Glenbrook's Linda Elliott has years of experience in designing, building and operating some of the largest payment processing platforms in the industry. She filed the following commentary - after reflecting upon some the cluster of news stories over the last week about difficulties with several significant transaction systems. Read on for Linda's commentary.

Fintura has announced that it has secured Series A funding from Battery Ventures. Fintura says it "provides financial institutions with customized solutions to accelerate new account growth, expand franchise presence and increase profitability through the delivery and management of credit cards, student loans and home equity products. Fintura’s solutions are particularly suited to institutions such as regional and community banks, credit unions and brand owners, who typically do not have the luxury of building the in-house marketing, operations and risk management expertise these products require."

Cyndia Zwahlen reports for the Los Angeles Times about how credit card companies are focusing on increasing the payment card usage of small businesses - saying that "Although small-business owners spent $4.9 trillion in 2006, less than 5% of that was with the aid of a credit or debit card, according to Visa USA research."

Vivian Wai-yin Kwok writes from Hong Kong for Forbes.com about the growth in debit and credit card usage in China - reporting that "30% of consumer purchases were made with debit and credit cards last year in China’s biggest cities, according to the People’s Bank of China."

American Express reported first quarter financial results - including a 15 percent growth in worldwide billed business to $146.2B, a 10 percent increase in total cards in force to 79.9MM, worldwide average spending per proprietary basic card in force increased 8%, worldwide lending balances of $42.3B on an owned basis increased 29%; on a managed basis, and worldwide lending balances of $63.2B were up 18%. American Express reported its average merchant discount rate was 2.58% in 1Q ’07 and in 1Q ‘06 compared to 2.55% in 4Q ’06 - saying it reflects the seasonally higher retail spend levels during the fourth quarter

• First Data Reports First Quarter 2007 Revenue Growth of 12%
• TSYS Reports Strong 13.7% Increase in Net Income for First Quarter 2007
• CyberSource Announces First Quarter 2007 Financial Results
• Capital One Reports First Quarter Earnings