James C. McGrath of the Payments Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published a new discussion paper titled "Micropayments: The Final Frontier For Consumer Payments" (pdf). The paper concludes that,"despite some structural limitations, the existing payment card infrastructure and related products are likely to be the primary vehicles for electronifying micropayments in the U.S. in coming years."

Prosper has announced that Paul Hazen, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wells Fargo & Co., has joined the company's Board of Directors.

Zachary A. Goldfarb writes for the Washington Post a profile of master engraver Christopher D. Madden at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing as he's transitioning from traditional engraving techniques to applying computers to the very specialized process.

ADP and First Data Corp. have announced a multi-year marketing agreement that enables First Data to market ADP Small Business Services' EasyPay payroll solution to companies with less than 50 employees.

BrandWeek's Jim Edwards takes a look at the upcoming launch of Red in the US. According to Edwards, "Motorola, The Gap, Emporio Armani, Nike's Converse and American Express will jointly launch a new brand in the U.S. covering a range of their products in conjunction with U2 singer Bono in the fall. A portion of the sales of the brand, Red, will benefit The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria."

Xoom has announced a new turn-key solution, Xoom WebAgent that enables banks, credit unions, retailers and money transfer operators to build or expand their money transfer business without worrying about the complex logistical, technical and legal hurdles associated with operating a remittance business. Xoom announced that one of the first companies to begin using WebAgent is the Midwestern bank MetaBank.

Yodlee has announced that Yodlee BillPay now lets consumers pay bills with credit or debit cards, not just ACH - "enabling financial institutions to earn interchange revenue, while consumers can earn rewards points and benefit from faster payments."

Richard Gluyas reports for The Australian on a decline in the market share of credit cards affected by the Reserve Bank of Australia's regulation of interchange fees. According to Gluyas, "the share of consumer purchases held by the so-called "four-party" schemes, including Visa, MasterCard and Bankcard, fell for the third consecutive month, down from 84.8 per cent in January to 82.9 per cent in April."

Lori Hawkins writes for the Austin American-Stateman about NetSpend, one of the fastest-growing prepaid-card companies. According to Hawkins, NetSpend's cards are "sold at about 10,000 convenience stores, gas stations and check-cashing centers. The privately held company says it has 225 employees and annual revenue in the $75 million to $125 million range. It has been profitable the past two years, officials say."

Jim Sullinger writes for The Kansas City Star about the terms and conditions associated with many gift cards - and the fees that often apply. "Many cards expire after a few months or years and become worthless. Others charge an inactivity fee — a small monthly deduction from the value of the card — if they are not used within a certain time limit. In some cases, these terms are not disclosed on the card." Sullinger also reports on a new law affecting gift cards that was recently passed in Kansas and takes effect on January 1, 2007.

BizPay Direct has announced commercial availability of both its ‘Deposit on Demand’ (DOD) and ‘Payment on Demand’ (POD) product solutions.

Pay By Touch has announced that the Coast to Coast family convenience store in Tampa, Florida has begun using its Bio-Pay branded biometric payment service.

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