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The article reports Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged and the National Association of Visually Handicapped worked with NCR Corp. to develop an automated teller machine (ATM) prototype that accommodates the blind in India.

The article presents information about the testing of a near-field communication-based mobile payment system in South Korea that includes companies such as SK Telecom Ltd. and KT Corp.

The article reports that First National Bank Ltd. has introduced a mobile-banking application for smartphones and tablet computers, the first South African bank to do so.

Brief information is given about Nokia India Pvt. Ltd.'s Mobile Money service payment system which will be available to all Nokia phone users in India.

Brief information is given about India's national biometric identification system which is being considered for use as a second-level authorization program in payment card transactions by the Reserve Bank of India's Working Group for Securing Card Present Transactions which was formed on March 31, 2011.

The article mentions a pilot program to speed up checkout times for small-ticket transactions at the Australian retail chain Coles Supermarkets for consumers with EMV technology chip-and-PIN credit cards.

The article reports that according to the Reserve Bank of India, the credit card sales volume in India increased by 22.1% in March 2011. Debit card sales volume also increased by 38.8% and debit card transaction volume rose by 36.5%. It is said that the credit card use declined significantly during the economic downturn, however a stable and growing economy is now helping in reviving the credit card sales.

The article reports that Nigeria-based Interswitch Ltd., an operator of an electronic payment transaction switch, is planning to expand its business in the east and west African markets. The expansion will be supported by new investor funds, the company received by selling a 67% equity stake to private equity firms Helios Investment Partners LLP and Adlevo Capital in May 2011.

The article reports that a new deal has been signed between Bahrain-based BMI Bank and bank-technology vendor Sinnad Co. Ltd. to offer chip-based Diners Club credit cards across the bank's operations in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Africa. Sinnad will also be responsible for managing the risk associated with electronic transactions initiated with the cards.

The article reports that the Australian government approved a new law in March 2011 which will impose a fine on the banks and other financial institutions for encouraging their existing cardholders to increase their credit card limits. The new National Consumer Credit Protection legislation will be effective from July 2011.

The article reports that the Reserve Bank of India has released a new notice to reduce the time for resolving problems related to failed automated teller machine (ATM) transactions. From July 1, 2011, the banks will be required to solve ATM transaction problems within seven working days instead of earlier limit of 12 working days.

The article reports that three state-owned banks in Thailand will start providing funds to credit cardholders whose accounts are in good standing in order to refinance their debt from June 1, 2011. The Ministry of Finance asked Government Savings Bank, Krung Thai Bank PLC and Islamic Bank of Thailand Ltd. to work on the debt refinancing program in mid-May 2011.

The article reports that four large Australian banks including Commonwealth Bank Ltd., Westpac Banking Corp. and its subsidiary St. George Bank, and National Australia Bank Ltd. have blocked or canceled thousands of credit cards. The purpose behind it is to protect their customers against fraud after a merchant breach and exposure of sensitive card data.

Brief information is given about Axis Bank Ltd.'s Rcard, a reloadable prepaid card for children who live away from home that can be remotely managed by their parents.

The article reports that Central Bank of Nigeria will not extend the operational deadline for the 16 companies it has granted approval to offer mobile payments in Nigeria. Companies have been asked to prove their worthiness of a license to provide those services. Some of the companies that have received approval include Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Ecobank Nigeria PLC, and Fortis Microfinance Bank Ltd.

The article reports that State Bank of India's SBI Card credit card unit has posted good financial results. The unit, which the bank operates under a joint venture with GE Capital, generated a profit of 71 million rupees for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011. Cardholder spending rose 30%, to 64.52 billion rupees from 49.63 billion rupees in fiscal 2010. Issuance of SBI Cards dropped 11.5%, to 2.3 million from 2.6 million.

The article reports that Alipay.com Co Ltd., one of the largest online payment service provider of China, has lost two of its major partners in China. Alipay has terminated its partnership with Hong Kong-based supermarket operator Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co. Ltd. Alipay is an online-payment subsidiary of Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group. Online shopping Web site 360buy.com also removed Alipay as one of its accepted payment channels.

The article reports that Axis Bank Ltd. has launched a reloadable prepaid card for children that their parents can manage remotely.

The article reports that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has launched a dual-currency credit card for use in Singapore and China.

The article reports that the National Payments Corp. of India has collaborated in May 2011 with two banks to launch RuPay-branded ATM cards. Maharashtra-based cooperative Gopinath Patil Partik Janata Sahkari Bank began issuing India's first RuPay ATM Card on May 14, 2011. The regional rural bank Kashi Gomti Samyut Gramin Bank also announced the launch of its own ATM card called the RuPay Gramin Card on May 23, 2011.

The article reports that Thailand's Ministry of Finance has decided on May 12, 2011 to launch a credit card financing initiative that is raising concerns among key players in the country's banking industry. The ministry is enabling the two state-owned banks, Government Savings Bank and Krung Thai Bank Ltd., to offer cardholders with good records 200,000 baht or 6,600 dollars to refinance their debt at a 10% annual interest rate under this scheme.

The article reports that despite offering a heavy discount to potential buyers, Barclays Bank India Pvt. Ltd. has been unable to find a buyer for its credit card business in India. According to an official of Barclays, none of the market's potential buyers, including Axis Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd., that had tried to buy the card portfolio of Deutsche Bank India Pvt. Ltd. earlier 2011, have made an offer.

The article reports that an agreement has been signed by State Bank of India with Diebold Inc. that will expand the bank's automated teller machine (ATM) network in India. Diebold will provide the bank with 1,700 ATMs, including 1,000 cash dispensers, more than 600 full-function lobby machines and approximately 60 cash recyclers under the agreement. The bank intends to complete the deployments by the end of March 2012.

The article announces a May 31, 2011 deadline for 16 companies given pre-licensing in-principle approval to offer mobile payment services in Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The article reports that Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade signed an agreement with fuel retailer Saigon Fuel Joint Stock Co. on April 20, 2011 to offer prepaid fuel payment card services to its customers. According to a spokesperson for the bank, customers will not need to open an account with the bank to use the "E-Fast" prepaid card at Saigon Fuel stations across the country.

The article reports that a new agreement has been signed between State Bank of India and security equipment firm Diebold Inc. in May 2011 to increase the number of the bank's automatic teller machines (ATMs) in the country. The deal will require Diebold to provide the bank with 1,700 ATMs including cash dispensers and cash recyclers.

The article reports that according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian credit card debt increased up to 49.3 billion Australian dollars in March 2011 in comparison to 47.1 billion Australian dollars in March 2010. Banking analyst Mrinalini Manral says that stimulus packages offered by the government during recession contributed to the increase in the nation's card debt.

The article reports that the banking industry in Thailand in is concerned about the Ministry of Finance's decision to launch a credit card refinancing initiative. The agency has decided to allow state-owned banks Government Savings Bank Ltd. and Krung Thai Bank Ltd. to refinance cardholders' debt at a 10% annual interest rate, half the prevailing rate of 20%.

The article reports that eMerchants Holdings Pty Ltd., Australia-based prepaid financial services provider, has been acquired by investment firm Australasia Consolidated Ltd. in a 21 million euros deal. eMerchants has 28% market share in prepaid cards sector including reloadable cards and single-store gift cards.

The article reports that Central Bank of Nigeria is planning to set new daily limits on cumulative free cash withdrawals to promote the use of electronic payments systems in the country. The new limits will be effective from June 1, 2011. The bank has also decided to impose a limit on the use of bank checks.

Brief information is given about Australian credit card debt which reached $52 billion in March 2011 according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The article offers information on the increase in deposit limits for mobile wallets by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The new deposit limits are upto 50,000 rupees. RBI also announced its decision to treat semi-closed mobile wallets equivalent to other semi-closed prepaid instruments. Several companies that have associated to launch semi-closed mobile wallet services include Bharti Airtel Ltd., Vodafone Essar Ltd., and ICICI Bank Ltd.

The article focuses on the results of a research from Massey University's Center for Small and Medium Enterprise Research, which concluded that small-business owners of New Zealand are increasingly using their own personal credit cards to finance their firms. About 1,808 small and midsize companies were surveyed in the country. Comments of David Deakins, the center's director, are also given, in this regard.

The article reports that additional hurdles are being faced by users of online funds-transfer and payment service, offered by PayPal Inc., in India. It is stated that a 'purpose code' must be added by all registered PayPal business and individual users, when noting anticipated payments from outside India. This was notified by PayPal on May 9, 2011.

The article focuses on Banking Services Report by Fiji's Consumer Council, which states that banks in the Pacific Island nation should invest in educating their customers on the use of automated tellers (ATMs) and payment card terminals. It is stated that the Association of Banks and its members will work on educating customers on the use of alternative channels.

The article reports that permission has been received by National Payments Corp. of India, from the Reserve Bank of India, to expand the scope of its interbank mobile funds-transfer service to include payments. The instant interbank mobile fund-transfer service of the government-owned National Payments was launched in November 2010.

The article presents information on the mobile funds-transfer service M-Paisa in Afghanistan.

The article evaluates the Beam mobile-payment service from Suvidha Starnet Pvt. Ltd.

The article reports on a partnership between UC Mobile Corp. and Alipay.com Co. Ltd. A version of browser that supports Alipay's payment plug-in and payments via mobile phones has been released by UC Mobile Corp. It is mentioned that an Alipay payment page will be redirected when users will shop on a website using the UC Mobile browser, under the partnership.

The article reports that consumers of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Co. will be able to pay their electricity bills though their mobiles phones, as the company is changing its processes to keep pace with private electricity companies. It is stated mobile payments are offered by Reliance Infra Ltd. and Tata Power Ltd.

The article reports on Dun & Bradstreet Corp.'s national online Consumer Credit Expectations survey of 1,200 adults ages 18 to 64 in March 2011, which found that one-third of Australians expect to experience difficulty meeting their credit commitments over the next three months. Comments of Dun & Bradstreet's chief executive officer (CEO) Christine Christian regarding the survey data are mentioned.

Brief information is given from a household survey for the Reserve Bank of Australia which reported consumers use cash more often than credit and debit cards when making low-value payments.

The article offers information on the plans of Barclays Bank India Pvt. Ltd. to sell its domestic credit card business in India. It states that the company has decided to focus on its secured retail assets, and may sell its credit card operations directly to a buyer offering a very good price. It also mentions the acquisition of the credit card business of Deutsche Bank India Pvt. Ltd. by IndusInd Ltd.

The article offers information on the new rules made for debit card use in Malaysia. The central bank of the nation, Bank Negara, has increased the minimum annual income requirement for acquiring credit cards from 18000 ringgits to 24000 ringgits under the new law. This ruling aims at promoting the use of debit cards among customers.

The article offers information on the preference of cash transaction in Australia. Though, bank cards are very popular and convenient means of making payments in the world, but people in Australia prefer to use cash as their payment instrument. Despite this tendency of Australians, the use of credit cards is increasing in comparison to debit cards, as the value of transaction increases.

The article reports that the Financial Affairs Consumer Group, set up by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, has card issues as the top banking complaints in the Philippines. A spokesperson for the central bank has stated that credit card complaints dominate the number of complaints received, while complaints concerning automated tellers (ATMs) transactions are the second ones.

The article reports that the supervision of South Korea's credit card companies, is being tightened by the country's Financial Supervisory Service, keeping in view the concerns that rising card loans may result in an unmanageable default crisis. According to a spokesperson for the Supervisory Authority, plans are there to establish a division to supervise and inspect card issuers.

The article mentions the revamped cobranded Visa credit card, from Citibank Malaysia and Shell Malaysia Ltd.

Brief information is given about the redesign and features of cobranded Visa credit cards issued by Citibank Malaysia and Shell Malaysia.

Brief information is given about the outlook for debit card use in Malaysia in 2011 and rules set by the country's central bank Bank Negara concerning a minimum earnings requirement for credit card applicants.