In his weekly column titled "Have Banks No Shame?" in Saturday's New York Times Business section, Joe Nocera writes about the the establishment of a new consumer financial protection agency.

Nocera writes: "The real reason current regulators don’t pay more attention to consumer problems is not that they are evil (well, mostly they’re not), but that they have another mission that takes priority. They are charged with insuring the safety and soundness of the banking system."

He concludes: "The sooner we can pass the thing, the better."

In an article titled "Visa Plasters D.C. with Ads as Debate Heats Up", Maria Aspan writes for the American Banker about Visa's new "reputation campaign" launched earlier this week in Washington, DC intended to "highlight the benefits of plastic over checks and cash."

The Electronic Payments Coalition has commented on the legislation pending in the US House that would impose new limits on interchange fees and practices.

"H.R. 2382 is one of the most egregious assaults on consumer protection that this country has seen in some time. Disguised as a measure to allow for cash discounts - something that is already allowed by federal law and by all card network contracts - the bill would instead open up the door for bait-and-switch advertising schemes, charging additional checkout fees at the register, and discrimination against certain card holders. The bill is chock full of provisions that mean one thing: consumers will pay more so merchants can pay less. Bottom line - retailers don't want to pay their fair share for a service that brings them more sales and higher profits - and want their customers to pick up the tab instead." READ MORE

A new Citibank / GfK Roper survey has found that few small business owners and managers are joining the consumer trend towards increasingly using social networking websites and services. According to the survey of 500 small business executives across the United States, 76 percent have not found social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to be helpful in generating business leads or for expanding their business during the last year, while 86 percent say they have not used social networking sites to get business advice or information. READ MORE

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• The Globe and Mail: Ottawa to unveil rules for credit, debit card issuers: sources
• The Atlantic Business Channel: What Will Fewer Overdraft Fees Mean?
• BusinessWeek: Small Merchants' Attempt to Hold Down Interchange Fees
• PayPal’s plans for a single consumer identity
• Digital Transactions: House Interchange Bill Brings Out the Venom on Both Sides
• Near Field Communications World: The NFC Report: Retailers begin to seize the initiative with NFC coupons and loyalty programmes
• BusinessWeek: Intuit and the Dangers of Hubris
• Los Angeles Times Editorial: The price of overdraft protection
• US News and World Report: 3 Myths About Credit Card Fees for Businesses
• Safeway Delivers Facebook Users Exclusive Coupons
• InsideARM: Credit Card Debt Evaporating in U.S.; Down 13 percent in August
• Chicago Tribune: It's safe to use your phone for banking, experts say
• Washington Report: Congress Looks at Oppressive Credit Card Rules
• NACS Online: Washington Report: Congress Looks at Oppressive Credit Card Rules
• SFGate.com: Wells Fargo boosts credit card rates
• Express Computer: Mobile Banking adoption in India
• Singapore News: NETS launches FlashPay card that allows payments for transport, retail services
• NYTimes.com: Regulators Say Banks Face Duller Future
• USATODAY.com: Cyberthieves find workplace networks are easy pickings