Brian Grow writes for Business Week about GratisCard - backed by former AOL Chairman Steve Case and scheduled for an April launch. According to Grow, GratisCard intends to stimulate merchant acceptance by charging only 50 basis points in merchant acceptance fees. Whether they can incent bank issuance at that level remains to be seen.

Robin Sidel reports for the Wall St. Journal on Gratis - quoting Jason Hogg, president and chief executive of GratisCard LLC, as saying that "the current [payment card] infrastructure is inefficient and costly."

For more information, see the GratisCard web site.

Jack Shandle writes for Wireless Net DesignLine about near-field communications (NFC) technology - saying that the "mobile-phone-based financial payment infrastructure being planned around Near Field Communications (NFC) technology will make it a "must have" technology in future wireless products."

Following its acquisition of Digital Insight by Intuit five weeks ago, they've announced Personal FinanceWorks and Small Business FinanceWorks - saying these two products are "expected to lead the next generation of online banking."   » Continue Reading

Discover Financial Services has announced the launch of the Discover Motiva Card - describing it as "the credit card that gives consumers cash rewards for good credit management. The Discover Motiva Card is designed for consumers who carry a balance and often feel underappreciated by card companies rather than rewarded for being some of their best customers. They believe current rewards programs focus on the biggest spenders and therefore don't meet their needs."   » Continue Reading

In an article titled 'What Credit Card Companies Don't Want You To Know", David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire, writes in his Yahoo! Personal Finance column about universal default - and how and why consumers should avoid credit cards issued with that provision. Bach recommends: "Check today and see if you have the universal default clause on your credit cards. If you do, be careful to stay on top of your debt. Better yet, find a credit card that doesn't have the clause -- you'll sleep better at night."

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