Microsoft has announced that its InfoCard identity metasystem will now be called CardSpace - "a Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0 component that provides the consistent user experience required by the identity metasystem. It is specifically hardened against tampering and spoofing to protect the end user's digital identities and maintain end-user control."

Jeremy Reimer writes for ArsTechnica about speculation that Google may be getting ready to launch an online payment system ("GBuy") later this month - and points out that he thinks Google has a different problem to solve than PayPal/eBay with respect to enhancing its advertising-based revenue stream.

MasterCard has announced that Chris Thom, Chief Risk Officer, will retire from the company in October of 2006. The company said that a successor to Thom will be announced shortly.

Mercator Advisory Group has published a report on merger and acquisition activity for the first quarter of 2006. According to Mercator, 2006 started off strong with 44 M&A transactions and 8 venture financing deals in the payments industry. The number of payments industry M&A deals tracked by Mercator Advisory Group increased by 42% in Q1 of 2006 from a year earlier.

TowerGroup has announced new research titled "Turbulence in the Global Economy: The Case for Peer-to-Peer Online Lending Exchanges" that finds that peer-to-peer online lending exchanges -- direct lending by investors to individual borrowers -- are emerging in the US and UK as an alternative platform to traditional savings and investment options, a trend they predict will have an impact on unsuspecting financial services institutions.

Bank of America has announced it has completed the rollout of its free SiteKey security service for Online Banking with its launch this month in Washington and Idaho.

Visa USA has announced an agreement with Verified Identity Pass, Inc. to offer discounted memberships for Clear, Verified ID's Registered Traveler Program, to select Visa Signature and Visa Traditional Rewards cardholders. According to Visa, "Clear members receive fast access through security checkpoints by verifying their biometric information in specially-designed Clear lines, enabling time-pressed travelers to quickly move through long lines and experience a more hassle-free travel experience."

Nick Miller reports for the Sydney Morning Herald on the Australian government's Federal Human Services Minister Joe Hockey and his plans 17 old government identity cards into one computer chip-based smartcard in a A$1.1 billion project over the next four years.

USN Corporation has announced a partnership with imX Solutions to "offer a next generation, interactive digital gift card that will be available for purchase both online and in stores across the nation. More than a simple gift-certificate style card, the new offering delivers an immersive, multimedia shopping experience for USN's online customers and establishes the company as a leader in the lucrative and rapidly growing gift card arena."

Peppercoin has announced a loyalty program for small payments both online and at the physical point-of-sale. Peppercoin says its new program is "the first to allow merchants to attract and retain customers buying small dollar-value items and services -- such as a cup of coffee or a music file download -- without requiring a separate pre-enrollment process or additional card."

CNNMoney.com posts an interview of Wells Fargo CEO Dick Kovacevich by G. Pascal Zachary of Business 2.0. "He says there's no such thing as an unprofitable customer - just one you haven't figured out how to make money on yet. And, he argues, if a customer is truly unprofitable, that's the company's problem, not the customer's."

Discover Financial Services has announced the launch of the Discover Business Card, a "single payment solution for small business owners designed to fundamentally change how they pay for everyday business purchases."

Peter DeMarco writes for Crain's Cleveland Business about some of the tax and accounting implications for merchants of gift cards.

Aneace Haddad, founder and chairman of payment software company Welcome Real-time, posts an opinion piece on his blog titled "Has interchange hype brought us to the brink of a surcharging sea change?" in which he says "It would be more effective for banks to shift their frustration with merchants away from litigation and channel it into making payment cards more valuable for merchants."

Western Union is currently running a promotion called the Western Union Million Dollar Giveaway and as part of the promotion of that has conducted a consumer survey asking over 1,000 consumers what they'd do if they won $1 million.

JCB has announced it s working together with "seven world-class players in payment systems, terminals, NFC and mobile technology" to launch a pilot project using an NFC contactless credit payment scheme this autumn in Amsterdam.

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