Those in the financial sector have come to a crossroads. For some, the path they were on failed them and now they are trying to keep their heads above water. For others, the fear of failure has frozen any new approaches to business.

ATLANTA – Cooperative Services, a CUSO owned by credit unions and Georgia Central CU, said it is implementing Viewpointe’s Pointe2Pointe with Internet connectivity service for check image exchange transfers.

China Unicom will officially launch its Near Field Communication service later this year in Shanghai, confirms a Shanghai-based official from the nation's second-largest mobile network carrier.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – South Carolina FCU yesterday announced it has completed the upgrade of its network infrastructure with Brocade NetIron multiprotocol label switching routers and Brocade FastIron power over Ethernet-ready switches.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Volunteer Corporate CU has agreed to install Viewpointe’s Pointe2Pointe with Internet connectivity service for check image exchange transfers.

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia FCU is the first customer of Select-A-Branch to introduce the company’s ADdirect, a direct marketing technology that allows credit unions, banks and other third-party advertisers to use SAB’s ATMs to target prospective customers through advertising.

Two companies that support online payments are getting involved with Facebook Inc. to streamline micropayments for virtual goods users purchase on the popular social networking Web site.

Identity theft and collections ranked first and second on the Federal Trade Commission's list of top complaints consumers filed with the agency in 2009.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – City & County CU revealed yesterday it has signed with Bluepoint Solutions to install the company’s point-to-point item processing suite, enterprise content management platform, receipt and transaction management tools and disaster recovery.

ST. LOUIS – Vantage CU announced yesterday it has contracted to use Geezeo’s online consumer finance platform.

LIVE OAK, Texas – Randolph Brooks FCU is following closely on the heels of the first credit union iPhone app for mobile deposits with a beta deployment of a so-called agnostic version of the smartphone deposit technology that will be adaptable for Android, Blackberry, Samsung and all Apple devices.

A bitter fight is brewing in Florida over whether banks should be allowed to bypass court hearings in foreclosures.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Dynamic Card Solutions, a provider of instant card issuance and PIN selection solutions for credit unions, banks and retailers that issue magnetic stripe, EMV and contactless cards, on Tuesday said Team One Credit Union has implemented DCS' instant issue software and hardware.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – CO-OP Financial Services yesterday said it has added to its My Deposit: Branch suite of imaging products with a web-based application.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Truliant FCU yesterday said it has signed with Open Solutions to install the company’s DNA core processing system.

LAUREL, Md. – Tower FCU has launched Integrated Media Management’s TotaleAtlas browser-based document presentment and signature capture solution.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – South Carolina FCU said it has implemented Bluepoint Solutions’ image-based item processing and enterprise content management software technology.

Visa Inc.’s announced hiring today of Bill Gajda, a top global wireless carrier trade association executive, to lead its mobile-payments initiatives could help the network brand cut through some of industry-sector obstacles blocking mobile-payment development, observers say. Gajda is chief commercial officer at the GSM Association, an international telecommunication organization that develops worldwide wireless standards for mobile communications, and after joining Visa he will continue as president of the GSM Foundation.

Hana Card Co. and South Korea-based telecommunication operator SK Telecom Co. plan to launch a mobile credit card payment service in March under a new joint venture, an official from the credit card company tells PaymentsSource.

A record number of Americans were in danger of losing their homes in the fourth quarter, even as new delinquencies declined, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.