The Object Management Group has announced that its Electronic Payments Interoperability Working Group (EPI-WG) has issued a Request for Information to the finance industry and other users and processors of electronic payments seeking to shape a standard electronic payments framework that lets institutions everywhere interoperate without replacing existing systems. The RFI is available online. READ MORE »

AP writer Joshua Freed reports in the San Francisco Chronicle on "demon customers" that some retailers and banks find unprofitable to service. READ MORE »

NEC has announced that its fingerprint identification technology ranked first in an evaluation conducted by the US Department of Justice. The full evaluation report is available online.

Fifth Third Bank has announced that Charles Drucker has been appointed president of its Fifth Third Processing Solutions merchant acquiring business unit. READ MORE »

Munir Kotadia reports on Silicon.com about Barclaycard's pilot of two-factor authentication technology with 5,000 of its UK credit and debit card customers. In partnership with nCipher, the bank has issued small card readers to its customers that contain a numerical keypad and display. By inserting a smart card into the reader and entering a PIN, a unique code is displayed on the reader which can then be input by the cardholder to complete a transaction, logon, etc. The combination provides a higher level of assurance about the transaction because it combines something the customer knows with something the customer has.

The AP's Mark Jewell reports in USA Today on the security procedures followed by card-accepting merchants to protect sensitive credit card data as highlighted by a recent compromise at BJ's Wholesale Club. READ MORE »

Judy Ward reports in Bank Systems & Technology Online about increased marketing by banks of business debit cards. READ MORE »

Paul Brilsen reports in the New Zealand Herald on the security threats from keystroke logging software. READ MORE »

Mitchell Pacelle reports in a front page story in today's Wall St. Journal on the fees and variable pricing strategies being used by credit card issuers. READ MORE »