Multichannel Merchant is blogging the National Retail Federation trade show currently underway in New York City.

John Cook of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer blogs about BillMonk, his "startup of the week".

BillMonk's initial service, a hybrid of social networking and personal finance, offers the ability to track (via the website or using mobile phone SMS) what the founders call "social money" - informal debts between friends and family.

Technorati Tags: BillMonk

Asahi Omori reports for Kyodo News on predictions that 2006 will be the year when mobile phones and credit cards will be joined together in Japan.

Rupert Jones reports for The Guardian on Visa UK data that shows a drop in credit card spending in the UK during 2005 as consumers appear to be shifting their purchase activity increasingly to debit cards.

People's Daily Online reports from China that Chinese banks have completed a database that links up information on consumer credit - "a major move to better manage risks and cultivate a credit culture."

AllAfrica.com reports on plans by card issuing banks in Kenya to switch to smart cards in an effort to control fraud and ease consumer interactions at the point of sale.

The Age reports from Melbourne, Australia on comments by Visa Australia head of public affairs Bruce Meagher that Australia is lagging behind in its implementation of smart cards partially because of the earlier decisions of the Reserve Bank of Australia regarding interchange fees.

Peter Thal Larsen reports for FT.com on Visa Europe's growth in 2005.

Western Union Financial Services has signed a new, six-year agreement for money transfer services with Grupo Elektra, a leading retailer in Mexico.

Western Union Financial Services has announced an exclusive global agreement with Travelex, the world's largest non-bank foreign exchange payments company, whose locations will now only offer the Western Union Money Transfer service.

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

• ViVOtech to Demonstrate Industry's First End-to-End Near Field Communication (NFC) Solution at the NRF Show
• Trintech Appoints Shaun Gray To Head Up Worldwide Payments Business Which Will Be Branded PayWare Technologies