MasterCard has reported some new rollout statisticsfor its PayPass contactless payment technology.

According to internal MasterCard data, the average PayPass transaction, credit or debit, is approximately $20. Consumers also use their payment cards more frequently once those cards become PayPass-enabled, approximately 18% more often on average. Though PayPass technology can also be used for transactions exceeding $25 (at which point a signature or PIN is required for verification), roughly 75% of all PayPass transactions were for purchases below $25 and approximately 45% of all PayPass transactions were for purchases below $10.

MasterCard also indicates there are now nearly 10 million PayPass cards and devices in the market and approximately 32,000 merchant locations that accept PayPass.

After going public in May 2006, MasterCard held its first annual shareholders meeting today to announce board members elections and discuss the state of the company. MSN Money is also reporting MasterCard CEO Robert Selander's remarks on the three pending lawsuits.

The American Banker (subscription required) is reporting that Visa USA plans to make its merchant-related operating regulations available to retailers, provided they sign a nondisclosure agreement. (MasterCard makes its equivalent document available as a 268-page PDF. It's freely available here without the need to sign a nondisclosure agreement.)

The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) and Fair Isaac Corporation have announced plans to collaborate on a research study on click fraud and click quality in pay-per-click advertising (PPC advertising).

A new study from VocaLabs looks at the quality of telephone based customer service among five financial services companies -- Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and PayPal. And the winner is...

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