Merchant e-Solutions has announced the launch of its MeS Global Acquiring Platform - "allowing MeS merchants who have international customers to accept payments in the local currency of their customers. By allowing customers to make purchases in their own currency, merchants can increase sales."

First Data Corp. and mFoundry have announced they will be working together to deliver mobile banking and payment services to U.S. and international mobile subscribers. According to the two companies, "this newly forged relationship will leverage each company's respective strengths in order to offer mobile operators, mobile subscribers, merchants and financial institutions a flexible and easy-to-use solution for mobile financial services."

Visa USA has announced IntelliLink - calling it "an intuitive, Web-based service designed to improve business efficiencies for government agencies by organizing data from commercial purchasing card programs into valuable business intelligence."

Javelin Strategy & Research has announced a new report titled "Financial Institution Blogs: How to Manage Your Brand, Engage Customers and Why You Can’t Afford to Wait" - saying it "shows why financial institutions must engage in blogging now, and provides specific steps for assessing this powerful new brand-building and customer-connection capability into 2008-10 strategic plans."

PayPal has announced the results of a recent Back-to-School survey conducted by ACNielsen Customized Research. No surprise here - "parents and students continue to disagree over what constitutes a “must-buy” purchase for the coming school year." PayPal's also featuring promotions from some of its "off-eBay" merchants - just in time for back to school shopping.

Amdocs and Bankinter have launched a "joint solution to enable banks to offer mobile banking services. The Amdocs Mobile Banking Solution is installed at Bankinter and is based on Bankinter's mobility solution. The Solution gives banks a new, cost-effective customer communication channel by allowing customers to receive alerts, respond to targeted sales offers as well as access and manage their bank account information through a mobile device. Amdocs and Bankinter will work together to deliver the solution and associated professional services to banks worldwide."

A few of Google Checkout's merchants are offering back to school savings of up to $20 when you shop any pay using Google Checkout at their stores. Google Checkout continues to stress the service's basic consumer value proposition: "Complete your purchase in seconds with one login, keep your credit card info confidential, and track all your orders in one place."

PodTech has posted an interview with Aditya Menon, Chief Information and Technology Officer of Obopay India. "Will mobile phones be the future for cash payment? Will mobile payment usher in a cashless society? Are services like Western Union threatened by mobile payment? These are all the questions that Aditya answers in this podcast."

• Fair Isaac Enhances FICO Credit Score for Canadian Market
• ACE Software announces strategic partnership with BankServ
• Comptroller of the Currency Distributes Booklet to Help Banks Fight Child Pornography
• Boston Globe: Credit card headaches from TJX breach remain
• Merchant e-Solutions Enhances Virtual Terminal to Accept Card Present Transactions
• Mobile Contactless Payment Holds Huge Potential for Japanese Smart Card Market
• Survey finds lower percentage of Mexican migrants sending money home from the United States

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Joe Purzycki has been named chief operating officer of Barclaycard's U.S. credit card business. He joined Barclays as a managing director in charge of customer care and bank operations in 2005.