The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a continuation hearing today at which senior executives of ChoicePoint (PDF) and Bank of America (PDF) provided additional information about the recent incidents at their companies involving the potential compromise of personal consumer information.

Fair Isaac and the Consumer Federation of America have announced the results of a new survey that shows that almost half of American consumers do not understand key facts about credit scores.

To provide consumers with basic information about credit scores, CFA and Fair Isaac have prepared a new free brochure that is being distributed by the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC).

"This credit score brochure contains the most important information about the score most businesses use -- the FICO credit score -- including what factors influence its rise and fall, and how consumers can get their own scores," said Cheri St. John, vice president of Global Scoring and Consumer Solutions for Fair Isaac.

The brochure is available for downloading at both FICO's and CFA's websites.

Wal-Mart and GE Consumer Finance have announced they are launching two new Discover credit cards -- one for business members of Sam's Club and one for consumers.

Visa International has announced plans to refresh and evolve its brand identity. The changes include a new look for the blue, white and gold Visa logo and changes to card design features.

Princeton eCom has announced that I4 Commerce, the developer of the Bill Me Later payment solution, will be using Princeton eCom for online bill presentment and payment.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Review of Network Economics are sponsoring a conference in September 2005 to explore recent antitrust activity related to card payment systems.