InComm and NetSpend has announced a distribution agreement that the two companies say "will give many of InComm’s retail partner locations the opportunity to sell and reload the NetSpend general purpose reloadable debit card. InComm — the industry’s largest retail distribution network — will further add to NetSpend’s reload network of 93,000 locations." READ MORE »

In a post titled "It's the Online Holiday Season!" over on our sister blog PaymentsViews.com, Glenbrook's Russ Jones takes a look at some of the statistics regarding online eCommerce sales this holiday season.

Russ notes that "we’re wondering if this season might represent a significant inflection point in the shift towards online retail?"

American Greetings has updated its iPhone application (introduced earlier this year) to include an option for consumers to take advantage of special coupons for paper greetings, redeemable at American Greetings retailers nationwide.

"We have received great feedback from consumers on the iPhone application, and we are excited to bring this successful app to the greeting card aisle," said Dan Miller, vice president of product management and user experience at AmericanGreetings.com. "This is a great example of how American Greetings is continuing to expand our presence for consumers to offer solutions and great value wherever they shop." READ MORE »

The UK Payments Council has announced that "the Payments Council Board has agreed to set a target date of 31st October 2018 to close the central cheque clearing. Cheque use is in long-term, terminal decline. The Payments Council was faced with the choice of either managing the decline to ensure that personal and business cheque users have alternatives easily available to them; or to stand back and let the decline take its course. It has decided that its active involvement can help prevent confusion and deliver cheque alternatives that are acceptable to cheque users. The Payments Council wants to ensure that consumers and businesses are not left high and dry when the closure of the clearing occurs." READ MORE »

GlobalCollect and Varien have announced a strategic partnership aimed at empowering online retailers to meet their global sales objectives. "The Magento e-commerce platform, developed by Varien, is based on open source technology that provides merchants with high levels of flexibility and control over the user experience, content, and functionality of their e- commerce channel. By joining forces with GlobalCollect, Magento’s clients gain access to an unrivalled portfolio of local, alternative, and international payment methods in over 200 countries and for 170 currencies." READ MORE »

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