J.P. Morgan Treasury Services is expanding its positive-pay services to allow its clients' employees to cash payroll checks at Wal-Mart stores. Wal-Mart will use the companies' positive-pay information to ensure that the payroll checks are valid. Wal-Mart's check cashing services are available in 46 states, so the arrangement extends the geographic footprint of J.P. Morgan's non-bank branch check cashing services.

Bank of New York Mellon has launched a platform, Global Environment Markets (GEM), that provides custody and trade settlement for carbon credits. Clients can access GEM through a Web-based interface and can use it to manage both regulated and unregulated credits. And in combination with the bank's global cash clearing system, clients can use GEM to arrange simultaneous settlement and payment of credit trades.

Clarity Systems of Toronto is now offering Clarity FSR 6.5. The product, which was launched in 2007 as financial reporting software, has been enhanced to become a unified financial governance solution. Clarity Systems says the product not only lets companies automate the composition and submission of regulatory filings, but allows them to do those filings in XBRL, in line with the Securities and Exchange Commission's new requirements. Clarity FSR can also automate a company's financial close, maintain continuous controls monitoring of its operating environment, and assist with the transition from generally accepted accounting practices to International Financial Reporting Standards. Clarity FSR can also help companies document risks for their enterprise risk management efforts and prepare corporate social responsibility reports.