Mercator Advisory Group has announced its latest report, "US Mobile Banking And Payments: Finding The Seams, Accelerating The Pace." According to Mercator, the report "reviews the recent upswing in mobile banking initiatives and mobile payments pilots as well as the drivers behind this charge, examines preconditions for mobile success, key technology advances that make success far more likely than in the past and, most important, examines the business models that have emerged to engage the participation of ALL members of the mobile ecosystem: banks, mobile operators, vendors, and payment network operators."

Ecount has introduced a suite of prepaid health care incentives that "provides insurers, employers and plan managers with a highly effective solution for encouraging healthy living."

In a post titled "Explaining J.P. Morgan’s DNP on First Data", the Wall St. Journal's Dennis Berman blogs about why he thinks JP Morgan Chase wasn't playing a role in the private buyout of First Data by KKR announced earlier this week. He believes the reason is that the bank has been trying to negotiate the purchase of the 49% interest in Chase Paymentech held by First Data. Last week we reported that First Data filed an amended 10-K for 2006 which included the detailed financials for Chase Paymentech - a very nice business indeed!

Tavia Grant reports for the Globe and Mail about MasterCard's new foundation being headquartered in Toronto. Grant says a MasterCard spokeswoman confirmed the company wanted to put the foundation "in a place that reflected our global nature." She added that Toronto "reflects both North American and European roots."

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