Visa announced 'Visa Payment Controls', an online platform designed to enable small business owners to effectively manage how, when and where transactions and payments are made on employees’ business cards.

“Today, many small businesses use cash or checks for everyday work related expenses, which requires employees to submit individual receipts and detailed reports for reimbursement,” said Janet Zablock, head of global small business at Visa Inc. “This manual process makes tracking and managing expenses for both the employee and the employer a cumbersome and time-consuming task. With Visa Payment Controls, business owners can ease the process by replacing inefficient and costly cash and check systems with secure, reliable and convenient employee cards and automatically take greater control over employee spending.”

MasterCard announced a partnership the shopkick that offers cardholders the the ability to earn kicks, a proprietary reward currency, when they link their card to shopkick’s Buy & Collect program and make qualifying purchases.

“Our partnership with shopkick helps us continue to meet our cardholders’ demand for great deals and a more ‘rewarding’ shopping experience,” said Mario Shiliashki, group head, Emerging Payments, MasterCard. “We’ll be able to help consumers maximize rewards while also supporting their interests and passions, all through the simple download of the app and linking their MasterCard card. At the same time, our merchant partners will benefit from a deeper engagement with their customers.”

kicks can be redeemed for gift cards, music downloads, movie tickets or other offers.

Chase Paymentech announced its new 'Future Proof' terminal that allows merchants to accept current and quickly emerging forms of customer payments all in one streamlined device –– EMV chip cards, phone-based mobile wallets, contactless, and magnetic stripe cards.

“As emerging payment options gain adoption in the U.S., merchants are looking to make the customer check-out process as easy and safe as possible,” said Mike Duffy, president of Chase Paymentech. “The Future Proof terminal is a one-stop solution for merchants to keep accepting today’s forms of payment and prepare for new consumer payment preferences on the horizon.”

CorFire and Payfone have announced plans to integrate CorFire’s mobile wallet application, CorPay with Payfone’s remote mobile commerce solution.

“By integrating Payfone’s technology with CorFire’s mobile offerings, we streamline mobile commerce for the retailer and provide a secure channel for consumers to fully leverage mobile,” said Jon Squire, CMO of CorFire. “The process eliminates lengthy account entry and ensures the legitimate end-user is in possession of the phone where the merchant m-commerce app is installed.”

On the web:

• Mobile Payment Smackdown: Square vs. PayPal Here - Mashable
• Mobile Payments Startup Kuapay Grabs $4 Million Investment - TechCrunch
• Square Card Reader App Adds Admin Accounts & Permissions TechCrunch
• Revel Systems Debuts An iPad POS In A Box - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• CyberSource Online Security Destined for Thailand's eMerchants
• New U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Credit Card Lets Customers Choose Their Cash Back Categories