Despite a predictable drop in refinance activity as interest rates rise, Patelco Credit Union is posting strong mortgage numbers thanks to an increased emphasis on jumbo mortgage products.

At the American Credit Union Mortgage Association annual convention last week, Credit Union Journal asked the following attendees: "Now that interest rates are going up and the refi boom is drying up, what proactive steps is your CU taking to generate more purchase mortgages?"

Ripple Labs, formerly OpenCoin Inc., is working with two new gateways, ZipZap Inc. and SnapSwap, to allow U.S. consumers to fund accounts in-person or online.

Card processor Pivotal Payments and data analytics vendor Womply are partnering to offer Pivotal Merchant Insights, which provides small businesses a way to analyze payments trends alongside their online and social media reputations.

The Republic of Kenya is among the latest countries to make the move to EMV-chip cards, as its local banks and processors mount an ambitious campaign to transition the smart-card standard by early next year in a move to combat fast-rising fraud.

To adapt to changes in the payments industry, Ceridian, a Minneapolis-based human resources, payroll and payment card company, has split its payments business from its human capital management unit.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kirtland FCU is among the first credit unions to introduce Calcubot Cloud, a financial marketing solution that integrates the Web and Facebook using cloud technology to market loans.

MasterCard has become the first payment network to join the Fast IDentity Online Alliance, which aims to improve online payment security through the use of common technology across browsers, applications and servers.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express are seeking ways to replace account numbers for digital payments. As they research possibilities, they can learn from the many existing and developing technologies that already accomplish much of what the card networks want.

The Lamassu Bitcoin machine, a so-called Bitcoin ATM that allows consumers to deposit cash to buy bitcoins, has its first buyer.

Online payment provider BlueSnap will provide its global payments gateway software to Voxy, a New York-based company that offers language-learning courses online and through smartphones.

The mobile payments market is overrun with companies offering clip-on card readers in a variety of shapes and sizes. Tantrum Street is betting that it can offer the same service without any add-on hardware at all.

An ISO based in Southern California is using LeafPresenter point-of-sale tablets to differentiate itself from competitors and save money for merchants.

LOS ANGELES – SmartMetric, which says it owns the patent to critical technology switching EMV transactions, yesterday said it will appeal Tuesday’s federal court ruling rejecting its $13-billion infringement claim against Visa and MasterCard.

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. don’t infringe a patent owned by SmartMetric Inc., a company that had sought as much as $13.4 billion for alleged use of its technology in “smart” debit and credit cards.

The mobile carrier Sprint is launching Pinsight Touch, a national, open platform for securely storing and accessing credentials on a mobile device.

The U.S. Postal Service defaulted on a $5.6 billion payment for retiree health benefits that was due Monday.Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs last month that the default was going to happen.

Subway sandwich shops are using Paydiant's mobile payments, offers and loyalty platform as part of the restaurant chain's mobile wallet app, which it plans to launch this year.

The price of Bitcoins listed on the Bitstamp Ltd. exchange plunged as much as 33 percent after charges were unsealed for the operator of an online marketplace for drugs and other illicit goods.

The only way for the payments industry to thwart future hackers is to create a system that can adapt quickly to unanticipated threats – but many companies still struggle with the costs of handling their basic security needs.