The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), a national trade group of responsible payday
advance companies, has issued a press release "dismissing a report by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) as misleading and lacking perspective."

In an article titled 'ATM System Called Unsafe", MSNBC's Bob Sullivan takes a look at issues involving the security of ATM PINs in transit between ATM machines and card issuers that were earlier outlined in a white paper published by an Israeli security firm.

Ted Griffith reports for The Wilmington News Journal about ING Direct's "audacious" expansion plans - including its plans to introduce checking accounts dubbed "Electric Orange" on Feb. 1 of next year following a limited introduction to existing customers next month. Griffith reports the ING Direct plans to pay about 3 percent in interest on funds in the accounts - significantly higher than the average interest rates currently paid by other retail banks. Customers won't get checkbooks but will get an ING Direct debit card as well as be able to print checks as required on their home computers.

NACHA has announced it is accepting nominations for the 2007 George Mitchell Payments System Excellence Award and the 2007 Kevin O'Brien ACH Quality Award. The Call for Nominations with instructions and additional information is available on NACHA's web site. Nominations are due February 2, 2007.

Wal-Mart Stores has announced it has experienced nearly a 60 percent increase in traffic this holiday season over last year on its Web site, Walmart.com.

Gemma Simpson reports for the UK's Silicon.com about a mobile payments trial recently conducted by the London club Minstry of Sound using PayPal Mobile to provide end-to-end mobile ticketing with "clubbers able to buy, receive and redeem tickets on their [mobile] phones."

Cards&Payments, SourceMedia's monthly publication covering credit cards, debit cards, electronic and mobile commerce, and other forms of electronic payment, has announced it is launching a new industry awards initiative in 2007.

Interfax has posted an interview with Guan Guoguang, CEO and founder of 99Bill (www.99bill.com), an online payment platform for e-commerce operators, Internet content providers and individual users. "With an email address or a mobile phone number in China, registered users can send and receive money through the Internet or via mobile phone."

Intuit and Digital Insight have announced signing a definitive agreement for Intuit to acquire Digital Insight. According to the two companies, "the acquisition will bring together Digital Insight, a leading provider of online banking services, and Intuit, the leading provider of financial management software, to millions of small businesses and consumers."

SVPCO - Electronic Clearing Services, the electronic check and check image exchange business of The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C., has announced that U.S. Bank is now exchanging check images via the SVPCO Image Payments Network.

InComm says that, while many companies can provide gift cards for incentive programs, it "enables its partners to differentiate their offerings with exclusive features that have proven extremely popular among consumers."

ING DIRECT President and CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann will be honored by the editors of American Banker with the Innovator Award on November 30th at the Pierre Hotel in New York. According to ING DIRECT, Kuhlmann has been the face behind ING DIRECT since its inception. Unlike most banks that had high overhead costs, high balance requirements and monthly fees, ING DIRECT’s business model enabled it to pass savings to customers in the form of consumer-friendly, simple products. “This award is a tribute to the energy, creativity and innovation of our employees,” Kuhlmann said. “Most financial companies are telling consumers to spend more. We’re showing Americans how to save more. Our innovation comes from finding new ways to empower everyday people to improve their lives.”

• River Valley Credit Union Earns 'A' Online Brand Rating For Safeguarding Its Brands And Consumers From ID Theft And Phishing
• Oracle Announces Open Initiative to Help Organizations Govern Identity Information Across Enterprise Applications
• Ping Identity Announces PingTrust 2 With Code-Free Security Interceptors
• Milwaukee Business Journal: Metavante laying off about 180 employees