Google has a couple of interesting job postings up -- one for a Manager, Risk Control, and a second for a Senior Manager, Payment Infrastructure.

Yahoo! has announced that it is closing its PayDirect money transfer service effective November 22, 2004. Yahoo! is no longer accepting any new PayDirect accounts effective immediately. There will be a transition period through May 15, 2005 at which time the PayDirect web site will be shuttered completely.

The Wall St. Journal reported:

"Without a large user base to support PayDirect, the business doesn't scale," said Yahoo spokesman Brian Nelson. "We're discontinuing the service in an effort to focus on the businesses that are core to our future growth."

The National Geographic Channel will be airing a TV special this Sunday, October 24, at 8 PM ET/PT titled "Inside the U.S. Secret Service".

Ann All reports on ATMmarketplace.com on bank strategies to meet the withdrawal of support for IBM's OS/2 operating system and regulatory mandates requiring triple DES encryption and audio capabilities.

Reuters is reporting from Seoul that South Korea's three mobile operators (SK Telecom, KTF Corp., and LG Telecom) have agreed to setup a joint venture to allow customers to pay for goods using their cell phones.

Arik Hessenldahl reports in Forbes on the movement of transit cards to smart cards.

Smartcards are a technology I keep hearing about but have yet to encounter in daily life.

The article goes on to discuss the role of Cubic Transportation Systems in deploying smart cards for transit applications.

Tony Adams reports in the Columbus, Georgia Ledger-Enquirer on the decline in TSYS' stock price following its earnings announcement and a conference call with analysts.

Citi Cards is telling cardholders about a new "email security zone" that will be included in every legitimate email it sends them. The purpose of the "zone" is to convince the cardholder that the email is legitimate by including the cardholder's name as well as the last 4 digits of the cardholder's account number at the very top of the body of the email.

Bloomberg reports on American Express' growth under CEO Kenneth Chenault.

Tavia Evans writes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the shift to card-based payments.

Economists long have predicted a cashless society, where digital transactions replace paper money and coins. Now, nearly one in three in-store purchases is made with a debit card, a study by American Bankers Association and Boston-based Dove Consulting shows.