U.S. Bank has announced that it has issued its 20 millionth gift card this week, remaining the top Visa gift card issuer in the US. U.S. Bank reached the 10 millionth gift card milestone in July 2006, doubling the size of its gift card program in just over a year.

Ross Kerber writes for the Boston Globe about more filings in the TJX litigation now underway in Boston - including a review by Joel Lisker, a former MasterCard security executive.

First Data Prepaid Services reports on a study of the use of gift cards as consumer incentives - saying it's "a growing trend to which consumers are responding positively."

Visa has announced that 65 percent of the largest U.S. merchants (those processing six million or more Visa transactions annually) have now validated their compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), up from 36 percent in December 2006. Among medium-sized merchants (those processing one to six million Visa transactions annually), compliance grew from 15 percent in December 2006 to 43 percent as of September 30, 2007. The merchants that comprise these two categories account for approximately two-thirds of Visa's U.S. transaction volume.

• Visa mandates that merchants eliminate the use of vulnerable payment applications
• Wachovia Unveils Single Sign-On for Wholesale Services, Advancing Vision of Globally Integrated Online Delivery
• Third Quarter U.S. Retail E-Commerce Grows 23 Percent Versus Last Year
• Meeting of the E-Commerce Minds: Leading Retailers, Brands and Industry Experts Convene for GSI Commerce's Annual Partner Summit
• BankServ Partners With Capital Payments to Offer Innovative e-Check Processing and Remote Deposit Solutions
• More than 5,000 Bank Customers Now Benefit from Goldleaf's Remote Deposit Solution
• Alliance Data Signs Multi-Year Expansion and Renewal Agreement with Alon USA