Tamara E. Holmes writes for Bankrate.com about one of the potential side effects of being able to pay for fast food with credit cards - a recent survey said that "77 percent say they can buy exactly what they want because they are not limited by the cash they have available." On that note, enjoy your Fourth of July BBQ today!

Liz Moyer writes for Forbes.com about so-called elite credit cards - including Bank of America's new Accolades American Express card. She points out that "Amex Black (Centurion) carries an annual fee of $2,500 and a minimum annual purchase threshold of $250,000."

Vodafone in partnership with Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks has announced publication of a new policy report titled ‘The Transformational Potential of M-Transactions’ (PDF) that suggests a "new regulatory framework is needed to encourage financial transactions by mobile phones and transform access to financial services in developing countries."   » Continue Reading

The Payment System Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has published a briefing article by Terri Bradford titled "Stored-Value Cards: A Card for Every Reason..." (PDF) that discusses the various uses of stored-value cards and the different degrees of their growth and acceptance. Bradford is also the author of "Paper, Plastic.....or Phone?" (PDF), a briefing about mobile payments and banking published last December.