3i has announced a $23 million investment in Zurich (Switzerland) based Webpay AG, owner of Click & Buy, an ePayment and storefront provider for online and mobile digital content.

American Express today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2005 that included a 13 percent increase in net income for its US card services business on a 14 percent increase in revenues.

Joseph A. Giannone reports for Reuters on the retailer class action lawsuits pending in the US against the major credit card associations and card issuing banks.

Steven Van Fleet has been named President and CEO of RewardsNOW, a financial services loyalty marketing company. He has been a senior vice president with RewardsNOW since October 2005.

TowerGroup has released new research concluding that, while futurists have spun predictions of a "cashless" society since the middle of the last century, momentum is gathering that may turn this vision into reality in as little as 10 years. The report says that a combination of market- ready and emerging technologies is aligning to drive a majority of consumer payment transactions from cash toward other payments "form factors" - including the Internet, mobile and contactless payments.

Dave Segal reports for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Bank of Hawaii's announcement over the weekend that it would partner with Bank of America's MBNA to make available both Visa and American Express cards to its customers.

The China Stock Blog highlights some comments from last week's TSYS earnings conference call by CEO Phil Tomlinson and CFO James Lipham about TSYS' entry into the bank card market in China through its investment in China UnionPay.

Based upon a research finding that consumer confidence in online banking is fragile, the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced that its Financial Risk Outlook 2006, to be published on Wednesday, will encourage banks to further engage consumers in their fight to combat the rise in online banking fraud.

Theresa Howard reports for USA Today on an upcoming shift in Visa USA's advertising scheduled to begin during the Winter Olympic Games - following Visa's switch last year from advertising agency BBDO to TBWA/Chiat/Day.

The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association is now the official name of the trade organization recently formed to represent the common interests of the many participants in the new and emerging branded prepaid card industry. The name replaces the "Branded Prepaid Card Association," the working name used to identify the group until a broad cross-section of industry participants could be consulted.

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

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