The next Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp scheduled for January 20-21 in the San Francisco Bay Area is filling quickly. The January session will be taught by Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson and Scott Loftesness. If you're interested in attending this session, please register as soon as possible to ensure you get a seat!

Elizabeth Williamson reports for the Wall St. Journal that Citigroup has agreed to a deal with top Democratic senators that would "would allow judges to set new repayment terms for millions of mortgage holders who wind up in bankruptcy court." Williamson notes that the deal represents a change in direction by the financial services industry who have historically resisted efforts to allow judges to adjust mortgage loan principal amounts for consumers in bankruptcy.

The latest G.19 Consumer Credit data released today by the Federal Reserve shows that US consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 3.75% with revolving credit declining at an annual rate of 3.5%. CreditCards.com reports that the decline is the largest percentage drop since 1998 and the largest ever decline in dollar terms.

m-Via, a new mobile money remittance company, has posted a "sneak peek" of its new offering which will be launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas later today. m-Via says it is "the first solution for remitting money via ANY mobile phone from the USA to Mexico, South America and the Philippines. m-Via will only be sold via wireless retailers in the United States beginning in January."

Microsoft has introduced the Microsoft Tag. Microsoft says that the tags...

"...tranform physical media (print advertising, billboards,product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images)—into live links for accessing information and entertainment online. With the Microsoft Tag application, just aim your camera phone at a Tag and instantly access mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!"

Here's a tag I just created that links to the URL for Payments News:

Here's a video with more details. What can you think to do with tags in your organization?

Ingenico has announced a new open architecture security enhancement, the Ingenico On-Guard solution, that the company says "will encrypt cardholder data from the transaction terminal to the merchant host, thus adding a significant security layer to card transactions that used to communicate in the clear. The new solution will be available on the Ingenico terminals sold in North America." READ MORE

• PCI Blog: Cloud Computing and PCI - VM Image Sprawl
• Bloomberg.com Canada: Consumer Credit Cards Greater Worry Than Mortgages
• CreditCards.com: How to turn your driver's license into a debit card
• Washington Post's Security Fix Blog:Caveat Emptor: Watch Out for Phantom Stores
• Brisbane Times (Australia): Credit cards shun rate cut
• Branded Marketing Taps Former MasterCard Director Of Hispanic Marketing Sandro F. Oré As Chief Marketing Officer
• Auric Systems International: Non-profit organizations given the ability to accept secure donations online through software gift from leading payment software company
• Shop To Earn E-Commerce Business Model Gives Online Shoppers Cash Back
• Time of India: Where women walk the red carpet to banking
• Computerworld: Clock ticking for gas stations to pump up data security
• New Mercator Advisory Group Report: Mobile Commerce and Remote Payments: Consumers and Merchants are getting it, but will they really Use It?
• StorefrontBacktalk: Retail Adoption Of Alternative Payments Soars 23 Percent, BillMeLater and PayPal Tied