Perhaps if the VCs, Tom and Redpoint included, lent their weight to combating the protectionist laws that govern the payments sector, we'd have something to show for all of this supposed progress other than more plastic payment cards with magnetic stripes.

Last I heard from Tom was, "The MTL laws are large barriers to entry for startups. I'd love to help but I'm not sure I'm ready to sign my name to a petition without understanding the issue in much greater depth. Given the time constraints, I'm not sure I can sign the document."

It's been about eight months. How about now?