iZettle, a new Swedish startup, today launched their mobile payments acceptance product in the Swedish Apple App Store, with more countries to follow. They follow the Square model pretty closely, with the addition of EMV support.

Nothing is more important to iZettle than security. iZettle is EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) approved and compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). No sensitive data is ever stored on your iOS device or iZettle reader, and all data traffic is encrypted.

On the web:

• RIM Waits on Carrier Plans for NFC with new BlackBerry Line - FierceWireless

On the wires:

• ViVOtech Ships EMV Payments and NFC mCommerce-Ready Reader
• Sprint Selects American Express for Rebate Cards
• Citi Renews Credit Card Issuing Relationship with Shell
• Yardi PAYscan Mobile (for Mobile Invoicing) Available at Apple’s App Store
• Citi Introduces the New ThankYou® Rewards App
• Dynamics Announces Manufacturing and Personalization Facility for Electronic Stripe Cards

Cartera Commerce and Barclaycard US have announced a strategic partnership to reward Barclaycard customers for their shopping purchases.

“The pressure for card issuers to deliver more value to their customers has never been greater. We’re delighted to partner with Barclaycard to help proactively meet this challenge by making it easy for Barclaycard customers to earn rewards faster with card-linked offers,” commented Tom Beecher, President and CEO of Cartera Commerce. “When Barclaycard customers realize they can now earn merchandise or a dream trip faster than before by shopping with participating merchants, their loyalty credit card moves to top of wallet.”

Kabbage has announced it has secured $17 million in Series B funding, led by Mohr Davidow Ventures.

"Thousands of online merchants have obtained working capital and grown their businesses since our push into the market in April 2011," said Rob Frohwein, Kabbage Founder and CEO. "Although small business fuels the majority of growth in the U.S., it is extremely difficult and time consuming for these businesses to apply for and actually receive financing from a traditional bank."

Telefónica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone have announced they will "register their payment service 'mpass' as its own company, and have signed a letter of understanding to this effect. The new company is due to begin operating as early as this year."

Dr. Peter Walz, Member of the Management Board and Director of Wholesale & Strategy at Vodafone Deutschland: 'For many years now we have offered an interoperable payment product across all networks with payments via the phone bill. This is now being continued in the shared mpass activities. Retailers want standardised solutions and that is what we are giving them with mpass.'

The new initiative will move mpass transactions from the online payments world to NFC-enabled offline POS world.

USA Technologies has announced that "based on its July 2011 survey of over 10,000 traditional vending machines utilizing its ePort cashless payment system, consumers, on average, spent one-third more when making a cashless purchase than a cash purchase. In addition, cashless purchases made up approximately 26% of all sales at these vending machines."

The "Jonathan's Card" experiment was born of research on mobile payment solutions by Jonathan Stark, Mobiquity's Vice President of Application Architecture, according to a recent company announcement.

Stark developed the concept for his social giving experiment in "broadcasting mobile currency" as part of research he was conducting for a Mobiquity client. Stark first blogged about his experiment on July 14, where he described his surprise in discovering he could purchase a coffee simply by taking a screenshot of his Starbucks card barcode via his iPhone and emailing it to himself to use on his Nexus S Android phone. From the start of the experiment through its conclusion on August 12, individuals contributed upwards of $10,000 to the card's balance in the spirit of "paying it forward" and brightening a stranger's day with a free coffee.

Jonathan blogs about the experiment here.

TransUnion has announced availability of its quarterly analyses of credit-active U.S. consumers finding that the "national credit card delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 90 or more days past due) decreased for the sixth consecutive quarter, dropping to 0.6% at the end of the second quarter in 2011. This is the lowest mark observed in 17 years. Credit card debt per borrower increased $20 in the quarter to $4,699, though it remains near record-low levels."

On the web:

• Wells Fargo to Begin Charging Debit Card Fees - MyBankTracker.com
• M-payments are Vodafone's Biggest Business in Kenya - Rethink Wireless
• How a Google-Motorola Combo Could Be ‘Good News’ for NFC in the U.S. - Digital Transactions
• NYC Testing Mobile Payments for Parking Meter - PCMag.com

On the wires:

• TransUnion "Pulse Poll" Reveals Untapped Opportunity in Hospital Point-of-Service Collections
• peerTransfer Raises $7.5 Million to Help Streamline Edu Payments for International Students
• Jwaala and eWise Partner to Offer Secure Vault Payments to Members of MACU
• Cielo Deploys Nationwide Secure Payments Network with NewNet in Brazil
• Vindicia Launches New Marketing Capabilities for CashBox Billing Solution
• Mojang Partners With Skrill to Extend International Payment Options

Payfone has announced that Fortumo has selected it to power the direct billing option for its in-app purchasing SDK.

This direct billing mobile payment method offers better reliability and higher security as well as better payouts for developers. Through the partnership, Fortumo's clients will be able to provide consumers with the ability to make safe and secure mobile payments in real-time from any device, such as PC, smartphone, tablet or Wi-Fi.

Western Union has announced the national expansion of its enhanced walk-in bill payments service as a result of a successful regional test. "The national expansion offers consumers a network of 10,000+ billers for mortgage, auto loan, insurance, credit card, utility, telecomm and cable payments including AT&T and Comcast, plus walk-in access to a network of participating Western Union Agent offices, nationally-known retailers and other locations."

CNP Payment Forum Conference 2011

Ashok Misra, Chairman of the CNP Payment Forum, has announced that the CNP Payment Forum Annual Conference will be held in London on September 12, 2011 at the Millennium Hotel, Knightsbridge, London.

Airline & Travel Payments Summit 2011

The fifth annual Airline and Travel Payments Summit (ATPS) will be held October 12-13, 2011 at the Hilton Toronto. Glenbrook's Jacqueline Chilton will moderate a panel.

Mobile Contactless Payments Innovation Summit

The 3rd Mobile Contactless Payments Innovations Summit will be held on October 17-18, 2011 at the JW Marriott, Chicago. Glenbrook's Allen Weinberg will moderate a panel on Online-to-Offline (O2O) payments.

FinovateEurope 2012

Eric Mattson has announced that the second annual FinovateEurope Conference will be held February 7, 2012 at the Old Billingsgate Market Hall in the heart of London.

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC)has announced availability of their PCI DSS Tokenization Guidelines Information Supplement, "the latest in a series of SSC guidance documents aimed at providing the market with greater clarity on how specific technologies relate to the PCI Security Standards and impact PCI DSS compliance."

On the web:

• China UnionPay is Now the World's Largest Card Scheme - Bank Systems & Technology
• Cabela’s Embraces In-app Purchasing and Bar Code Scanning - Mobile Commerce Daily
• Online Banking Customers Demand Paper Checks - TIME.com

On the wires:

• Shandong Airlines Launches UATP Program
• NCR Secures Largest Ever ATM Services Deal in China
• Bank of America to Exit International Credit Card Businesses
• Experian Report Shows Credit Card Delinquencies are Below Prerecession Levels
• Bank of Internet Launches a POPmoney Person-to-Person Payment Service
• Admeris Partners With Global Transaction Services Group
• Cardtronics to Acquire Access to Money