Student Line Of Credit

BLOOMINGTON — Mina Aitelhadj had about $8 and some change — less than the $10 she needed to renew her driver's license — when she went to the Secretary of State's office in Bloomington recently.The Normal resident wasn't caught off guard by an unexpected fee; she expected to pay with her credit card. But after waiting in line and handing it over, she found out the agency only accepts Discover, cash and check.“That was a bit of a problem," Aitelhadj said. “I had to run and get some cash at the ATM."Aitelhadj doesn't carry more than $20 in her wallet and rarely spends cash, just for the emergency cup of coffee or gasoline. She prefers to use her debit card for most purchases.The 26-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University is like a growing number of Americans.Nationwide, 45 percent of consumers use cash less often than they did two years ago, according to the American Bankers Association's 2005-2006 Study of Consumer Payment Preferences.

Ottawa takes aim at identity theft

OTTAWA - Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says identity theft is a "type of elder abuse" and he intends to table a federal bill to make it a crime.
Nicholson confirmed he is preparing a piece of legislation to update the Criminal Code to deal with the modern-day problem, which is suspected of claiming thousands of victims in Canada every month.
"I intend to move forward," Nicholson told CanWest News Service. "It's a developing area and what we find is there are gaps in the law."
Identity theft is currently not a crime in Canada, which has sparked numerous calls for government action. Offences involving identity theft are prosecuted under several other Criminal Code sections, such as fraud and personation, but there is nothing that outlaws someone from possessing another person's information.

MasterCard Announces the Full Scale Roll-Out of the Internationally

MasterCard Worldwide in collaboration Kaohsiung City Government today announced the official launch of the Kaohsiung City Government (KCG) transportation payment solution, known as the TaiwanMoney Card.

Also recognised as the worlds first MasterCard OneSmart PayPass Chip Combi Card, the introduction of the TaiwanMoney Card marks a significant milestone in the payments industry. The all-in-one globally interoperable payment product allows cardholders to make Tap & Go contactless payments at over 51,000 merchant locations worldwide.

The system, which includes the innovative contactless payment solution - MasterCard PayPass has revolutionized the way commuters pay for their transportation in Southern Taiwan. Following its pilot launch on 19 October, 2005, the TaiwanMoney Card rapidly gained popularity in Southern Taiwan.