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The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association has announced results from a recent survey about gift cards that carry the American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa logo that finds that extremely high levels of consumer satisfaction are driving their triple-digit annual growth. The survey, conducted by Dan Horne, professor at Providence College, found that more than 93% of consumers who buy branded gift cards are satisfied with their purchase.

American Express has announced free online shipping and discounts on rush orders when American Express Gift Cards are purchased before December 10, 2007.

A new SunTrust Bank and CheckFree study "reveals a clear link between electronic billing and payment habits and higher account balances, customer loyalty and profitability."

Transcard has announced a strategic alliance with Choice Hotels International, a lodging franchisors with ten hotel brands operating in the United States and 37 countries and territories, to provide prepaid stored-value card solutions to hotel franchisees and their employee base. According to the company, "the cards enable Choice Hotels franchise owners to pay their employees electronically, and in turn potentially improve employee retention."

The PCI Security Standards Council has announced that it is adding a new standard for payment application software - called Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) - that is based on Visa's Payment Application Best Practices (PABP).

Eric Dash reports for the New York Times on yesterday's announcement of a settlement in the antitrust litigation between American Express and Visa. Dash notes that there is still pending litigation between American Express and MasterCard as well as between Discover and both MasterCard and Visa. Jane J. Kim reports on the settlement for the Wall St. Journal.

• Intuit Appoints Neil Williams Chief Financial Officer
• Diebold Announces New ATM Card Skimming Detection Technology
• U.S. Biometrics Corporation and VALID Systems Deploy Innovative Technology for Servicing the Underbanked Consumer
• Borders Enlists CyberSource for eCommerce Payment Management
• Citi's Web-banking Platform Ranked #1 Online Corporate and Commercial Banking Platform By Greenwich Associates
• Fair Isaac and Asia Banking Leaders Explore Strategies for Balancing Growth and Risk through Smarter Decisions
• MasterCard SpendingPulse(TM) to Launch in the UK