Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has released a statement and a report calling on wireless carriers to make sure consumers are protected from fraud and mistakes when making mobile purchases.

In a report on mobile payments issued today, the group highlighted how consumer protections vary widely for different mobile payment methods, how wireless carrier contracts fail to provide needed safeguards, and tips for consumers using mobile payments. Consumers Union has launched a Facebook campaign to encourage wireless carriers to adopt stronger contractual protections for mobile payments linked to wireless accounts.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has published a paper entitled, "Adopting, Using, and Discarding Paper and Electronic Payment Instruments: Variation by Age and Race".

This paper uses data from the 2008 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice to discuss the adoption, use, and discarding of various common payment instruments. Using a nationally representative sample of individual-level data, it presents evidence in unparalleled detail about how consumers use different payment instruments. Most interestingly, it displays robust evidence of significant age- and race-related differences in payments choices.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has announced that a new public policy discussion paper on consumer payment choice is now available.

In 2009, the average U.S. consumer held 5.0 of the nine payment instruments available, including cash, and used 3.8 of them during a typical month. Between the 2008 and 2009 surveys, a period that includes the trough of the latest recession, consumers significantly increased their use of cash and close substitutes for cash, such as money orders and prepaid cards.

Hitachi Consulting and BAI have announced the results of a new study on consumer payment preferences in the United States. The results call out the significance of the Millennial Generation (ages 18 to 34) which has the highest debit card ownership ((80%). The study also shows that "88% of consumers said they do not currently use mobile payments for in-store purchases, nor do they plan to use them in the next two years, despite the media hype on mobile payments."

The research was sponsored by First Data Corp., FIS, MasterCard, PULSE, and U.S. Bancorp.

So finds a study by Packaged Facts titled "Consumer Payment Trends in the U.S." which reports that "54% of U.S. adults cite cash as their preferred form of payment". Based upon data from Experian Simmons' Spring 2009 adult consumer survey, the report notes that "68% of American adults have a debit card in their wallet and 67% have a credit card; though only 53% of adults may be considered active credit card users with transactions in the last thirty days."

Tyfone has announced that its SideTap micro secure digital (MicroSD) memory card versions will be available via partners in the second half of 2010. According to Tyfone, these MicroSD memory cards with Tyfone’s SideTap contactless payment technology can be used by "hundreds of millions of mobile phones at thousands of existing contactless payment terminals worldwide. These cards will work in phones with MicroSD slot on any side of the phone – top, left, right, bottom or back." READ MORE »

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 »