Discover Financial Services has launched CardBuilder, an online tool that gives applicants the ability to select certain terms, rewards preference and card design. Discover says that, for the first time, "CardBuilder provides prospective cardmembers with the ability to design a card based on how they want to use their Discover card." READ MORE »

Discover Card is running a card design contest - and reports that so far over 2,000 card designs have been submitted! Discover is using its Facebook page and tweeting on Twitter to generate awareness and interest in the contest. The winning card design will be featured on the next Discover Student Card.

Wells Fargo has launched the Wells Fargo Card Design Studio service - saying it "gives consumer and business customers the option to customize the design of their Wells Fargo Check Cards or Credit Cards." READ MORE »

Innovative Card Technologies, developers of the ICT DisplayCard for e-banking, e-commerce and data access authentication, has announced a two-year supply and license agreement with RSA. Under the terms of the agreement, Innovative Card Technologies’ one-time passcode authentication cards will be available to RSA’s customers worldwide. READ MORE »

Capital One has announced the addition of a new “personalized image” feature for its customers. All Capital One consumer credit card customers now have the option to visit the Capital One web site and upload their own photo images – family, friends, pets, or a favorite picture – to be printed on their card, at no cost.

You've probably already seen the ads. Capital One Financial Corporation has announced the launch of the Capital One Card Lab, calling it "a convenient online tool designed to help consumers select from a menu of terms and options to build their own credit card. The Capital One Card Lab site offers an array of options related to interest rate, annual fee, rewards and even the design on the front of their card and allows consumers to select the combination of features that are most important to them."

I recently purchased an Apple iPod touch - and when it arrived a couple of days ago I was struck by how it looked a bit like a large-ish credit card - especially when turned on its side. Got me wondering what this fascinating chunk of technology might look like - and be capable of - in another 5 or 10 years.

Rob Walker writes for the Boston Globe about "skins" for credit cards - introduced by a company named CreditCovers - that contain "special designs that consumers can stick over the fronts of their cards, theoretically transforming them from mere financial tools to emblems of identity and potential conversation starters."

Robin Sidel reports for the Wall St. Journal on "cool" credit card designs aimed at earning your loyalty at the top of your wallet - including some new scratch and sniff aroma designs. Sidel quotes one supplier who says "Pretty soon, there will be cards that can do everything but get up and walk away."

Marisa Torrieri writes for CR80News.com about new ultra-thin, flexible lithium-polymer batteries called "Flexion" now available from Solicore and other batteries from Thin Battery Technologies (TBT), a small spin-off of Eveready. Torrieri reports that "until recently, on-card power supplies have been in-the-lab only. With recent advancements in thin, flexible batteries however, expect to see powered cards serving a whole host of functions identified and yet unimagined."

INSIDE Contactless has announced that its MicroPass platform has been selected as the initial chip platform for Wells Fargo's launch of its new Wells Fargo Visa Platinum and Wells Fargo Visa Signature contactless cards. On June 14th, Wells Fargo announced its plans to launch contactless credit cards. Peter Ho, Wells Fargo Card Services vice president and product manager, said at the time "we believe our customers will benefit from the speed and convenience offered by this exciting technology."

Joris Evers reports for CNET News.com on Innovative Card Technologies new DisplayCard that incorporates a display, battery and password-generating chip into a credit card-sized device. According to Evers, "the biggest development challenges were the ability to bend the card, power consumption and thickness. The result is a card that's as thin and flexible as a regular credit card and is guaranteed to work for three years and 16,000 uses."

Chris Woodyard writes for USA TODAY about personalized credit cards. According to Woodyard, "the idea of images of all sorts on credit cards never really caught on until the digital photo revolution, which makes it easy to send a picture via the Internet."

American Express has introduced Butterfly, a compact and stylish companion card for American Express Gold Card members. The card literally folds up into a slim metal keychain-like device.

BrandWeek's Jim Edwards takes a look at the upcoming launch of Red in the US. According to Edwards, "Motorola, The Gap, Emporio Armani, Nike's Converse and American Express will jointly launch a new brand in the U.S. covering a range of their products in conjunction with U2 singer Bono in the fall. A portion of the sales of the brand, Red, will benefit The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria."

Hill's Pet Nutrition has announced it is partnering with Bank of America to launch the PetRewards VISA credit card that pays rewards to both pet owners and veterinary health care team members. Consumers may customize their card with their pet's picture by sending in the picture by mail or submitting a digital photo online or they may choose from three existing card designs.

From time to time, we at Glenbrook come across companies doing new things we think are pretty cool. When we do, we'll profile them in this new "Who We're Watching" section here on Payments News.

This morning, Glenbrook's Russ Jones writes about his latest discovery: Garanti Bank in Turkey. READ MORE »

Texas Instruments has announced that its high-frequency ISO/IEC 14443 microprocessor- based payment card inlay has achieved certification from MasterCard International for use in its PayPass contactless payment program in North America.

Arthur Blank & Co. has announced CornCard USA, a corn-based plastic card that uses corn, an annually renewable and domestically grown resource as an alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic cards.

Visa USA launched today a new look for the famous blue, white, and gold Visa logo for the first time in 30 years. The new brand is designed to better reflect the broad range of electronic payment products provided by Visa's Member financial institutions and the ever expanding environments in which they're accepted.

IndianTelevision.com reports on Visa International's new brand identity and the Reliance Any Time Money Card that will be the first Visa payment product that will have the new Visa brand identity and design in India.

MasterCard International has announced a new card design option for customer financial institutions seeking greater product enhancement and differentiation.

Eric Dash reports for the New York Times on what banks are doing toenhance their brands through their credit card designs.

Visa International has announced plans to refresh and evolve its brand identity. The changes include a new look for the blue, white and gold Visa logo and changes to card design features.

Visa Internatiional has announced a strategic partnership with Serverside Graphics Ltd. (PDF) to allow Visa members banks to offer payment cards designed by the cardholder.