Sitter Pals has announced that it now offers parents the convenience and ease of paying babysitters with credit cards through their partnership with Square. This partnership also illustrate a good use case for the recently announced Square Card Case.

For regular families the sitter babysits for, they can utilize Square’s Card Case to pay through identity and payment details stored in their account, without even having to pull out their credit cards.

U.S. Bank has announced the implementation of Secure Vault Payments (SVP), a "new consumer online payment option, for the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin's Polytechnic University. UW-Stout students and parents are able to initiate online tuition payments with SVP using a consumer online bank account at U.S. Bank or any Secure Vault Payment-enabled financial institution."

A new report entitled "Shadowy Figures: Tracking Illicit Financial Transactions in the Murky World of Digital Currencies, Peer-to-Peer Networks, and Mobile Device Payments" has just been published by the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

The combination of the enormous growth in social networks, the complexity of peer-to-peer systems and software, and the number of Internet and wirelessly connected devices is altering the landscape of financial transactions at a rate and to a degree that is unprecedented.

PaymentOne has announced a direct carrier billing relationship with Telefonica Germany. "Telefonica Germany is part of Telefonica SA, a leading provider of broadband and mobile services and the second largest carrier group in the world. The mpass system -- driven by Telefonica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone -- enables merchants to accept direct carrier billed payments for virtual, digital and physical goods."

On the web:

• PayNearMe Now Lets You Pay Your Utility Bill At The Local 7-Eleven Store - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• PDS to Develop Robust Mobile Payments Acceptance Application
• Payfirma Launches Canada's First Blackberry Mobile Payment App
• USA Technologies Expands JumpStart Offering to Include Stand-Alone Wireless Telemetry Option
• First Data Selects Trusteer to Help Financial Institutions Comply with new FFIEC Guidance for Online Banking Security

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has announced a new service that will allow its clients to accept 85 different online payment types from their customers globally.

"Our tech-focused clients are selling internationally, even at their earliest stages, so we make every effort to make it easy for them to operate globally," said Pradeep T. Moudgal, Head of Global Cards and Merchant Services, Silicon Valley Bank. "Our clients will find our new payments service is extremely convenient, giving them the ability to deposit funds of any major currency directly into their SVB multi-currency or in-country accounts."

SVB's card processing services are provided through Merchant e-Solutions and Adyen, its international card processing partner.

Over on our sister blog, Payments Views, Glenbrook's Russ Jones takes a look at purchase friction in mobile commerce and wonders if the industry's fascination with mobile coupling isn't missing the point.

In practice, sellers will use any number of tactics to group buyers with different price sensitivities into different categories. Many of these tactics are based on adding friction to the buying process in order to distinguish the price sensitive customer (who will endure the inconvenience to get the better price) from the non-price sensitive customer (who values convenience).

Fiserv has announced the 'Mobiliti' suite of products for mobile banking, mobile alerts, and mobile payments.

Mobiliti unites the functionality of Mobile Money from Fiserv and BankAnywhere from the recently acquired M-Com within a single product suite, and will replace both of those product brands. Mobiliti is available in multiple distinct versions tailored for use by financial institutions of varying sizes within both the United States and international markets.

Mobiliti supports all three major mobile access modes -- SMS, mobile browser, and downloadable app.

VeriFone has announced a "new direct distribution relationship for retailers, acquirers and processors in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. These organizations will now be able to obtain products, services, support and value-added solutions directly from VeriFone."

Several new positions for payments professionals have recently been posted to Glenbrook's payments industry job board in August:

• Senior Account Manager - Litle & Co - Lowell, MA
• Senior Director, Business Development - Obopay - Redwood City, CA
• Director of Competitive/Market Intelligence - PayPal - San Jose, CA

On the web:

• Square, the iPhone Credit Card Machine, Goes Mainstream - The Atlantic Monthly
• Free Checking Thrives at Smaller Banks, Durbin Notwithstanding - American Banker
• Carriers to Invest $100 Million in Isis Mobile Payments Venture - Mobiledia
• Will ModoPayments Finally Monetize Check-In? - TechCrunch
• Sizing the Mobile Payments Market - eMarketer

On the wires:

• X-Cart and CRE Secure Partner to Eliminate PCI Scope for eCommerce Merchants
• GlobalCollect Joins Demandware LINK to Provide Pre-Built Integrations to Retailers
• SHAZAM Supports Adaptive Payments' Pentagon Mobile Payment Technology

The PCI Security Standards Council has announced an update to the PCI DSS Wireless Guidelines Information Supplement, providing organizations with the current PCI DSS considerations for implementing wireless technology securely in payments environments. The supplement adds guidance specific to Bluetooth technologies and rogue wireless access points.

Dwolla has a announced a new feature in their mobile money app called 'Proxi' that "allows Dwolla users to exchange funds with people and merchants in their proximity without the need for cash, cards or near field communication (NFC) technology." TechCrunch has a nice overview.

On the web:

• Save On Gas With Text Payments at POS and Smartphone App - Point of Sale News
• Seeing What Dimly Lies in the Distance: Parting Thoughts on Addressing Payments System Risk - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Paytoo Announces a Multi-currency Mobile Payment Platform
• BlueVia Launches a Global Payment API with Partner BOKU
• Jumio Payment Goes WordPress - A Credit Card Reader for Every Blog
• GETI and Alliance Payment Systems Announce Partnership for Point of Sale Check Processing
• ROAM Data Secure Swipers Distributed with Intuit GoPayment in Verizon Retail Stores
• Fulton Financial Corporation Selects Fiserv
• VeriFone Ships 500,000th System to Swedish Partner Point Transaction Systems

Fall payments boot camps in San Francisco and New York, Final Durbin Rules webinar, and revised eCommerce market analysis reports...

Payments Boot Camps – Two day “deep dive” into the industry, $1995

Oct 04-05, 2011: Santa Clara, CA - Allen Weinberg and Carol Coye Benson

Oct 26-27, 2011: New York, NY - Bryan Derman and Carol Coye Benson

Dec 07-08, 2011: Santa Clara, CA - Scott Loftesness and Carol Coye Benson

Payments Essentials Webinars Library

Glenbrook's webinar analyzing the Final Durbin Rules - with Bryan Derman, Scott Loftesness, and Russ Jones - is now available for playback in the Payments Essentials Library, $149.

eCommerce Market Analysis Reports

Glenbrook's report on the Chine eCommerce market has been revised to reflect 2010 data, new payments acceptance providers, and much greater detail on mobile commerce in China.

Verizon Wireless and Intuit have announced a strategic alliance to offering Intuit's GoPayment app and pocket-sized credit card reader in Verizon Wireless' 2,300 retail stores and business-to-business sales channels.

"Rather than lose out on potential business, anyone who sells a product or service can now easily and affordably give their customers the option of paying with plastic," said Chris Hylen, general manager of Intuit's Payment Solutions division. "GoPayment is meeting a huge need and is one of the fastest growing mobile payment solutions in the market. With Verizon Wireless, we'll help even more people discover that they too can process credit card payments on the phones or tablets they already own."

BOKU has announced that it has "launched direct carrier billing with French carriers Bouygues Telecom and SFR, a subsidiary of Vivendi, adding to existing direct billing with Orange France. The partnership offers over an additional 32 million French customers the ability to pay for digital goods and services using only their existing wireless service account, with the charge appearing on their carrier bill. With this agreement, nearly all mobile users in France will benefit from BOKU direct carrier billing."

On the web:

• Vodafone to Extend Android Billing Worldwide - Rethink Wireless
• Mobile On/Off Switch for Debit Cards Now in Testing - American Banker
• Are Cheques Really Here to Stay in UK? - ThisIsMoney.co.uk
• Why Kenya’s M-Pesa Won’t Work Anywhere Else - memeburn

On the wires:

• Frontier Airlines Selects Accertify to Provide Online Fraud Protection
• NYPAY Event: Alternative Payments & Disruptive Innovation - Where Will the Winners Come From?
• E-invoicing Made Simple: the IKB Leasing Group signs up with Crossgate
• TransFirst Acquires Solveras Payment Solutions

Fifth Third Bank has announced the introduction of its Duo Card.

The Duo Card is a combined credit and debit card providing customers the convenience of conducting all card transactions with one plastic. Fifth Third Bank is the first card issuer in the U.S. to offer this dual functionality and the Duo MasterCard cards are now available.

Consumers control the funding source (DDA or line of credit) using the debit and credit buttons on the card reader, effectively entering their PIN for debit or signing for credit.

Travelex Global Business Payments and Bean Services, an "award winning Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Accounts Payable Automation solution, today announced a partnership intended to provide companies with streamlined end-to-end payables processing."

paysafecard has announced that it has acquired 100% of the shares of payment provider Wallie Holding International Payment Services B.V.

Wallie is currently live in eleven countries in Europe with their ‘Wallie’-branded prepaid solution. Like paysafecard, it enables cash payments online through the use of a PIN. Wallie’s portfolio of merchants is exclusively comprised of companies in the online games industry.

On the web:

• Monitise Gets Mobile Payment License in Nigeria - Banking Business Review
• Time Running Out for Third-Party Payment Firms To Be Licensed in China - China.org.cn

On the wires:

• Mobile Accord and Payfone Team Up to Expand Global Mobile Donations
• ElectraCard Services powers MasterCard debit and prepaid cards in Zimbabwe for FBC Bank
• Aryty.com Expands Free Mobile Top-Up Trial Program to 19 Carriers in 11 Countries
• TrustCommerce Welcomes JayStar Group as New Partner

Fiserv has announced results of a study of Con Edison customers that shows offering electronic bills through online banking or the company’s website can lead to enhanced cash flow and reduced customer care costs.

The study shows that customers who receive electronic bills (e-bills) via a financial institution or the Con Edison website are more likely to make on-time payments, and utilize online self-service rather than costly customer service calls.

The study, conducted by AccuData, analyzed two million Con Edison customer records.

ERPLY has announced an iPad-optimized Mobile Card Reader.

The new credit card device connects to an iPad or iPhone and transmits a customer's encrypted credit card data to the ERPLY point-of-sale software and inventory management software suite to process payments. This gives retailers the ability to view real-time data and inventory analytics through the ERPLY inventory management system.

The ERPLY credit card reader is priced at $50 with a 1.9% transaction fee.

Capital One has launched the Capital One Cash card, "a new cash back credit card that offers 50% more value to customers without the restrictions commonly found in cash rewards cards. With this card, customers get 1% cash back on every purchase every day, a 50% anniversary bonus on cash earned on purchases in the previous year, and a one-time $100 bonus once they spend $500 in the first three months. And of course, as with all other Capital One cards, there are no foreign transaction fees."

Over on our sister blog, Payments Views, Glenbrook's Allen Weinberg takes a look at Visa's recent EMV and contactless acceptance mandates in the US.

The big story is that Visa’s move will accelerate the way for mobile payments with unprecedented scale. Think about it – within a few years, essentially every merchant in the US will have the basic infrastructure in place for mobile payments – and, perhaps more.

Allen also steps through through the electronic payments ecosystem to explore whether this is positive, negative, or neutral to the various stakeholders.

InvoiceASAP has announced a fully integrated Mobile Invoicing Network for the modern mobile workforce at both the small-to-medium (SMB) and enterprise business levels.

Users benefit from full backwards compatible read and write capabilities into multiple accounting systems and business platforms. The InvoiceASAP platform also features an industry first archiving and media tagging system that allows users to attach photos as supporting documentation, with geo tags and voice memos to launch soon. The platform is launching first on Apple iOS, with releases planned for Android and BlackBerry this fall.

Online payments are fulfilled using Jumio Netswipe technology, which turns any webcam into a secure card reader.

On the web:

• A Woman, A Cupcake, A Bank And A Square: Why Card Companies Are Scared Of Change - TechCrunch
• Apple's iPad Already Replacing Cash Registers by the Bushel - AllThingsD

On the wires:

• Bill.com Launches Printed Invoice Mailing Service, Adds QR Codes
• WePay Enhances Easy-To-Use API for Developers and Merchants

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.