Internet Retailer is reporting the results from its first online merchant survey on potential debit card steering practices. Bottom line: one in six online merchants plan to take steps to encourage debit card usage.

39.6% of respondents said they didn’t know debit card fees were going down; a further 43.2% said they have no plans to encourage more debit card spending on their retail sites, while 17.1% will take steps to lower their costs by encouraging debit card payments.

Glenbrook's Russ Jones blogged about POS Steering in the Age of Durbin earlier this year.

PaymentOne has announced the company "surpassed $5 billion in micro-payment transactions and incremental revenue generation for its digital clients. PaymentOne enables publishers, application developers and digital merchants such as AOL, Blizzard Entertainment and Gaia Online to sell more virtual goods, online and mobile services, and recurring digital subscriptions to consumers around the world." PaymentOne was an earlier pioneer in bill-to-carrier payments.

American Express and Groupon Hong Kong have announced that the two companies are partnering to let American Express Cardmembers redeem Membership Rewards for Groupon cash vouchers at a 60% discount.

The collaboration sets a major milestone for both American Express and Groupon Hong Kong. Groupon Hong Kong has become the first Membership Rewards partner of American Express from the online group-buying category, adding a new dimension to the American Express Membership Rewards program and offering American Express Cardmembers broader choice in their rewards selection.

In related news, American Express also announced a new reward card for business customers that earns double points for spending on online advertising.

On the web:

• Digital Money Facing a Challenging Road - Rethink Wireless
• The Disintermediation of the Point of Sale Industry - Point of Sale News
• A New Payment Instrument for Britain: The Deposit Cheque - Consult Hyperion Blog
• Square No Longer Requires Signatures For Transactions Under $25 - TechCrunch
• VeriFone CEO Bergeron May Deploy $1 Billion Annually for Acquisitions - Bloomberg
• Is Recent EMV Announcement the Catalyst the U.S. Needs to Catch Up? - Portals and Rails
• Google Adds Carrier Billing (via Vodafone) to Android Market in UK - thinq_
• Debit Overdraft Fees, While Voluntary, Are Still Steep - New York Times
• Debit Card Fees Could Signal Trend - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On the wires:

• Western Union Now Available in Namibia in Collaboration with Magnet Bureau De Change
• Cloud Billing Software Provider MetraTech Collaborates with Scribe for Online Billing Integration
• Failsafe Payments Adds TrustPay To CertoConnect