Card issuers within the past two years dramatically reduced consumers’ borrowing capacity to reduce the risk of losses during the recession. But new data suggest the bulk of the credit-line cuts came from closing inactive card accounts, not slashing active borrowers’ credit lines, Moody’s Investors Service noted in a report last week.

MasterCard Inc. is trying to reach the small but growing number of people who might be ready for mobile payments by sending them time-sensitive offers that can help them save money and become more comfortable using their phones to make purchases.

PayPal Inc. has hired an American Express Co. veteran, Leonard Shen, as its chief compliance officer.

SAN ANTONIO – United SA FCU has released United SA Mobile, a fully functional iPhone and iPod touch mobile banking application for local credit union members.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – uMonitor is the latest vendor with a person-to-person payment solution, offering an application to its popular uTransfer account transfer solution.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Educators FCU has become one of the first credit unions to go live with Integrated Media Management’s TotaliSign iPad application.

U.S. consumers’ average credit card debt fell during the first eight months of this year, while the average credit score also inched down from the start of the year, according to new data Credit Karma released Sept. 13.

Person-to-person payment systems are taking off, but person-to-person payments are not.

EL PASO, Texas-Soon after venturing into the social media world, El Paso Employees FCU discovered that it was going to take more than one person to tackle the task of interacting with thousands of members. So the $284-million institution revamped its marketing department, with AVP of Marketing Tori Burton taking charge of the medium and adding social media specialist Elisa Terrazas. The CU talks about why it made the moves and dedicated one person just to social media.

Card issuers within the past two years dramatically reduced consumers’ borrowing capacity to reduce the risk of losses during the recession, but new data suggest the bulk of the credit-line cuts came from closing inactive card accounts, not slashing active borrowers’ credit lines, Moody’s Investors Service notes in a Sept. 9 report.

Consumers have mixed feelings on differential pricing for cash and card purchases, and their views similarly are mixed on whether merchants might reduce product prices if caps are set on interchange rates, new research suggests.

Japan's first internet bank, SBI Net Bank Ltd., on Sept. 6 launched an online funds-transfer service in partnership with with Tokyo-based Telecom Credit.

The electronic-billing technology company Transactis Inc. has acquired OfferIQ, a mobile coupon service provider for banks and merchants, the companies said Thursday.

Payment cards are becoming more versatile.

Issuers are tightening their credit criteria, according to Fair Isaac Corp.

MONETT, Mo. – Jack Henry & Associates is the latest vendor to offer a person-to-person payments system.

Equifax has launched a credit reporting business in India, a joint venture involving six Indian financial institutions, the company said earlier this month.

A Netherlands-based group consisting of banks and mobile operators has agreed to form a joint-venture company to support Near Field Communication mobile payments at the point of sale in 2012.

ANZ Banking Group has launched an application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone that enables customers to transfer funds to other mobile-phone uses in Australia, an official for the Melbourne-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. announced Sept. 9 it is launching a person-to-person payment system based on technology from iPay Technologies, a company it bought in June. The service, called TheWayiPay, enables online-banking users to send funds to other individuals using only the recipient’s name and e-mail address.