It's getting to be about that time when we take a look back at the major news stories in the world of payments during 2005.  We've examined our archives month by month and have culled the the most important and interesting highlights.  We'll be posting each month's highlights over the next few days.

Jennifer Kingson reports for the New York Times on the increasing use of wireless point of sale acceptance devices by merchants now that wireless coverage is nearly everywhere with POS devices working with wireless networks in combination to be much more reliable.

Karla Ward writes for the Lexington KY Herald-Leader on the new faces of holiday gift cards this year.

Thomas Lee writes for the Minneapolis - St. Paul Star-Tribune on bank interest in marketing health savings accounts.

Harsimran Singh reports for India's Financial Express on the importance of financial services and insurance clients to India's IT and business process outsourcing boom.

• Visa: Spending jumps as season opens
• ShopperTrak: Black Friday Sales Flat as Holiday Shopping Season Begins
• Bloomberg: U.S. Retail Sales Little Changed Friday, Close to '04 Record
• MSNBC: Online privacy fears are real
• Morgan Stanley launches ultra-premium i24 card
• WSJ: Identity-Theft Bills Stall in Congress
• India: Most ATMs not equipped to use new card security features