Western Union Co. is rebranding Custom House, an international business-payments provider it bought last year, and is planning to expand the unit into new markets, the funds-transfer company announced Nov. 1.

International Business Machines Corp. is zeroing in on the payments industry as part of a revamped banking technology strategy.

iQor Holdings Inc., a New York-based global business process outsourcing (BPO) company, has acquired RMS, an accounts receivable outsourcing services firm.

TCL Corp., a China-based mobile-phone manufacturer, has inked a deal with China UnionPay in which the companies will provide mobile handsets that support payment functions, the companies announced earlier this month.

AT&T Inc. has signed partnership agreements with three mobile-payment companies that enable its wireless customers to charge online purchases for such digital content as games and music directly to their mobile-phone bills.

MBNA Europe Bank Ltd. will be issuing some 5 million contactless credit cards to its customers in the United Kingdom as part of a two-year initiative the Bank of America Corp. subsidiary announced on Oct. 29.

Residents of Hubli and Dharwad in the Indian state of West Bengal may use credit cards to pay their property taxes through an online tax-payment system set to launch in November.

Apple Inc.’s MFi licensing program for devices designed to work with mobile Apple products has certified Blue Bamboo’s P25-M mobile printer and card reader, the China-based point-of-sale terminal maker announced Oct. 29.

Encore Capital Group Inc., a San Diego-based collection agency and debt buyer, this week reported third quarter net income of $12.3 million, compared to $9 million in the year-ago quarter. The company's revenue grew 22% from the prior year’s third quarter to $98 million.

Credit bureau Equifax on Wednesday said an 11% rise in third quarter revenues helped fuel a 28% rise in earnings for the period.

Visa Inc. said it is prepared to confront alternative and mobile payments head on.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits rose slightly to 455 in the Oct. 1-15 period compared to 441 in the last half of September, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

Effective Jan. 1, merchants and payments companies must ensure their systems comply with versions 2.0 of the Payment Card Industry and Payment Application data-security standards the PCI Security Standards Council released Oct. 28.

Financial institutions should take note of consumers’ increased use of person-to-person payments methods, such as PayPal, and look for ways to mitigate the potential loss of business, suggests Hitachi Consulting.

Consumers increasingly are becoming familiar with remote-deposit capture technology but generally are unable to use it because few financial institutions offer the at-home service, new survey data suggest.

Euronet Worldwide Inc.’s epay division will install and run the retail operations of Sydney’s much-awaited smart card transit system, the electronic-payments processor announced in a recent statement.

Overnight, the young mobile payment company Bling Nation Ltd. became visible to 4 million smartphone users.

GREENBELT, Md. – Educational Systems FCU has selected Geezeo to provide a personal financial management solution and integrated marketing platform.

WILLISTON, Vt. – New England FCU has implemented Code Green Network’s TruDLP data loss prevention solution.

PayWare Mobile users that have Apple Inc.’s iPhones would be able to accept PayPal funds by bumping their phones with PayPal's users' iPhones under an agreement PayPal Inc. and VeriFone Systems Inc. announced Oct. 26.