Philip Lowe, Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, spoke earlier this month at a Visa forum on the subject of "The Preliminary Conclusions of the Payments System Review".

He says: "If there is a central message to my remarks ... it is that, while significant progress has been made in improving the competitive landscape in the Australian payments system, further progress is needed. Ideally, this progress would be made by industry participants. Reflecting this, the Board’s preliminary conclusions lay out some carrots and sticks that it hopes will promote industry-based reform. In the event that industry is able to respond and deliver a more competitive system, then the most contentious part of the reforms – the regulation of interchange fees – can be rolled back. On the other hand, if industry is either unable or unwilling to take the necessary steps, then the regulation of interchange fees is likely to continue, and these fees, particularly in the credit card system, are likely to be reduced further."

The Washington D.C. Department of Employment Services will be paying young participants in its summer jobs program via JPMorgan-issued Visa payroll debit cards. The agency says it has deployed the payroll card program as a means to provide its young workers with a safe, convenient, and dependable alternative to payroll checks, as well as reduce the costs and time associated with issuing paper payroll checks. READ MORE »

Chris Skinner blogs about London's Oyster card issued by Transport for London. He writes: "The benefits of the programme are multiple in terms of streamlining travel, reducing queues, minimising cash handling, reducing the possibility of fraud by customers and cash theft by staff, and generally improving the customer experience. Having said that, the biggest benefit is the £60 million reduction in annual operating costs for TfL of the ticketing system since implementing the Oystercard."

The National Retail Federation has announced that it welcomes "the addition of Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., as a co-sponsor of the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008, saying the move shows lawmakers in both parties are increasingly concerned by hidden fees that cost the average family $427 a year." READ MORE »

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