Innovation is a word that can sometimes seem overused in the business world. It is often portrayed as the solution of choice for any and all business woes, when the truth of the matter is that the process of innovation isn’t always the most comfortable or pleasant. Many new innovations are not the things of business legend; in fact, often times the brightest and most beautiful innovations are also the most simple.

In this issue, we take the opportunity to thoroughly explore the concept of human innovation — what drives it, potential pitfalls and how your business can take advantage of the economic recession to innovate more boldly.

• Innovating Through Recession
• An Innovation Imperiled: Attempting 'The Big Idea' at the Wrong Time
• Cutting Fraud, Slashing Waste, Saving Billions
• Commercial Card Regional Round-up
• Perhaps It's Time to Mothball the Mighty Mag-Stripe?
• Prepaid Cards: A Tool for Getting by or Getting Ahead?
• Understanding Key Themes in Emerging Payments and How Innovation Works
• Why is the Implementation of the Payment Services Directive Being Delayed?
• Focus on Healthcare Payments
• Framing the Future of the UK Credit Landscape
• The Fight to Survive
• Policymakers at Work
• Working in the Payments Industry: Often Esoteric, Always Fascinating