We've got two sessions of Glenbrook's Payments Boot Camp coming up later this year. Registration for both sessions is now open.

Glenbrook's Payments Boot Camp is an intensive, two day "deep dive" into the US payments systems - providing a unique cross-payments system view. We focus on ensuring you come away with an up-to-date understanding of how current trends and issues in electronic payments will affect the status quo and how new and emerging players may compliment - or threaten - today's industry incumbents.

The first session , October 15-16, 2008, will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area. Carol Coye Benson and Scott Loftesness will be teaching this session. The second session, December 3-4, 2008, will be held in Denver, Colorado. Carol Coye Benson and Linda Elliott will be teaching this session.

Over 2,000 payments professionals have attended one of Glenbrook's Payments Boot Camps. Read some of the comments we've received about the Payments Boot Camp from attendees. Enroll today!

Are you looking for new challenges? Our sister web site, www.paymentsjobs.com, has several new job postings this week for payments professionals:

• Director Customer Support and Implementation at Purepay (Columbus, Ohio)
• Manager-Network Technical Operations at American Express (Phoenix, Arizona)
• Customer Insights Manager - Bankcard/Co-Brand at Alliance Data (Columbus, Ohio)
• Risk Operations Manager at CyberSource (Mountain View, California)
• Sr. Product Marketing Manager at CyberSource (Mountain View, California)
• Web Marketing Manager at CyberSource (Mountain View, California)

Are you hiring? Be sure to post your openings for payments professionals on PaymentsJobs.com!

Got several jobs to post? for a package discount.

Visa has announced that it is "implementing processing and rate changes that will result in benefits for American consumers and fuel merchants frustrated by rising prices at the pump. Visa’s new processing approach for fuel transactions will enable consumers to buy gas more easily and allow motorists and station owners to better avoid the risks and inconveniences associated with pump limits and holds on funds. Visa also will reduce interchange rates for fuel transactions, which can lower costs for oil companies and service stations and can be passed onto consumers at the pump."   » Continue Reading

Discover Financial Services has reported net income for the second quarter of 2008 of $234 million, or $.48 per share, as compared to $209 million, or $.44 per share, in the second quarter of 2007. Managed loans grew 2% to $47.8 billion while sales volume on Discover Cards grew 2% to $22.5 billion in the quarter.   » Continue Reading

VeriFone has announced that VeriFone Transportation Systems has added new programming, including People.com, to the content available on the interactive mobile information screens at the heart of its integrated payment and information system in New York City taxis.   » Continue Reading

In an article titled "Nobody's Snapping Up GE's Plastic", Robin Sidel writes for the Wall St. Journal about GE's efforts to sell its $30 billion credit card business because of potential buyer concerns about consumers' ability to repay their credit card debts. In particular, there's concern that GE's private label portfolio could rank lower in consumers' payment hierarchy when times are tough.

NetSpend and Skylight Financial have announced signing of a definitive merger agreement to combine business operations. They say that "the merger forms one of the largest private companies dedicated to meeting the financial services needs of unbanked and underbanked consumers in the United States."   » Continue Reading

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