Offering free online bill payment solutions to retail banking customers will cost the financial services industry $1 billion (USD) by 2010, according to TowerGroup estimates. "This aggregate amount represents spending on the portion of the service that financial services institutions (FSIs) outsource. While financial institutions traditionally accepted this expense as a cost of doing business, the “soft” revenue associated with online bill pay (enhanced customer retention, cross-sell opportunities, reduced call center activity, and higher profitability of online bill payment users) no longer compensates for the “hard” dollars institutions must spend to facilitate it." READ MORE »

Steve Hamm writes for Business Week about First Data's GO-Tags for contactless payments - "demoed this week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where First Data is based. The company demonstrated its newest technology, called GO-Tag, by distributing small buttons to 5,000 journalists and delegates. When they tapped the buttons on electronic sensors at concession stands in Denver's Pepsi (PEP) Center, they got free snacks and drinks."

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