Bob Sullivan's MSNBC.com Red Tape Chronicles looks that the overdraft fees that banks charge based upon debit card use. "Many people don't realize that a carefree swipe of their debit card at a point-of-sale terminal to buy a Big Mac could result in "courtesy overdraft" fee of $30 or more."

As reported earlier this morning on Payments News, mobile payment service provider Obopay has announced its
acquisition of BillMonk, calling the company "a pioneer in "social money" services." According to Obopay, the acquisition "will provide on-the-go consumers -- who want fast and easy access to their money -- with services that fit their mobile lifestyle."

Edgar, Dunn & Company's latest newsletter is titled "Mobile Financial Services - Unlocking the Potential" (PDF), an article by Ginger Schmeltzer and Samee Zafar. "Only now are mobile financial products and services finally gaining traction. This is partly due to the fact that the number of mobile users is growing exponentially, but also because new technologies enabling fast and secure data access are promising to deliver greater consumer convenience and ease of use."

Eight data security companies have announced the formation of The Payment Card Industry Security Vendor Alliance – (PCI SVA). According to the group, "PCI SVA will assist members of the payment card industry and the PCI Security Standards Council -- composed of merchants, banks and point-of-sale vendors – in educating the business community on the requirements and business value of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard, a global benchmark intended to improve security throughout the entire payment card transaction process."

MasterCard has announced that when the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts go head to head for the championship inside Dolphin Stadium on February 4th, "fans purchasing souvenirs or concessions will spend less time standing in line and more time catching the on-field action when they use MasterCard PayPass – a contactless payment option that reduces transaction times – installed at Dolphin Stadium prior to the start of the football season. MasterCard PayPass is also accepted at numerous other merchants throughout the Miami area."

Entrust has announced the launch of a new, five dollar one-time-password (OTP) hardware security token along with news that Expedia will become the first company to deploy the new Entrust token.

TransUnion’s TrueCredit.com has announced results from two surveys it recently commissioned with GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media designed to gauge distinct aspects of consumers’ current credit habits. "TrueCredit.com found that 35 percent of consumers actually report purchasing less on credit this holiday season than last year, when the same question yielded 43 percent. Similar to the 2006 survey, four in ten (43 percent) say they have the same amount of credit card debt this year as last, with 11 percent reporting they have more debt and 29 percent reporting they have less."

In today's Heard on the Street column in the Wall St. Journal, Robin Sidel and Clint Riley report on one of Citigroup's financial challenges - a decline in outstandings in the Sears credit card portfolio it acquired three years ago.

Jay Fitzgerald reports for the Boston Herald on news yesterday of a class action lawsuit filed against TJX following its earlier announcement recently of breaches of customer data security - "saying the company was “negligent” for not having better computer security." More information on the lawsuit is available in this press release. TJX itself has posted on its website a letter to customers about the breach from TJX Chairman Ben Cammarata along with a video and and FAQ. TJX also reported in a filing with the SEC that Gary L. Crittenden, a member of the board of TJX, has resigned from the board. Crittenden is also Executive Vice President and CFO of American Express.

Over on the Notes from the BillMonk blog, there's news that BillMonk has been acquired by mobile payments provider Obopay. "When we first talked to the Obopay team it was clear to us that they care deeply about making it easier to deal with money. Given that BillMonk’s goal is to make money painless between friends, the match couldn’t have been better."

Michael Arrington writes on his TechCrunch blog about mobile payments provider KushCash - asking them how they plan to compete with PayPal Mobile, among others.

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