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

Anders Bylund reports for Arstechnica.com and concludes that its "not the PayPal killer many expected" largely because "this is not going to be a person-to-person payment system anytime soon".

Dennis O'Reilly of PC World writes about his first hand experiences with Google Checkout today. He says "I suspect the little green Google Checkout cart will soon be all over the Web."

Reuters is reporting that the European Union's antitrust regulator has "formally charged the credit card company with breaking its rules by restricting competition between banks."

It's official, EMC this afternoon announced that it is acquiring RSA Security in an all-cash transaction valued at slightly less than $2.1 billion.   » Continue Reading

Bruce Cundiff of Javelin Strategy and Research writes on his blog about PayPal vs. Google, thinking in terms of on eBay (where issues have been raised as to whether eBay would allow its merchants to accept a Google-provided payment service) vs. the off-eBay merchant opportunity (which is where he thinks the real battleground will be).

Google this morning launched the long rumored (and often called GBuy) Google Checkout, a new online payment option for ecommerce merchants and online shoppers that plays on many of the same consumer themes of safety and convenience that have been key to PayPal's success. Google Checkout allows consumers to store - in a new version of an online wallet - their payment and shipping address information with Google. (According to Laura Petrecca writing for USA Today, "Google says it also is in talks with online payment service PayPal to let Checkout handle payments by holders of PayPal accounts, which connect with its users' credit cards and banks.") Assuming merchant acceptance of Google Checkout ramps up, the new service appears to position Google as a major hub for ecommerce transactions on the web.   » Continue Reading

Bank of America made it official today with the launch of the Bank of America American Express Rewards Card -- "the first Bank of America credit card to be accepted for payment on the American Express global network."   » Continue Reading

Andrew Ross Sorkin and John Markoff report for the New York Times that RSA Security is in the late stages of negotiating a sale of the company - with EMC reported as one of the potential bidders to acquire the company.

Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters on Bank of America's launch this Friday of its first American Express-branded cards. Tonight, the Bank of America home page features an image of the new MBNA Rewards American Express card along with a link to the online application page.

Fortent, a company created specifically to deliver a comprehensive suite of risk and compliance solutions to financial institutions worldwide, was launched today. Fortent combines Searchspace, a leading anti-money laundering solution, and Semagix, a pioneering Know Your Customer and Enhanced Due Diligence product, into a single brand.   » Continue Reading

Palisade Systems has announced that a year to date audit of data theft cases it conducted found that employees represent the largest and costliest threat to organizations that store, send or access consumers' personally identifiable information such as Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, healthcare records, etc.   » Continue Reading

SmartPay along with partners China Unicom Guangdong and Guangdong Kingold Telecommunications have announced the launch of ''Lottery in your Palm'', a jointly developed mobile lottery service for consumers which allows for purchase, payment, prize award announcements, and award information.   » Continue Reading

In an article mostly about Google's rumored launch of a payment service, Business Week's Robert Hof also mentions that next month PayPal will begin testing a "virtual debit card" for use on web sites that don't accept PayPal directly. According to Hof, using a small toolbar downloaded to their browser, PayPal users will be able to get a one time-use MasterCard card number linked to their PayPal account.

MasterCard has announced that its principal operating subsidiary, MasterCard International, is introducing a new corporate name, MasterCard Worldwide. The company has also unveiled a new corporate signature and a new corporate tagline, The Heart of Commerce, "to reflect the company's globally integrated structure and its strategic vision of advancing commerce worldwide."   » Continue Reading

Ina Steiner reports for AucitonBytes.com on eBay's Safe Payments Policy introduced last October and speculates that it seems unlikely that eBay would allow its sellers to advertise any new Google payment service in their eBay listings - at least initially.

• Washington Post: OMB Sets Guidelines for Federal Employee Laptop Security
• Peppercoin Webcast Examines Hot Topics and Issues in Small Payments: Contactless, Card Acceptance and Loyalty
• Australia: Bankers to take on RBA over payment regulation
• ABN Amro signs up for strong authentication
• EFT Canada & Secure Payment Systems Offer Gift & Loyalty Card Programs to Canadian Merchant Channels
• Banks see too much regulation as big risk -survey
• Someday Everyone Will Get the Gift They Want: Wells Fargo Reports Record Gift Card Sales
• Asia Payment Systems Updates Shareholders on Enhanced Growth Strategy
• Business Week: Google's eBay Challenge
• CNET News.com: Open your wallet to Google
• Cydelity Introduces Comprehensive Protection for Online Banking With eSentry - The Last Line of Defense Against Online Fraud

eWeek's Steve Bryant writes in his Google Watch blog about the implications he sees from a Google entry into payments - what the media has been calling GBuy and speculating is planned for announcement on Wednesday.

Are you a payments professional living in the San Francisco Bay Area? The next meeting of BayPay, the payments professionals' networking group for the San Francisco area is being held this Thursday, June 29, beginning at 6 PM in Mountain View. This meeting's topic is small/micro payments - speakers are Mark Friedman, CEO of Peppercoin and Doug Knopper, CEO of Bitpass. There's ample time alloted at each meeting for networking with other local payments professionals. If you're not already a BayPay member and are interested in attending this Thursday's meeting, please contact us for more information and details about meeting location, etc.

Javelin Strategy & Research has announced the results of the 2006 Annual Javelin Consumer Payment Poll commissioned by PaymentOne - concluding that the majority of online consumers would buy more if safer and more convenient payment options were offered. Javelin reports that the Payment Poll responders said they would each spend $960 more per year if better payment options were available online, which, based on over 15 million active online buyers, translates to $14.4 billion of lost revenue opportunity for digital merchants.   » Continue Reading

TSYS Prepaid has announced an agreement with MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc., to provide real-time loading for TSYS-processed prepaid Visa and MasterCard cards at MoneyGram's 26,000 money transfer locations in the U.S.   » Continue Reading

Comerica Bank has announced Comerica ACH Positive Pay, a new fraud protection service that will enable commercial customers to accept or reject Automated Clearing House (ACH) items before they are posted to their accounts.   » Continue Reading

The US Senate Committee on the Judiciary earlier this month had announced it would be holding a hearing tomorrow on the subject of credit card interchange fees. According to the Committee's website this afternoon, that hearing has been postponed - and no new date has been set for the hearing.

Springwise.com features Mobo, a New York-based company that lets customers order food remotely and pay for their food order via SMS on the mobile phone. "Every Mobo restaurant has a separate Mobo Pick Up counter, so when their order is ready, Mobo users can walk straight to the counter, state their name and last four digits of their phone number, and pick up their food."

Red Herring has published an interview with Peppercoin CEO Mark Friedman.

Cellfire has announced that its free mobile coupon service is now available to cell phone users across the country. According to the company, "household-name retailers such as T.G.I. Friday's and Hollywood Video are among the partners deploying the money-saving solution to consumers."   » Continue Reading

Giesecke & Devrient and Nokia have announced an agreement to form a joint venture to provide services to the NFC ecosystem by enabling consumer applications, such as credit cards or transport tickets, to be securely and easily downloaded over-the-air to NFC enabled mobile devices.   » Continue Reading

SVPCO - Electronic Clearing Services, the electronic check and check image exchange business of The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C., has announced the availability of SVPCO Gateway DTA, a new, low-cost option for gaining access to the SVPCO Image Payments Network.   » Continue Reading

Broadcom has announced the world's first secure processor with integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, as part of the company's Trusted Authentication Initiative. According to Broadcom, the new device is "designed to secure personal authentication transactions associated with physical access, logical access (into a PC or network) and contactless payment applications." Broadcom also said it is partnering with RSA Security to embed its RSA SecurID technology within the BCM5890 secure processor.   » Continue Reading

Experian has announced the results of a new study that examines the correlation between a small-business owner's personal credit score and his or her commercial credit score.   » Continue Reading

Chad Terhune reports for the Wall St. Journal on plans by the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. to "equip 1,000 vending machines in the Philadelphia area to accept credit and debit cards" - including MasterCard's PayPass contactless cards.   » Continue Reading

David Breitkopf writes for the American Banker about the effect that merchants who "steer" their customers at the POS to use PIN-based debit have on the interchange revenue received by the card-issuing bank. Brietkopf cites industry analysts who report that issuers are concerned about the steering merchants are doing on debit transactions. To help reduce the revenue lost from steering, some issuing banks encourage their cardholders to prefer signature-based debit transactions over PIN-based by offering rewards programs.

• Wells Fargo President, COO Stumpf Elected to Company's Board
• U.S. Bank Joins MoneyPass ATM Network, Gives Customers Surcharge-Free Access to 12,000 MoneyPass ATMs
• JPMorgan Chase Opens New Image Deposit Center in Shanghai; Center Helps Financial Institutions in China Lower Costs Without Changing Cash Letter Operations
• Bank of America To Turn Dusty Sandlots Into Fields of Dreams Through Its Keep the Change(TM) Savings Program
• xTech Acquires The Credit Index
• AmbironTrustWave and Fifth Third Processing Solutions Partner to Bring PCI Compliance Services to Merchants
• Guardian (UK): Consumers cut card debt
• JCB International Appoints Kenji Seto as Senior Deputy President

Jane Kim writes for the Wall St. Journal about how some banks are ramping up online banking by adding new services and features - including a new service to be introduced by Yodlee that will allow consumers to both track activity across multiple accounts and institutions as well as making same day bill payments.

Mylene Mangalindan reports for the Wall St. Journal in Tuesday's edition saying that Google is planning to introduce a test version of its GBuy online payment service later this week. Mangalindan describes in the article how the GBuy service is expected to work - with icons placed in text ads displayed in search results highlighting those advertisers that are prepared to accept GBuy payments - although details could still change prior to the actual announcement of the service.

Glenbrook's Russ Jones has been following Peppercoin since 2002, monitoring the company’s progress and the evolution of its strategy. Russ has just published a new research brief titled "Peppercoin in the Payments Industry - The Emerging Small Payments Market". In this new research brief Russ looks at Peppercoin’s current capabilities, activities with merchants, and value proposition along with what he likes about Peppercoin, some concerns, and other observations. You can request a copy of the research brief from Russ over on the Glenbrook web site.

Bank of America has announced that its customers will be able to put checks and cash into ATMs without an envelope or deposit slip when they use new ATMs being deployed in a national rollout starting this week in the Washington, D.C., and Atlanta areas.   » Continue Reading

Dynamic Card Solutions has announced a preferred vendor agreement with Datacard Group that will expand joint marketing efforts in the instant issuance market segment by designating DCS' CardWizard technology as a Datacard Group preferred software solution and Datacard Group as a preferred card personalization system and services provider for DCS.   » Continue Reading

Jonathan Birchall and Franceso Guerrera report for FT.com that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is developing plans to launch its own credit card in China in partnership with GE Money and Shenzhen Development Bank. According to the article, "Wal-Mart declined to comment on its partnership with SDB, saying it had not announced any plans in China to launch a credit card."

Money Network, a First Data Corp. company, and ADP Employer Services have announced a strategic agreement to provide a co-branded paycard, TotalPayCard, that "combines the resources and expertise of two industry leaders and will provide businesses of all sizes with a robust paycard solution."   » Continue Reading

San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Jonathan Curiel reports on Pay By Touch's biometric-based payment system In an article titled 'The Last Days of Privacy - As technology makes life richer and easier, we leave a trail of information that is susceptible to prying eyes".

• TSYS Prepaid Names Payments Veteran James Accordino as President
• Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Getting proactive in identity-theft battle
• Washington Post: Bank Tries to Make ATMs More Enticing for Deposits
• Guardian (UK): Tesco tackles card skimmers
• EDS Gets $700M Deal From Bank of America
• In the Zopa zone
• Teradata Turns Risk Management Into Opportunity for Financial Services
• Interac Certifies VeriFone Countertop and Wireless Vx Solutions For Canadian Chip Card Specifications
• Revolving Bankcard Debt Index Now Available from MKTG Services
• Chockstone Works with MasterCard International to Expand and Enable PayPass Solution
• PayPal's Dan Levy Talks to AuctionBytes about Trust & Safety Issues
• Digital Dispatch Partners to Develop Unique Payment Gateway
• AspDotNetStorefront Partners with MaxMind to add Online Fraud Protection Screening for E-commerce Transactions
• Ithaca Journal: Airline ‘plastic:' Shop till you fly
• Business Week: ID Theft: More Hype Than Harm
• BizPay Direct Supplies Acadia NorthStar With Industry Leading ACH Payment Processing Solution
• Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale): 'Zombie debt' comes back to haunt consumers
• InfoWorld: Card industry cracking down on Payment App Security
• Ottawa (Canada) Sun: Fake bill fears on money: Survey
• Guardian (UK): Paper Chase -a look at cash

Dan Fitzpatrick writes for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about "how Charlotte became a banking giant, outpacing Pittsburgh's banks." According to Fitzpatrick, "the Charlotte banks pressed ahead with dozens and dozens of acquisitions across the country, taking on new names with each deal and eventually turning this little-known textile and distribution hub into BankTown USA." Charlotte, of course, is home to Wachovia and Bank of America.

Gregory Karp writes for the Allentown Morning Call about how consumers can haggle for betters terms from their credit card issuers. According to Karp, "it's cheaper for card issuers to cut you a break than lose your business and have to find a new customer. All you have to do is ask a card company to lower your interest rate, raise your limit or waive your fees."

Ian Pollock reports for the BBC on how 40 years ago "an old converted shoe and boot factory in Northampton was the site for a revolution in the nation's borrowing and spending habits 40 years ago. It was there that 30 new bank clerks, freshly recruited the month before, joined a team of ten or so managers from Barclays bank to launch the country's first ever credit card - the Barclaycard." David Smith writes for the London Times and takes another look at the last 40 years of credit cards in the UK.

Yesterday, Eric Dash of the New York Times reported on an interview he had with Bank of America chairman and CEO Ken Lewis who spoke about the success of the integration of MBNA into BofA, plans to launch new affinity bank products (physicians as the first group likely to be targeted), and who might be a bigger competitor in the future. Lewis mentioned Wachovia on the east coast, Wells Fargo on the west coast, Citibank - who he says is a small player in terms of retail distribution - and that leaves JP Morgan Chase.

What a mess the card industry has made of one of its former features - being able to use your bank cards when traveling internationally and knowing that they'd work and that you were getting the best possible deal on foreign currency conversion in the process. That simple and consistent value proposition went out the window a couple of years back when credit card issuers began aggressively surcharging international transactions and more recently as some bank debit card issuers have limited international acceptance and access to local cash at ATMs because of fraud concerns. David Kelly writes in today's New York Times Travel section about what the experts currently recommend for international travelers and their financial needs while on the road. Kathleen Pender also shares some tips for international travelers in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In an article on BillingWorld.com titled "Smart Phones Could Drive New Telecom Business Model", author Susana Schwartz writes about the potential for mobile payments and challenges mobile operators to realize that the time has come for them to "determine what role they intend to play, and how to drive merchants and content providers to their customers and networks." According to Schwartz, "the killer app could be the RFID-driven capabilities fostered by the NFC chips, which will allow users to quickly drill down into financial transactions over their phones through machine-to-machine interaction between the phone and banking systems."

American Express has introduced Butterfly, a compact and stylish companion card for American Express Gold Card members. The card literally folds up into a slim metal keychain-like device.

In response to articles in today's New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall St. Journal about terrorism investigations and the role of SWIFT, the organization has published a statement on its web site that concludes "The SWIFT Board and Executive have done their utmost to get the right balance in fulfilling their obligations to the authorities in a manner protective of the interests of the company and its members."

Loretta Mester, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, has published an article including an updated set of tables (PDF) derived from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances on the usage of various forms of electronic payments.

Danny Bradbury reports for the Financial Times on mobile commerce - and comments "a few years back, many people thought that by now everyone would pay for soft drinks by waving a cellphone at a vending machine. In reality, mobile commerce, or m-commerce, has been slow to get started."

• Motley Fool: Your Credit Score May Be Costing You Big Bucks
• VeriFone and Lipman Receive DOJ Request for Additional Information
• Rampant Identity Theft in Washington: One in Nine Households Victims of Identity Theft in 2005
• Digital Insight Announces New Organizational Structure to Capitalize on Growth Potential of Product Partnerships and Distribution Alliances
• Western Union Expands Initiative to Promote Community, Economic Development in Mexico
• New York Times: Bank Data Sifted in Secret by U.S. to Block Terror
• UK: Credit card debt is rising fastest among the retired

Robert Schroeder reports for MarketWatch on a hearing held yesterday by the House Committee on Financial Services - Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit titled "Bank Secrecy Act’s Impact on Money Services Businesses" where concerns were expressed about some banks ending their relationships with money-service businesses because of regulatory concerns. The prepared remarks from several speakers at yesterday's hearing are available from the Subcommittee's web site. The comments of Philip Milne (PDF), president and CEO of MoneyGram International, are particularly interesting to read - ..."Two months ago Bank of America informed MoneyGram that it would be terminating its long-term relationship with MoneyGram. This was not just a simple deposit account, but rather a global banking relationship that generated millions of dollars in fees annually for Bank of America."...

CrossCheck has announced CrossCheck Business Office Conversion Plus, a check conversion and guarantee service for consumer and business checks including accounts receivable checks.   » Continue Reading

Dave Friedlos reports from the UK on consumer reaction to pilots of Pay By Touch's biometric payment service where surveys report that 85 per cent of consumers said the technology is more convenient than chip-and-PIN and 75 per cent felt it is more secure. He also reports that there currently is "little enthusiasm among other major retailers for the system."

Maureen Kline reports for Business Week about Massimo Sarmi, CEO of Poste Italiane, the Italian postal service, and his very successful Postepay cards - a "prepaid, rechargeable Visa or MasterCard that is rapidly becoming the credit card surrogate of choice for Italians without plastic, credit ratings, or even bank accounts."

Experian has announced the acquisition of UK-based Eiger Systems, a provider of bank account validation and payment processing software.   » Continue Reading

• Entrust Releases 'How the Heck Are We Going to Meet FFIEC?' Podcast
• San Francisco Chronicle: Credit scoring for sale
• Alliance Data Signs Multi-Year Agreement With Bealls and Burke's Outlet Stores
• Shreveport, LA: Local credit card fraud case puts spotlight on risks
• Digital Transactions: With New Web Service, Xoom Targets the Giants of Money Transfer

David Enrich reports for MarketWatch that Morgan Stanley's "Discover credit- and debit-card unit racked up record profits in the second quarter. But a key driver of the results - the smaller amount that Discover set aside to cover possible bad loans - might not last."

Xign Corporation has announced Xign Network Insight that the company claims is "the first network-based benchmarking service for tracking and improving financial settlement performance."   » Continue Reading

The latest Nilson Report has arrived featuring an in-depth look at general purpose cards in Asia/Pacific (subscription only). Among other feature articles, this issue also has an article discussing credit card fraud in the US, merchant debit cards such as Debitman, web authentication from 41st Parameter, and a continuation from the last issue re: credit card debt sales.

US Bank has announced that it will purchase Schneider Payment Services (SPS), a division of Schneider National, Inc. The acquisition will in excess of $7 billion in freight payments to US Bank's PowerTrack portfolio, which the bank says will make its PowerTrack the "clear leader in freight payments."   » Continue Reading

The Asahi Shimbun reports from Japan on concerns among Japanese credit card companies that they stand to "lose billions of yen a year in revenue if the government goes ahead with plans to plug a legal loophole that allows them to charge nearly 30 percent interest per annum on consumer loans."

First Data Corp. has announced it has "renewed its agreement with the sixth-largest U.S. credit union, Golden 1, to provide STAR Network access and PIN-debit processing for its more than 280,000 U.S. cardholders and its 271 ATMs."   » Continue Reading

Brigid Delaney reports for the Sydney Morning Herald on the rapid increase in consumer credit card debt in Australia and increasing concerns that the "house of cards" may all come tumbling down.

A new report by IndexCreditCards.com concludes that credit card late fees are averaging $35 with the average over-the-limit fee being $32.24.   » Continue Reading

Andy Vuong reports for the Denver Post on details published by author Ron Susskind in his new book "The One Percent Doctrine" saying that First Data Corp. reportedly "gave the FBI and CIA unfettered access to data on millions of customers shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks". Yesterday's New York Times also reviewed Susskind's book and also mentioned Susskind's comments about First Data.

Ben Semmes writes for the Tri-Valley Herald about Pleasanton, CA-based Xign, a business to business payment processor founded by CEO Tom Glassanos.

• Universal Default: Bill meant to protect credit card holders sent to Pataki for signature
• Malaysia's Maybank launches mobile banking service
• EmigrantDirect Raises Savings Rate to 4.80 Percent; Reduces Minimum Time for Flexible 5 Percent CD to Three Months
• PayPal Mobile and MX Telecom to Present a Joint Case Study on Mobile Payments at MoMeMo June 26th in New York City
• Visa says ATM breach may have exposed data
• Business Signatures Rapidly Deployed Fraud Monitoring Alternative to Multi-Factor Authentication Enables Financial Firms to Achieve FFIEC Compliance
• Digital Insight Expands Internet Banking Relationships With Key Credit Union Clients
• Bank of America Names Mark Hogan President, Small Business Banking
• Experian Names Scott Wheeler CFO for Experian Americas

Chase, the consumer banking brand of JPMorgan Chase, has announced the rollout of 1.8 million Visa debit cards with blink technology in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut - saying it is the first Visa issuer to offer contactless payment capability on its debit cards.   » Continue Reading

The Payment Card Center of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank has posted an employment opportunity for a Payment Cards Industry Specialist. A detailed job description is available at the bank's web site.

BB&T has announced it will begin offering free international money transfers throughout its banking network for clients who have a checking account, savings account or payroll card with BB&T.   » Continue Reading

On Sunday, the Buffalo News ran the first story in a four part series by staff reporters Rob Watson and Jonathan Epstein about the "high cost of being poor." The story introduction commented "every day, the working poor face a kind of Alice-in-Wonderland reality where those who can afford the least pay the most." A must read.

Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapskate writes about her colleague's strategy to accept zero interest balance transfer offers from card issuers, write himself a convenience check that's included with the offer, deposit it into his bank account, wait for it to clear, transfer it to his high yield Emigrant Direct savings account - and proceed to earn high interest on the proceeds while making minimum payments at zero interest for a year. He says this strategy yields him about $430 in interest income over the course of a year on about $15,000. She says he's a financial daredevil for playing this game.

Citi Cards has announced that its college savings contributions to Upromise members have reached $100MM in contributions in under five years. Upromise is a service that allows families to save a percentage of their everyday spending as college savings with more than 450 participating companies.   » Continue Reading

The UK's Office of Fair Trading has "consented to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) setting aside the OFT's September 2005 decision concerning MasterCard's historic interchange fee arrangements. The OFT will now focus its resources on tackling both MasterCard's and Visa's current UK interchange fee arrangements, leaving it to affected third parties to contest the lawfulness of the old arrangements, if they choose to, in private court actions."   » Continue Reading

Experian has announced that VantageScore from Experian is now available to consumers.   » Continue Reading

• American Express Incentive Services, Maritz Inc. and eFunds Prepaid Solutions Expand Business Relationship
• Oberthur Card Systems and HID Global Announce FIPS 201 Certified ``Tri-Interface Card''
• Digital Transactions: Observers Split over How Much Google Will Compete with PayPal
• Montre