Russian Standard Bank has become the first European bank to offer person-to-person funds transfers through MasterCard Worldwide’s MoneySend platform, the companies announced Dec. 6.

Visa Inc. has launched a mobile shopping application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone to enable holders of Visa cards to access various merchant discounts using their mobile phones, the card company reported on Dec. 14.

SAN FRANCISCO – Visa said it is making Christmas shopping easier and more convenient for budget-conscious consumers by offering the Visa Mobile application for the iPhone.

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Google said it has acquired Zetawire – a Canada-based startup which owns patents to implement NFC-based technology for mobile banking, advertising, and other uses.

MONETT, Mo. – Jack Henry & Associates said Experian’s QAS has joined its Vendor Integration Program, which will add the address verification software and services to Symitar’s Episys core processing system for credit unions.

ELGIN, Ill. – Corporate America Family CU is one of the first credit unions to offer person-to-person payments through S1 Corp. and its PM Systems subsidiary’s new deal with PayPal.

S1 Corp. has signed 10 clients to use the payment service it offers from PayPal Inc., the software provider announced Dec. 14.

Consumer borrowing rose in October by the largest amount in more than two years, a jump led by a recently enacted law that makes the government the primary lender to students, the Federal Reserve reported earlier this month.

Banks have gotten over the fear that offering online account transfers will put them at risk for deposit flight.

Banks may soon do the work of their vendors as they are handed the tools to design software for core banking functions — just as new services demand that systems be developed with greater speed.

ROCKY HILL, Conn. – Nutmeg State FCU said yesterday it signed with EasCorp FCU’s Vertifi CUSO for item processing services, including share draft processing and image cash letter collection.

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. – United FCU has signed with Fidelity National Information Systems to implement the company’s MISER core processing solution.

BLOOMFIELD, Colo. – Community Financial CU has become the first credit union to implement CO-OP Financial Services’ Pass-Through Credit solution.

Among the companies supporting alternative payment services, PayPal Inc., a division of eBay Inc., remains the dominating force and continues to grow, new research from New York-based management-consulting firm Auriemma Consulting Group shows.

Cardlytics Inc. and ClairMail Inc. have announced a partnership to enable financial institutions to deliver coupons and other merchant offers to customers’ mobile phones, Atlanta-based Cardlytics reported on Dec. 7.

Wincor Nixdorf and HID Global, a provider of secure identity systems, have introduced an ATM system with a contactless smart card reader, allowing a single piece of equipment to process ATM and automatic fare collection transactions.

CashEdge Inc., known almost exclusively as an electronic payment provider, is venturing into new and potentially lucrative territory with plastic gift cards.

A look at the predicaments and predictions that made technology headlines 10 years ago, and how it actually panned out.

Look for credit unions to supercharge their mobile and online channels next year — and launch alternative payment systems that spark interchange income.

VACAVILLE, Calif.-Compliance tasks soon will be so convenient and so complete at Travis CU here that other credit unions will look to the CU's Web-based program as a model, according to Richard Roark, SVP and CIO at the $1.6-billion CU.