The American Banker has published a special report in Tuesday's edition titled The Future of Payments containing articles about why banks' role in the payments business may be at risk and the positive merchant reaction to contactless card acceptance.

The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) has announced the results of a new survey that concludes that the majority of organizations have strong defenses in place to mitigate payments fraud and operating risk.

Tamara Draut writes on TomPaine.com about the common denominator of credit card debt in the US and what a political issue it could become in the hands of the right political consultant/candidate.

Members of the Canadian payment card industry -- Interac Association, MasterCard Canada Inc., Visa Canada Association, and many of their respective card issuers and acquirers -- have announced a firm commitment to a broad industry migration to chip technology beginning with deployments next year and migration completion scheduled for 2010.

Mark Anderson writes for the Sacramento Business Journal about El Dorado Hill-based MyEcheck which he reports is preparing for a mass market launch of its echeck payment service.

Washington Mutual has announced it is introducing a new free checking product that "combines an unprecedented bundle of features that all add up to convenience and value never before seen in any checking account." The new WaMu Free Checking account features include free checks for life, free ATM cash withdrawals, and a Gold Debit MasterCard with rewards of $0.03 per purchase transaction (either PIN or signature-based).

Capital One Financial Corporation and North Fork Bancorporation have announced a definitive agreement under which Capital One will acquire North Fork in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $14.6 billion.

Accenture has announced the results of a recent study of retail banking reporting that four out of five retail banks project annual growth of more than 5 percent over the next few years, in many cases outpacing projected growth for the retail banking segment in their home markets.

Washington Mutual has announced the launch of a new national advertising campaign promoting its free checking account features that leverages consumer perceptions about stodgy bankers to differentiate its offering.

The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council today announced its first year results, upcoming project plans and new officers, including its new Chair Paul Korczak from MTA New York City Transit. The Transportation Council works to help accelerate the deployment of standards-based smart card payment programs within the transportation industry.

PublicTechnology.net reports on the implementation of an iris-scanning biometric security system at the UK's Heathrow Airport.

From Australia, Supply Chain Review looks at mobile ticketing supplier bCODE and their SMS-based mobile ticketing solution.

Kathy Chu reports for USA Today on the potential effects recent news stories about debit card security breaches may have on consumer use of PIN-based debit cards at point of sale.

Commerciant has announced the Mobilescape 5000, a wireless handheld device that accepts and processes both checks and credit cards in a single, integrated device. The device enables mobile workers such as residential service providers, delivery service personnel, and merchants on the go can accept checks and credit cards that are processed immediately.

First Data International has announced the recent signing of three new payment processing agreements with Bank of Bahamas, Fidelity Bank and the New England Bankcard Association.

Brian Robinson writes for FCW.com about how the US government's push to define the standards for the common access control cards’ functions, interface technologies and biometric identification data addresses only part of the problem faced by federal agencies - as the requirements and standards for the other aspects of identity management systems are not well defined.

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

• TNS Management Proposes Buyout at $22 per share
• Banamex sees bad credit card debt rising - Mexico
• Wizards of the Coast Accepts PayPal
• San Francisco Business Times: Life after Kovacevich
• Silicon.com (UK): Carphone Warehouse to sell top-ups by text
• Manitoba program to offer alternatives to payday loans
• TrustedID Unveils Revolutionary Identity Theft Protection Service
• USA Today: Phishing scams aim to bilk smaller prey
• Microelectronica's M.MAR(R) TEMD Smart Card Obtains CNI Security Certification; The World's First Card to Have Obtained This Security Certification
• eGistics Selected By EFC Systems, Inc. to Deliver Secure, On-Demand Image Archive and Retrieval for Remote Deposit Capture Users
• MyPublicInfo and Affinion Group Launch the First Proactive Consumer Identity Management Service, IdentitySweep
• Frost and Sullivan: New Opportunities for Smart Card Readers From Online Authentication and Contactless Payment
• Paymetric Forms Alliance with CyberSource to Deliver Superior Enterprise Integration of Payment Card Transactions
• ChoicePoint(R) to Launch New OFAC and USA PATRIOT Act Solution
• Herb Weisbaum: Dealing With Credit Card 'Minimum Purchases'