First Data Corp. has announced that it has received all domestic and international regulatory approvals required to close the pending merger with an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR). "Achieving this milestone is a critical step for First Data and KKR. We continue to work closely together to ensure a smooth transition and expect to close the transaction by the end of September," said First Data CEO Ric Duques.

John Crudele writes for the New York Post about one of the more interesting effects in the current credit cycle: why aren't people falling behind in paying their credit card bills? He says "going against conventional wisdom, people are handling their credit-card bills much better than their mortgage payments."

TSYS Europe and The Gift Voucher Shop (GVS) have announced the launch of GVS’ One4all retail gift card campaign in five major Irish Post Offices in Dublin and on the GVS Web site, www.giftvouchershop.ie.

Glenbrook's Russ Jones recently took a deeper look at eBay's 10-Q SEC filing for some more details about the growth of PayPal as reflected in its second quarter results.

Actimize has announced that it has expanded its cross channel Remote Banking fraud prevention solution with new Mobile Banking capabilities.

Gemalto and NXP Semiconductors have announced they are collaborating on "SIM-enabled Near Field Communication (NFC) solutions based on the Single Wire Protocol (SWP). Both companies will together define and develop SIM products for SWP-based solutions to ensure interoperability with MIFARE technology as well as other widely deployed contactless protocols. This agreement will enable the industry to rapidly address the growing demand for NFC-based applications among telecom operators, service providers and consumers."

eMarketer reports that "estimated US retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2007 totaled $31.8 billion on a not-adjusted basis, according to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce."

BJ's Wholesale Club has announced that it has partnered with Barclays to launch the BJ's Visa Card. The two companies say the "new credit card offers cardholders a faster, more consumer-friendly way to earn BJ's Bucks, and introduces a number of new, convenient card features that provide additional value to qualified BJ's Members." The card includes Visa's payWave contactless technology.

Barclays has announced that its U.S. credit card business has passed the $5 billion mark in credit card receivables, calling itself "the fastest growing major credit card issuer in the United States."

Ross Kerber reports for the Boston Globe that a suspect in the TJX payment card data breach has been arrested - although it's not clear whether he's the mastermind behind the attack.

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