Ross Anderson of the University of Cambridge (UK) Computer Laboratory has made available his book "Security Engineering" (PDFs - by chapter) for download onlline. Anderson's book is an important reference to many aspects of designing and operating secure systems and it's great that he and his publisher are making it available online.

Phoenix-Hecht has published a white paper titled "The Road to Remote Deposit" (pdf) that provides some help and guidance for corporations evaluating this alternative way of depositing checks.

Starbucks Coffee Company is looking for a Manager of Payment Technologies for its Global Treasury Team in Seattle.   » Continue Reading

Griff Witte writes for the Washington Post about the upcoming issuance of new federal employee ID cards and how the use of biometric and other technologies in those cards could spur usage in other applications - potentially including banking and payments.

Western Growers has announced they are partnering with Bank of America and Visa to offer a payroll solution that will help member companies reduce expenses and provide more convenience and flexibility to their employees by offering the CashPay Visa payroll card to their employees. CashPay Visa allows employees to avoid the fees associated with check-cashing services.   » Continue Reading

Rick Rothacker and Binyamin Appelbaum write for the Charlotte Observer about what some banks have been doing to attract Hispanic customers - describing the latest push by banks to offer low-cost or even free services to transfer money to friends and relatives in foreign countries.

Wells Fargo has announced several upgrades to its online security platform "designed to give customers and businesses even more protection in the fight against Internet fraud."   » Continue Reading

David Breitkopf reports for the American Banker on PNC's decision to end its seven year relationship with MBNA as the credit card issuer for its banking customers and to move it to US Bank.   » Continue Reading

Kathy Chu writes for USA Today about David Nelms, CEO of Discover Financial. Chu reports Nelms describing Discover's current strategy: "We're trying to stand out more. We think we have a great story to tell."

Western Union has announced the appointment of five new directors who will join Jack M. Greenberg, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McDonalds Corporation, Non-Executive Chairman of Western Union, and Christina A. Gold, Chief Executive Officer of the Western Union Company on the board of directors.   » Continue Reading

• New US Passports Contain Secure RFID Chips From Infineon
• Cleveland Plain Dealer: Hold can make credit card look maxed out when it isn't
• TransUnion Acquires Cheque Guarantee Services of South Africa
• Leading Canadian Card Provider Selects Corillian for Next-Generation Online Credit Card Management Solution
• Bloomberg: Wal-Mart Fight May Derail Utah's, Companies' Banking Ambitions
• Google and eBay Sign Multi-Year Agreement to Connect Users, Merchants, and Advertisers Around the Globe
• Bank of the West Selects Carreker's TrackPoint(TM) Solution for Enterprise, Web-Based Track and Trace Capabilities of Various Types of Assets

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Shailesh Kotwal has been named President, International, for eFunds Corporation.
• Bill Mason and David Danser have been named Vice Presidents of Sales at Nashville-based EFC Systems.