NCR has announced 'NCR Silver', its new cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) software solution that enables small business owners and entrepreneurs to take payments and manage their business with one POS solution.

“NCR Silver takes the best of big-business technology and brings it to small business in an affordable package that’s easy to use; enabling them to focus all of their attention on running their business, not their technology,” said Christian Nahas, NCR vice president of small business. “NCR Silver comes complete with customer service only an established company like NCR can provide, delivering accessible, affordable, cloud-based technology to small business people who make up the backbone of our economy. NCR Silver is much more than a simple credit card payments swipe, it enables business owners do the things they need to succeed.”

More info, photos, and video demos are available at www.ncrsilver.com. NCR Silver is available now in Apple App Store.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Payments System Research Department has recently published a Research Brief by Fumiko Hayashi entitled "Discounts and Surcharges: Implications for Consumer Payment Choice".

This article reviews the current landscape for payment discounts and surcharges, considers whether they influence consumer payment choice, and offers several policy responses.

Placecast has announced the 'ShopAlerts Mobile Wallet' -- a new HTML5 mobile wallet that combines location-based marketing and payments.

“The future of commerce is being dramatically transformed by smartphones, putting consumers in control,” says Placecast CEO Alistair Goodman. “Consumers like convenience, to save money and to be rewarded for their business. Leveraging the industry’s most robust mobile offers platform, the ShopAlerts Wallet delivers on this promise today. Over the last three years major brands, mobile operators and payments companies have seen incredible results from our location-based offers programs. We expect to see even more exciting avenues for monetization emerge as more people open up their mobile wallet.”

The company claims the ShopAlerts Wallet "plugs into any payment processor, supporting plastic credit cards, NFC and carrier billing" and is available for white-label distribution through card companies and mobile operators. Their website is here.

American Express recently announced the launch of PAYVE, a new payment service that enables large and mid-size companies to centralize the processing of multiple payment methods through a single electronic platform.

“Clients are increasingly asking us to help solve more of their payments challenges. They want to focus less on operations and more on extracting financial value from their payments. With PAYVE, we can help them do that,” said Andrew Jamison, Vice President, Global Corporate Payments, American Express. “Supported by American Express’s world-class customer service, proven payments expertise, and in-house supplier enablement team, PAYVE will help companies streamline payments processes and better manage cash flow.”

Payment methods include check, ACH, international wire and American Express’s web-based payment solution, Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP).

Skrill, formerly Moneybookers, has announced it is acquiring paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG, an Austrian of prepaid vouchers that enable consumers to shop online.

"We are very happy to have come to an agreement to acquire paysafecard. This acquisition will add significant scale to the Skrill Group in terms of payment volume, customers and merchants and will increase our overall market share." said Skrill CEO, Siegfried Heimgaertner. "The combined entity will offer a unique proposition in the payments market combining our leading digital wallet with the sophisticated POS and cash network of paysafecard. It enhances our product portfolio significantly, offering payment and money transfer options for both on and off-line channels.”

On the web:

• Google Wallet Launches Support For Subscriptions - Computerworld
• Wallaby Launches the Cloud Wallet Based on a Smart Universal Payment Card - PandoDaily
• NetSpend To Sell Prepaid PayPal Cards At 7-Eleven Stores - Austin Business Journal
• China Mobile, China UnionPay Join Forces For Mobile Payments - NFCNews
• Facebook Rolls Out Currency Conversion API For App Developers - AllFacebook
• BII to Start JCB Platinum Credit Card Issuing in Indonesia
• The High Cost Of Paying By Phone - Discovery News

On the wires:

• American Express OPEN Enhances the Plum Card for Small Businesses
• Orange Launches Nationwide Deployment of NFC SIM Cards with Gemalto Solution in France
• LightSpeed Launches New iPad Product Enabling Interactive Cross-Selling in Retail Stores
• Scotiabank Connects With Cardtronics to Extend ATM Access Into Canadian 7-Eleven Stores
• MAGIC Card - A Reloadable Prepaid MasterCard(R) From Earvin "Magic" Johnson