In news that could affect the evolution of mobile banking and mobile payments, a broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies have announced they have joined forces to develop Android - calling it "the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices." Google, T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.

CardinalCommerce and Bill Me Later have announced that consumer electronics retailer Crutchfield Corporation has deployed the Bill Me Later payment option. According to the companies: "since it rolled out Bill Me Later in its call center and on its web site, approximately 40 percent of Crutchfield’s Bill Me Later sales come through the Bill Me Later Network and nearly 60 percent of those Bill Me Later users are new customers for the retailer."

Blackhawk Network has announced it is teaming with the National Football League (NFL) as the NFL's gift card partner.

Scotiabank has announced it will be participating in a Canadian payment industry trial of EMV chip technology in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.

The Strawhecker Group has announced the availability of its fourth annual 2007 US Merchant Processing Pricing Benchmark Study prepared by surveying the merchant acquiring industry to determine the prevailing line item pricing rates for high volume merchant processing.

Sanjay Bhargava writes from India: "I am heading a business model sub committee of the Mobile Payment Forum of India. Our report is due Jan 31, 2008. One section of the report is called Global Learnings and the secretary Dr. Mahil Carr who is part of IDRBT (a research institution set up by the Central Bank in India - RBI) is working on this. This is to request any of you who have inputs, case studies, reports etc. that maybe useful to Dr. Carr to send them to him at: mahilcarr@idrbt.ac.in. Here is your chance to influence thinking in India."

APACS has released its latest quarterly statistical summary on UK payments. Among the statistics reported, debit cards continued to grow in usage representing 71.7% of all plastic card purchases in the UK, up from 70.1% last year. Outstanding credit card balances in the UK have declined by £1.4 billion over the last year to £32.2 billion.

EFYtimes.com reports on mChek's introduction of the mChek mobile payments solution for ecommerce merchants.

MasterCard has announced an organizational realignment it says is "designed to improve performance in the marketplace by broadening executive responsibilities, hiring a new senior executive and beginning the transition process for the retirement of its Chief Operating Officer, Alan J. Heuer, at the end of 2008."

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