Arthur D. Little has recently released an update on Mobile Payments by Karim Taga, managing director, and Johan Karlsson, consultant - both in ADL's Vienna, Austria office and members of its Telecommunications, IT, Media & Electronics practice. The report is available for free - but requires entering your order on their website.

Fiserv has announced the acquisition of CareGain, Inc. saying the company "will serve as a key element of Fiserv's solution set for health plans and financial institutions to help them manage consumer-directed health plans and related healthcare spending accounts."

BA Merchant Services has announced a new contract with the United States Postal Service to provide credit card processing and settlement services for more than 34,000 sites, including post offices, automated postal centers and the online postal store at USPS.com.

In a transaction reminiscent of Intuit's acquisition of Innovative Merchant Solutions in September 2003, accounting and payroll services provider Sage Software has announced that its U.K.-based parent company, The Sage Group plc, has agreed to acquire Verus Financial Management, Inc. from Financial Technology Ventures and its shareholders for an enterprise value of approximately $US325 million (£184 million), to be paid in cash.

Kensuke Nakazawa writes for Yomiuri Shimbun on the evolution of e-money in Japan - being driven by increasing competition between two rival systems: Sony Corp.-sponsored Bitwallet Inc., and East Japan Railway Co.'s Suica.

Michael Schroeder reports for the Wall St. Journal on recent decisions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to allow two banks - thought to be Bank of America and PNC - to develop and own large hotel and office properties.

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

• Reuters: Credit card profits elude banks in China and China's major moves in bank card business
• Global Biometric Revenues Projected to Grow from $2.1B in 2006 to $5.7B in 2010
• Fifth Third Bank Selects eFunds' QualiFile for Account Origination and Risk Management
• Keane: Financial Firms Pinpoint Online Customer Experience as Priority for Boosting Growth
• San Jose Mercury News: Diners Club changing to a new kind of credit card
• Velocita Wireless Teams up with Paynet to Enable Mobile Merchants to Process Credit Card Transactions at Rose Bowl
• CR80News: Understanding Differential Power Analysis attacks and the countermeasures available to protect smart cards