Top Five Tweets: Debit Eats Checks’ Lunch

@MasterCardNews: “”ª#MasterCard discovered debit and ”ª#prepaid’s growth came at the expense of cash and checks (PDF link) ”ª#cashlessconvo”

By MasterCard’s count, 38 percent of the growth in the use of prepaid and debit cards in 2011 was a result of a decrease in the use of cash and checks — representing $75 billion in transactions.

MasterCard also noted a net shift from debit to credit: consumers moved $2.6 billion in spending from credit cards to debit products, and $3.7 billion from debit to credit, resulting in a $1.1 billion net result in favor of credit. This move was opposite from the trend in 2010, when more consumers used credit.

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@Earthport: “Results of poll from @pymnts webinar – 83% of institutions have assigned someone to focus on ”ª#Dodd-Frank 1073”

The stats from our Dodd-Frank 1073 webinar were staggering. Beyond the resource commitment, 76 percent of our participants said they expect the new regulations to impact their product offerings negatively — while just 66 percent of our audience understood the regulation’s finer points at the beginning of our event.

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@BostInnovation: “Mobile Payments: The Trillion Dollar Industry That’s Never Happened”

Writing for tech tracking media site BostInno, VC Lee Hower notes that mobile payments still haven’t taken off. In his view, the “far and away” most likely event that will get things ignited: actions from the payment networks (Visa, MasterCard and Amex) that convert the mobile device into token. 

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@dwolla: “Hard to believe we were a company of 12 this time last year. We’re growing so quickly! pic.twitter.com/nlOMYPQP”

Payment startups are getting funded in every direction — including Dwolla, who earlier this year included Ashton Kutcher in a round of financial backing. Dwolla’s staff has more than tripled in a year’s time, and recently the company launched FiSync, a real-time alternative to ACH. 

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@Discover: Flash Discover card @SixFlags & enter thru Cardmember gate 1st 2hrs each day & get to the fun faster. Details

This one makes the list simply because we’re looking forward to the weekend. Maybe a stop by Six Flags is in order!

See the original tweet here

Happy tweeting, loyal readers.