Following the rapid proliferation of merchant-issued prepaid gift cards, some people assumed that the added functionality available in network-branded prepaid cards would lead to similar early success for these payment vehicles. While a number of emerging applications are gaining traction,...

On March 30, 2005, the Payment Cards Center hosted a workshop led by Sherrie L.W. Rhine and Sabrina Su of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Office of Regional and Community Affairs to discuss the relevance of stored-value cards to quot;unbankedquot; or underserved consumers. The authors...

Small payments of less than $5 have resisted the wave of electronification that has swept consumer payments in recent years. However, a number of innovations - both new technologies and new ways of doing business - have done much to make such electronic micropayments less expensive and more...

Over the past several years, the emergence and adoption of electronic payment instruments have acutely affected check usage. This transition has been especially evident at the point of sale as debit and credit cards have become pervasive. Today, the rapid growth of online bill payment looks to...