Bankwatch's Colin Henderson blogs about his predictions for banking in North America in 2007. One of Colin's points caught my eye: "Quietly, web 2.0 offerings will start to chip away at the traditional banking business model by levering social internet to eliminate costly bank processes. Social lending, brokerage models, account acquisition models." Be sure to read his full list! Colin will be speaking at the Lift conference in Geneva in February.

Mercator Advisory Group has published a new report titled "EFT/ATM Network Processing Review: Purchasing Services, Building Volume" - a review of the major EFT and ATM processors' offerings to financial institutions that examines debit processing, the significant cost differences between PIN debit and signature debit, and the impact of rewards programs on issuers, merchants and the consumer.   » Continue Reading

The latest issue of Smart Card Talk, the newsletter of the Smart Card Alliance, has arrived featuring an article titled "Contactless Payments: Consumer Attitudes and Acceptance in the United States". The article is based on a survey commissioned by the Smart Card Alliance and conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research in August, 2006. The article describes the results of the survey and the implications of these results for financial institutions contemplating adoption of a contactless payment option.

Chevron has announced that it has implemented partial authorization at the pump, claiming to be the first major gasoline brand to do so. Partial authorization allows American Express Prepaid Cards, including American Express Gift Cards and American Express Traveler Cheque Cards, to be approved at Chevron and Texaco gasoline dispensers by recognizing the dollar balance on the card.   » Continue Reading

MasterCard Worldwide has announced that it is "managing a consumer trial of contactless “Tap & Go”™ payments in selected exit lanes and service plazas on the Ohio Turnpike. The trial is being conducted in partnership with the Ohio Turnpike Commission, USA Technologies and Paywerks, Inc."   » Continue Reading

First Data Corp. held an investor/analyst call this morning to update its 2006 and 2007 outlook. A recording of the webcast and the presentation materials are also available.

Global Payments has announced the introduction of a Mobile POS Solution using the WAY Systems Mobile Transaction MTT 1556 Credit/Debit terminal. The company says the product "combines the security and performance of a traditional POS terminal with the ease of using a mobile phone."   » Continue Reading

Nicholas Ning writes for the Shanghai Daily about comments made by eBay CEO Meg Whitman regarding PayPal in China saying that it will remain independent - but that she's also open to partnerships with local companies if regulation permits. There have been recent rumors about an upcoming Chinese government regulation that could require a local partner for financial services businesses.

James K. Glassman, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, looks at the growth in online retailing and ecommerce - including some results from a survey he helped PayPal conduct earlier this year. "Online sales remain small in relation to total consumer purchases--only about two or three percentage points--but they are gaining tremendous speed while bricks-and-mortar retailers are laboring hard just to run in place."

MasterCard Worldwide and USA Technologies have announced that "Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB) will equip vending machines in several U.S. markets with the e-Port cashless transaction solution to begin accepting all major credit cards, including those enabled with MasterCard PayPass contactless payment functionality."   » Continue Reading

Better than toasters! ING DIRECT has announced it is running a promotion this morning providing "free gasoline to Atlanta commuters during today’s morning rush hour. Drivers who visit three Shell stations between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. will receive a free gasoline fill-up as part of ING DIRECT’s campaign to lead Americans back to savings."   » Continue Reading

Ylan Q. Mui writes for the Washington Post about the new variety of retailer issued gift cards showing up in stores this holiday season - as retailers are trying to make them more fun than just plain old mag stripe cards.

Dave Birch has posted his podcast interview of Barclay's Richard Mould, head of contactless payments and responsible for the recent deal between Barclays and Transport for London's Oyster card.

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