NetSpend Holdings Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income grew 79% from a year earlier, to $6.3 million, as customers loaded more money onto its prepaid debit cards and spent more frequently.

The company behind the eBillme online-payment system has announced a partnership with Discover Financial Services that furthers the alternative payments provider’s strategy of aligning itself with mainstream players.

The Central Bank of Kenya has established new regulations for the country’s mobile funds-transfer market designed to protect consumers and mitigate market risk, a spokesperson for the bank tells PaymentsSource.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Union Square FCU signed with Diebold to provide it with monitoring, remote services and enhanced security for its network of 21 ATMs. The agreement also includes the addition of Diebold's deposit automation technology to six of the credit union's ATMs. The $220 million credit union selected Diebold to provide several integrated services, including Advisor ATM status monitoring, OpteView remote services, endpoint protection monitoring, software subscription management and help desk support. The combination of these services will enhance Union Square's ATM uptime and security, while enabling the credit union to minimize its operational infrastructure and equipment investments. Automated note and check verification at the deposit automation-enabled ATMs will allow Union Square to evolve from posting transactions the next business day to real-time posting, giving members immediate access to their deposited funds. In addition, Union Square will now collect deposits for those ATMs weekly instead of daily, which reduces the frequency and cost of ATM deposit collections.WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Union Square FCU signed with Diebold to provide it with monitoring, remote services and enhanced security for its network of 21 ATMs.

BRILLION, Wis. – Best Advantage CU said it has implemented Xtend’s Xtension Contact Center to assist its staff following its recent core data processing conversion project. The credit union recently converted to the CU*BASE application suite from CU*Answers, Inc., and signed with Xtend to help handle an increased volume of basic member service and online banking calls that typically accompanies a core system conversion. Xtend is a CUSO based in Grand Rapids, Mich.BRILLION, Wis. – Best Advantage CU said it has implemented Xtend’s Xtension Contact Center to assist its staff following its recent core data processing conversion project.

TEAGUE, Texas – Freestone CU has signed with Fifth Third Processing Solutions for electronic funds transfer services including ATM and debit card processing services, card production, fraud protection, debit marketing, rewards programs, and gateway services. Fifth Third Processing is a joint venture owned by Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Bancorp and Boston venture fund Advent International.TEAGUE, Texas – Freestone CU has signed with Fifth Third Processing Solutions for electronic funds transfer services including ATM and debit card processing services, card production, fraud protection, debit marketing, rewards programs, and gateway services.

ATLANTA – Georgia’s Own CU signed with Fiserv to install the company’s account-processing, online banking and other software products, a new client for Fiserv. The $1.6 billion credit union will install Fiserv’s Acumen data processing system, as well as ZashPay, a person-to-person payment service; the Corillian online-banking technology; CheckFree electronic bill payments; and Mobile Money mobile banking. The value of the contract was not disclosed.ATLANTA – Georgia’s Own CU signed with Fiserv to install the company’s account-processing, online banking and other software products, a new client for Fiserv.

Etisalat Group last week inked a strategic agreement to offer Western Union Co.’s Mobile Money Transfer service in the 18 countries where it the Dubai-based mobile operator operates.

In 2012, London will become the first city where domestic and international consumers may access an entire transportation network using open-loop, network-branded contactless credit or debit cards, the Transport for London announced Feb. 24.

News that another credit union is adopting EMV payment card technology to reduce cardholder hassles when traveling abroad adds ballast to the theory that some U.S. payment sectors won’t wait for a mandate to voluntarily embrace the chip-and-PIN method.

In a move some observers say might represent the future of loyalty and mobile payments, loyalty marketer Maritz Real-Time and smart card technology firm Vivotech Inc. have formed a strategic partnership to provide immediate retail promotions to customer mobile phones equipped with Near Field Communication technology.

Consumers in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada soon may use their smartphone as a contactless payment device and mobile wallet using an application from Yespay International Ltd.

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Altra FCU has installed DataMotion’s SecureMail and SecureContact cloud-based e-mail encryption technology.

The anticipated Federal Reserve Board cap on debit card interchange may send some payments startups, which pitched their services as low-cost alternatives, back to the drawing board.

Though perhaps there is no greater rivalry than Thin Mints versus Samoas, two Girl Scout groups are taking sides in a different debate: which mobile card reader is best for cookie sales.

Square Inc.’s Feb. 22 announcement that it had dropped the 15-cent transaction fee for card-present transactions represents a return to a rate scheme the merchant-services company had last spring.

A sharp drop in the level of loan loss provisions helped the banking industry earn $21.7 billion in the fourth quarter, the second highest quarterly total in more than three years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Volunteer Corporate CU has installed VASCO DIGIPASS GO 6 in combination with VACMAN Controller to secure access to its VolCorp Online, an online application for member credit unions.

U.S. credit card delinquencies fell about 32% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to TransUnion LLC.

A report released by The Coalition of Religious Communities (CRC) in Utah says more than a third of small claims lawsuits in the state's justice system are related to payday loan collection.