Inside these posts: Credit payments

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Cartoon characters promote prepaid cards

It was the Kardashian sisters a few days ago. Now it’s cartoon characters who are promoting prepaid cards.

Myplash.com has begun selling Teen Prepaid MasterCards with images that include So So Happy, Skelanimals, Paul Frank, and Emily the Strange, according to a report issued Wednesday by Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of Lowcards.com, a credit-card comparison Web site.

On Nov. 17, Hardekopf wrote about how the Kardashian Kard was a bad deal because of the high fees that came with the card. Get the full story »

Discover issues mobile device stickers

Swiping your plastic is becoming a thing of the past.

Riverwoods-based credit card company Discover said it began issuing Discover Zip contactless credit cards and stickers on Nov. 15.

The way it works, consumers touch a payment device, which is in the form of either a plastic card or a sticker that can be applied to a mobile phone or any personal item, to a Zip-enabled contactless reader to make a payment. Currently, more than 100,000 U.S. locations, including restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores, offer contactless readers that accept Zip transactions at cash registers. Get the full story »

Discover late payments at lowest level of 2010

Write-offs of uncollected Discover Card balances and late payments both fell in October to their lowest levels of the year. Get the full story »

Discover, Telcos plan mobile payment venture

Mobile phone companies Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA are poised to announce plans for a venture offering mobile payments services, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Discover Financial Services and Barclays will also announce they are participating in the joint venture, which will allow consumers to pay for purchases with their cellphones, the people said. Get the full story »

Deal expands MasterCard’s online presence in Europe

MasterCard Inc. will buy U.K. payment services company DataCash Group Plc for $520 million in cash to expand its online commerce business and take market share abroad.

The world’s second-largest credit and debit card payment processing network said it is paying  a 54 percent premium to DataCash’s Wednesday closing price. DataCash’s shares rose to a 10-year high. Get the full story »