US Bank has announced that it has begun offering a tool, U.S. Bank Access Purchase, that extends the power of its commercial card beyond payment processing and automates its entire purchase-to-pay (P2P) process. The tool connects buyers and suppliers over the Internet, allowing commercial customers to purchase and pay for goods and services from existing suppliers online, and still receive the detailed tracking information required to manage the procurement process.

US Bank has announced that its customers who are enrolled in the Checking That Pays Cash Bonus Check Card reward program will now earn an even bigger cash reward automatically at select retailers through the new US Bank Premium Rewards program.

According to new research produced independently by Javelin Strategy & Research for the Smart Card Alliance, contactless payment is a big hit with consumers who have tried it but still not well known. Of the consumers surveyed, 13 percent have already used contactless payment, and 95 percent of that group said it was both easy and fast. Those consumers who have tried it were confident in the new payment technology as well -- 84 percent said it was as safe or safer than credit cards, and that they would use it for large purchases too.

Mary Jordan writes for the Washington Post Foreign Service about the Philippines and Globe Telecom's G-Cash mobile payments service in her article titled "New Conductors Speed Global Flows of Money". According to Jordan, "Globe Telecom officials said Filipino workers in 17 countries, including the United States, can now use their phones to send money home. In the United States, they said, the service recently linked up with remittance centers in California, Nevada and Texas."

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that San Diego-based Qchex, an Internet-based check creation and delivery service, has agreed to a temporary restraining order to halt what the FTC describes as its unfair business practices. According to the FTC, "Qchex creates and sends checks drawn on any bank account identified by a Qchex customer without verifying that the customer has authority to write checks drawn on that account. As a result, con artists have used the Qchex service to draw checks on bank accounts that belong to others."

Eric Pfanner reports for the International Herald Tribune on passage Saturday of legislation that is intended to "make it a crime to use credit cards or online payment systems for Internet betting." The legislation provides for a 270 day period within which the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve System would need to enact the specific rules to implement the legislation. A primary sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, takes credit for its passage on his web site.

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Lee Adrean has been named Chief Financial Officer of Equifax.
  

• TriCipher and Verid Partner to Deliver Strong Digital Identity Protection for Online Financial Services
  
• VeriFone Enables Mobile Payment For Mauritius Commercial Bank
  
• Boise Unveils Heatstar(TM) Anti-Fraud Technology for Checkprotect(R) Line of Security Papers
  
• Wells Fargo Commits to Largest-Ever Corporate Purchase of Renewable Energy in U.S.
  
• Asia Payments Signs Agreement to Merge with Leading Payments Systems Company
  
• MetLife Bank(R) Offers Tips and Free Materials to Help Women Save and Plan for the Future
  
• Digimarc Introduces Smart Card Driver License
  
• Vesta Corporation Acquires Mobile Top-Up Company in China