BilltoMobile has announced an agreement to provide Sprint customers the ability to charge online purchases directly to their Sprint bill using BilltoMobile’s Direct Mobile Billing technology. This makes BilltoMobile the first mobile payments company to establish a direct billing connection to Sprint as well as the only mobile payments company to have a direct billing connection to with three major U.S. carriers (AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint).

On the wires:

• Creativity Pays - Introducing Cleeng, the First Social Alternative to Paywalls
• hyperWALLET Announces Partnership with WIP (Wireless Industry Partnership)
• ACI Worldwide and Integrated Research Launch Payment Service Management for Fraud Prevention
• AuraPortal Launches the First BPM Software with a Seamlessly Integrated e-Commerce System
• Stream Media Raises Series A Funding to Provide Global Payment Platform for Mobile In-App Transactions
• LexisNexis Releases New Comprehensive, Hosted Collections Platform

On the web:

• TechCrunch: Tradeshift Integrates PayPal into its Free Invoicing Platform
• GigaOM: Phones Becoming Frontline in Credit Card Fraud Battle
• Digital Transactions: With Signed Merchants Onboard, ISIS Looks at Transit, Fast Food, and Groceries
• iNewp.com: Mobgets Exposes Verified by Visa Flaws on Mobile Devices
• Vator.tv: Danny Shader Interview on PayNearMe's Consumer Demographic (Video)
• Digital Money: Davd Birch's Impression on GSMA Mobile World Congress
• MIT Technology Review: The New Money - Square Profile

The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Hearing on the "Implications and Consequences of the Durbin Amendment" was held today. The House website has a video webcast of the hearing and the written testimony of all the different stakeholders. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is also holding a hearing on the Dodd-Frank Act today.

Various outlets have different takes on how the proposed Federal Reserve rules are being received in the industry:

• Bloomberg: Banks, Retailers Renew Fight Over Debit ‘Swipe’ Fees
• USA Today: Fed Reconsiders 12-cent Cap on Debit Card Fees
• New York Times: Bernanke Says Fed Has Learned Lessons From the Recession

ClairMail has announced a new mobile fraud management solution for banks and their customers to oversee and quickly respond to fraudulent transactions directly through the mobile channel.

ClairMail's Fraud Solution works with existing FI fraud systems and processes to help mitigate card, Direct Deposit Account (DDA), online banking and identity fraud by leveraging all the capabilities of the ubiquitous mobile device and the robust alerting and orchestration capabilities of the ClairMail platform.

BB&T has announced the launch of the BB&T MoneyAccount, which is a prepaid transaction account tied to a Visa-branded debit card.

"Nearly 60 million Americans do not have a bank account today or they are underbanked," noted Scott Qualls. "The BB&T MoneyAccount is a prepaid solution that provides our clients with a secure and easy way to access their funds. It also features a simple, transparent fee structure."

On the wires:

• eBillme and CashStar Partner to Process Cash Payments for eGift Cards
• Mobile Tag Launches the 1st Universal Platform for 2D, 1D and NFC Barcodes
• BillMyParents Partners With MovieTickets.com
• eps, giropay and iDEAL Promote Pan-European Online Banking Payment Scheme

On the web:

• Internet Retailer: eRetail sales rise 14.8% in 2010
• TechCrunch: Paperless Billing Service Doxo Raises $10 Million In Series B Funding

Glenbrook has expanded its series of eCommerce Market Analysis Reports with new profiles of India, South Korea, and South Africa.

These reports are designed to help U.S. companies better understand eCommerce markets around the world — what local acceptance practices make each unique, what payment options are necessary to reach a critical mass of online buyers, and which payment providers can assist with market entry.

Google has announced Google One Pass, their new digital content service that lets publishers set their own prices and terms for access to premium content.

Readers who purchase from a One Pass publisher can access their content on tablets, smartphones and websites using a single sign-on with an email and password. Importantly, the service helps publishers authenticate existing subscribers so that readers don’t have to re-subscribe in order to access their content on new devices.

Website is here; blog announcement is here.

On the wires:

• Credit Card Clarity: CARD Act Makes Pricing Clearer, More Competitive
• Western Union and Etisalat to Introduce International Mobile Money Transfer Service in 18 Countries
• BillingTree Supplies Pulaski Electric System with Text Billing and Payment Solution
• Intuit Extends GoPayment No Monthly Fee and Free Credit Card Reader Offer

On the web:

• Bank Info Security: SWIFT Audio Interview on Globalization and Regulation
• MasterCard Blog: Addressing the “D” Word
• Dow Jones: PayPal Launches Payment Services with China UnionPay

Yankee Group has announced a new report that indicates while mobile transaction usage is growing, consumers show little willingness to pay for these services.

The company’s forecasts predict unprecedented growth in mobile transactions worldwide, with the total value of global mobile transactions increasing from $162 billion in 2010 to $984 billion in 2014. However, Yankee Group’s consumer survey results show that less than 10 percent of respondents would be willing to pay extra for mobile transaction services such as mobile banking, mobile coupons and mobile payments.

Utiba has announced a new initiative targeting the international mobile remittances market. "The new initiative offers a neutral corridor routing and currency exchange clearinghouse for mobile-to-mobile and traditional money remittances."

VeriFone and LifeNexus, the developer of the iChip and Personal Health Card, have announced an agreement to provide iChip acceptance software on VeriFone payment acceptance solutions. "The LifeNexus Personal Health Card is the first multi-purpose electronic health card utilizing the embedded iChip for securely maintaining an individual’s health record and incorporates a payment card option."

Ixaris has released an international report that identifies the most significant innovations that will change the payments landscape in 2011. "The new report, ‘Payments Innovation 2011 – The Global Jury Decides’, brings together the expertise of 22 banking innovators and experts from around the globe, drawn from 14 countries across five continents. It focuses on understanding the challenges facing the payments industry and their impact on innovation in the next 12 months."

Apple has announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store, including magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc. "Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases."

MasterCard, Symantec and NagraID Security have teamed up to introduce the MasterCard “Display Card”, which brings strong authentication functionality to payment cards to the U.S.

Recently piloted and launched in Europe and Asia, the 'Display Card' complements existing card security features through the use of Symantec’s VeriSign® Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication Service and NagraID Security card technology.

Over on Payments Views, our sister blog, Glenbrook's Russ Jones shares his thoughts on where POS steering may be headed this year, commenting "several of Glenbrook’s merchant clients are already developing their strategies for rewarding customers that select low cost payment methods at the point of sale."

nuBridges has announced nuBridges Protect Tokenization as a Service (TaaS), the "first cloud-based tokenization service for national and multi-national companies that want to protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) to improve security, reduce risk, ease compliance and minimize data security costs. Hosted by Verizon Business on its Computing as a Service (CaaS) platform, the new service is equally adept at protecting payment cards to help merchants comply with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)."

New research by Accenture shows that 45% of the most active mobile device users would welcome the opportunity to pay for goods and services using their mobile phone, despite the fact that 73% expressed significant privacy and identity theft concerns.

Consumers in Asia were the most enthusiastic about mobile commerce. Overall, 69% of survey respondents in Asia indicated they favored using mobile phones for most payments... in the U.S. and Europe, combined, however, only 26% of respondents favored using mobile phones for most payments.

On the wires:

• CashStar Raises $5 Million for Digital Gifting and Incentives Innovation
• Faster Payments Highlight CheckFree RXP Update from Fiserv
• Adknowledge Unveils Mobile Monetization Solution for Apple App Developers
• Maritz Real-Time and ViVOtech Partner on NFC-Based Promotions and Loyalty Services
• First Data Selects Beanstream to Drive Its Payment Platform in Canada
• MetroBank and Accertify Announce Partnership to Fight Credit Card in Latin America
• DeviceFidelity Makes More Smartphones Available for Visa Mobile Contactless Payments
• HomeATM-AnywhereCommerce and CardinalCommerce Partner on Online PIN Debits
• NETBANX To Embedded Support for ParentMail +Pay School Payments System (UK)

On the web:

• All Things Digital: Square Wants to Replace Everything, From the Receipt to the Register
• Cleartrip Blog: How India's Banks Killed the Future of Commerce (with Strong Authentication)
• New York Times: Google's Schmidt Sees Payments as a Big Business

VeriFone has announced a next-generation version of PAYware Mobile Service for global markets.

This latest innovation features VeriFone’s sleek mobile payment solution and gateway service and brings international payment standards including NFC and EMV smart card, with PCI-compliant PIN keypad for Chip & PIN transactions, to popular smart phones.

Nokia Siemens Networks and MoreMagic Solutions have announced a global partnership to provide mobile commerce and financial services. "The jointly developed Mobile Payment Solution enables the delivery of a wide range of services including money transfer, mobile banking, mobile payments and near field communication (NFC) proximity payments."

On the wires:

• Orange to Deploy Samsung Wave 578 in Europe (with NFC)
• Chase Announces Strategic Agreement with Mitek Systems
• Movilway Arrives in Mexico with Electronic Top-Up Service
• BilltoMobile Demonstrates Using GSMA OneAPI Billing Capability
• Payment Card Industry Cites Savings from Digital On-Demand Card Production
• First Data to Offer Online Merchants Internet PIN Debit with Acculynk’s PaySecure (PDF)
• MobiWire Connects Wireless POS With Launch Of MobiPrint

On the web:

• Reuters: California Merchants Can't Ask Card Customers for ZIP Codes
• NFC World: Uncovered: The hidden NFC potential of the Google Nexus S and the Nokia C7
• Portals and Rails: Can Mobile Address the Rising Tide of Fraud in CNP Transactions?
• Bloomberg: Fed Draws `Broad and Deep' Bank Opposition on Durbin Debit-Card Fee Rules
• Wall Street Journal: Durbin Defends Debit-Card Swipe Rules In Letter To Bank Group
• Dick Durbin: Setting the Record Straight on Interchange Fees - The Letter