eBIZ.mobility has announced a new Facebook payment plugin for its OneTouch Online Purchasing payment processing system. According to the company, "the new payment plugin allows application developers to monetize their Facebook traffic in 26 countries by adding an alternative payment option into their offerings." OneTouch says it "provides developers with a 77% revenue share and settles monthly." READ MORE »

In addition to the major provisions affecting credit card issuers and their practices, The Credit CARD Act of 2009 contains a number of other provisions that will affect various aspects of the payment card industry. We've covered several of them in accompanying posts today - including:

• New limits on issuers of gift cards and prepaid cards with respect to dormancy fees and expiration dates
• Treasury review of stored value cards in context of the Bank Secrecy Act
• Federal Reserve review of the last three years of credit card issuer practices with respect to lowering credit lines available or increasing interest rates
• GAO study required of US card interchange fees

In addition, there are several other provisions including:

• Board review of small business credit plans and recommendations
• Small business information security task force
• Study and report on emergency pin technology
• Study and report on the marketing of products with credit offers
• Financial and economic literacy

Title IV of The Credit CARD Act of 2009 imposes limits on issuers of gift cards and prepaid cards with respect to dormancy fees and expiration dates to become effective within 15 months. Dormancy fees can't be charged unless fully disclosed and only after a one year period of domancy. Expiration dates cannot be less than five years from either the original date of purchase or from the date of the most recent reload to the card and must also be fully disclosed to the purchaser. The Act requires that the Federal Reserve within 9 months prescribe regulations to carry out this section ... "including such additional requirements as appropriate relating to the amount of dormancy fees, inactivity charges or fees, or service fees that may be assessed and the amount of remaining value of a gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card below which such charges or fees may be assessed."

The Credit CARD Act of 2009 in Section 503 requires that the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 270 days, "issue regulations in final form implementing the Bank Secrecy Act, regarding the sale, issuance, redemption, or international transport of stored value, including stored value cards."

The newly signed Credit CARD Act of 2009 in Section 505 requires the Federal Reserve Board in consultation with several other agencies to study and report to Congress within one year "the extent to which, during the 3-year period ending on such date of enactment, creditors have reduced credit limits or raised interest rates applicable to credit card accounts under open end consumer credit plans based on (1) the geographic location where a credit transaction with the consumer took place, or the identity of the merchant involved in the transaction; (2) the credit transactions of the consumer, including the type of credit transaction, the type of items purchased in such transaction, the price of items purchased in such transaction, any change in the type or price of items purchased in such transactions, and other data pertaining to the use of such credit card account by the consumer; and (3) the identity of the mortgage creditor which extended or holds the mortgage loan secured by the primary residence of the consumer."

The newly signed Credit CARD Act of 2009 in Section 501 requires the Government Accountability Office (Comptroller General) "conduct a study on use of credit by consumers, interchange fees, and their effects on consumers and merchants." The study findings are to be presented within 180 days to the "Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives containing a detailed summary of the findings and conclusions of the study required by this section, together with such recommendations for legislative or administrative actions as may be appropriate." The act doesn't specifically state whether the study is to be limited to credit card interchange fees or is to include debit card interchange fees as well. READ MORE »