Synovus has announced an agreement with the University of Georgia to launch Secure Vault Payments (SVP) as a new tuition payment option. Synovus said that in 2008 it "became the first bank in the U.S. to offer customers this fast, safe and easy option for making payments online." READ MORE

MasterCard Worldwide has announced that Circle K is now accepting MasterCard PayPass at select stores across the U.S. "With a simple tap of a MasterCard PayPass card or device at checkout, Circle K customers can now purchase their everyday items more quickly and conveniently." READ MORE

Western Union and Fidelity National Information Services have announced an agreement to offer Western Union global money transfer services to FIS' more than 8,500 banking institution clients throughout the United States. The signing of FIS is an important step in Western Union's North America "go-to-market" strategy to continue its expansion into the banking channel. As Western Union expands its service offerings, in an effort to strongly position money transfers to consumers, it looks to tap into consumer banking channels including: Cash-to-Cash, Account-to-Cash, and Account-to-Account. READ MORE

Bank of America Corporation today reported first-quarter 2009 net income of $4.2 billion.

The bank's Global Card Services unit, which now includes Debit Card, swung to a net loss of $1.8 billion as the weak economic environment drove credit costs higher. Credit card purchase volume declined 19.7% to $48 billion compared to $59.8 billion in 1Q08. Credit card chargeoffs grew to 8.62% totaling $3.8 billion vs. 5.19% of $2.4 billion in 1Q08. Debit card purchase volume grew 2.2% to $51.1 billion.

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