Andrew Ellson reports for The Times (UK) about the latest data from the Bank of England reporting that credit card debt in the UK increased by £733 million in January to a total of nearly £57 billion in total credit card debt. That works out to about £1,000 per person.

Bank Systems & Technology Online interviews Patrick K. Barron, First Vice President and COO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, about his views on treating payments as the business that it really is.

Ecount has announced survey results concluding that payroll debit cards are as popular with banked employees as unbanked employees, establishing that payroll cards are a desired benefit for employees within all demographics.

Kamahi Cogdon reports for Australia's Herald Sun about a recent review of the credit industry by the Victoria state government that results in recommendations that state laws be amended to require credit card issuers to include on their monthly statements a warning about the cost and time associated with paying off credit card debt.

AME Info reports on an upcoming conference sponsored by Visa International's CEMEA region on The Future of Payments to be held next week in Dubai on March 7th and a follow-up Merchant Solutions Conference being held on March 8th.

The UK's Office of Fair Trading in its response (PDF) to the DTI consultation paper on credit card cheques (PDF) says that legislation is needed to protect consumers using credit card cheques.

Moneygram International is holding its first ever Analyst Day today. A copy of the investor day presentation (PDF) is available online at the company's web site.

Yesterday, JP Morgan Chase executives held a major investor day event. An audio recording of the event and copies of the presentations are available in the Investor Relations section of the JPMorganChase web site.

The Business Journal of Phoenix reports on efforts by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard to get financial institutions to offer consumers in his state what he's calling Fraud Fighter Accounts.

An article from The Bulletin Bend, OR titled "Central Oregon residents opt for online payments" profiles consumer appreciation for being able to pay bills directly on biller web sites.

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

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• Grant Thornton Professionals Address Corporate Identity Theft at Upcoming ISACA Meeting
• Central Oregon residents opt for online payments
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• Morgan Beaumont Expands Strategic Partnership With Products Benefits Systems Corporation
• Digital Insight and LaSalle Bank Renew and Extend Corporate Banking Agreement
• USA ePay Certifies ExaDigm's XD2000 Point-of-Sale Terminal
• Info Touch and Circle K Deploy Zaplink in El Paso, Texas