Zhang Fengming writes for ShanghaiDaily.com about China UnionPay - reporting that "building up UnionPay as China's world-class payment brand is on the schedule of the grand plan to set Shanghai up as a global financial hub in the five years ending 2010."

Chevron Products Co. has announced that it has signed a deal with Blackhawk Network to sell Chevron and Texaco gift cards to consumers through Blackhawk's retail network. Chevron gift cards in $25 and $50 values are now available for purchase at select Safeway and Vons stores throughout California.

BB&T Corporation has announced the selection of Evolution Benefits to provide card services for its Health Savings Account product.

Small business owners around the world have differing views on the current business climate but feel more optimistic (28%) than not (21%) about the upcoming year, according to MasterCard's annual Global Small Business Survey.

TowerGroup says that retail banks must begin to match the retail industry in how they interact with customer, process orders, and create relationships - or the future of banking could lead to a "powered-by" environment where banks compete for business on a per-transaction basis.

Shanghai SmartPay Jieyin Ltd., ("SmartPay") an electronic payment services provider in China, has announced the completion of a Series B round of equity financing. Under the terms of the financing, RRE Ventures, Evolution
Capital, Lunar Group Capital and other existing shareholders will provide equity financing of approximately US$ 10 million.

Visa Europe has announced the appointment of Mariano Dima as Executive Vice-President Marketing & Products -responsible for advertising, marketing, sponsorships and product development for Visa Europe. Dima was previously European Marketing Vice President for Levi Strauss & Co., based in Brussels.

comScore Networks has released its estimates of consumer online non-travel (retail) spending at U.S. sites for the 2006 holiday season through December 15. During the first 45 days of the holiday season, total online retail spending reached $19.48 billion, marking a 25-percent increase versus the corresponding days in 2005.

• New CEO for Oberthur Card Systems
• Arvest Bank Fights Fraud with CheckFree FraudNet
• Fujitsu PalmSecure(TM) Technology Receives Certification From International Biometric Group
• HSBC to Implement Fraud Detection Service From VeriSign to Enhance Customer Protection
• VendTek announces establishment of Now Prepay network in the United States
• Acxiom Digital-Sponsored Survey Shows Majority of Online Adults Find E-mail Communications Are Valuable and Influence Purchases
• EFG Eurobank Selects Hypercom Payment & Networking Devices to Support Regional Network, Names Hypercom Provider of Choice
• Digital Insight Delivers Multifactor Authentication to Its Large Base of Consumer and Business Internet Banking Clients
• Asia Payments Agrees to Acquire Companies in China and Hong Kong
• Wells Fargo Recognized by Independent Research Firm for Designing the Highest-Rated B2B Site of All Sites Reviewed
• Commerce Bank Eliminates $250,000 of Suspect Items with Goldleaf’s WinGUARD
• OTI Reaches New Milestone in Contactless Payments Market: Solutions for 130,000 Readers and 20 Million Cards Shipped to Date
• PSCU Financial Services Selects TriCipher for Multi-Factor Authentication