American Express has introduced Butterfly, a compact and stylish companion card for American Express Gold Card members. The card literally folds up into a slim metal keychain-like device.

In response to articles in today's New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall St. Journal about terrorism investigations and the role of SWIFT, the organization has published a statement on its web site that concludes "The SWIFT Board and Executive have done their utmost to get the right balance in fulfilling their obligations to the authorities in a manner protective of the interests of the company and its members."

Loretta Mester, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, has published an article including an updated set of tables (PDF) derived from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances on the usage of various forms of electronic payments.

Danny Bradbury reports for the Financial Times on mobile commerce - and comments "a few years back, many people thought that by now everyone would pay for soft drinks by waving a cellphone at a vending machine. In reality, mobile commerce, or m-commerce, has been slow to get started."

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