Cryptomathic has announced that it has been selected by MasterCard Worldwide to manage the data preparation requirements for the deployment of the MasterCard Mobile Over The Air Provisioning Service that enables MasterCard PayPass applications to be provisioned on to mobile phones. READ MORE »

On November 2, the European Payments Council (EPC) launches the SEPA Core Direct Debit Scheme and the SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit Scheme. The SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) Schemes enable bank customers – for the first time ever - to make and receive direct debits within and across 32 European countries collectively known as the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). READ MORE »

In an article titled "For Gun-Shy Consumers, Debit Is Replacing Credit", Nancy Trejos writes for the Washington Post about how the recession has cooled consumers on credit cards while they are increasingly using their debit cards to make purchases.

MasterCard Worldwide has announced the issuance of the 50 millionth MasterCard PayPass card or device. In the last year, the number of PayPass cards and devices more than doubled. According to MasterCard, "this significant PayPass momentum demonstrates not only the demand for simple solutions when it comes to payments, but also the continued secular shift toward electronic payments as validated by recent data1 that indicates 41 percent of consumers use cash less often today than they did two years ago." READ MORE »

MasterCard Worldwide has announced the launch of the World Debit MasterCard card, calling it "a premium debit card that provides U.S. consumers with unique rewards and savings opportunities, purchase protection, and security benefits. KeyBank today became the first financial institution to introduce World Debit MasterCard to its customers." The new card includes MasterCard PayPass contactless payment functionality. READ MORE »

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has published a paper by Stephen Quinn and William Roberds titled "The Evolution of the Check as a Means of Payment: A Historical Survey"

The authors discuss some persistent historical themes surrounding checks: checks' ease of use, which provides advantages over other payment methods but creates risk to businesses and banks; checks' sophistication, which evolved through centuries of legal precedent and operational experimentation; and checks' high costs relative to other forms of payment.

Checks' traditional dominance of the U.S. payment system, the authors conclude, resulted from historical happenstances. These events gave the check relative advantages that are only now being overcome by electronic payment technologies.

BAI and Hitachi Consulting have announced results of a new nationwide consumer payment preferences study that was sponsored by First Data Corporation and its STAR(R) Network, Harland Clarke, MasterCard Worldwide, Metavante and PULSE. READ MORE »