Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson attended The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's sold-out 2007 Payments Conference this week. The theme of this year's conference was "Competitive Forces Shaping the Payments Environment: What's Next?." Click here to read Carol's full report.

"Pointing to a recent survey that found 21 million Americans will purchase more on Mother's Day
because they pay with a debit or credit card, the Electronic Payments Coalition today reaffirmed its core message that payment card options are increasingly preferred by consumers and an important part of retailer sales."

Reuters is reporting that it received a document that indicates a "group of European banks are in secret talks to set up a pan-European debit card to challenge MasterCard and Visa Europe in cross-border business."

• Payment Processing: NCR Poised To Support Merchant Reduction Of Check-Clearing Costs, In Step With New Back-Office Conversion Ruling
• eMarketer: Mother's Day and Retail E-Commerce
• Alogent Webinar: Perspectives on Branch Image Capture Strategy – Front Counter, Back Counter, and/or Mini-sites