Earlier this week, Google Checkout announced it would be holding a "Let Freedom Ring" party Thursday evening in Boston - where eBay is holding its eBay Live! conference. Tonight, apparently after considerable back and forth between the two companies, Google announced that the Google Checkout party planned for tomorrow night has been cancelled.

Aleksandra Todorova writes for SmartMoney about Capital One's new "decoupled debit" card strategy. (See earlier posts on this new Capital One product on Payments News here and here.)

The McKinsey Quarterly has a new article titled "Overhauling the US Health Care Payment System" (registration required). From the abstract: "Over the next five years, rapid innovation may lead to a restructuring of the value chain of health care payments and to a shift in the sector’s balance of power. Financial institutions have an opportunity to take on a more prominent role, while payers risk losing influence to new entrants. Providers stand to benefit as fewer dollars are wasted on transaction-processing inefficiencies."

The U.S. General Services Administration has named JPMorgan Chase winner of a GSA SmartPay2 charge card service contract, certifying that the company can offer its charge card services to any U.S. federal entity.

The U.S. ranks as one of the top three countries in overall retail banking performance, according to a new, global study by management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton; Hong Kong and Switzerland are the other leaders. However, the study concludes that banks in all regions have room for improvement.

Coinstar has announced that CVS/pharmacy is expected to have gift cards available in more than 360 Coinstar Center kiosks in CVS/pharmacy stores this summer. The Coin to Card service allows consumers to convert their loose change to a CVS card at the Coinstar kiosk and pay no coin-counting fee.

Chase has introduced Rapid Cash - calling it "an easy new way to send money to Mexico for free."

ID Analytics has announced that Fidelity National Financial will be using ID Analytics ID Network - what the company calls "the nation's first and only real-time fraud prevention network" - to manage identity risk.

Ina Steiner reports for AuctionBytes.com about comments made by PayPal CTO Scott Thompson in a keynote address to eBay's Developers Conference in Boston. She reports that "in October, PayPal will test a Web Service that utilizes advanced risk predictors, giving merchants more information and control over whether to accept payments, while maintaining buyer privacy."

The full text of Thompson's keynote is available on the PayPal Developer Blog. Thompson concludes his keynote address to PayPal developers with the comments: "Imagine the hundreds of opportunities in the offline world. Perhaps you’re the guy to take an Internet-only company and extend it into the brick-and-mortar world."

• CPI Card Group Opens a Secure Gift Card Personalization Services Area
• Global Payments Europe to Provide Comprehensive Processing Services for STARBANK in Russia
• Banks cashing in with increased fees
• ZDNet: Billmonk - track money owed between friends
• GFI releases software suite for PCI DSS compliance
• VeriFone Designated Sole Payment Systems Vendor by China Postal Savings Bank
• First Data Corp. to cut 300 jobs in Tulsa