Fiserv has announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CashEdge for $465 million.

CashEdge adds to Fiserv’s capabilities in areas such as account-to-account transfer, account opening and funding, data aggregation, small business payments, and person-to-person (P2P) payments. Both companies are in-market today with financial institution-centric P2P services that enable payments to be made from one account to another, Fiserv with ZashPay® and CashEdge with Popmoney®. This combination should accelerate Fiserv’s ability to provide new capabilities such as P2P money request, and small business electronic invoicing and remittance.

American Express OPEN has announced the launch of YourBuzz, a "free tool to help small businesses manage their online presence, learn what is being said about them and their competitors, and connect with customers in the places where they are most vocal—social media."

YourBuzz is powered exclusively for American Express OPEN by Clickable, an award-winning developer of online advertising solutions. The product is available for all small business owners and not limited to American Express Cardmembers.

Admeris Payments has announced OneTouch, a mobile-optimized payments platform for online sellers.

OneTouch, Admeris' end-to-end PCI-compliant mobile commerce platform, is intelligently designed to simplify smartphone purchases with credit cards and banking accounts. For businesses, this translates into a powerful market opportunity to generate more sales through smartphones without complicated account setup and login methods. The end result is higher conversion rates on transactions and reduced chargebacks.

BOKU has announced that its 1-Tap Mobile Billing for Android capability is now live in 56 countries.

The developer SDK opens up significantly expanded revenue opportunities to Android developers via direct carrier billing for in-app purchases, along with a consumer reach that spans the globe. Once integrated, BOKU’s production Android SDK provides users with a simple 1-Tap purchase process that does not require the collection of credit cards, financial information, user login, or registration through a third-party website.

Western Union has announced the launch of the Western Union Money Transfer Receive Card.

The innovative new card gives consumers a simple way to receive money transfers. All they have to do is pick up a card at a select Western Union Agent location in the U.S. and complete the transaction to receive a money transfer online or over the phone. The process is seamless and can be completed quickly, with no forms to fill out.

On the web:

• Fed Caps Debit Card Fees for Merchants - New York Times
• MobilePayUSA Getting Ready to Bring POS Payments Without NFC in Q4 2011 - intomobile
• Checking Out VeriFone's New Square Copycat - AllThingsD

On the wires:

• China UnionPay and MasterCard Sign Payment Gateway Service Agreement
• Avangate Rounds Out BRIC Payment Methods Support with Boleto Bancario
• New Mercator Report on the GPR Prepaid Card as Alternative to a Bank Account

The Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve have issued the final rule governing debit card interchange fees, the fraud prevention adjustment, and routing and exclusivity restrictions. To summarize the final rule:

• Debit interchange cap - $0.21 plus 5 bps (for both signature debit and PIN debit)

• Fraud prevention adjustment - $0.01 (interim rule)

• Routing restrictions and network exclusivity - Option A (two unaffiliated debit network)

• Relevant dates
  • Sep 30, 2011 - Public comments on interim rule are due
  • Oct 01, 2011 - Effective date for debit interchange cap, fraud prevention adjustment
  • Apr 01, 2012 - Effective date for network non-exclusivity for most debit card issuers
  • Apr 01, 2013 - Effective date for network non-exclusivity for non-reloadable (i.e. gift cards) and health benefit prepaid card issuers
• Card Present vs Card Not Present - No distinction

The full staff memorandum to the Board of Governors, the interim rule on the fraud prevention adjustment, and the final rule (Regulation II, Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) are available online.

For a complete analysis of the final rule, join us for a special 90 minute Glenbrook webinar that explores the impact of various participants in the payments ecosystem. Wednesday, July 6th, 10:30AM - 12:00 PST, $149. Register Now.

American Express announced today that Cardmembers will now be able to pay for Facebook Ads using Membership Rewards points.

American Express’ industry-leading Membership Rewards program is a featured benefit used by millions of American Express small business and consumer Cardmembers. Facebook is the most popular social media site for small business owners, and Facebook’s advertising platform reaches more than 500 million people globally. With the addition of Membership Rewards points as a payment option, business owners now have a powerful new way to build their businesses through the rapidly growing area of social media advertising.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued a supplement to the Authentication in an Internet Banking Environment guidance, issued in October 2005. "The purpose of the supplement is to reinforce the risk-management framework described in the original guidance and update the FFIEC member agencies' supervisory expectations regarding customer authentication, layered security, and other controls in the increasingly hostile online environment."

On the web:

• How Wal-Mart Swiped JPMorgan in $16 Billion Debit-Card Lobbying Battle - Bloomberg
• PayPal Retires Money Market Fund - AuctionBytes
• BillMyParents.com Traffic Spikes to 600,000 Unique Visitors - NetBanker
• Symantec: Android and iOS differ widely on security - Rethink Wireless
• Accel Puts $34 Million In Online Payments Platform Braintree - TechCrunch
• Appeals Court Upholds Denial in Debit Fee Case - Forbes.com
• Zong Calls for Lower Operator Revenue Shares - GSMA Mobile Business Briefing
• Group files FTC complaint over Facebook Credits - MarketWatch
• Credit Card Problems Abroad - Readers Respond - NYTimes.com

On the wires:

• Dynamics Inc. Raises $35 Million in Series B Funding
• PayCommerce Announces Processor-Agnostic Gateway Services for ISOs
• ReadSoft Enters into Global e-Invoicing Partnership with OB10
• Zuora Adds Support Four Leading Payment Gateways

Intuit has announced it has acquired mobile Web banking technology assets from Mobile Money Ventures, or MMV, a "leading global provider of next-generation mobile financial solutions."

Mobile Money Ventures, based in San Mateo, Calif., was formed in 2008 as a joint venture that combined the strengths of Citigroup, a leading, global financial services company, and SK Telecom Americas, an early-stage technology innovator.

U.S. Bank and TSYS have announced an agreement for TSYS to provide core processing services to Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank.

“TSYS is one of the leading processors of commercial payments in Europe, now processing in 17 countries across the continent,” said Bob Evans, managing director of Europe, TSYS International. “U.S. Bank’s decision to work with TSYS in Europe is a testament to the strong relationship that exists in the U.S. and the experience TSYS has gained through our expansion in Europe.”

U.S. Bank will begin issuing corporate cards in Europe this summer.

CorFire has announced a strategic partnership with InComm.

The partners will deploy a mobile commerce platform that will deliver promotion, loyalty, and general payment solutions to national merchants and their customers. Different from other mobile wallet platforms, the solution works within a merchant-branded environment that gives consumers a wallet experience that is tailored to the specific retailer.

CorFire's offering include its Trusted Services Manager (TSM) platform, a robust mobile wallet platform, and a state-of-the-art suite of mobile marketing platform.

Authentify has announced that it is offering early, limited availability of its Authentify 2CHK™ service. "2CHK (spoken as '2 check') is an always-on transaction authentication service. 2CHK provides consumers with a simple and familiar way to double check their online transactions in real time via a second secure channel on their mobile devices or desktop."

On the web:

• Rich? Have We Got the Credit Card for You - Wall Street Journal
• Isracard in Pilot to use Cell Phone as Credit Card - Globes Online
• Mobile Payment Players Swallow Their Egos - eWEEK Europe UK
• How Starbucks Is Paving the Way for Mainstream Mobile Payments - Mashable
• Square Closes That $100 Million Round, Mary Meeker Joins Board - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• London Cabs Gear Up to Accept Cards for 2012 Olympics
• Regions Bank Signs Agreement with Western Union to Offer Global Money Transfer Services
• INSIDE Secure and ZTE Working to Bring NFC Phones to GSM and 3G Networks
• Singapore’s Largest Taxi Operator Selects VeriFone NFC Payment Solution
• Global Blue Selects Hypercom Payment Solutions for Merchant Customers Worldwide
• MoneyGram International Celebrates Milestone: 1,000 locations in France
• ProfitStars Introduces Remote Deposit Anywhere: Mobile and Flatbed RDC Solution
• Online Payment Processor PayLane Introduces Partner Affiliate Program

Register now for Glenbrook's Take - Final Durbin Rules, a special 90 minute webinar where Glenbrook explores the impact of the Federal Reserve Durbin rules. With the final rules being released June 29th, we're bringing together a number of Glenbrook subject matter experts to provide a full 360 degree view of the new 'post-Durbin' landscape:

• Bank Perspective (issuers and acquirers) - Bryan Derman
• Customer Perspective (consumers and merchants) - Scott Loftesness
• Emerging Payments Perspective - Russ Jones

Wednesday, July 6th, 10:30AM - 12:00 PST, $149. Register Now.

S1 and Fundtech have announced a definitive agreement to combine businesses through a stock-for-stock merger, creating an industry leader in transaction banking solutions. Fundtech operates the world's largest SWIFT service bureau. The combined company will be headquartered at S1's headquarters in Atlanta and will be called Fundtech.

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has announced (PDF) clarity around what type of payment applications are eligible for PA-DSS validation and listing.

The PA-DSS program provides standards for developing software applications that store, process or transmit cardholder data. Not all applications involved in payments transactions are eligible for PA-DSS validation, however. To streamline the understanding and process of identifying payment applications that fall under the PA- DSS program, the Council has released the Which Applications are Eligible for PA-DSS Validation? A Guiding Checklist. (PDF)

On the web:

• Citigroup Confirms $2.7 Million Stolen by Hackers - Wall Street Journal
• NFC Market Trial Fails, Says ANZ Bank - ZDNet Australia
• Banking Industry Now Seeking Swipe Fee Implementation Delay - Convenience Store News
• Bank Lobbyist To Fed: Go Easy On Us - Forbes
• How Debit Card Swipe Fee Changes Will Cost You, the Consumer - TIME.com
• What Are You Signing Away With a Signature Instead of a PIN? - Portals and Rails
• Spat between Visa and China UnionPay spills into BC Card in Korea - ChinaDaily.com
• PayPal Hits 100 Million Active Users - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Paymate Acquires ACT Merchant Services
• CashPlus: Prepaid MasterCard Helping Councils to Cut Costs
• ViVOtech Closes $24 Million In Additional Series C Funding
• ActivePath Drives Paperless Adoption in Brazil for Global Top 3 Credit Card Issuer

shopkick has announced that, with Citi sponsorship, it will install its small shopkick Signal box for FREE at the first 1,000 selected stores to enable its beneficial walk-in rewards program.

"Our work with shopkick demonstrates one of the ways we are working to drive growth for our clients and for our company," said Christopher Kay, Head of Ventures, Citi Ventures. "We invest in cutting-edge companies and work with them to deliver new experiences for clients designed around their increasingly digital and mobile lives. shopkick is the leading mobile shopping app and drives measurable foot traffic to its retail partners. We're happy to help make that shopper engagement and customer retention available to smaller businesses."

Citi, through its Citi Ventures unit, is an early investor in shopkick.

The National Retail Federation’s Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) has announced the release of Version 2 of its Digital Receipts standard.

“Retailers love digital receipts because they are environmentally friendly and provide their shoppers with added convenience, especially since mobile devices now play such a large role in the shopping experience,” said ARTS Executive Director Richard Mader. “We believe the release of Version 2 of the standard will accelerate the adoption of digital receipts in years to come.”

On the web:

• Visa Offered 35% Interchange Cut for Small Merchants to Delay Durbin - Digital Transactions
• Peter Thiel: If I'd Known, I Would Never Have Started PayPal - Business Insider
• Beeline and Alfa-Bank Launch Russian Mobile Payments Brand Called RuRu - NFC World
• Discover Chief Says Pulse Has Beefed up for Expected Durbin Volume - Digital Transactions
• PayPal Says Mobile Payments To Hit $3 Billion - Wall Street Journal
• Can 'Zoosh' At The POS Overcome The Mobile Payments Gap? - StorefrontBacktalk
• Danish Cellcos Form Joint Venture to Tackle Mobile Payments - Rethink Wireless
• An Industry Divide over Durbin’s Impact on PIN Debit for E-Commerce - Digital Transactions

On the wires:

• More Americans Plan on Using Credit Card Rewards This Summer to Offset Rising Travel Costs

American Express and foursquare have announced the national rollout of their partnership, which "enables American Express Cardmembers who link their foursquare profiles to their cards to 'load' and seamlessly redeem merchant Specials without the need for coupons, special codes, or showing their mobile devices to cashiers. This unique functionality, powered by the American Express Smart Offer APIs, is the first time this technology has been used to allow cardmembers nationwide to take advantage of merchant Specials offered through foursquare in this easy and straightforward way." READ MORE »

Discover Financial Services has reported financial results for the second quarter 2011. The company said Discover card sales volume was $25 billion in the quarter, an increase of 9% from the prior year. Total loans increased 5% from the prior year to $52.5 billion, while credit card loans declined 1%. Credit card loan balances grew $644 million, or 1% from the prior quarter. The delinquency rate for credit card loans over 30 days past due reached a 25-year record low of 2.79% and the credit card net charge-off rate declined to 5.01%.

The US Federal Reserve has reported its latest G.19 Consumer Credit statistics - finding that " consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3% in April 2011. Nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 5.25%, while revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 1.5%."

On the web:

• An "Open" Perspective on Near Field Communications - ReadWriteWeb
• Card.io Enables Card Data Capture with Phone Camera - PCMag.com
• Eric Schmidt: Mobile Payments at Retail to Explode - CNET News
• Survey: Discounts and Coupons Will Drive Adoption of Mobile Payments - NFC World
• Apple Is Now Pimping Square’s iPad App In A 'How-To' Video - TechCrunch
• Itautec Unveils 3-D ATM in Brazil - ATM Marketplace

On the wires:

• Chase Upgrades Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card by Adding Amazon Shop with Points
• Optum EFT Solution Makes Health Care Payments Faster and Cheaper
• SponsorPay Introduces Offer-Based Monetization Suite For Publishers

The U.S. Federal Reserve has announced the Board of Governors will issue its final rules on the Durbin Amendment at 3:30pm EDT, June 29th. The discussion agenda includes debit card interchange fees, the fraud prevention adjustment, routing and exclusivity restrictions, and related matters.

The meeting will be webcast, and meeting documentation will be available 20 minutes ahead of time. Links to both will be available from www.federalreserve.gov.

MetraTech has announced the launch of Metanga, its multi-tenant software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based billing solution, on Microsoft Windows Azure. "As a native Windows Azure building block solution, Metanga is immediately available and provides Microsoft’s 78,000 independent software vendor (ISV) customers with the shortest path to cloud-based enrollment, billing and customer care."

Over on the Quickbooks Online Blog, Intuit has announced that the Intuit PaymentNetwork (IPN) is now seamlessly integrated with QuickBooks Online.

A small business can now send an invoice through QuickBooks Online and get paid fast using IPN. QuickBooks online invoices enabled for online payments will now have a link for the end customer to directly pay the small business. The plot thickens with the added benefits of low cost (only 50 cent/payment), faster funding (next day funding for most payments less than $5000) and automatic reconciliation.

On the web:

• Isis Plans Mobile Payments Launch in Austin - Reuters
• Merchants Shred Costs of Payments by Plastic - Wall Street Journal

On the wires:

• U.S. Bank Launches Payment Plus to Automate Business Payments in Canada
• New Corporate Insight Report on Mobile Finance Landscape
• Cardtronics to Acquire EDC ATM Business