The Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) has announced that the General Services Administration (GSA) is requesting information on the capability of commercial and other entities to provide identity credential services to support public access to Internet-based online government services. A copy of the RFI is available for download.

Digital Transactions, In an article titled 'Study Warns of Contactless, Other Rising Risks for Top Acquirers", writes about a recent TowerGroup report titled "Taking Charge: Essentials of U.S. Bank Card Acquiring" and speculates that implementation of RFID technology by major retailers might represent a risk to major US acquirers.

Glenbrook's Linda Elliott has been following the banking industry's efforts to comply with the FFIEC Internet Banking Guidance issued almost a year ago. Here, Linda provides the following update on what the industry has been doing - and talking about:

The implementation deadline for FFIEC Internet Banking Guidance looms at the end of this year, and after almost a year of studying both the guidance and their options, banks are beginning to show their hands in addressing the guidance. Clarifications from the FFIEC last month added little to the set of considerations for most institutions, but re-iterated that the implementation target is the end of the year, and that ‘do nothing’ was not considered a valid response, even if a bank is willing to accept the inherent risk in that approach.

The Guardian reports on a decision by RBS to abandon providing its cardholders credit card cheques (aka as "convenience cheques"). In the UK, pressure has been building against the banks as regulators and consumer groups have been challenging the practice while the banks claim they provide the cheques for their cardholders' benefit. According to one industry analyst, the cheques "cost more than using your card, you don't get an interest-free period even if you pay off the balance immediately, and you don't get the same protection as when you use your card."

The Payments System Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has published an article by Barbara Pacheco, senior vice president of financial services, titled "The U.S. Retail Payments System in Transition: Federal Reserve Initiatives" (PDF). In the article, she writes that "the big story is the adoption of the debit card for everyday purchases, with transaction volume increasing 25 percent per year. Embraced by consumers who want the convenience of a card with the discipline of the tie to a checking account, the number of debit card transactions surpassed those made by credit card in 2003."

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Bryan Witt has been named Offshore Account Manager for Clickmerchant.net. Phone: +1.561.922.3104.
• Mark Sage has been named Loyalty Director in EMEA for Carlson Marketing. Phone: +441604886424.
• Jeff Chittenden has been named COO Credit Card Services at Wachovia Bank.