On the wires:

• VeriFone and Hypercom Comment on U.S. Department of Justice Civil Complaint
• ViVOtech Ready, Willing, Able to Buy Hypercom U.S. Assets
• Maponics First to Offer Shopping Boundaries
• Walt Levengood Joins aurionPro as President, Payments

On the web:

• New York Times: Small Banks and Debit-Card Reform (by Simon Johnson)
• Bloomberg: Bernanke Says Debit ‘Swipe’ Rules May Cause (Small) Bank Failures
• Reuters: Dodd-Frank Hurt Mobile Payment System Plans, Says AT&T
• Forbes: Time For A Facebook Credit Card
• Wall Street Journal: Debit-Card Scam Targets Michaels Shoppers

The Department of Justice has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block the proposed acquisition of Hypercom by VeriFone.

The department said that the proposed deal would substantially lessen competition in the sale of point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the United States, resulting in higher prices and reduced innovation, quality, product variety, and service.

BillShrink has announced a number of in-statement rewards innovations that help manage customer loyalty across multiple merchants, highlight the next level of savings opportunities, and turn the bank card into a unified loyalty card.

"The StatementRewards service allows banks to be an even more trusted advisor to their customers by helping them save money and get rewarded for their loyalty," said Schwark Satyavolu, co-founder and CEO of BillShrink. "Our newest in-statement innovations help bank customers discover great money-saving deals and manage all their merchant loyalty benefits in one place. We are making the bank card an even more valuable and indispensible product in people's lives."

PayDivvy has announced a free online bill pay and group payment offering. "The Web-based service eliminates the fragmentation that exists in bill pay today by allowing users to view and pay bills from a single place. PayDivvy is the only service that automatically divides bills among roommates, friends and family and then pays those bills automatically."

The Federal Reserve Board has requested public comment on "a proposed rule that would create new protections for consumers who send remittance transfers to recipients located in a foreign country... The proposal is being made under Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfers) pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act."

ChargeSmart, an online consumer bill payment portal, and Plastic Jungle, a online gift card exchange, have announced a partnership to enable customers to use unredeemed gift cards to make payments on utility, car and mortgage bills.

“Utility, car and mortgage bills have to be paid, so every dollar applied from these gift cards puts real money in the pockets of our customers,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “Our joint solution with ChargeSmart will get gift cards out of American sock drawers and provide a valuable, seamless and instant way to reduce these non-discretionary expenses.”

On the wires:

• PaymentVision Announces 3.0 Universal Payment Processing Gateway
• iSend Expands International Payment Service into Canada and UK

On the web:

• Google Checkout Blog: Google In-App Payments for the Web
• Springwise: Social Vending Lets Users Buy Drinks for Friends Remotely
• Bank Info Security: Banks Want Their Own .bank Top-Level Domain (TLD)
• Digital Transactions: Durbin Regs Will Take Effect, Though Possibly a Little Late And with Caps ‘Modified’ (ETA Conference Recap)

Visa has announced the "next generation of payments solutions that will replicate the ease, reliability and security of Visa point-of-sale payments within traditional and digital eCommerce, mobile commerce and burgeoning social networking commerce environments. New offerings are expected to include a secure cross-channel digital wallet and a range of customized mobile payments services that address the specific requirements of geographic markets around the world."

In related news, Visa also announced plans to "offer merchants a more streamlined connection to Visa’s global network, allowing them to more easily accept the next generation of payment products, offer real-time rewards, redemptions and discounts and other value-added services."

Corduro has announced a new mobile payment app that "lets non-profit and other organizations mobilize their volunteers in a whole new way. Available soon for iPhone, iPad or Android devices, users can share their passions by inviting others to connect with the Corduro community and join the charitable groups that they support. Corduro is kicking off this new app with a special site and contest at www.mobilizeyourarmy.com."

Aptys Solutions has announced the availability of Aptys Mobile (aMobile), an "innovative new solution that enables banks’ business customers to create invoices, accept payments and process invoices directly through a mobile phone or tablet device... aMobile offers check, ACH, card, and electronic payments through a single application with mobile invoicing and integration to accounting systems."

American Express and LevelUp have announced a multi-city pilot with the Levi’s® brand that introduces “couponless” loyalty offers.

American Express’ Smart Offer APIs will now enable cardmembers to redeem LevelUp deals by simply enrolling and using their cards – removing the need for punch-cards, coupons, and the associated hassle at the point of sale. When a cardmember uses his or her enrolled card at a merchant, the LevelUp savings will be automatically delivered via a statement credit to the card account. Eligible cardmembers will instantly receive notification via their mobile devices indicating that a statement credit is on its way and that they have “leveled up,” unlocking the next, richer offer from that merchant.

Mocapay has announced the integration of association branded cards into its mobile wallet through the VeriFone PAYMEDIA solution. "Through this partnership, Mocapay merchants will benefit from an additional payment type, the ability to learn critical demographic information about their target consumer, and the ability to engage one-on-one with their customers through Mocapay’s integrated mobile marketing database."

FreeMonee has announced the launch of its "first-of-its-kind national cash-gift network".

FreeMonee enables merchants to give “gifts” directly to individual credit and debit cardholders through participating financial institutions. FreeMonee gifts are cash incentives that function like a gift card on an individual’s debit or credit card. With FreeMonee gifts, consumers can purchase anything they choose at the designated merchant -- no strings attached -- by simply using their debit or credit card.

On the wires:

• MIFARE4Mobile Industry Group Announces Roadmap
• Pitney Bowes Announces International Ecommerce SuiteApp for NetSuite’s SuiteCloud Computing Platform
• Zuora Launches Z-NetSuite, Combining Cloud-based Subscription Management and ERP/Financials
• Hypercom Introduces Next Generation Network Technology for ISOs
• RocketPay to offer Planet Payment’s Multi-Currency Pricing Service
• ViVOtech Introduces POS Add-On NFC Reader for Delivering Personalized Shopping and Quick Check Out

On the web:

• NFC World: Google Raises Concerns Over the Viability of NFC card Emulation Mode for Mobile Payments (with Video)
• MSNBC: Crowded Coupon Industry Competes for Users

Over on Payments Views, Glenbrook’s Jacqueline Chilton is live blogging the two-day marathon of financial technology demos at FinovateSpring 2011 in San Francisco. The format for Finovate is fast and furious. No PowerPoint – all demo. Each company has seven minutes. You can also track the Twitter coverage using the hashtag #finovate.

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of April 2011 compared to April 2010.

Overall year-over-year transaction and dollar volume growth held steady in April. Transaction growth was 6.7%, identical to March’s growth. Dollar volume growth was 8.0% versus 8.1% in March. However, excluding gasoline stations, April dollar volume growth was 6.7%. Rising gas prices and a late Easter contributed to the steady growth in April.

InMobi has announced the launch of InMobi SmartPay, a performance-based global mobile payments solution.

InMobi SmartPay™ will enable app developers, game companies, and content providers in the US $200bn mobile content and virtual goods space to expand their business and monetize their users quickly and easily into new markets by providing a one-time, no-cost, single point of integration across multiple countries. The solution offers consumers a seamless, pure mobile checkout experience using secure, direct to carrier billing to start, but expanding to all forms of mobile payment methods including credit cards, PayPal, and local mobile wallets by the end of the year.

ID Analytics has announced the availability of its Consumer Notification Service that benefits both businesses and consumers by alerting consumers in real-time when their identity is used, potentially without their permission. "With ID Analytics' industry-first patent-pending Not Me Notification System, consumers and businesses now have the power to work together to stop identity fraud in its tracks."

Billeo has announced an iPad-based, browser shopping service being previewed at FinovateSpring 2011. The new service, called ShopSmart, "helps Billeo's partners optimize rewards and loyalty programs by layering offers directly into people's search results to alert shoppers when a relevant discount is available. The app also connects shoppers with their Facebook friends, allowing financial institutions to become part of the vibrant online conversations already happening around shopping and daily deals."

PayNearMe has separately announced four extensions of its technology platform that allow consumers to execute remote transactions with cash. The individual services announcement are as follows:

• PayNearMe Announces Availability of Embedded Barcode Remittance (EBR) Technology Enabling Cash Payment Integration for Printed Bills

• PayNearMe Turns Thousands of Convenience Stores Into Transportation Ticketing Offices

• PayNearMe Enables Cash Payments for International Mobile Top-up and Value Remittance

• Ria Financial, 7-Eleven, and PayNearMe Team to Bring Easier, Faster Bill-payment and Money-transfer Services to Consumers across the US

MasterCard Worldwide and Yapta.com have announced a new airfare price assurance program for MasterCard U.S. consumer and small business cardholders who book flights directly with eligible airlines.

MasterCard PriceAssure helps take the guesswork out of getting the best price on airfare by tracking flight itineraries and offering cardholders specialized customer service to help secure airline credit for savings on future travel, if the same itinerary they’ve purchased with their enrolled MasterCard card later becomes available from that airline at a lower price, minus any airline change fees.

VeriFone Systems has announced PAYMEDIA Solutions, "a comprehensive, subscription-based offering that provides small to medium-sized merchants with payment solutions and access to payment-enabled media at the checkout counter, including the integration of online services such as digital couponing, loyalty, location-based social media and value-added services."

On the wires:

• Survey: Card Fraud Experts Warn Against Looming Mobile Payment Fraud Risk
• SecurityMetrics Introduces Network Threat Sensor to Simplify PCI-DSS Compliance
• TSYS Signs Merchant Services Agreement With Caledon Card Services
• NXGEN International Partners with Elavon to Expand European Footprint
• PayCommerce Offers Cloud-Based SMB Payment Suite Reseller Subscription Plan
• Elastic Path Launches Ecommerce on the Google Cloud
• Carta Worldwide Integrates MasterCard Mobile Over-the-Air Provisioning Service (MOTAPS)
• OpenCuro To Demonstrate New Online Payment System at FinovateSpring 2011

On the web:

• NPR: Banks, Retailers In Lobbying Race Over Debit Fees
• TechCrunch: Sequent Software Raises Funding, Aims To Simplify NFC Mobile Payments
• American Banker: ProPay s Zumogo Mobile Payment App Gets Social
• FierceFinance: Bank of America Ponders New Ways to Charge Overdraft Fees (via SMS Opt-In)
• CNET: Intuit Eyes NFC for Mobile Payment System
• GoMo News: India's Interbank Mobile Payment Service Finally Includes Merchants

Tabbedout - a new way to open, manage and pay a restaurant tab with a mobile phone - announced it is now fully integrated with POS technology provider MICROS Systems.

“Tabbedout’s approach marks a radical shift in the mobile payment landscape,” said Michael L. Russo, Chief Technology Officer, MICROS. “We partnered with Tabbedout as the integrated solution to provide our merchants with the peace of mind of security encryption on the back end, coupled with the marketing capabilities and social media integration on the front end.”

Payment Alliance International (PAI) and MagTek have jointly announced the deployment of MagTek’s Qwick Codes across PAI’s nationwide network of over 50,000 ATM machines.

“Qwick Codes illustrates our goal of expanding and improving the consumers’ ability to use their smartphones to conduct everyday financial transactions,” said Andy Deignan, MagTek vice president of global marketing and strategy. Deignan adds, “In line with offering the high level of security MagTek is known for, static card data converted into a one-time use Qwick Code can be used to retrieve cash at any supported ATM, effectively eliminating the risk associated with compromised ATMs rigged with card skimmers.”

The US Federal Reserve has reported its latest G.19 Consumer Credit statistics - finding that "consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3 percent in March, with revolving and nonrevolving credit increasing at a similar rate. In the first quarter, consumer credit also increased at an annual rate of 3 percent."

Visa has announced financial results for the Company's fiscal 2Q 2011 ended March 31, 2011 with GAAP net income for the quarter of $881 million on GAAP net operating revenue of $2.2 billion, an increase of 15% over the prior year. Fiscal 2Q 2011 highlights include:

• Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended December 31, 2010, on which fiscal second quarter service revenue is recognized, was a positive 15% over the prior year at $897 billion.
• Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended March 31, 2011, was a positive 13% over the prior year at $861 billion.
• Cross border volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, was a positive 13% for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
• Total processed transactions, which represent transactions processed by VisaNet, for the three months ended March 31, 2011, were 12 billion, a positive 13% increase over the prior year.

On the wires:

• Ogone Brings Ethoca's Advanced Anti-Fraud Screening to 28,000 Merchants in Europe
• Mobey Forum Membership Increases as Industry Gets Serious About Mobile Payments
• Comviva Leads in Mobile Money and Recharge Solutions Across Growth Markets, With 92 Deployments Globally

On the web:

• ReadWriteWeb: Humble Barcode Scanning Could End Up Changing Your World
• AMEinfo.com: OneCard Enables its Users New Option to Buy Facebook Credits Directly
• NFC World: Turkcell launches commercial NFC payments with Yapi Kredi Bank (Turkey)
• Mobile Marketing Watch: 3 Reasons Mobile Payments Might Not Be Ready
• AllThingsD: Visa Says Mobile Payments Unveiling is Coming (This) Week
• telecoms.com: European Banks Issue Guidelines for NFC payments
• Wall Street Journal: Italy Telecom Operators Launch Joint Digital Payment Platform
• NYDailynews.com: Paper Purchase Receipts are Fast Fading from Daily Use
• Portals and Rails: United Front Needed to Prevent EMV Card Fraud from Picking Low-hanging Fruit