Ashley Seager reports for the UK's Guardian that the value of goods sold over the internet rose by 50% this Christmas compared with last year according to figures from the Interactive Media in Retail Group.

Vindicia, a Foster City, CA-based company focused on payment infrastructure for digital merchants, has posted position openings for a Director of Product Management and a Senior Software Engineer.

Visa International is seeking a Director for its Strategic Ventures and Alliances group, based in Foster City, CA.

Earlier this week, PR firm Bite Communications, on behalf of a mysterious group called StopInterchangeNow.com, published a press release about a small protest outside the Javitz Center in New York City where the National Retail Federation's annual conference was being held.   » Continue Reading

The Emerging Payments Research Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has published a call for papers for its second annual Consumer Behavior and Payment Choice Conference to be held in Boston, MA on July 26-27, 2006.   » Continue Reading

Expatica reports that a legal complaint aimed at cutting interchange fees charged by credit card groups VISA and Mastercard has been filed in German with the country's federal monopolies body.   » Continue Reading

Ezra Roizen writes for AlwaysOn about BitPass and new CEO Doug Knopper.   » Continue Reading

American Express has announced that McDonald's USA has begun accepting ExpressPay from American Express. Cardholders can use ExpressPay at more than 12,000 McDonald's restaurants nationwide.   » Continue Reading

The BBC reports on the status of the "chip and PIN" rollout on credit and debit cards in the UK based on a recent survey by Retail Decisions.   » Continue Reading

People's Daily Online reports that American Express is considering applying for a banking license in China.   » Continue Reading

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

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