MasterCard International has announced a new card design option for customer financial institutions seeking greater product enhancement and differentiation.

So says Gartner's Avivah Litan in a new research note.

PayPal’s expansion is bad news for countless startups around the world that have tried to enter the micropayment market. Although credit/debit card companies could enter this market simply by lowering merchant transaction fees, these companies don’t have the PayPal advantage of funding payments from PayPal stored accounts, as well as traditional bank accounts.

Global Payments has announced it is forming a joint venture with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited to provide payment processing services to merchants in the Asia-Pacific region.

Michael Clarke reports for the UK's This Is Money on the slowing of credit card growth rates in the UK.

Apacs director of communication Sandra Quinn said: 'Instead of consumers simply taking out a new card to switch balances, they are contacting the issuers of cards they already own and asking 'what can you do for me?'.'

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