As we mentioned here on Payments News on Monday, the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on Thursday, May 15th beginning at 11 AM Eastern time on H.R. 5546, the “Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008”. As of tonight, the committee's website doesn't list the witnesses who will be testifying - but it promises that a live webcast of the hearing will be available.

As an editorial comment, many of us in the payments industry find the "solution" proposed in this legislation to be overly complex. Read the actual text of the draft legislation - and you may reach the same conclusion! We wonder whether the merchant community in fact would be well served by the remedies proposed. A very basic question comes to mind: "Is this the best you can do?"

A few weeks ago, as part of an article about Hannaford's recent card data breach, I blogged about my 'guestimate' of the cost of PCI compliance across the industry. I said: "Seems like somewhere between US$100 million and US$1 billion?" and asked for reactions. No one reacted - so maybe everyone agreed with my estimate?

Tonight at dinner with some sophisticated, experienced players actively involved in the business of PCI compliance, I posed the same question. After chewing on it a while (it takes a few minutes to comprehend the magnitude of the question!), they settled in on the figure of US$2 billion - to me a pretty staggering sum! Does spending of that magnitude significantly change the economics of card acceptance for merchants?

Over on his Netbanker blog, Jim Breuene takes a look at the uptake of mobile banking in the US based upon Bank of America's latest quarterly report.

Fifty percent of surveyed small business owners stated that “economic uncertainty” is one of the biggest challenges faced in the growth and survival of their business, according to the National Small Business Association’s 2008 Survey of Small and Mid-Size Businesses. Chase Card Services has published a set of five tips for small business owners to help manage their credit relationships. READ MORE »

The UK's Payments Council has unveiled the first national plan for UK payments - calling it 'a strategic framework for payments innovation and change over the next decade.' The National Payments Plan was developed after extensive consultation with the payments industry and users and includes statements of principle, specific actions and a number of focused reviews of key issues. The document covers current payment methods such as plastic cards, cash and cheques and also reviews the next wave of innovation in payments, fraud and security, and consumer education about payments. READ MORE »

The Smart Card Alliance published a press release this morning with some highlights from the CTST 2008 conference now underway in Orlando - saying that 'the buzz was about mobile payment and near field communication (NFC) on the first day of the joint Smart Card Alliance annual meeting and CTST conference.' READ MORE »

The PCI Security Standards Council has announced the timeline for the release of PCI DSS version 1.2, scheduled for availability in October 2008. According to the Council, the new version of PCI DSS will 'enhance the clarity of its technical requirements, offer improved flexibility and address new and evolving risks and threats.' READ MORE »

The GSMA's Mobile Money Summit 2008 is taking place today and tomorrow in Cairo, Egypt. An impressive list of speakers will be presenting their views on mobile payments. We look forward to hearing more news from the summit later this week.

American Express has announced 'an in-store promotion enabling shoppers to receive a free Spring Fling Card worth $25 from American Express Incentive Services when they purchase two American Express Gift Cards of any value at select drug stores and supermarkets, and at American Express Travel Service offices, through June 30, 2008.' READ MORE »

The MasterCard Foundation has announced the launch of its Scholars Program by awarding grants totaling $600,000 to six leading microfinance training institutes. The foundation says its program will fund 200 scholarships for staff working in microfinance in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East to participate in management and professional development courses. READ MORE »

Tyfone was one of the companies demoing at the recent Finovate Startup conference in San Francisco (see my notes here). In a press release this morning, Tyfone said they'll be at the Payments 2008 conference in Las Vegas next week demonstrating its mobile payments technology.

What's interesting about Tyfone's approach is their effort to be independent of both handset device suppliers as well as wireless operators. The Tyfone solution is based upon a 'mobile phone memory card with SmartCard RFID/Near Field Communications (NFC) technology' - that plugs into the memory card slot on mobile handsets suitably equipped. I'm not sure what percentage of handsets have those slots - but I suspect it'll grow as more functionality is added to them. READ MORE »

Citi has announced enhancements to its Citi Diamond Preferred suite of cards - saying the cards now offer 'an array of exceptional privileges and benefits typically found only in fee-based rewards credit cards -- all for no annual fee.' READ MORE »

Travelex Cash Passport, the first prepaid foreign currency card in the United States according to the company, launched May 1. The card allows travelers to load and lock-in their rate for British Pounds or Euros. READ MORE »

PhotoGIFTCARD.com has announced that it has signed an agreement with Value Pay Services LLC, the issuer of the SUBWAY Card, to manage online gift card fulfillment for the SUBWAY Card program, including its Limited Edition and Photo Gift Card programs. READ MORE »

Craig Timberg writes from Johannesburg for the Washington Post about Brian Richardson, CEO of Wizzit, a South African company focusing on 'getting basic banking services to the world's poor.' Richardson's a believer in mobile banking - saying that 'mobile banking is far more compelling for the unbanked than for anybody else." I love Wizzit's tagline: 'With WIZZIT, you have your bank in your pocket.'

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