The US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity and Science and Technology is holding a hearing today on the subject: "Do the Payment Card Industry Data Standards Reduce Cybercrime?". Witnesses include representatives from the US Department of Justice, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards Council, Visa Inc., Michaels Stores, and the National Retail Federation. A webcast is available.

FICO has announced the release of its newest FICO scores targeted specifically to the automobile lending and bankcard industries. TransUnion is making the scores available to lenders and issuers under the names FICO® Risk Score, Classic Auto 08 and FICO® Risk Score, Classic Bankcard 08. READ MORE

In an article titled "The Moment for Credit Card Reform", US Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committe, writes for the Huffington Post that today the Senate Banking Committee passed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act. He goes on to say that "2009 may well prove a watershed moment for credit card reform."

Bloomberg is reporting that the US Senate Banking Committee, on a 12-11 vote, has approved new restrictions on credit card issuer practices. The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation tomorrow.

VeriSign has announced its VIP Access for Mobile application is now available in the Apple iTunes App Store. The application turns the iPhone into a dynamic VIP one-time-password (OTP) credential that can be used in conjunction with a username and password to strengthen the security of online accounts. See Glenn Fleishman's review on TidBITS. READ MORE

INSIDE Contactless and First Data have announced signing a three-year agreement to develop contactless payment stickers, which First Data will market as GO-Tag products. According to the companies, INSIDE will supply MicroPass payment sticker prelams exclusively to First Data-qualified card manufacturers for production. READ MORE

Link2Gov has announced the availability of businesstaxpayment.com, Link2Gov’s new consolidated business tax payment site. At businesstaxpayment.com, businesses can use credit and debit cards to pay the federal business tax types — multiple variations of Forms 940, 941, 943, 944 and 945 — that have been designated by the Internal Revenue Service as eligible for card-based payments. READ MORE

In the UK, White Eagle (Europe) Plc and hiten have announced the launch of the hiten Prepaid MasterCard - calling it "a card that enables users to effectively and securely manage their money." READ MORE

Fiserv has announced that Lance Drummond will join the company as Executive Vice President leading several strategic growth initiatives and reporting to the CEO. According to the company, Lance's new role is "to accelerate the development of certain business line extensions in areas including data analytics, consulting and wealth management." READ MORE

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, has announced that the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will meet on Wednesday, April 1, to consider H.R. 627, the “Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009.” READ MORE

Guardian Analytics, a provider of online account fraud prevention software for financial services institutions, has announced the appointment of Terry Austin to chief executive officer, effective immediately. Austin succeeds company founder Tom Miltonberger, who will focus on the future direction of Guardian Analytics’ products. The company also announced today that security industry veteran Irfan Salim, president and CEO of MarkMonitor, has joined the Guardian Analytics board of directors. READ MORE

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• The Associated Press: Mastercard CEO compensation declines 15 percent
• The Financial Services Club's Blog: Why banks should focus upon Twitter
• VentureBeat: Mobile payment company Mogees acquires BerryStore
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• Toronto Star: Don't regulate credit card rates, VISA chief says