Zhang Fengming writes for ShanghaiDaily.com about China UnionPay - reporting that "building up UnionPay as China's world-class payment brand is on the schedule of the grand plan to set Shanghai up as a global financial hub in the five years ending 2010."

Chevron Products Co. has announced that it has signed a deal with Blackhawk Network to sell Chevron and Texaco gift cards to consumers through Blackhawk's retail network. Chevron gift cards in $25 and $50 values are now available for purchase at select Safeway and Vons stores throughout California.   » Continue Reading

BB&T Corporation has announced the selection of Evolution Benefits to provide card services for its Health Savings Account product.   » Continue Reading

Small business owners around the world have differing views on the current business climate but feel more optimistic (28%) than not (21%) about the upcoming year, according to MasterCard's annual Global Small Business Survey.   » Continue Reading

TowerGroup says that retail banks must begin to match the retail industry in how they interact with customer, process orders, and create relationships - or the future of banking could lead to a "powered-by" environment where banks compete for business on a per-transaction basis.   » Continue Reading

Shanghai SmartPay Jieyin Ltd., ("SmartPay") an electronic payment services provider in China, has announced the completion of a Series B round of equity financing. Under the terms of the financing, RRE Ventures, Evolution Capital, Lunar Group Capital and other existing shareholders will provide equity financing of approximately US$ 10 million.   » Continue Reading

Visa Europe has announced the appointment of Mariano Dima as Executive Vice-President Marketing & Products -responsible for advertising, marketing, sponsorships and product development for Visa Europe. Dima was previously European Marketing Vice President for Levi Strauss & Co., based in Brussels.   » Continue Reading

comScore Networks has released its estimates of consumer online non-travel (retail) spending at U.S. sites for the 2006 holiday season through December 15. During the first 45 days of the holiday season, total online retail spending reached $19.48 billion, marking a 25-percent increase versus the corresponding days in 2005.   » Continue Reading

• New CEO for Oberthur Card Systems
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• Fujitsu PalmSecure(TM) Technology Receives Certification From International Biometric Group
• HSBC to Implement Fraud Detection Service From VeriSign to Enhance Customer Protection
• VendTek announces establishment of Now Prepay network in the United States
• Acxiom Digital-Sponsored Survey Shows Majority of Online Adults Find E-mail Communications Are Valuable and Influence Purchases
• EFG Eurobank Selects Hypercom Payment & Networking Devices to Support Regional Network, Names Hypercom Provider of Choice
• Digital Insight Delivers Multifactor Authentication to Its Large Base of Consumer and Business Internet Banking Clients
• Asia Payments Agrees to Acquire Companies in China and Hong Kong
• Wells Fargo Recognized by Independent Research Firm for Designing the Highest-Rated B2B Site of All Sites Reviewed
• Commerce Bank Eliminates $250,000 of Suspect Items with Goldleaf’s WinGUARD
• OTI Reaches New Milestone in Contactless Payments Market: Solutions for 130,000 Readers and 20 Million Cards Shipped to Date
• PSCU Financial Services Selects TriCipher for Multi-Factor Authentication