Payments

Consumers continue to place a higher priority on making their credit card payments than their mortgage payments, affirming a trend that began with the recession, according to a new data TransUnion released this week.

Card readers that attach to mobile phones suddenly have become a hot industry topic, and HomeATM ePayment Solutions is about to throw its own device into the mix, PaymentsSource has learned.

Smart Communications Inc. has signed a mobile-payments deal with Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc., the Philippines-based company announced on Jan. 31.

VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s Payware Mobile payment software for Apple Inc.’s iPhone is now available from Apple’s iTunes store, the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal maker says.

Nearly a year after USAA Federal Savings Bank launched a service that enables customers to deposit checks into their accounts using images captured with cameras on their Apple Inc. iPhones, the bank last weekend launched the same service for Android-powered smartphones.

Card fraud costs the U.S. payments industry, including issuers, merchants and acquirers, an estimated $8.6 billion per year, according to a report from Aite Group LLC, a Boston-based consulting firm.

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.