Paul Meller reports for the New York Times about the European Commission accusing MasterCard of conducting restrictive business practices in the European credit and debit card market.

Anil K. Jain and Sharathchandra Pankanti write for IEEE Spectrum about the use of biometric technologies for payments applications could put identity thieves out of business and commenting that "If credit card issuers don’t act soon, customers, many of whom are becoming increasingly comfortable with biometric technologies, might just force the issue."

In the following article, attorney Broox Peterson takes a look at business method patents - which have been particularly important to the payments industry - and a recent US Supreme Court decision to hear an appeal of a business method patent case that could be bad news for so-called "patent trolls".   » Continue Reading

Friends are reporting receiving an email notice from mobile payments operator TextPayMe saying that they've "temporarily disabled" their credit/debit card payment option and will only be supporting funding directly from bank checking accounts in the meantime. In the email, TextPayMe says it plans to bring back the credit/debit card capability "shortly" along with introducing some other new features to the service.

Steve Bryant posts on his eWeek Google Watch blog about the pros and cons of Google Checkout in "Five Reasons Why You Won't Use Google Checkout (and 5 Reasons You Will)".

Farizaa Sabreen writes for Bangladesh's The New Nation about the growth in credit card usage in the country. "More and more local and international financial institutions are exhibiting enthusiasm in this direction. It reflects prospects in Bangladesh market in accommodating numerous credit card competitors operating on the circuit, ensuring healthy and competitive card business deals."

Rafe Needleman posts on his CNET Web 2.0 blog that he believes Google Checkout is a serious threat to Amazon.com - because it makes checkout at non-Amazon merchant locations just about as convenient as buying via 1-Click on Amazon.com itself. He also points out that as a result of Google Checkout "no other online company will end up knowing as much about the spending behaviors of online consumers as Google."

Data security concerns are penetrating small businesses with more than 64 percent taking action within the last 12 months to better protect customer financial information, according to a new survey from Visa USA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Although businesses are taking action, the issue is far from top of mind for business owners with 63 percent saying they rarely if at all worry about securing customer data.   » Continue Reading

Gearlog blogger Dan Costa posts about his new Citibank MasterCard PayPass keychain token - and why he likes it. Separately, Nisha Ramachandran writes about contactless cards for US News and World Report.

A friend writes: "If I understand the Google Checkout service correctly, the point that all these analysts missed is that Google Checkout is a one-card wallet. Seems that point wasn't lost on Citi. In a one-card wallet, being first in the wallet, means you are top of wallet, so being first to market is a big deal. I suspect Google opted for a one-card wallet in order to create a very smooth customer checkout experience."

Steven Deare reports for ZDNet Australia about comments made by MasterCard consultant Robert White at a smartcard conference in Sydney earlier this week regarding MasterCard's PayPass contactless card technology saying "In actual fact, the security is in the application. We don't rely on channel security, we don't rely on protocol security to secure a payment that's in the application."

Bloomberg reports that the Federal Reserve issued a report (PDF) yesterday "downplaying assertions that the banking industry contributed to bankruptcies by offering credit cards to customers who may be unable to repay the debt."

Lucy Warwick-Ching writes for the Financial Times about expected action by the UK's Department of Trade and Industry that would force credit card issuers to make charges for credit card cheques more transparent. Consumer groups are concerned that people who use credit card cheques are unaware that there is a charge for doing so.

• Fortune: Cash in on electronic payments - a look at eFunds
• ZDNet: Google now baby-steps away from eBay-like auction service
• Uganda: Post Bank Launches Rural Mobile Banking
• Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA) Announces Marketing Partnership with Prepaid Media
• CardRatings.com: Credit Card Debt Likely to Escalate as the Fed Raises Rates Again
• eMarketer: Mobile Phone Payments Replacing Cash in Japan
• Scripting News: Identity and Trust (commentary on Google Checkout)
• Slashdot: Google Launches PayPal Rival
• BrandWeek: For New Shareholders, MasterCard Gets New Name
• AuctionBytes: eBay's Fears Confirmed: Google Launches Checkout Service
• UK: Credit card angst as debt soars
• First Data Provides STAR(R) Network ATM Access and Signature Debit Processing to LaSalle Bank
• BioPassword Raises Strategic Round