The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has published "Investing In Payment Innovations: Risks And Rewards" (PDF) by Carrie Jankowski and Tiffany White. From the abstract: "Advances in technology have helped usher in new payment mechanisms catered to current demographic and cross-border demands. Yet these payment innovations also pose increasingly complex security challenges worldwide. Participants at a recent Chicago Fed conference discussed the implications of these developments for the payments industry." The agenda, selected speeches and presentations from the May 2006 conference are also available online.

Dallas-based Whitson Wells Promotional Marketing Group has started marketing some unique gift card packaging solutions for retailers - with "TeeBuck" T-shirts that have been compressed into the shape of a wine bottle, golf ball, paint brush, coffee cup, etc. to accompany a gift card.

The American Bankers Association has announced the results of a new survey finding that, by a ratio of 6-to-1, consumers trust banks more than other institutions when it comes to their personal records.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced its approval of a final rule to provide that payroll card accounts are covered by the Board's consumer protection regulation governing electronic fund transfers.

The Aite Group has announced a new report titled "Online Banking: Moving Toward a New Paradigm" that surveys 21 of the top 50 US banks and forecasts that, by 2010, 13 percent of new checking accounts in the US will be opened via the online channel. According to the report, the top performer among the banks surveyed says they are currently sourcing about 20 percent of new checking accounts online with the next highest performer currently sourcing 13 percent.

The FDIC has released its Quarterly Banking Profile (PDF) for the second quarter - reporting that banking in the United States continues to be a good business!

Michael Fitzgerald writes for Technology Review about near field communication (NFC) technology and how NFC can enable mobile phones to become like mobile wallets - with the added ability to swap addresses and share photos between two NFC-equipped phones (or other devices). Industry forecasters predict that by 2010 half of all new mobile phones will be NFC-equipped.

Visa USA has announced that Visa volume on purchases less than $25 in targeted small ticket segments totaled $27.3 billion in the first six months of the year, an increase of 17 percent over the same period in 2005, indicating that Visa cards are increasingly being used instead of cash and checks for everyday purchases less than $25.

Entropia Universe, a fast growing virtual world utilizing a real cash economy, has announced "the launch of a new monetary deposit platform designed by Paysafecard.com, Europe's first prepaid card for online payments."

eMarketer takes a look at the relatively low rate of mobile Internet usage in the US - as compared to other regions. "According to a new report from Telephia, 34.6 million US mobile phone subscribers accessed the Internet from a wireless device in June 2006. With eMarketer estimating the US mobile phone population at approximately 213 million in 2006, that equates to only 16% of mobile phone subscribers." What are the implications for mobile commerce generally? eMarketer has also recently published a report on Mobile Payments in Japan.

PULSE EFT Association LP and LINK Interchange Network Ltd., the operator of the UK Cash Machine Network, have announced a reciprocal agreement that will allow the 4,200 financial institution participants in the PULSE ATM/debit network to offer their cardholders access to all but a handful of the more than 58,000 cash machines across the United Kingdom and allow LINK to offer its 38 participating financial institution members access to an additional 250,000 PULSE cash machines in the United States.

• CPI Card Group Joins Wells Fargo on Contactless Card Rollout
• Global Payments Europe Renews Contract with Komercni Banka
• Bank of America Sells Asian Retail Franchise to China Construction Bank

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Ehud Ziegelman is founder of cTransfer, an Israel-based electronic payments company. Phone: + 972 (52) 306 3030.