Visa has announced the members of Visa Inc.'s Board of Directors who will serve after the completion of the proposed restructuring. Visa also announced the appointment of Byron Pollitt, Jr. as Chief Financial Officer designate of Visa Inc.   » Continue Reading

Henny Sender writes for the Wall St. Journal's Heard on the Street column about the negotiations underway between KKR and the banks to complete the financing of KKR's acquisition of First Data.

Mercator Advisory Group has published a new report titled "Alternative Payment Services: Moving into Traditional Payment Territory" that offers "an in-depth look at the principle providers of alternative payment services" and "examines the payment modalities supported by these alternative payment services and the consumer demographics they appeal to."   » Continue Reading

People's Daily Online reports on an announcement by the People's Bank of China about the China National Advanced Payment System - a high-value payment system that enables instant clearing between banks nationwide. A bank spokesman also said "the central bank has also been promoting the use of bank cards, and nearly 1.3 billion bank cards had been issued."

Aneace Haddad blogs about a recent story in the Los Angeles times about merchants offering discounts for cash purchases - vs. cards - and speculates how the future might be very different if merchants had the legal ability to selectively surcharge for cards. He says such a world would "automatically force payment schemes to think seriously about the benefits they provide to merchants when they come up with a new card product with higher interchange fees attached."

Technically oriented bankers considering their mobile banking strategies may find Cameron Moll's new book "Mobile Web Design" helpful. Moll writes in his introduction that "web content on mobile devices can be every bit as good of an experience [as the desktop experience], but in its own right. If we treat the mobile web as its own environment rich with possibilities, rather than a crippled extension of the desktop experience with restrictive limitations, we begin to understand how to embrace and even exploit those possibilities."

Visa Europe has filed (as part of Visa Inc.'s SEC filings) a Form 425 filing detailing its new Articles of Association (for remaining as a separate entity from Visa Inc.), the form of its put/call option agreement with Visa Inc., and various other changes. Visa Europe has also called an "extraordinary meeting" for Sept. 21 in Brussels to obtain member approval of the proposed changes and agreements.

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