Axis Bank Ltd. has begun offering a service that allows customers to make income-tax payments at its ATMs in India, becoming the country’s first private-sector bank to do so.

Following a recent report on Missouri's "top scams" by the state's Attorney General Chris Koster, the Missouri Collectors Association issued a statement to clarify that debt collection is a legitimate, legal activity governed by federal and Missouri law.

Signals are mounting that consumer credit card borrowing will begin to grow again this year after going into a decline at the start of the recession in fall 2008. But it will be at least a few more months until that trend is solid, according to economists at Moody’s Investors Service.

Fiserv Inc. announced three acquisitions this week, including its long-time partner for mobile banking.

Fifth Third Bancorp is enhancing its mobile-banking service using technology from ClairMail Inc. designed to improve customers’ ability to access and manage their accounts from smartphones, San Rafael, Calif.-based ClairMail announced Feb. 24.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. -- Fiserv said this morning it agreed to acquire M-Com, an Atlanta-based provider of mobile banking services for credit unions and banks. The two companies have been partners since 2008, developing and delivering a service called Mobile Money from Fiserv to financial institutions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fiserv also said it has agreed to acquire Credit Union On-Line, a Waltham, Mass., CUSO that that runs an outsourced version of an account-processing solution from Fiserv. The CUSO is co-owned by CEO Connie Boretti and RTN Federal CU and Medical Area FCU.

Visa Inc. has completed its acquisition of the online payments company Inc., the card brand announced March 1.

Tyfone Inc. is partnering with smartphone-accessory company Dexim Inc. to offer a sleeve that attaches to Apple Inc.’s iPhone to support contactless payments worldwide using Tyfone’s SideTap microSD chip technology, the companies announced Feb. 28.

Fiserv Inc. has purchased Mobile Commerce Ltd., a provider of mobile banking and payments technology, the Brookfield, Wis.-based banking-technology company announced March 1.

HARRISBURG, Penn. – Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU launched a joint initiative with Bluepoint Solutions to assist credit unions with lower check volumes to adopt Check 21-enabled branch capture, and to enable credit unions of all sizes to convert check processing operations to the corporate’s systems.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – ESL FCU said yesterday it has installed March Networks’ Financial Solution to secure its new corporate headquarters, retail banking branches and standalone ATMs.

Oberthur Technologies of America Corp. is in talks with U.S. issuers planning to migrate their debit and credit card portfolios to EMV chip-and-PIN technology “over the next couple of quarters,” an executive for the card manufacturer tells PaymentsSource.

The number of U.S. credit card accounts rose slightly during last year’s fourth quarter, to 380 million accounts from 378 million the previous quarter, reversing a trend of declining accounts that had gone on since the second quarter of 2008, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

Celcom Axiata Bhd. is teaming with Maybank Bhd. to enable Maybank’s subscribers to make immediate payments of their mobile bills, a spokesperson from the Malaysia-based mobile operator tells PaymentsSource.

BOSTON – After a two-year hiatus, credit unions are planning significant boosts in their spending on Information Technology, with much of the focus switching to so-called Cloud Computing. A new study release by IT consultants Aite Group shows that 65% of participants have budgeted more money for IT this year, with 35% citing increases of more than 10%. Mobile banking continues to be the top IT priority, with remote deposit capture and enhancement of member experience, such as use of e-statements or social media, close behind. But the new buzzword for IT departments is cloud computing, or location-independent computing. Aite found that 41% of credit unions plan to make significant investments in cloud computing this year or next, with cost savings and disaster recovery being the driving motivations. Other purposes for implementing cloud computing are: it enables greater focus on business issue; it enables more effective security monitoring; it helps address more complex auditing requirements; and it enables a credit union to outsource compliance monitoring. Many credit unions are looking at technology solutions to help them attract a greater membership from younger people, the study found. Aite said the average age for credit union members is in the mid-40's. Aite also said it previous surveys found that only 4% of Gen Yers would be very likely to consider a credit union the next time they needed a financial product and 18% didn’t even know what a credit union is. The study was based on a survey of 83 credit unions, most of them over $100 million in assets, in December and January.

ATLANTA – First Data said two credit unions, Alabama CU and Innovations FCU, are among the first institutions to sign on for its new mobile banking product, which uses technology from mFoundry. First Data‘s Mobile Manager – mBanking product enables financial institutions to offer all three modes of mobile banking: SMS, mobile web, and downloadable applications, including a branded iPhone app available through the App Store online store. First Data plans to roll out the same capabilities for Android phones, with availability in the Android Market during the first half of 2011. The Mobile Manager integrates seamlessly with First Data’s FundsXpress online banking platform, enabling a consistent experience with the same capabilities as online banking on a mobile device, and only one set of logon credentials to manage. First Data offers the Mobile Manager – mBanking solution as a fully hosted and integrated service. This results in lower costs for a financial institution than developing a solution in-house. Two Texas banks are the first to go live with the system, American Bank of Texas and Waggoner National Bank.

The anticipated proliferation of Near Field Communication technology has prompted a fledging company to create a device that features contactless functionality consumers would use to make payments, store loyalty cards, and communicate with NFC-enabled smartphones and posters, PaymentsSource has learned.

RED BANK, N.J. — Life is about to get a little bit easier for the 22,000 members of United Teletech Financial.

Dubai later this year plans to extend its mobile platform for civil-service payments, an official from Dubai eGovernment tells PaymentsSource.

The Bank of Tanzania and the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority have agreed to jointly oversee of the country’s mobile-payments market, an official at the central bank confirms to PaymentsSource.