Wal-Mart says resolved Dec. 26 gift card issues

NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) said it faced glitches with its gift-card verification system on the day after Christmas, when a large number of its customers came to its stores for post-Christmas shopping, but resolved them on the same day.

The problem, which occurred in several regions across the United States intermittently throughout the afternoon, was due to processing errors with its third-party verifier's systems, Wal-Mart said in an e-mailed statement.

Though the problem hampered a small number of gift-card transactions, there were no additional problems once the initial issue was resolved, Wal-Mart said.

The third-party verifier ValueLink, whose parent company is First Data, did not return a call seeking comment.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman; Editing by Gary Hill)

((aarthi.sivaraman@reuters.com; +1 646 223 6191; Reuters Messaging: aarthi.sivaraman.reuters.com@reuters.net))

See here -- SHOP TALK -- Reuters' retail and consumer blog

(C) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nN28500972