The Direct Response Forum has launched a new quarterly newsletter intended to help payments professionals. You can find it on the DRF website here. This issue has contributed articles on payment options, interchange fees, and fighting fraud.

TransUnion and ID Analytics have introduced a new credit risk score – ID Analytics Credit Optics Plus – that the two companies say "examines conventional measures of creditworthiness, willingness and ability to pay, in combination with a new dimension, stability, in a single solution. This powerful combination provides a 360-degree view of consumer behavior and enhances the predictiveness of credit decisions, often resulting in a performance lift for lenders." READ MORE »

A news story in today's Sydney Morning Herald caught my eye: "New software to beat credit card fraud". The story describes how National Australia Bank is rolling out new technology - called liquid encryption numbers (LEN) - developed at its Bank of New Zealand subsidiary to deal with card fraud.

Exploring a bit further, I found this BNZ page with more details about LEN. According to BNZ, "LEN updates the magnetic stripe security information on BNZ credit cards when a transaction is completed at a BNZ ATM. This technology allows us to automatically detect if your card has been copied or duplicated without your knowledge. " READ MORE »

The Federal Reserve Board has announced posting rules for a new same-day automated clearing house (ACH) service that will be offered on as an opt-in, same-day settlement service for certain ACH debit payments through the FedACH service effective August 2, 2010. According to the Fed, "FedACH customers may opt-in to this service by completing a participation agreement. The service will be limited to transactions arising from consumer checks converted to ACH and consumer debit transfers initiated over the Internet and phone." SameDay forward debit transfers will post to institutions' Federal Reserve accounts at 5:00 p.m. ET and SameDay return debit transfers will post at 5:30 p.m. ET. Details are in this Federal Register notice.

GDS Link has announced that is has been selected by RBS WorldPay to incorporate its DataView360 decisioning technology for better portfolio segmentation and merchant fraud identification. According to the company, "with DataView360, clients can implement and manage their fraud-based rules for several business functions, including screening for fraudulent transactions or generating knowledge-based questions and answers." READ MORE »

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• New PCI DSS Guide for Merchants
• Bling Nation Adds Pacific Region General Manager to Executive Team
• NFC World: 'We didn't mean all smartphones would get NFC', says Nokia
• Shift4 Corporation to Waive Start-Up Fees for Gift Card Services to New and Existing Customers
• FOXBusiness.com: Another Tech Casualty: Your Wallet
• FreedomPay surpasses 1,000 client milestone since launching its FreeWay™ Transaction Gateway in 2009
• Jerry's Subs & Pizza Boost Sales, Check Averages Using TakeOut Technologies
• ZDNet UK: Chip-and-PIN fraud gang jailed
• Compass Plus Launches TranzWare Mobile Banking
• SmartMoney.com: Does a Discount Make Target Card a Deal?
• CSP Daily News: Battle Won in Swipe-Fee War
• Felix Salmon: Competition in payments
• Zions Bank Chooses Trusteer Secure Browsing Services to Protect Customer Data Against Malware
• Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington Selects Heartland Payment Systems® as Exclusive Endorsed Provider of Payment Solutions
• Sydney Morning Herald: New software to beat credit card fraud
• Econsultancy: Q&A: Keith Brown of Paythru on mobile payments
• Chicago Tribune: Overdraft protection: Chase, Bank of America differ on overdraft strategy
• Fortune: One more worry for banks: Wal-Mart
• The News Tribune: Fraud a risk in frequent debit transactions
• NYTimes.com: Your Money - Debit Card Raises the Cash-Back Reward (Perk Street Financial)