LAS VEGAS-There are never ending waves of fraud crashing on financial institutions, so credit unions must be constantly updating their knowledge base-and educating their members-to keep up.

LAS VEGAS-Credit Union Journal asked attendees of NAFCU's Technology & Security Conference here where their CUs will be investing their technology dollars in 2011, and why.

LAS VEGAS-A glance at fraud statistics would seem to yield an obvious solution: the United States needs to catch up with the rest of the world and upgrade old-school magnetic stripe cards to modern chip and PIN models.

The number of personal bankruptcy filings rose 11% to 102,686 in February compared to a month earlier, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center, but so far the rise has slowed from 2010.

Secure Vault Payments, NACHA’s alternative payment system that enables consumers to make online purchases directly from their bank accounts, may gain new prominence from a test it is running with a sizeable client.

MUMBAI, INDIA–A company that enables India’s banking customers to conduct instant interbank mobile funds transfers is planning to extend the service to enable them to also pay for purchases at merchant locations, the firm’s chief executive told PaymentsSource here March 3 at a technology summit organized by the Indian Banks’ Association.

Tee-On Golf System Inc.’s announced partnership earlier this week with Yespay International Ltd. will enable Canadian golf courses using Tee-On’s tee-time booking software to accept EMV chip-and-PIN payment cards, according to London-based Yespay.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., which buys defaulted consumer debt from credit card issuers and other lenders, on March 3 reported total revenue of $47.5 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up 154% from $18.7 million a year earlier. The company’s net loss dropped 65.3%, to 7 million from $20.2 million.

SAN ANTONIO – Firstmark CU yesterday rolled out its latest mobile platform, the Firstmark Android Application.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Premier CU announced yesterday it will add online, mobile and social payments platform Dwolla to its existing member services.

It's a bit of news some might describe as too good to be true. A Javelin Strategy & Research survey of consumers found that the number of identity fraud victims fell 28% last year from about 11 million to eight million and total annual fraud decreased 34% from $56 billion to $37 billion.

Despite naming its product Virtual Wallet, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has decided that its Web-centric bank account should be firmly grounded in the real world.

Western Union Co. has introduced a mobile Web version of its foreign-exchange payment service that enables small and midsize businesses with international ties to conduct transactions using smartphones, the company announced March 2.

ONTARIO, Calif. – Financial Service Centers Cooperative and CU Wireless, a CUSO owned by MaPS CU, have launched a service offering mobile text banking capability to members of all credit unions affiliated with the shared branching network.

As it looks to generate more revenue and to enable issuers of its cards to better analyze their customers’ transactions, MasterCard Worldwide is exploring ways to secure more volume for its processing switch from cards carrying the network’s brand, especially outside the U.S., Chris McWilton, MasterCard president of U.S. Markets, said during a March 1 presentation.

With fewer credit cards in their wallets after the recession, U.S. consumers are tapping more of the total credit lines available on the cards they do have while racking up less overall debt than they were a year ago, according to data Experian released March 2.

Dwolla, a low-cost mobile-payments provider, has launched of what it is calling the first location-based payment technology, which will enable users to check in at various retailers and use their mobile phones to pay for purchases, the company. announced March 2.

DES MOINES – Dwolla, the low-cost mobile payments provider, announced today the launch of what it is calling the first location-based payment technology, which will allows user to check in at various retailers and use their mobile phones to pay for purchases. The payments start-up, financed by credit unions, says its Dwolla Spots allows users to walk into a store with an iPhone, pull up a map on the phone and click on a participating store's icon and make a payment for a purchase using the phone. The purchase is posted immediately on a computer located in the store. No cash, check or card swipe is needed, eliminating the merchant's cost for hardware, card readers or expensive credit card networks. The payments will cost consumers 25 cents per transaction. Dwolla Spots is exclusive to the Apple iOS and will be released later this month in the Apple App Store. Updates to the Android and Windows 7 versions will debut later this spring. Dwolla is partially financed by The Members Group, an affiliate of the Iowa CU League, and Veridien CU.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve are reviewing proposed amendments to the Risk-Based Pricing Rule requiring creditors, as of July 21, 2011, to disclose credit score information to consumers when a score is used in setting or adjusting credit terms.

Small-business owners complain that it's tougher to get loans from banks these days. But now, thanks to a new Small Business Administration program, some won't need banks at all. They will be able to get government-guaranteed loans directly from nonprofits that specialize in economic development.