The NFC Forum has unveiled its technology architecture and announced the first five Forum specifications as well as the initial tag formats for which support is mandatory in NFC Forum-compliant devices.

U.S. Bank and Cabela's have introduced the Cabela's Visa Check Card, issued by U.S. Bank. The card rewards cardholders with Cabela's Check Card Points for signature (non-PIN) purchases made with the card at Cabela's or any other merchant that accepts Visa debit. These points are then redeemable for Cabela's Gift Cards.

MasterCard has announced that more than 20,000 merchant locations across Canada are enrolled in the MasterCard Quick Payment Service (QPS) program.

Gartner in a press release this morning says that "recent thefts of personal data from companies and government agencies make it clear that Social Security numbers can no longer be relied on as proof of identity."

Bank of America has announced the Business 24/7 portfolio of products for small business owners including Easy Online Payroll which will be free for small businesses that pay all of their employees by direct deposit to Bank of America accounts.

Pay By Touch has announced plans to deploy its finger-touch payment service in Pathmark supermarkets. Exact locations for the initial deployment of Pay By Touch service are to be announced. Under the agreement, Pathmark plans to test the Pay By Touch service prior to a larger rollout.

Pay By Touch has announced that the ACCEL/Exchange EFT Network will be the first EFT network to enable the company's Internet PIN debit transactions. ACCEL/Exchange EFT Network is owned and operated by Fiserv, Inc. through its Fiserv EFT business unit.

Susan Warren reports for the San Diego Union-Tribune on steps some cardholders are taking to disable the contactless RFID chips in new cards they receive.

Becky Barrow and Ben Quinn report for the UK's Daily Mail on comments by security experts about how overall Chip and PIN system security has been weakened by card issuers in the UK selecting to use cheaper "static data authentication" (SDA) card technology with a more limited ability to detect and prevent counterfeit card use.

Yodlee has announced a relationship with the UK subsidiary of Equifax to deliver Account Watch, a product that help consumers proactively manage their financial accounts and protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by leveraging Yodlee's OnCenter Alerts Service to monitor (with a user's permission) real-time online account activity, such as bank accounts, savings accounts and credit card transactions.

Mya Frazier writes for Advertising Age about Target's success as a credit card issuer - now for the first time ranked among the top 10 US credit card issuers.

Morgan Beaumont has announced an agreement with Discover Financial Services LLC to ssue Discover Network cards. As part of this agreement, Morgan Beaumont will issue a variety of prepaid cards on the Discover Network, as well as manage the payroll card programs scheduled for launch later this year.

Homestead Technologies and Intuit have announced the integration of Intuit's QuickBooks Merchant Service for Web Stores with Homestead's Storefront ecommerce solution for small business, enablng small business owners to accept credit card payments online with a QuickBooks Merchant Service account and to synchronize this data along with key business data from the Web store directly with QuickBooks.

• BIO-key(R) and identiMetrics Provide Secure Identification for Students at Philadelphia School
  
• RSA Security Unveils Comprehensive Enterprise Data Protection Initiative
  
• Smart Card Alliance Physical Access Council Announces First Year Successes, New Officers, Upcoming Initiatives
  
• MasterCard International Sponsors National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  
• IntegraSys - Taking Credit Unions Paperless With CIC's Biometric Electronic Signature Solution
  
• eBonza.com Launches New Fraud Protected Payment Service to Protect Internet Consumers on eBay, Craigslist and More