Back in the early days of debit cards in the early 1990's, Visa pioneered the term Check Card for its debit card product.

More recently, it's been emphasizing Visa Debit as the product's name - transitioning away from the original Check Card branding.

Ironically, today's Wall St. Journal had a headline that read "Wal-Mart to Pay Via Check Cards". No, not via Visa Check Cards - but, rather, MasterCard Debit Cards.

The Smart Card Alliance's Contactless and Mobile Payments Council has published a new research paper titled "Issuer and Merchant Best Practices: Promoting Contactless Payments Usage and Acceptance" that identifies issuer and merchant best practices for driving consumer use of contactless payments. READ MORE »

eBillme has introduced eBillme Walk-In, a new way for consumers to shop online and pay with cash, without having a credit card or even a bank account. The company has partnered with providers including MoneyGram International to assemble what it calls "the largest network of U.S. based walk-in locations with the lowest transaction fee." READ MORE »

In an article titled "Getting the Garden Ready: First Data and Mobile Payments at the Point of Sale" over on our sister Payments Views blog, Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson takes a look at mobile payments for local point-of-sale transactions and, in particular, First Data's efforts in that regard.

In preparing the article, Carol interviewed Barry McCarthy, President, Mobile Commerce Solutions for First Data, who discussed the four key pieces required for mobile payments at POS: the upgrade of the POS terminal base, availability of NFC-enabled phones, card issuer participation, and consumer education.

Walmart, MasterCard Worldwide and First Data have announced a "new, more sustainable payroll program designed to reduce the number of paper paychecks and pay stubs distributed each year to Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S. In order to benefit both associates and the environment, the electronic pay program will include the deployment of the Money Network™ MasterCard Paycard® and electronic pay stubs, which will cut down on paper consumption and provide associates easier access to their wages." READ MORE »

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