In a new report titled "The Impact of Online Personal Finance Offering: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", TowerGroup analyst George Tubin finds the capabilities of new non-bank online personal finance web sites are of interest but raises concerns about whether the sites have "adequate fraud prevention capabilities to protect both the consumer and the bank from account takeover and identity theft." READ MORE »

In his Washington Post column today (scroll down to the bottom of that page), Jeffrey H. Birnbaum writes about the activity in the House Judiciary Committee as it considers legislation that would "force credit card companies to reduce the fees they charge merchants." He writes about visits paid on lawmakers last week by banking industry representations.

Blockbuster has announced it is now accepting PayPal as a way to make purchases on the company's web site http://www.blockbuster.com. "To celebrate the launch of PayPal, Blockbuster is offering PayPal customers $10 cash back for signing up for a new online rental subscription at blockbuster.com. To take advantage of the cash back offer, PayPal customers should visit http://www.blockbuster.com/paypal." READ MORE »

Rearden Commerce and American Express have announced American Express Anywhere - calling it "an innovative new mobile service that enables corporate customers to manage travel details and business through their BlackBerry smartphones." READ MORE »

The Information Card Foundation has officially launched its web site and posted its announcement press release. The founding companies say it's their goal "to advance a simpler, more secure and more open digital identity on the Internet, increasing user control over their personal information while enabling mutually beneficial digital relationships between people and businesses." READ MORE »

Visa has unveiled the Visa Business Network, calling it "the first-ever application dedicated to connecting small businesses on Facebook. The Visa Business Network has been created with small businesses, for small businesses, and is a unique environment built on Facebook Platform for the small business arena." READ MORE »

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• Chase and O, The Oprah Magazine’s Promotion Team Help Los Angeles Woman “Stay a Step Ahead”
• Bloomberg: WaMu Raises Bet on Blemished Borrowers by Offering Credit Cards
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• Globe & Mail (Canada): Credit card perks putting the squeeze on retailers
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• iovation Partners with Joseph, Mann & Creed to Provide More Efficient and Cost-Effective Debt Collections Solution