Strategy Analytics has released “Mobile Contactless Payments –Growth on the Horizon,” analyzing payment for goods or services using phones instead of cash or credit/ debit cards. According to the company, "the report concludes that the conditions are finally right for growth over the next five years, projecting that mobile contactless payment will be used to drive sales of $36 billion by 2011."

Bankrate's Gregory Taggart reports on the growth in contactless card usage in the US - highlighting Visa data showing that "contactless transactions are an average of 25 percent faster than cash" and claiming that the contactless roll-out in the US has been the fastest deployment of new payment technology ever.

MasterCard Worldwide has announced MasterCard Online Fraud Monitor, a new advanced fraud detection and mitigation solution designed to enhance security for PIN debit transactions. According to MasterCard, "this offering, developed in collaboration with BasePoint Analytics, uses a new sophisticated risk-scoring model to detect potential fraudulent PIN debit transactions in real-time, during the authorization process. The model uses advanced analytics that consider factors such as account spending, device level (ATM and POS) activity, and historical transactions to calculate the likelihood of fraud on an individual ATM card or debit account."

Richard Wray reports for The Guardian about HSBC's launch today of a new mobile banking service that will allow customers to "use their mobile phone to check their bank balance or help their friends or family pay for calls." According to Wray, "after downloading a simple piece of software to their phone, the bank's customers will be able to check their balance or find out if they have been paid, wherever they are."

Vimo.com, a healthcare comparison-shopping site, has published a research report that "reveals wide disparity amongst the fees that HSA Banks charge their customers" with little correlation between high fees and high returns in HSAs. The current Vimo Rankings Report is available for download.

New research from TowerGroup finds that although credit cards remain the most profitable product for banks, an overall decline in bank cards is signaling the need for banks to evolve their rewards strategies. According to TowerGroup, "since 2000 the bank card industry's dependence on rewards programs to attract and retain customers has increased significantly. While rewards have become an essential aspect of bank card business strategy and help increase card usage, customer retention and margins - they come with a cost to the institution in terms of overall profitability."

• PrivaCash, Inc. Receives U.S. Patent to Print Instant Plastic Money
  
• Survey: Bankruptcy Filings on the Rise Again, Likely to Return to Pre-2005 Law Levels During Next Year
  
• Trusted Network Technologies’ Financial Services IT Survey Reveals Increased Risk Awareness of Internal Data Theft
  
• Cubis Financial Launches CureBreastCancer.org Prepaid MasterCard® Gift Card
  
• OATH Hosts First Ever Bi-Continental Meetings at Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference and CARTES 2006 Congress in October and November
  
• NTV, NTT DoCoMo Co-develop Mobile Phone System to Distribute and Store Video-embedded E-coupons and E-cards
  
• US Biometrics Integrates TransUnion’s Fraud and Identity Management Services to Enhance Online Authentication Capabilities
  
• Hypercom Wireless Payment Terminals at Arizona State Fair Let Fairgoers Use Credit/Debit to Pay for Rides
  
• MoneyGram Delivers New Patent-Pending Technology Allowing Billers to Review Payments Online Prior To Acceptance
  
• Fiserv De Novo Activity Capitalizes on Upturn in Start-up Banks
  
• Avis and American Express Reward Neighborhood Renters With Gift Cards and Discounts
  
• National Bankcard Systems Selects WAY Systems Mobile Transaction Terminal as Preferred Wireless POS Payment Solution
  

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Gregory C. Cohen has been named President of the US business of Moneris Solutions. Cohen previously served as Senior Vice President of Third Party Services for Global Payments Inc.