Are you as big a fan of Apple's iPhone (and iPod touch) as I am? If so, here's a reminder about an iPhone edition of Payments News that we've specially tailored for viewing on the iPhone. You can find it here: http://www.paymentsnews.com/m

Jack Henry & Associates has announced the acquisition of Washington-based Pemco Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of PEMCO Corporation and one of the nation's leading providers of payment processing solutions primarily for the credit union industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. READ MORE

Paymetric has announced that it has added Nick Sommerio, chief financial officer and Kevin Ferguson, senior vice president of business development, to the company`s executive management team. Sommerio joins from RBS WorldPay where he was chief financial officer for the past two years. Ferguson was most recently senior vice president and managing director of global field operations for SunGard Banks where he oversaw the product management and market strategy for the retail banking line of business.

Zong has officially announced the launch Zong+, calling it "the first online mobile payment platform combining carrier billing with credit, debit and prepaid cards. Now, in addition to making online purchases through their cell phone bill, Zong customers will also be able to link any type of payment card to their Zong account through a one-time entry process and continue to purchase goods by simply entering their mobile number and confirming the security transaction code sent to their phone." READ MORE

Payments industry veteran John M. Perry has joined Transaction Network Services Payments division as General Manager of the Americas. Perry`s role will focus on "driving the growth of TNS' payments business by exploring new market opportunities and developing the company's global customer base."

Prior to joining TNS, Mr Perry was Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at Ruesch International. He brings more than 20 years experience in the financial services and payments industries to TNS and has also spent time in executive positions at First Data, Elavon, Visa and Wells Fargo. READ MORE

First Data has announced that its STAR Network is the first electronic funds transfer network to launch load and reload support for STAR-branded general purpose prepaid cards. Using patent pending technology, the STAR Network has completed the infrastructure to enable load and reload functionality at participating ATM and POS locations. The expanded transaction set includes activation, load/reload and split tender purchases – with PIN-security and the associated reduction in fraud built in. The new STAR RELOAD service icon denoting load/reload card capabilities will be displayed with the STAR brand on participating cards, merchant point-of-sale and ATM locations. READ MORE

Over on our sister PaymentsViews.com site, Glenbrook's Russ Jones takes a look at Amazon's just introduced PayPhrase checkout feature.

Jones writes:

I’ve long argued with Glenbrook colleagues that payment cards today are too spend-centric and too easily abused. Maybe the banking industry could learn something from Amazon about both convenience and security."

Amazon Payments has announced Amazon PayPhrase, an easy-to-remember shortcut for consumers paying on Amazon.com and other websites. "With Amazon PayPhrase, online shoppers simply choose their own customized phrase — such as “Knick Knack,” “Home Sweet Home,” or “Jake’s Allowance” — and then enter that phrase along with a PIN to quickly preview their order and complete their purchase. PayPhrase allows Amazon.com customers to checkout across the web with their preferred payment and shipping methods stored at Amazon.com, but without having to share sensitive payment information with multiple websites."

All websites accepting Checkout by Amazon, including DKNY, Jockey, Patagonia, Buy.com, J&R Electronics, and Car Toys, will be offering PayPhrase as a checkout option. Amazon.com customers can create their PayPhrase and start using it today by visiting http://www.amazon.com/payphrase. An introductory video is available that explains the service. READ MORE

TechCrunch reports on the introduction of Zong+, an extension to its original model of billing small purchases to your cell phone account that adds the ability to make purchases from a payment card account linked to your mobile number by Zong.

Zong+ allows consumers to make larger transactions -over $9.99. Merchants/publishers will benefit from lower fees and more timely settlement on Zong+ transactions because the mobile operator isn't getting a piece of the transaction amounts. Consumers benefit from being able to use their existing payment cards and while earning rewards, etc.

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