At its Spring 2007 Plenary and Members' Meeting coming up March 13-14, 2007 in San Diego, the Mobile Payment Forum will be featuring an Innovative Mobile Payments Technology Showcase on Tuesday, March 13, that highlights "emerging, cutting-edge mobile solution providers from a diversified cross-section of the mobile payment value chain" and will be open to non-members. Richard Crone will be keynoting the event speaking on "Mobile Payments - Strategies for a Cashless Future!". Full agenda and registration information is available online.

BB&T has announced that it has begun issuing BB&T Check Cards with the Visa Contactless feature to select clients in Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., in a pilot program.   » Continue Reading

Contacless News reports on Store Logistics and Payment with NFC (StoLPaN), a consortium co-funded by the European Commission and Information Society Technologies.

Elise Castelli reports for the Federal Times on the GSA's SmartPay 2 purchasing card program - intended to replace the existing 3 million US government purchase cards provided by Bank of America, Citibank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Mellon Bank and U.S. Bank. Bids were due into GSA on January 22 for the replacement program.

According to the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) , two out of five identity theft victims surveyed know how their personal data was stolen, "providing valuable insight about how identity theft occurs."   » Continue Reading

Purpose Money, a financial services portal owned and operated by CompuCredit Corporation, has announced the release of the Purpose Money Financial Guide, a "comprehensive, step-by-step, financial resource guide developed specifically for Spanish-speaking audiences. The Purpose Money Financial Guide offers Latinos operational knowledge of the U.S. financial system, with insider tips from financial experts, as well as practical application exercises, to help Hispanic consumers manage their finances and credit in the U.S."   » Continue Reading

There was some discussion last week about PayPal's off eBay payment volumes and whether they were growing fast enough. Here's a spreadsheet containing some of PayPal's volume statistics for the last several years. You can see the nice growth of PayPal's off eBay business in the numbers - with the off eBay volume for the full year 2006 having exceeded $13 billion in payment volume.

David Lawsky and Huw Jones report for Reuters from Brussels that the European Union's antitrust chief is expected on Wednesday to rule out sweeping changes to the credit card system in the EU - saying they expect reform will stop far short of that urged by retailers.

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Catherine Muriel has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Pay By Touch reporting to John Costello, President, Consumer and Retail. "She joins the biometric industry leader from E-LOAN, a consumer direct lender providing mortgage, home equity and auto loans, where she was CMO and helped build the company into a leading brand."

• American Express Company Elects Two New Board Members
• IP Commerce and the PASS™ Consortium, in Collaboration with Microsoft, Introduce New Commerce Solution for Small Businesses Using Windows Vista Business Operating System
• Visa USA and NFL Stars Drew Brees and Ronnie Brown Launch First-Ever Money Management Cell Phone Game to Help Students Tackle Their Financial Futures
• RSA Conference 2007: nCryptone and Inteligensa are launching the first multi-purpose token: the Dual Output Token
• BB&T Selects CheckFree to Provide Electronic Bill Payment Services
• JupiterResearch Finds Encouraging Signs of Consumer Interest in Mobile Coupons
• INSIDE Contactless MicroPass L4-2G Achieves MasterCard® PayPass™ Cast Compliance
• Smart Card Alliance Recommends Best Practices for Use of RF Technology in Identity Management
• VanguardMS Selects Voyence to Rollout New PCI Compliance Services
• Trycera Financial CEO to Speak at 2007 Prepaid Card Expo(TM) --- the Largest Global Prepaid and Stored Value Card Event
• CheckFree and nuBridges Launch Upgraded Secure Download Remittance Solution to Enable Efficient Electronic Payment Processing for Small and Medium-Sized Merchants
• Experian Launches the Only Mobile Application in the U.S. That Allows Professionals to Check Business Credit on the Go
• As The Responsible Credit Partnership Becomes CFSI’s Responsible Credit Roundtable, It Releases New Research, Announces New Relationships, and Honors Its Supporters
• APACS provides advice to UK consumers on ATM safety
• WSJ: Citigroup to Buy Egg Banking From Prudential For $1.13 Billion
• UPEK Delivers First Biometric Security Software Solution for Windows Vista Operating System
• BB&T Deploys Covelight Inflight for Fraud Detection and Compliance