The Federal Reserve Board finalized a rule on Tuesday that is designed to protect consumers from credit card fees and interest rates that jump suddenly.

Total System Services Inc. plans to use mobile phones to gain a larger foothold in micropayments, Ashim Banerjee, the U.S.-based transaction processor’s chief information officer for TSYS Acquiring Solutions, tells PaymentsSource.

Inside Contactless is working with another France-based contactless-technology firm to develop kiosks and electronic wallets that use Near Field Communication, an Inside spokesperson tells PaymentsSource.

Financial regulators in Brunei have placed restrictions on how small the amounts credit card issuers can set for monthly repayment of credit card debts, according to a directive from the country’s Ministry of Finance. Cardholder incomes also will determine credit card spending limits, the directive states.

If the banking industry was seeking clarity on the trend in consumer loan delinquencies, it did not receive it in the latest American Bankers Association data.

Beaverton, Ore.-based First Tech Credit Union is warning its members of a new malicious banking application it discovered that apparently is designed to steal online banking account details on Google's new Android cellphones.

Gemalto has increased its capital investment to become the majority shareholder in mobile-payments firm Netsize, the company announced Tuesday. Amstercam-based Gemalto has an option to buy the company at a later date, but it did not disclose terms of the transaction.