The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has voted to seek public comment on a variety of issues relating to Industrial Loan Companies (ILCs). On July 28, 2006, the FDIC imposed a six-month moratorium on ILC deposit insurance applications and change in control notices. In order to expedite public input during the moratorium, the FDIC Board decided by a notational vote to publish the request for comment.

First Data Corp. has announced that it completed the acquisition of Peace Software, a Customer Information System (CIS) product company that develops software for managing utility billing and customer care.

Nick Godt and Robert Schroeder report for MarketWatch on Wal-Mart's efforts to launch a Utah-chartered ILC - what Wal-Mart has repeatedly described as acting as the merchant acquiring entity for the card payments made at its stores - and the potential impact that might have on processors such as First Data Corp.

Becky Yerak writes for the Chicago Tribune that "the future of two American habits--consuming carbonated beverages and using credit cards--is likely to be increasingly intertwined as vending machines that accept plastic become more prevalent." She reports that Visa believes opportunities for card-based payments are "particularly ripe in two areas: vending and transit services that are "unattended," or where people have to serve themselves."