Bank of China (BOC) and American Express have announced a new strategic partnership, whereby Bank of China will begin issuing American Express-branded credit cards in China.

"China is a key growth market for American Express, and we are delighted to partner with Bank of China to offer the first American Express-branded credit card that targets the fast-growing, private banking customer segment in China. The launch of the Bank of China Private Bank American Express Card represents an important opportunity to further expand the reach of our brand and offer world-class benefits and services to the growing number of affluent consumers in China," said Dave Keung, Vice President and Group General Manager, American Express Global Network and Merchant Services, American Express.

Visa has announced financial results for the Company's fiscal 4Q and full-year 2011 which ended September 30, 2011. For the quarter, GAAP net income was $880 million on GAAP net operating revenue of $2.4 billion, an increase of 14% over the prior year. Fiscal 4Q 2011 highlights include:

• Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended June 30, 2011, on which fiscal fourth quarter service revenue is recognized, was a positive 14% over the prior year at $941 billion.

• Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended September 30, 2011, was a positive 13% over the prior year at $970 billion.

• Cross border volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, was a positive 15% for the three months ended September 30, 2011.

• Client incentives, which are a contra revenue item, were $576 million and represents 19.5% of gross revenues.

For the fiscal full-year 2011, service revenues were $4.3 billion, an increase of 22% over the prior year. A webcast replay is available on the Visa investor website.

comScore has announced its recent analysis of mobile financial services usage in the U.S. showing that "32.5 million Americans accessed mobile banking information on their devices at the end of Q2 2011 in June, representing 13.9% of all mobile users. The study also revealed that 12.7 million mobile users reported using banking apps, showing a notable increase of 45% from Q4 2010."

Yodlee has announced an extended PFM service arrangement with Bank of America that includes BofA's intent to implement the Yodlee FinApp platform.

"As an early adopter of PFM and longtime customer of Yodlee, we're excited to support Bank of America's continued innovation in financial services, by supplying the company with our award winning FinApp technology platform," said Yodlee's president and CEO, Anil Arora. "Yodlee delivers an application-driven digital banking experience, enabling complete personalization for every customer and opens the door to the delivery of additional value-added services."

For more information about the Yodlee FinApp Platform, visit www.yodleefinapps.com.

On the web:

• Google’s NFC Wallet Predicament - NFC Times
• Mobile Payments Arrive on BlackBerry Phones - NFC World
• Understanding the Durbin Amendment: A Fun Timeline InfoGraphic - NerdWallet

On the wires:

• CashStar Secures $12 Million in Funding
• Chase Paymentech Launches Safetech in Canada
• SafetyPay Partners With Brazil’s 6th Largest Bank, HSBC Bank Brazil
• VeriFone Announces H5000 Hybrid Terminal with Swipe, EMV, and NFC Support
• AccountNow Customers Can Conveniently Access MoneyGram’s Global Network While Online
• iSend Passes Milestones on Way to Global Coverage in Cross-Border Electronic Payment Services
• Aconite Launches Mobile Application Management Solution For Secure Elements
• Tru.ly Launches First Ever Age Verification API Based on Government Issued Data
• Paytoo Expands Its Presence in Latin America