| Tony Blair 'will covert to Catholic faith within weeks'
Tony Blair is preparing to convert to Roman Catholicism within weeks, it emerged last night. The news prompted demands from followers of the faith for the former prime minister to renounce his previous support for abortion. Mr Blair's long-expected switch to the faith of his wife and four children is expected to come at a Mass in the private chapel of Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O'Connor, the leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales. Scroll down for more... .
New mobile payment service eschews cash and checks for phones
Mpayy Inc., an online and mobile payment processing company, will launch tomorrow a service that enables merchants and shoppers to conduct retail transactions using mobile phones and online payment accounts. Shoppers can use the Mpayy service with roving salespersons or on retail web sites. Merchants set up accounts on Mpayy.com to establish a mobile payment system. Mobile merchantsMpayy is not yet targeting bricks-and-mortar retailerscan access reports on sales, send funds to desired banks, manage refunds and perform other tasks through a web-enabled administrative application. Shoppers set up accounts on the Mpayy site, entering their mobile phone number, account nickname, and checking account information. To conduct a transaction with a roving merchantan Avon lady, for examplea shopper logs in to Mpayys mobile web site and enters the merchants mobile phone number or nickname, enters the amount of the purchase, and submits the information, which brings up a transaction confirmation page with a Pay button to complete the purchase.
MasterCard Europe and Europay France to Integrate Operations in France
PARIS, and WATERLOO, Belgium, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MasterCard Europe and Europay France today announced an agreement to integrate their operating structures in France, a priority market for MasterCard in Europe. The integration will support French banks' efforts to provide competitive payment services. Under the terms of the agreement, a new company is to be formed. Additional terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed on April 1, 2008 and will enable French and international banks in France to benefit from a direct relationship with MasterCard Europe for payment services. The two businesses have a history of combining their strengths, with MasterCard International and Europay International having merged their pan-European activities in 2002.
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