Donald L. Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, is speaking today at the Western Payments Alliance 2006 Payments Symposium being held in Las Vegas, Nevada. A copy of his speech titled "Evolution of Retail Payments and the Role of the Federal Reserve" is available online.

Global Cash Access has announced that its Arriva Card, the first credit card specifically for use in casinos, has achieved $2.5 million in transactions and has shown a direct mail response rate of over 1.36% by high-quality credit-worthy customers. In comparison, the typical direct mail response rate achieved by credit card companies is 0.3%. Among other features, the Arriva Card appears to be the only credit card to give reward points for cash advances.

Jonathan Zinman, Assistant Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, has published a paper titled "Debit or Credit?" (PDF) that explores how consumers respond to the price of payments in choosing between using credit cards vs. debit cards. Zinman reports three primary findings: consumers do not report using debit for self-control purposes in response to an open-ended question; many non-revolvers seem to use debit to minimize time costs of payments; and many debit users who lack a credit card do so by constraint, not by choice. He finds that "debit use is significantly higher among consumers facing a
relatively high cost on marginal credit card charges: those who revolve debt, those who face a binding credit limit constraint, and those who lack a credit card."

The Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published a paper titled "The Role of Electronic Payments in Disaster Recovery: Providing More Than Convenience" (PDF) that summarizes the key highlights from a conference hosted by the Center in May.

ABI Research has announced it has adjusted its forecast for Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled cellular phones downwards to 450 million units in 2011 - which would represent about 30% of handsets shipped worldwide in that year - due to the "continuing challenges surrounding the contactless payments business model for mobile operators."

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has published a "Customer Authentication and Internet Banking Alert" to banks reminding them of their need to comply with FFIEC guidance issued last fall and suggesting that "it is anticipated that there will be increased activity by fraudsters to send false communications with the intent of obtaining customer information for the purposes of fraud and identity theft. These communications may attempt to exploit the December 31, 2006, conformance date. For example, communications purporting to be from a national bank could inform customers that, due to the FFIEC guidance, the bank is required to change its security procedures and, as a result, request customers to re-register or provide personal information that would enable the bank to comply with the regulatory requirement."

Click&Buy, an ePayment provider for online and mobile digital content and services, has announced the signing of an agreement with Yamaha Music Interactive for the global musical instrument manufacturer's interactive division. Through the use of Click&Buy, Yamaha will offer its customers the option to purchase products on-line via credit and debit card, direct bank debits or invoice.

Global Payments and Discover Financial Services have signed a new merchant acquiring agreement enabling Global Payments to begin selling Discover Network card acceptance. Global Payments also will purchase that portion of Discover's merchant portfolio currently providing Visa and MasterCard processing.

Bank of America has announced the acquisition of HealthLogic Systems Corporation, a Norcross, GA-based healthcare technology company.

Duncan Solutions and Peppercoin have announced a strategic partnership to "offer innovative, integrated solutions that grow parking revenues by increasing the profitability of credit and debit card transactions and deliver greater conveniences to motorists." The companies, who already work together in a number of cities, including Las Vegas and Oklahoma City, are enhancing their relationship with additional technology integration and coordinated sales efforts.

Matt Richtel and Miguel Helft of the New York Times report on the "pretexting" indusry - made sudden much more famous as a result of the recent Hewlett-Packard board investigation. They say that "retexters often use techniques similar to those employed by identity thieves to obtain not only telephone records but also other private data." They cite industry experts who say all you need to get access to a wireless subscribers bill is the last four digits of a person's Social Security number and their zip code. While using pretexting to gain access to financial records was made illegal at the federal level in 1999, using it to access telephone records isn't clearly illegal.

Sachi Izumi writes for CNet saying that "the future of retail sales in Japan can be seen on its trains - on which 60 million people travel every day with many of them glued to their mobile phones." Izumi goes on to point out that "one of the issues that may hold back those could-be shoppers from using mobile phones is safety. Many Japanese consumers still fear punching in their credit card numbers online or on mobile phones."

Karen Klein writes for Business Week about the advantages a business credit card can bring to small businesses: "Using it and paying it on time builds up their good credit history, just like with a personal card."

Equifax held an Investor Conference on Friday to "review Equifax's current operations, highlight Equifax's key growth initiatives, and outline objectives for growth through 2010." The webcast archive along with the Investor Day presentation slides are available online. The slides are well worth reviewing as they include some interesting market size and share data on Equifax's various business lines - along with their strategies.

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Anthony M. Klick has been named partner at Diamond Management & Technology Consultants.
• Alan Chow has been named chief technology officer of NCR. In 2005, Chow was named vice president of NCR's Payment Solutions, leading the team that provides imaged-based services to the finance and retail industries.
• Colleen O'Keefe has been named vice president and general manager of NCR's Payment Solutions business. O'Keefe most recently served as vice president of global managed services for NCR's Worldwide Customer Services Division.