Visa USA says it anticipates that Dec. 23 will be the busiest shopping day of the 2006 holiday season followed closely by Dec. 22, as consumers take advantage of an extra shopping day and deeper discounts at retail outlets.

The Conference Board and TNS have announced results from the latest edition of The Barometer - finding that consumers are willing to spend more for the holidays, but only if retailers offer free shipping and exclusive
online incentives, They also report that the most frustrating aspects of shopping online for consumers are shipping charges, not being able to physically handle merchandise, and having to give out credit card information.

Monster and PayPal have announced that PayPal will be available as a payment method on Monster's eCommerce site, becoming the first online recruitment site to offer PayPal.

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• Richard K. Davis has ben named chief executive officer of U.S. Bancorp succeeding Jerry A. Grundhofer who will remain with U.S. Bancorp as chairman of the board until December 31, 2007. Davis has been president and chief operating officer of U.S. Bancorp since October 2004.

Kanbay Research Institute's (KRI) latest study on banking demand - "Banking Demand Today: How Consumers View The Most Competitive Banks in Comparison to Retailers and Internet Companies" - finds that, as banks look to gain an edge over competitors, some are borrowing tried-and-true techniques from the retail industry to improve their customer experience. However, Kanbay says this approach yields only part of the solution though, "since consumers clearly state that their expectations are substantially higher for banking than for retailing."

Safeway is holding its 2006 Investor Conference this morning - saying it "will also discuss its efforts to create and develop new growth vehicles, and the progress it has made with its Blackhawk Network subsidiary."

Citi and The Home Depot have announced that they are expanding their strategic relationship with the addition of The Home Depot Rewards MasterCard and The Home Depot Business Rewards MasterCard to the ThankYou Network rewards program.

SunTrust Banks has signed an agreement with Atlanta-based InfiCorp Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, for issuing consumer credit cards - replacing a previous agreement with MBNA.

VeriSign has announced a suite of new Digital Brand and Fraud Protection services designed to "help organizations detect, prioritize and rapidly respond to suspicious activities on Web sites, blogs, online user communities, and other sources that can damage brand equity and consumer confidence."

Visa USA has announced it will "offer $20 million in financial incentives and create new sanctions in an effort to further merchant compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)."

Harriet Weinstein reports for the Greenwich (CT) Time on Stamford-based VantageScore Solutions, the new company established earlier this year by the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to introduce a new credit score. According to Weinstein, we should "consider VantageScore as taking a more compassionate - and more sophisticated - look at your creditworthiness, and coming up with a better answer for the bank when it asks what kind of person you are."

MasterCard Worldwide has announced a new online service that "offers U.S. small businesses a simple and direct method for ordering and personalizing MasterCard-branded gift cards. The gift card can be customized with a company logo, a recipient's name and an embossed message. The cards are available exclusively through a newly launched website, MasterCardGiftCard.com."

Eric Dash reports for the New York Times on the money being made by companies offering identity theft protection services to US consumers. Dash reports that "fear of identity theft has helped give rise to a nearly billion-dollar business in credit-monitoring services sold by the major credit bureaus."

Javelin Strategy & Research has published a new report, Reaching Underbanked Latinos, concluding that unbanked and underbanked Latino consumers in the United States have completely different financial services needs and expectations than other ethnic populations.

Jennifer Bracken writes for the Cleveland Morning Journal that Cleveland-area Catholic churches are giving parishioners a new ACH debit option that allows church parishioners to have a specified amount of money deducted from their bank account and deposited to the church.

Vesta Corporation has announced it has acquired Point and Pay, Inc., a provider of electronic payments for county and municipal governments.

comScore Networks has released an update on European online holiday shopping activity in the U.K., France and Germany - reporting that the week ending 3 December was the most active cyber shopping week to date in both the U.K. and Germany, with visits to secure web pages up 69 and 72 percent, respectively, versus the pre-holiday shopping period from 28 August - 29 October. During this week, France saw a 79 percent increase versus the pre-holiday shopping period.

McDonald's Arch Card will make a stylish statement in New York City today as McDonald's hosts the 'load it, gift it, love it ... now wear it' fashion experience featuring Kelis. The popular Grammy nominee will model the unique Arch Card "Fashion Original" designed by Jay McCarroll, winner of "Project Runway's" first season. Created with limited-edition Arch Cards, the one-of-a-kind fashion statement will be auctioned on eBay through eBay Giving Works from December 18 thru December 31 with proceeds to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Dave Birch interviews Neil Poundall, Head of Advanced Data & Enablers at the UK's O2, about "the increasing marketplace momentum behind mobile payments from the mobile operator's perspective and the imminent arrival of NFC handsets."

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