Back in the early days of debit cards in the early 1990's, Visa pioneered the term Check Card for its debit card product.

More recently, it's been emphasizing Visa Debit as the product's name - transitioning away from the original Check Card branding.

Ironically, today's Wall St. Journal had a headline that read "Wal-Mart to Pay Via Check Cards". No, not via Visa Check Cards - but, rather, MasterCard Debit Cards.

Walmart, MasterCard Worldwide and First Data have announced a "new, more sustainable payroll program designed to reduce the number of paper paychecks and pay stubs distributed each year to Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S. In order to benefit both associates and the environment, the electronic pay program will include the deployment of the Money Network™ MasterCard Paycard® and electronic pay stubs, which will cut down on paper consumption and provide associates easier access to their wages." READ MORE

First Data and Urban Trust Bank have announced that Urban Trust Bank will offer the Money Network payroll card and related prepaid products to businesses and consumers. READ MORE

In a press release titled "RBS WorldPay Announces Compromise of Data Security and Outlines Steps to Mitigate Risk", RBS WorldPay (formerly RBS Lynk), the U.S. payment processing arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, announced that its computer system had been improperly accessed by an unauthorized party in early November.

According to more information provided on the RBS Worldpay web site, "the issue affected pre-paid cardholders and other individuals. Approximately 100 payroll cards have been used in a fraudulent manner and those cards have been de-activated. Our internal security professionals and outside experts are working with federal and state law enforcement authorities in an investigation of this event."

The Washington D.C. Department of Employment Services will be paying young participants in its summer jobs program via JPMorgan-issued Visa payroll debit cards. The agency says it has deployed the payroll card program as a means to provide its young workers with a safe, convenient, and dependable alternative to payroll checks, as well as reduce the costs and time associated with issuing paper payroll checks. READ MORE

In an economic environment where many workers are feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living, Nursefinders Inc., one of the nation’s largest healthcare staffing providers, has announced that it is offering daily salary payments to temporary employees who have registered at no cost for a Chase Payroll Card. Upon completion of a daily work shift, an employee’s payroll card account is credited with salary payment as quickly as two hours after an approved time card is submitted. READ MORE

Transcard, a provider of prepaid debit card solutions branded with Discover Network, MasterCard and STAR associations, has announced 'the introduction of Transcard Mobile, one of the industry’s first applications built specifically for payroll card members. This new platform enables Transcard payroll card members, a majority of which have text-enabled cell phones, to access full account activity and functions via their cell phones.'

JPMorgan and its customer Kelly Services received the Best Payroll Card Program Award last week at the second annual Prepaid Card Expo in Las Vegas. Kelly Services has been offering the Chase Payroll Card program to its temporary employees since 2004. Kelly deployed the payroll card as a means to provide its temporary employees with a safe, convenient, and dependable alternative to payroll checks, as well as reduce the costs and time associated with issuing paper payroll checks.

Transcard has announced a strategic alliance with Choice Hotels International, a lodging franchisors with ten hotel brands operating in the United States and 37 countries and territories, to provide prepaid stored-value card solutions to hotel franchisees and their employee base. According to the company, "the cards enable Choice Hotels franchise owners to pay their employees electronically, and in turn potentially improve employee retention."

Discover Financial Services has announced an agreement with First Data Corp. to issue Discover Network payroll cards provided by Money Network Financial, a First Data Company. Money Network will issue the Discover Network branded payroll cards and handle card administration.

Coinstar and First Data Corp. have announced an agreement between Money Network Financial LLC, a First Data company, and Coinstar E-Payment Services Inc., a Coinstar company, to offer the Money Network Pay Card through select Coinstar kiosks.

Visa USA has announced a five-year agreement with ADP Employer Services to offer Visa-branded payroll cards to its clients. According to Visa, "the agreement reflects the two industry leaders’ commitment to grow prepaid card solutions that offer convenience and cost savings for businesses and their employees. The Visa branded ADP Total Pay card is issued by a number of Visa member financial institutions."

Erika Hayasaki writes for the Los Angeles Times about the Sigo card - a prepaid MasterCard debit card designed for immigrants. Sigo cards are Issued by MetaBank and marketed by IDT Stored Value Services. More information about Sigo is available on their website.

In an article titled 'Immigrants Wary of Banks Put Faith in New Card", Steven Greenhouse writes for the New York Times about SiGo, a prepaid MasterCard debit card issued by MetaBank and distributed by IDT Stored Value Systems. Greenhouse reports that cards are an "ideal tool for 30 million workers, both foreign-born and native, who lack bank accounts and often face high check-cashing fees and frustrating obstacles in paying bills."

In an article titled 'Payroll cards offer convenience at lower cost", James A. Ambrosio writes for Bankrate.com about the advantages of payroll cards - particularly for the unbanked.

The Center for Financial Services Innovation has posted a new paper titled "Distributing Prepaid Cards Through Worker Centers: A Gateway to Asset Building for Low-Income Households" (PDF) by Katy Jacob, Janice Fine and Lauren Leimbach.

Western Growers has announced they are partnering with Bank of America and Visa to offer a payroll solution that will help member companies reduce expenses and provide more convenience and flexibility to their employees by offering the CashPay Visa payroll card to their employees. CashPay Visa allows employees to avoid the fees associated with check-cashing services.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced its approval of a final rule to provide that payroll card accounts are covered by the Board's consumer protection regulation governing electronic fund transfers.

Ecount has released figures on Banked vs. Unbanked Cardholders: Understanding the Use of Prepaid Cards in Today's Marketplace. The data, based on the Ecount Prepaid Index, outlines baseline spending habits of both groups, as well as provides insight into the role that prepaid cards play in the lives of consumers.

Margarita Bauza of the Detroit Free Press writes about the use of payroll cards. "Payroll bank cards, popular with people who do not qualify for bank accounts or those who are more likely to use expensive check-cashing services, account for 21% of all consumer transactions. That translates to a $2.7-billion business in the United States alone. Boston-based consultant Aite Group says payroll card use is expected to grow to $27.1 billion in spending by 2009."

Money Network, a First Data Corp. company, and ADP Employer Services have announced a strategic agreement to provide a co-branded paycard, TotalPayCard, that "combines the resources and expertise of two industry leaders and will provide businesses of all sizes with a robust paycard solution."

Unlimited Diversity, Inc., a provider of prepaid products and services for BankFirst and MasterCard, has announced the launch of the PODER Payroll MasterCard, a card program it says is designed specifically to address the needs of the Hispanic immigrant in the United States.

Ecount has announced survey results concluding that payroll debit cards are as popular with banked employees as unbanked employees, establishing that payroll cards are a desired benefit for employees within all demographics.