The Center for Responsible Lending has put out a press release noting that Federal banking regulators last week "withdrew proposed rules that would have largely failed to protect consumers from astronomically high-cost, unsolicited overdraft loans. The Fed then immediately issued a new proposal containing two alternative approaches. The impact the new proposal will have on abusive fees depends primarily on which approach the Fed ultimately chooses." READ MORE

Chase Paymentech's 2008 Pulse Index of online shopping activity shows that last Tuesday, December 16, was an all-time high record number of transactions. Since Tuesday, sales have tapered off, falling even below last year's and 2006's volumes on both Saturday and Sunday. The average ticket amount remains about 10 percent below last year's levels.

Visa has released results from a new consumer survey finding that "saving for emergencies and a rainy day (30 percent) topped the list of what Americans set aside money for, followed by retirement (20 percent) and education (10 percent). Overall, sixty-six percent of Americans surveyed said they set aside some amount every month for major expenses." READ MORE

Payvision, an international payment solutions provider for the card-not-present marketplace, has announced it has formed a strategic alliance with Moneybookers, Ltd. Moneybookers offers over 50 domestic payment options in over 200 countries and customer service in 12 languages. This new mutual relationship will enhance Payvision’s already extensive offering with Moneybookers’ alternative payment solutions. READ MORE

The US federal bank, credit union, and thrift regulatory agencies have announced publication of a revised identity theft brochure titled You Have the Power to Stop Identity Theft to assist consumers in preventing and resolving identity theft. The updated brochure focuses primarily on Internet "phishing" by describing how phishing works, offering ways to protect against identity theft, and detailing steps to follow for victims of identity theft. The brochure includes contact information for three major credit bureaus, where to report suspicious e-mails, and where to access additional information.

Monitise and NatWest have announced a commission-free international mobile phone payment transfer service between the bank's customers’ current accounts in the UK and their PKO BP accounts in Poland. READ MORE

Bankrate has released the findings of a new poll which found that "40% of US consumers say they would not be upset if their credit lines disappeared. In fact, of the respondents who have credit cards, nearly one-third (32 percent) say they will probably charge less in 2009. A much smaller group (only 5 percent) responded that they would be devastated with the loss of access to their credit cards." READ MORE