O'Reilly is preparing to publish a new book on PayPal titled PayPal Hacks. A full description of the book is available online.

DMeurope.com's eGov Monitor reports that the UK Cabinet Office is exploring the use of verified credit cards as a means of authenticating eGovernment transactions. READ MORE »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued an advisory letter to banks regarding electronic record keeping. READ MORE »

Wachovia has announced plans to consolidate two east coast call center operations into a new 500 person call center being built in Salem, Oregon.

Hiawatha Bray reports in the Boston Globe on how some online gambling sites are being attacked by network vandals who then demand payments to stop the attacks. READ MORE »

E. Scott Reckard and Susan Anasagasti report in the Los Angeles Times on litigation against Wells Fargo regarding terms of a debt consolidation loan. READ MORE »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued an advisory letter to US national banks regarding the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act that was signed into law last December. Among other things, the Act caps interest rates that can be charged by creditors to servicemembers at six per cent. READ MORE »

The Financial Times reports on plans by the Royal Bank of Scotland's Comfort Cards division to expand its consumer lending presence in Germany through a partnership with Tchibo.

Checkpoint Systems has introduced CheckPASS, a new resource management system for libraries that includes stored value features. READ MORE »

The Scotsman reports from the UK on the seemingly endless ways conmen are taking advantage of consumers and their financial services partners.

An earlier story explores the introduction of chip cards and PINs to the UK market.

So how does it work? There are two elements involved in making card transactions secure. The first is to ensure that the card is genuine; the second that the person presenting the card is the true owner. The chip does the former and PIN does the latter. The chip protects your card from the counterfeit, skimming or cloning fraudster, whilst the PIN prevents someone using your card if it’s lost, stolen or intercepted in the post.

Eileen Alt Powell of the AP reports on the costs some consumers are charged for overdraft protection. A few weeks ago, Federal regulators issued proposed new guidance to financial institutions regarding these kinds of overdraft protection programs. READ MORE »

Michael Gormley of the AP writes about the issues associated with students and credit card debt. READ MORE »