Alex Falk reports in the Financial Times that UK consumer spending using plastic cards will for the first time exceed the use of cash.

"The key driver has been the introduction of debit cards," said Apacs' Jemma Smith. "We're seeing a generation of middle-aged customers coming through who have grown up with both debit and credit cards."

Borzou Daragahi reports in the New York Times on how banking in Iraq is slowly reviving.

The revival is being led by some private Iraqi banks that have begun using new economic rules, harnessing the surge of reconstruction money and, in some cases, forging foreign partnerships.

Information Week reports on the growth in online sales this holiday season.

Online sales using Visa-branded cards for the week ended Dec. 26 reached $1.8 billion, up 58% over the same period last year, while the number of online transactions reached 24 million, up 43% from a year ago, according to Visa USA's SpendTrak report.

For the week ended Dec. 19, Visa's online sales were $2.7 billion (up 39%) and online transactions were 34 million (up 34%). Similar increases were recorded for preceding weeks.

The BBC reports on the January 1st shift in liability for fraud on card transactions in the UK -- from card issuer to merchant if the merchant hasn't implemented the new chip and PIN acceptance technology.

"Many retailers have made a business decision not to convert their tills to chip and pin," says Bob Jarrett, professional services director for the British Shops and Stores Association (BSSA) which represents 4,200 shopkeepers. "Some of our members simply do not do enough business on cards to warrant going to the expense of changing their tills," he says.

Krysten Crawford writes on CNN Money about fees associated with certain pre-paid gift cards.

It's the dirty little secret of select gift cards: activation charges, monthly service fees, unreturned balances, and expiration dates that can render worthless Grandma's new and much-welcomed form of expressing love.