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.

Mobile-network operators NTT Docomo Inc. of Japan and KT Corp. of South Korea have inked a deal to support Near Field Communication payments for smartphones in the two countries that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

The Australian capital territory of Canberra plans to roll out the MyWay smart card ticketing system on its Action bus service starting Feb. 21, a spokesperson at the bus operator tells PaymentsSource.

DOTHAN, Ala. – Wiregrass FCU has contracted with TRC Interactive for the company’s CreditUnionTrainingOnline for employee training.

BEAVERTON, Ore. – First Tech CU has installed Diebold’s PassVault hand biometric identity system for its safe deposit boxes.

Better-than-expected merchant reaction to Intuit Inc.’s offer of free card readers and no monthly service fees to small merchants using its GoPayment mobile-payments service has prompted the company to extend the offer indefinitely, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company announced Feb. 16.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc. posted record fourth-quarter revenue while profits soared nearly 70% from a year earlier, the debt buyer and collection agency announced Feb. 15.

Puget Sound Energy is the first payment-accepting biller to join Doxo Inc.’s free online bill-payment website, the Web-service provider announced Feb. 16.

LOS ANGELES – Financial Partners CU is the latest big credit union to sign with Bluepoint Solutions to implement the company’s QwikDeposit ToGo as its mobile remote deposit capture platform.