MoneyGram has announced the launch of an Internet-based money transfer service including a new partnership with Yahoo! PayDirect for international money transfers and online access to MoneyGram's ExpressPayment urgent bill payment service. READ MORE

A new study by IHL Consulting Group concludes that 70 percent of total shipments of retail point-of-sale systems in North America last year run on Microsoft-provided operating systems. The report also said that the overall market value for pont-of -sale hardware, software, peripherals and maintenance for North America increased 6 percent in 2003 to $7.1 billion.

Citibank has introduced a new secured Citi MasterCard for consumers lacking credit histories that would support issuance of a standard credit card. READ MORE

The Star Online reports on credit card fraud in Malaysia including the planned use of encryption to better protect transmissions of credit card information.

Ari Weinberg reports in Forbes on the growth in electronic payments and the battle between card issuing banks and merchants over acceptance costs.

The Wall St. Journal is reporting (subscription reqd) that eBay has selected Pitney Bowes to provide technology for eBay's new Internet-postage venture with the US Postal Service. More details on the arrangement are available in a press release issued by Pitney Bowes this morning. The new solution enables customers to select a shipping option, print the shipping label and pay for the postage via their PayPal account.