eBureau, a provider of custom predictive scoring and information solutions, has announced a new predictive scoring service that allows consumer-focused direct marketing companies to "more profitably offer deferred payment options to consumers as part of their online marketing and e-commerce programs."

Visa and Creative Mobile Technologies have announced the launch of a program to enhance the payment experience for New York taxi passengers by equipping thousands of New York taxicabs with contactless payment readers located in the back of the taxi, enabling passengers to simply pay with a wave.

In an address titled "A Golden Opportunity to Make Some Green", Bank of America Chairman and CEO Kenneth D. Lewis will be addressing the Commonwealth Club of California this Thursday evening in San Francisco.

In an article titled 'You can now bank by cell phone, and although few do so, the industry sees huge growth ahead", Newsday's Susan Hartigan takes a look at mobile banking - saying that "although the number of people signed up for mobile banking is small at the moment, more large financial institutions are getting ready to introduce it, and the industry expects wide customer adoption of the service over the next five years."

MasterCard Worldwide has announced the first set of findings of a new research effort - called the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce program - that the company says is "designed to provide insights and knowledge on how leading cities influence the global economy."

Affiliated Computer Services has announced that its airport parking applications in North America will begin accepting MasterCard PayPass contactless payments. ACS is a leader in large airport parking systems, with more than 20 current installations at the nation’s busiest airports.

Google Checkout will be holding "a celebration of user choice at the Google Checkout Freedom Party this Thursday night" in Boston - right alongside eBay/PayPal's big annual eBay Live! event.

Charles Hudson writes: "I'm organizing a one day conference on virtual goods and virtual economies at Stanford this summer and I thought your readers might have an interest in attending the event - we have a few sessions focused on payments/economics and the role that real world payment vehicles could play in the development of this space." Details here on the Virtual Goods Summit 2007.

The Bank for International Settlements has published a new paper titled "Recent Episodes of Credit Card Distress in Asia" (PDF) by Tae Soo Kang and Guonan Ma. From the abstract: "Not only has credit card lending in Asia grown rapidly, but also several episodes of sharp booms and busts have been experienced, posing new risks to financial stability. Policymakers need to learn more about the risks arising from this type of consumer lending and respond with appropriate prudential measures."

The Bank for International Settlements has published a new paper titled "The BIS statistics on payments and settlements" (PDF) by Elisabeth Ledrut reviewing the the impact of technological innovations on the use of payment instruments and on the processing of payments and securities settlements over the years.

• TSYS Acquiring Solutions Renews Processing Agreement with Merchant Management Systems, Inc.
• New Javelin Report: Risk & Fraud Budgeting Model: Prioritizing the 2008 Budget for Effective Fraud Mitigation
• Heartland Payment Systems Announces Brooks Terrell Stepping Down as Chief Technology Officer
• INSIDE Contactless: NEW MICROPASS® DEVELOPERS KIT FOR CONTACTLESS PAYMENT VALUE-ADDED APPLICATIONS IS AVAILABLE
• INSIDE Contactless Essential NFC Patents Now Available from Via Licensing Corporation Program
• Abercrombie & Fitch Complements eCommerce Business with Fraud Detection and Prevention Solution from The 41st Parameter