Yuri Kageyama reports for the AP on Akira Iga, a Sony executive responsible for the FeliCa technology used for mobile payments.   » Continue Reading

Mercator Advisory Group has announced the second report in a two-part series examining the current state of the vPOS market and the potential for growth in the point of sale space.   » Continue Reading

American Express and WellChoice, the parent company of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, have announced an agreement to offer a new healthcare payment solution that includes the Empire Total Blue consumer-directed health plan, a Health Savings Account (HSA) from American Express Bank, FSB, and the new American Express HealthPay Plus(SM) Card that provides easy access to the HSA funds.   » Continue Reading

Motricity has announced the results of a recent survey in conjunction with Greenfield Online that illustrates the shift of shopping from traditional retail and catalogue to purchasing goods online and through mobile devices.   » Continue Reading

D.L. McCracken reports for HalifaxLive.com on the surprising lack of interest among Canadian online merchants in supporting the Interac Online debit payment service.

According to McCracken, "apparently most online merchants have decided that adding a debit payment option is just not high on their list of priorities." The service announced that its first transaction was processed in June.   » Continue Reading

MasterCard International, Keycorp, Hitachi and Oak Hill Venture Partners have announced the formation of a new company to expand the MULTOS smart card platform.   » Continue Reading

In a pair of SEC filings yesterday, First Data Corp. disclosed the current and new option grants held by incoming (and returning) CEO Henry C. "Ric" Duques.  On Monday, FDC announced that Duques was replacing retiring Chairman and CEO Charles Fote.

Business Week looks at MasterCard's upcoming initial public offering and some of the legal challenges currently facing the association.

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

• RBS Lynk to provide access to Debitman network
• Rocky Mountain News: Exec-pay plan tough on Fote

The Alliance for Affinity Security has announced its launch focusing on administering new affinity programs designed to encourage the adoption of employer group health savings accounts (HSAs) and other defined contribution health care accounts, such as flexible spending accounts

Using the tagline "Be Your Own Bank", privately held Affinity Card Systems has announced the Ethos Visa Debit Card account claiming it is the first and only card of its kind for the financially underserved.

"ACS intends to provide an ethos branded Visa Debit Card Account to a financially underserved customer base," said Terry Lock, chief executive officer of ACS, "by offering branded cards through employers, staffing agencies, unions and government agencies that disburse funds. This revolutionary new tool can help provide the underserved with financial independence through low cost access to funds."

In an effort to increase usage and loyalty, two major banks have begun emphasizing their respective savings programs to consumers.  Both Bank of America and Citibank today have released the results of recent consumer surveys emphasizing the benefits of savings - using their card products.

We're taking a look back at the major payments-related news stories for 2005.   We've examined our archives month by month and have culled the the most important and interesting highlights.  We'll be posting each month's highlights over the next few days.  Here are the Payments News highlights from March 2005.

John Rebchook writes for Denver's Rocky Mountain News about First Data Corp.'s Charlie Fote and his decision announced yesterday to retire from his role as Chairman and CEO of FDC.  FDC's corporate headquarters moved to the Denver area when Fote took over as CEO several years ago.

MarketWatch writers Gail Liberman and Alan Lavine examine the various ways to pay and their pros and cons - concluding that the "old faithful credit card may be the safest way to pay."  The article cautions against using both debit cards and e-checks to pay because of their direct link into consumer checking accounts.

GE has announced the appointment of several new company officers including Margaret Keane, 46, named as President and CEO, Retail Consumer Finance, GE Consumer Finance-Americas.

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

• PC World: Online Shoppers Fear Identity Theft
• Fox News: Online Sales Surged on 'Cyber Monday,' Visa Says

Joel Millman and Robin Sidel report for the Wall St. Journal's Heard on the Street column in Tuesday's edition on the surprise retirement today of First Data Chairman and CEO Charles Fote and the appointment of Henry C. "Ric" Duques as his successor.  The article focuses on FDC's Western Union business unit and its prospects in the face of increased competition and pricing erosion.

MasterCard Incorporated has announced that its shareholders voted, at a special meeting of shareholders, to approve a range of proposals to provide MasterCard with a new ownership and governance structure.

Smart Card Talk, the newsletter of the Smart Card Alliance, in its latest issue includes a profile of MasterCard's smart card initiatives based upon an interview with Toni Merschen, head of MasterCard's Chip Center of Excellence.

First Data Corp. has announced that Chairman and CEO Charles T. Fote is retiring from the Company for personal reasons and that former CEO Henry C. (Ric) Duques will be returning to the company as Chairman and CEO.

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

• SearchSecurity.com: Feds 'banking' on financial industry to tell us we're for real
• U.S. Bancorp Named as the Number One Performing Large-Bank by Bank Director Magazine

We're taking a look back at the major payments-related news stories for 2005.   We've examined our archives month by month and have culled the the most important and interesting highlights.  We'll be posting each month's highlights over the next few days.  Here are the Payments News highlights from February 2005.

Patricia Sabatini reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the deployment of contactless payment cards.  Now accepted at about 22,000 merchant locations nationwide, Sabatini reports that "Visa estimates that number will zoom next year by tenfold, to 220,000 locations."

It's getting to be about that time when we take a look back at the major news stories in the world of payments during 2005.  We've examined our archives month by month and have culled the the most important and interesting highlights.  We'll be posting each month's highlights over the next few days.

Jennifer Kingson reports for the New York Times on the increasing use of wireless point of sale acceptance devices by merchants now that wireless coverage is nearly everywhere with POS devices working with wireless networks in combination to be much more reliable.

Karla Ward writes for the Lexington KY Herald-Leader on the new faces of holiday gift cards this year.

Thomas Lee writes for the Minneapolis - St. Paul Star-Tribune on bank interest in marketing health savings accounts.

Harsimran Singh reports for India's Financial Express on the importance of financial services and insurance clients to India's IT and business process outsourcing boom.

• Visa: Spending jumps as season opens
• ShopperTrak: Black Friday Sales Flat as Holiday Shopping Season Begins
• Bloomberg: U.S. Retail Sales Little Changed Friday, Close to '04 Record
• MSNBC: Online privacy fears are real
• Morgan Stanley launches ultra-premium i24 card
• WSJ: Identity-Theft Bills Stall in Congress
• India: Most ATMs not equipped to use new card security features

Robert Terry reports for the Washington Business Journal on I4 Commerce's Bill Me Later.

Mylene Mangalindan of The Wall Street Journal reports on the Monday after Thanksgiving -  the expected peak shopping day for online ecommerce retailers.

Pete Barlas reports for Investors Business Daily on Visa USA's report that Thanksgiving Day online shopping peaked at $205 million, up 41% from Thanksgiving last year.

Attempting to address the nature of competition between card schemes as it relates to the level of interchange fees, the Payments System Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia has announced a revised Standard to apply to the setting of interchange fees in the designated Bankcard, MasterCard and Visa credit card schemes in Australia.

Kris Hudson reports for the Wall St. Journal on new features being used to personalize gift cards with personal photos, messages, or music as well as major new gift card marketing initiatives by Wal-Mart and McDonald's.

Rhonda Abrams reports for USA Today on how businesses can use gift cards as promotion tools.

Phil Kerpen, Policy Director of the Free Enterprise Fund, writes an op-ed piece in today's Boston Globe about "frivolous litigation and pleas for unnecessary regulation" by merchants regarding credit card interchange fees.

David Milstead reports for the Rocky Mountain News that Wells Fargo will abandon its "OneLook" account aggregation service early next year.   » Continue Reading

Valerie Bauerlein reports for the Wall St. Journal that Bank of America appears to have just barely cleared one potential hurdle that could have blocked its ability to acquire MBNA.  At the end of September, the combined assets of BofA and MBNA were 9.8% of total US deposits, just below the 10% U.S. federal cap on the percentage of deposits that can be held by a single bank.

• Citibank Horrors: How hard is everyday banking?
• WSJ: Identity-Theft Bills Stall in Congress
• BioPay Looks for Big Year for Biometric Payments in 2006
• David Hendricks: Credit card fees resisted, but they have their place
• MBNA Canada Selected to Issue Sony MasterCard
• ACG working with MasterCard to develop radio frequency antennas for PayPass key fobs
• Hitachi, MasterCard to set up smart card venture
• UK phishing scam takes a new tack

Catherine McLean reports for Canada's Globe and Mail on the efforts by Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Rogers Wireless to develop a standardized mobile commerce system called Wireless Payment Services.

Bankrate.com has released the results of its Second Annual Holiday Gift Card Survey that profiled gift cards available from 20 leading retailers and the top four credit card issuers.

Alekansandra Todorova reports for SmartMoney Consumer Action on contactless payments.   » Continue Reading

• Business Week: It's a Merry Time for E-Tailers
• From paper to plastic: How credit cards change our lives
• Absence of Fee Break Could Hinder RFID's Penetration of Cash
• Givex survey shows gift cards most popular with women
• Microsoft's Xbox Gamble: Micropayments, Personalization, and Digital Media
• Canada: Debit card fraud on the rise at gas stations
• iTunes Music Store Cracks Top 10 List of Leading U.S. Music Retailers in Q3 2005
• Bankrate Releases Holiday Gift Card Survey
• Shanghai Daily: Mobile phone fraud immobilizes bill payments
• Discover Wants Its Cell Phone Payment Program To Become A Miniature ATM
• Australia: Mastercard joins debit card fray

Alliance Data Systems Corporation has announced that it has modified its market-facing name, dropping the word "systems" and will now be known as Alliance Data. A new logo accompanies this change.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has announced a new white paper sponsored by Visa International that assesses the
evolution of electronic payments systems in the six largest Latin American countries, as well as prospects for overcoming obstacles to full modernization. The study found that across the region collaboration between governments and the financial services industry has led to greater penetration of electronic payment products.

US Bank currently has a promotion on Health Savings Accounts running whereby new accounts opened before February 28, 2006 will have the $3.50 monthly maintenance fee waived for the life of the account.

Online Resources Corp. has released results of a study on the impact of its premium online financial management service, Money HQ, on deposit account balances showing that for those consumers who were enrolled in Money HQ for one year, deposit account balances increased 115 percent more than those of consumers who were not enrolled.

Washington Mutual has announced the launch of the Washington Mutual MasterCard Gift Card. The card costs $3.95 plus a $1.00 first class shipping and handling charge in addition to the value loaded onto the card.   » Continue Reading

First Data's TeleCheck Services has announced that it has significantly expanded its check services relationship with Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores.

• American Express Incentive Services Acquires New Patent Licensing Rights
• Many California DMV Offices to Accept ATM/Debit Cards
• Prepaid Cards Support Broader Consumer-Finance Propositions, TSYS Reports
• ViVOtech and USA Technologies Partner to Develop Contactless Payment System for the $1.32 Trillion Micro-Payments Segment
• Banks near deal on technology to speed up money transfer
• Majority of U.S. Adults Believe They Are More Susceptible to Identity Theft During the Holiday Season
• Austin Logistics Appoints New Advisory Board Members
• AOL Shopping Survey Finds High Gas Prices Provoke More Online Holiday Shopping
• UPS Survey Finds Shipping Critical to Online Buying Experience
• SF Chronicle: Health debit card offered - Visa, Blue Cross and Blue Shield will join forces
• Research Shows that Consumers Prefer Co-Branded Credit Cards - A Typical Co-Branded Credit Card Generates EUR37 More Profit Yearly than a Bank-Only Card
• Pre-paid credit cards coming to Manitoba soon
• Russia's St. Petersburg Times: Credit Cards Still Inspire Mistrust
• Newsday: Credit cards feature ethnic ties to Israel
• India: No unsolicited credit cards: RBI tells Banks/NBFCs
• Money, Gift Giving, Health and Workload Cause Holiday Stress According to FranklinCovey Survey
• Metavante to Acquire AdminiSource, Expanding Consumer-Directed Health Care Payments

Missy Baxter reports for ATMmarketplace.com on some criticisms from consumer representatives about Bank of America's recently introduced "Keep the Change" program tied to its debit card accounts.

The Federal Reserve Board has approved amendments to its Regulation CC that define "remotely created checks" and create transfer and presentment warranties to shift liability for an unauthorized remotely created check to the institution where it is first deposited.

BioPay has announced that Mid-Towne IGA in St. Charles, Missouri, as well as 18 grocery stores across three brands in California, will be installing the BioPay biometric payment solution in their stores.

BioPay also reported today that its technology for payments and check cashing has been used to complete over seventeen million transactions worth seven billion dollars and that over 2 million customers have enrolled in BioPay.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and Visa USA have announced an agreement to support participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies nationwide in offering their members co-branded debit cards to pay for healthcare related expenses.   » Continue Reading

First National Bank of Omaha has introduced a new smartOne Visa Gift Card that can be personalized online with personal photos. The gift card is available in any dollar amount from $25 up to $750. In addition to the value of the card, an $8.95 processing fee will be charged for each smartOne Visa Gift Card.   » Continue Reading

Forrester Research has announced a new forecast projecting that 20 million more Americans will pay their bills online over the next five years.  By 2010, approximately 47 million US households will pay bills online, up 75 percent from the end of 2004.

Bob Tedeschi reports for the New York Times on Wal-Mart.com's move upscale in an effort to attract more affluent shoppers by adding luxury items.   » Continue Reading

Ron Lieber reports for the Wall St. Journal on the increasing use of electronic check ACH-based payments by retailers.   » Continue Reading

Mylene Mangalindan reports for the Wall St. Journal on the busy online shopping day forecast for the Monday following Thanksgiving.   » Continue Reading

PayPal has announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of VeriSign's payment gateway business for approximately $370 million in cash.

• Attention Online Shoppers: Identity Theft and Computer Security Hazards at Risk of Increasing During Holiday Season
• GE Consumer Finance to buy Belk credit card business
• Japan Today: Vodafone Mobile FeliCa
• BitPass appoints former DoubleClick GM as CEO
• IBM Survey: Biometrics calm US web shoppers
• UK: allpay.net Launches State-of-the-Art Bill Payment Swipecard
• Hustler Turf Equipment Selects GE For New Retail Finance Program
• More adults are giving young children gift cards
• Bank of America Matches Consumers' Savings From the Keep the Change(TM) Program to Build Homes for Hurricane Victims
• Axalto and MetaPass Team Up to Strengthen IT Security
• SunFirst Bank Chooses Biometric Solution From Identica Corp. to Protect its Central Datacenter
• New York: MTA tries fast track
• RadioShack Brings Skype-Ready Products to Customers Nationwide
• North American Biometrics Market Expected to Triple Revenue Growth Through 2008
• Carreker's Anti-Money Laundering Filter Selected as Integral Element in Deloitte's Online AML Compliance Offering
• Endpoint Exchange and Viewpointe Agree to Exchange Check Images

Citi is offering a free Apple iPod Shuffle to new CitiBusiness Card accountholders when they make at least $500 in purchases within the first three months of having the card.

Terry Ganey of the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune reports on a trend by major universities to impose surcharges on student tuition payments made by credit card.

ABC News has a special report on the effect of credit card debt on Americans.

Visa International has released a global contactless payments specification.

Jennifer Lawinski reports for Information Week on the Chase 'blink' contactless card program.

Christopher Conkey writes for the Wall St. Journal on how your credit score increasingly affects the prices you pay for financial services products, what components go into your credit score and what you can do to affect it. 

• Teens especially vulnerable to ID theft
• Commentary: Gift cards a great holiday treat, but expiration dates can be tricky
• Saving while spending - Debit, credit card vendors offer consumers ways to squeeze pennies from every dollar
• Credit card shopping no easy task
• India: One in four credit cards remains inactive
• Intervoice to Enhance Its Market Leadership Position with Agreement to Acquire Edify
• Metavante Completes LINK2GOV Acquisition, Expanding Scope of Consumer Payments

NOVA Information Systems (NOVA), a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, has announced that its European affiliate, euroConex, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Citibank Card Acceptance (CCA), a major European card acquirer and a part of Citigroup, Inc.

Business Week looks at some of the key inputs to your FICO credit score.

• Chase Reviews Fiserv's Mortgage Servicing Platform
• Secret Service investigating fake cash

AuctionBytes.com's Ina Steiner reports on PayPal's announcement of its integration in Yahoo! Stores.  Details on the Yahoo! Small Business Help pages.

Robin Sidel and Rob Lieber report for the Wall St. Journal on debit card rewards programs and the difficulties banks are having constructing viable rewards programs given the lower revenue that debit cards generate for card issuers as compared to credit cards.   » Continue Reading

• How to keep your customers safe online this shopping season
• India: Banks reduce third-party ATM charges by 50%
• 7-Eleven, Inc. Signs Deal With NCR to Expand Financial Services Initiative and 24-Hour Check-Cashing Program
• United, Chase Offers Mileage Plus Visa Cardmembers More Earning Power This Holiday Shopping Season
• Cash Systems, Inc. to Acquire Indian Gaming Services
• Citizens Bank Establishes Business Credit Card Relationship With GE's Corporate Payment Services
• Wachovia Names Steven G. Boehm President of Wachovia Card Services
• Cyota Teams with Microsoft to Further Protect Banks and Accountholders from Online Fraud
• Digital Transactions: CheckFree Takes a Networked Approach to Payments Fraud
• First Data Completes Acquisition of Korea Mobile Payment Services
• The Prepaid Card Expo Adds Four New in Depth Workshops; Topics Include Emerging Card Technology, Money Laundering, Prepaid Card Processing, and Servicing the Latino Market
• Diebold's S.A.F.E. Initiative Integrates New Technology To Attack ATM Fraud
• NetSuite Integrates PayPal to Provide Comprehensive Ecommerce Solutions for Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises
• UK APACS: New report highlights socially conscious credit card industry
• Shopping Online for the Holidays: Twelve Tips to Protect Yourself From Cyber Grinches, Scams and Schemes
• NY Times: No Change for the Parking Meter? Charge It
• Student Credit Card Debt is on the Rise
• Datacard Group Announces Strategic Alliance with IXLA
• Omni National Bank Selects Open Solutions' Core Processing Suite Rapid Growth and Expansion Create Need for Open Platform
• Innova Card and Hypercom Team to Develop New Products Integrating Universal Secure Integrated Platform
• Lloyds TSB Trials VASCO Digipass with 30,000 Online Banking Customers

Amazon.com is now accepting electronic check payments - or, as Amazon calls it, "Pay Directly From Your Bank Account."   » Continue Reading

CheckFree has announced results of a recent survey concluding that 56 percent of US online households are paying at least one bill online, up from 52 percent last year. Currently, 87 percent of users who pay their bills from a single "consolidated" website, such as a bank, brokerage, credit union or Internet portal, say they receive the service for free.   » Continue Reading

Corillian has announced the integration of a strong authentication solution into its online banking applications in direct response to the recent Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's (FFIEC) guidance.  The solution will enable Corillian customers to provide a strong, multi-layer authentication solution enterprise-wide by year-end 2006. Corillian calls its patent-pending security solution "Intelligent Authentication".

Gibraltar-based PayNowSMS has announced a new alternative payment processing service targeting merchants in the online entertainment and gaming sectors.  The service uses mobile phone text message to accomplish payment.  The PayNowSMS platform is being provided by Upaid.