We're starting to see some pretty mainstream adoption of alternative payments (i.e., non-bank card-based) - what with PayPal's march through the skies with the airlines, Bill Me Later's very effective use of promotional financing, etc. PayPal recently reported that 44% of its payment volume was coming from its Merchant Services business (i.e., non-auction related).

Yesterday, drugstore.com reported third quarter financial results - and they included the following snippet regarding the value to a merchant of accepting alternative payments:

"...almost 10% of OTC transactions in recent weeks have migrated to alternative payment options since the completion of our roll-out of Bill Me Later, Google Checkout and PayPal."

Here's a real-life example of an ecommerce merchant who didn't fool around trying to decide which alternative payment type to implement - they just implemented all three of the majors!

Maria Bruno-Britz writes for Bank Systems & Technology about decoupled debit - and whether it's a threat or an opportunity for banks.

ACI Worldwide has announced that it will offer enhanced mobile banking capabilities to its online banking customers. "ACI’s business and consumer online banking customers will be able to use their cell phones, wireless handheld devices, or other handset devices to view information and perform online functions. Banks will be able to offer mobile access as an alternate channel while leveraging investment in Enterprise Banker data, entitlements and authentication."

Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson filed an update on NACHA-related topics this morning from this week's Association for Financial Professionals conference in Boston.

RBS Lynk has announced it is now offering its merchants a way to reach online banking users who want to pay cash at eCommerce checkouts by offering MODASolutions eBillme payment option. eBillme provides consumers with "the ability to safely and securely pay cash using their online banking bill pay service."

Visa has released a new white paper - “Commercial Cards and Financial Compliance” - "to help organizations meet financial accountability requirements in many countries around the world. The paper identifies best practices in electronic payment programs for the travel and entertainment (T&E) management process and Procure-to-Pay function deployed by companies worldwide to help satisfy compliance requirements and achieve more control and visibility over spending."

• Visa USA and Personal Finance Expert Jean Chatzky Launch National Women's Savings Initiative at California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women
• INSIDE Contactless Announces General Availability of Next Generation MicroPass Fob Core for Contactless Payments
• Hit the jackpot? Americans say “no thanks” to giant check, “yes” to direct deposit, according to national poll
• TSYS Reports 26.7% Increase in Net Income for Third Quarter 2007
• Aneace's Blog: Why an unregulated interchange model is crucial to fostering competition between payment schemes
• Mobile Candy Dish and CardMarte Partner to Expand Mobile Commerce Globally
• First Data's Telecheck And Meijer Reach Agreement To Roll Out Electronic Check Acceptance
• ViVOtech Announces ViVOpay 5000 Contactless Payment Reader for Use with New MasterCard® PayPass™ Programs in EMEA, Latin America, and Canada
• FundsTech Corp Announces Strategic Partnership Agreement With Yes!Money in Europe
• Fundtech’s Sanjay Dalmia Authors Book on Financial Supply Chain