The latest issue of Economic Perspectives from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago includes the article "Economics of payment cards: A status report" by Wilko Bolt and Sujit Chakravorti.

This article surveys the recent theoretical literature on payment cards (focusing on debit and credit cards) and studies this research's possible implications for the current public policy debate over payment card networks and the pricing of their services for both consumers and merchants.

eBay reported fourth quarter 2008 financial results this afternoon - saying its

Payments business unit [PayPal + Bill Me Later] posted another solid quarter with $623 million in revenue, an increase of 11% year over year. Net total payment volume (TPV) for the quarter was $15.99 billion, an increase of 14% year over year. The revenue and net TPV growth was fueled by expanded adoption of PayPal Merchant Services across the Web and the inclusion of Bill Me Later, acquired on November 7, 2008. Active accounts reached 70 million, an increase of 23% year-over-year. The Payments business will continue to focus on greater penetration into the Marketplaces business as well as the acquisition of new merchants."

Cristin Frederick has written an article titled "Gift Card Value when Issuers Go Bankrupt" which is included in the Winter issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Communities & Banking quarterly.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has published a paper by Stephen Quinn and William Roberds titled "The Evolution of the Check as a Means of Payment: A Historical Survey"

The authors discuss some persistent historical themes surrounding checks: checks' ease of use, which provides advantages over other payment methods but creates risk to businesses and banks; checks' sophistication, which evolved through centuries of legal precedent and operational experimentation; and checks' high costs relative to other forms of payment.

Checks' traditional dominance of the U.S. payment system, the authors conclude, resulted from historical happenstances. These events gave the check relative advantages that are only now being overcome by electronic payment technologies.

US Bank has reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008. Among the details, US Bank reported that debit card transaction dollar volume was essentially unchanged in the fourth quarter as compared to the same quarter in 2007 and was actually down sequentially from the second and third quarter of 2008.

For credit cards, the bank reported a decline in credit card purchase volume in the fourth quarter of about 3.5% from both the prior year. Fourth quarter credit card purchase volume was also lower that in both the second and third quarter of 2008. In the bank's merchant acquiring business (Elavon), the number of transactions processed increased about 3.5% over the prior year while the purchase volume declined about 6%.

ThreatMetrix, a on-demand fraud detection company, has announced that it has relocated to the US from Australia where the firm had been based since its inception in 2005. "A pioneer in device identification technology, which is quickly becoming the de facto standard in online fraud detection, ThreatMetrix will operate from Los Altos, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The company will continue to maintain research-and-development operations in Australia." READ MORE »

Gemalto has introduced a new consumer website that helps "consumers fully enjoy their digital lifestyle and protect their personal financial information as they buy, surf, communicate and travel.

The site www.JustAskGemalto.com is a place where people can go for expert advice on topics such as Internet security, online payment, password management, credit card fraud, cell phone usage, identity theft and more. Until now, no one site has gathered all these different topics in one place. As the use of our digital information spreads, we as individuals have a role in safeguarding it more than ever.

Sybase has announced that it has acquired paybox solutions AG, a global leader in mobile payment solutions. "With this acquisition Sybase continues to bolster its Unwired Enterprise strategy by extending its leading mobile infrastructure to mobile payments." READ MORE »

Eric Dash and Brad Stone report for the New York Times on the payment card data breach announced yesterday by Heartland Payment Systems. The compromise may have occurred as early as last May but wasn't detected until late last fall.

The Heartland breach also showed that in spite of the adoption of more stringent standards and tougher oversight by banks and credit card companies, consumers are still vulnerable."

• WSJ.com: What to Do When a Bank Collapses
• NetBanker: Bank of America Has Another Blog, this One Supports Mobile Banking
• Washington Post: Regulatory System Allows Banks to Avoid Enforcement
• AP: Heartland says it has closed security hole: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
• MoneyGram International Names Pamela Patsley Chairman of the Board; Anthony Ryan President & CEO
• Citi Names Richard D. Parsons as Chairman of the Board of Directors
• California Court allows retailers to collect zip code data
• StorefrontBacktalk: From the Heartland Breach to Second Guessing Service Providers
• Guardian: Visa Europe upbeat as customers buy coffees on the card
• iPay Technologies Partners with RCU
• iovation to Discuss Money Laundering at Combating Cybercrime Conference
• Fraud Set to Rise as Financial Crisis Deepens
• CreditCards.com: Payment processor involved in massive data breach offers few answers
• New Research from Market Rates Insight Shows Financial Institutions Turning to Relationship Products to Increase Share of Wallet
• Card Activation Technologies, Inc. Settles Litigation Against OfficeMax
• The Desert Sun: Gift cards pitched as way to entice shoppers to city
• International Council of Payment Network Operators Driving Payment Network Interoperability
• Computerworld: Biggest ever credit card data breach
• NetBanker: Bank of America Knocks Mint Off the Top of the iPhone App Store Finance Category