eBay reported second quarter 2007 financial results today - saying that "PayPal had another exceptional quarter, with accelerating Total Payment Volume (TPV) and revenue growth. PayPal’s Merchant Services business recorded outstanding results, as PayPal expanded its global footprint to new geographies and currencies during the quarter."

The US House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force is holding a hearing this Thursday, July 19, on the subject of credit card interchange fees. According to the Task Force's web site, testimony at the hearing will be provided by John Buhrmaster, President, First National Bank of Scotia, New York; Mallory Duncan, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Retail Federation; Edward Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director, U.S. PIRG; Tim Muris, Of Counsel; O’Melveny & Meyers; and Steve Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.

TowerGroup says that while historically private equity has not been strongly attracted to the technology companies serving the financial services industry, private equity firms are now "starting to see beauty in the financial technology sector, reflected in the value of its products, its revenues and its client base. Stickier revenue models, more spending by clients, and a global business environment that demands innovation will encourage private equity firms to take a closer look at the technology providers to the financial services industry, accelerating investment in this sector."

In an article titled 'Options Grow For Investors To Lend Online", Jane Kim writes for the Wall St. Journal about new web-based services enabling investors to lend money to strangers online. She reports that Prosper.com has about $60 million in loans outstanding so far this year and cites the Online Banking Report's estimate that a total of about $100 million in loans will be originated by all providers this year.

Payformance Corporation has released the results of a survey showing that healthcare providers want to transition to electronic claim settlement.

• Gulf Oil’s New MasterCard Lets Customers Earn Free Gas, Cash
• WSJ: Using Your Credit Report To Protect Against Identity Theft
• USA Technologies Announces Cashless Solution to Be Offered by Blackboard Inc.
• Identity Theft and Fraud Push Americans to Their Personal Finance and Banking ‘Ouch Point,’ New Study by Opinion Research Corporation Finds
• Oracle Buys Online Identity Theft and Fraud Detection Leader Bharosa