David Lazarus writes for the San Francisco Chronicle about consumer debt levels in the US - with $12.3 trillion in total consumer debt outstanding or $2.4 trillion if mortgages aren't included, according to the Federal Reserve which reports this data on a monthly basis. Lazarus goes on to remind consumers to be careful using their credit cards this holiday season - which he says "are the only consumer product for which the terms of sale can change after you sign a contract."

The Inquirier's Chip Mulligan reports on plans to deploy contactless card technologies in the UK, beginning in London in September 2007 with the deployment of 4,000 new contactless/chip and PIN-capable POS readers to merchants and the issuance of over a half a million cards. In the UK, contactless payments will be limited to payments less than £10 (vs. $25 in the US) and the cards themselves will include "built-in counters that will only allow a certain number of contactless payments to be made before a PIN must be entered." According to Mulligan, "APACS expect that by 2011, 70% of debit cards and 45% of credit cards will have been converted to support contactless payments."

Mark Schwanhausser writes for the San Jose Mercury News about mobile payments - saying that "eventually Americans will be able to choose among high-tech alternatives that will transform how they shop, pay for goods, borrow money, dole out allowances, transfer cash around the globe and manage their finances." Schwanhausser reports that San Francisco "Bay Area companies are playing influential roles mapping the way, from old-school titans such as Wells Fargo and Visa USA to New Economy ventures such as PayPal, Obopay and Yodlee." In a sidebar, Schwanhausser takes a look at some of the experiments underway.

Jon Newberry reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer on the recent management team changes at Fifth Third Bank as it tries to adjust to changes in the interest rate environment.

Retail Decisions reports that online volumes surged 109% on a like for like basis on Black Friday. According to ReD, most online shoppers waited until the afternoon to begin their shopping. The peak shopping hour was between 3:00PM - 4:00PM and the peak shopping minute was 2:53PM.   » Continue Reading