Credit cards
RBA ends 'excessive' card surcharges
Australian central bank publishes final reforms for surcharging standards for payments by credit and debit card in the country; allows “reasonable” charges to continue
RBA outlines payments system development plan
Australian central bank sets out areas of priority for advancing the payments system in the country; concludes two-year review process
Norges Bank assesses payments system
Annual Report on Payment Systems 2011 finds speed of payment transactions to be lacking; system in general is nonetheless efficient says deputy governor
RBA governor criticises ‘dated’ payments systems
Glenn Stevens warns Australia has fallen behind other countries by not offering real-time electronic transfers; notes task the central bank faces in matching improved global regulatory environment
Swift chooses head of marketing as new chief
Gottfried Leibbrandt confirmed as successor to Lázaro Campos at global financial communications, products and services company
ECB calls for comments on payments system security recommendations
Public consultation opens on payments system recommendations from European Forum on the Security of Retail Payments; changes relate to areas of concern regarding internet payments
Philadelphia Fed launches consumer credit and payments web pages
Research and statistics on consumer credit and payments now displayed on separate web page; includes searchable publications library and access to podcasts
Sepa end-date set in stone following final vote
European Parliament passes legislation imposing a February 1, 2014 deadline for migration to Single Euro Payments Area after regulation receives overwhelming support of MEPs in Brussels
Boston Fed investigates effects of credit scores on payment choice
Discussion paper finds evidence to back anecdotes that debit card use is negatively impacted by poor credit scores
EPC outlines new models for mobile payments
European Payments Council requests feedback on new model for contactless and remote mobile payments in Europe; focuses on the preferred type of secure-elements technology used in mobile phones
Tajikistan announces enhanced payments systems
National Bank of Tajikistan launches national processing centre' striving to bring banking services up to date
Interview: Gerard Hartsink
European Payments Council chairman Gerard Hartsink tells Yusuf Yassin he welcomes the decision to set end-dates for Sepa migration, but says concerns about the regulation, raised in October, remain
ECB report urges progress on Sepa card payments migration
European Central Bank study says considerable effort is still needed to achieve an integrated European market for card payments
Cash is still king in low-value transactions: Bank of Canada paper
Bank of Canada study shows cash is still used intensively for low-value transactions due to its speed, merchant acceptance and low costs
Household debts significantly under-reported in surveys: NY Fed paper
New York Federal Reserve study finds substantial gap in credit card debt reporting between consumer surveys and official credit reports
ECB paper reviews euro area credit card interchange fees
European Central Bank study calls for fresh look at credit card interchange fees in euro area
RBI’s revised securitisation guidelines could ‘kill’ Indian market
Latest Reserve Bank of India revised draft guidelines for securitised transactions draw criticism; one lawyer says the rules would "nearly kill" securitisation in the country
NBD paper assesses impact of credit card surcharge on cash payments
National Bank of Denmark study shows new credit card surcharge did not cause shift towards greater cash payments
Non-cash payments growth slows
World Payments Report 2011 finds slower growth in non-cash payments; key regulatory and industry initiatives are combining to gradually transform the payments landscape
Atlanta Fed welcomes faster card chip migration
Atlanta Federal Reserve says decision by credit card companies to accelerate chip migration will provide roadmap for merchants
Kazakhstan reports large decline in credit card fraud
National Bank of Kazakhstan says there was a 25.4% decline in credit card fraud cases in 2010
Online banking poses challenges: RBI’s Padmanabhan
New executive director responsible for the IT, payment and settlement systems and foreign exchange department discusses challenges of online and telephone banking
Hong Kong strengthens security for ATMs
Automatic teller machines will use chip-based technology to help cut fraud; magnetic strips on cards will still work for foreign transactions
Bankruptcy does not exclude consumers from credit markets: Fed paper
Federal Reserve study finds evidence that bankruptcy filers are not excluded from unsecured credit markets but usually pay a higher premium for finance