Russian system to rival MasterCard

The Russian Finance Ministry is drafting proposals to create an electronic payment system to challenge Visa and MasterCard, reports Moscow News.

The system will be based on Sberbank's card, which last year became the United Russia Payment System (URPS).

MasterCard and Visa control 85% of the market, including 90% of the 35 million cards given out this year before September by state lender Sberbank, while only 3.5 million of these had the URPS logo on them.

An electronic benefits transfer attendance reporting and payment delivery system is being rolled out to day care centres and child care providers in the US, states SalisburyPost.

The system will affect 100 counties in North Carolina. It aims to reduce administrative costs to the state, reduce fraud and increase the accuracy of time, attendance and payments.

The clients will receive a card that can be swiped at a day care facility and payments will be directly deposited to providers. The system is expected to go live in April 2010.

More than 70 UK jobs in Cambourne are under threat after electronic billing firm Convergys revealed plans to restructure, says The Hunts Post.

The US-based company provides integrated billing, customer care and HR services and moved to Cambourne in 2000.

Convergys says it's restructuring in response to current market trends. It's considering a restructuring of the research and development side of its information management division, which would impact about 75 employees at the Cambourne site.