On the web:

• India: Oxigen ties up with NPCI to unveil instant remittance service OxiCash for unbanked people - TechCircle.in - "OxiCash is a mobile wallet service through which people can make money transfers to any bank and also receive funds using the IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) platform of the NPCI…"
• Google Wallet chief leaves the company - VentureBeat - "Osama Bedier, the head of Google Wallet is out, according to several sources."
• Gay Bankers, Once Silent, Speak of Progress — and Hurdles - American Banker - "No one should be afraid to come to work every day as who they are, and no one should have to check who they are at the door…"
• PayPal’s John Lunn reveals how online retailers are using consumer data to beat high street stores - The Next Web - "…find out which startups are helping online retailers to maintain this market dominance, and what physical retailers should do next to fight back."
• Why mobile wallets alone will fail - Cyriac Roeding (shopkick CEO) - "The problem with mobile payments is that payment isn't a problem in the shopping world."
• Off The Schneid - AVC - "I've led a new venture investment for USV, which closed a few weeks ago and was announced last night. The company is Coinbase and my blog post announcing the investment is on the USV blog."
• Purchase, Deposit, and Bank from a Smartphone with Paidpiper - Programmable Web - "Paidpiper represents a new player to the field with a slightly different value proposition over some of its competitors."
• CardFlight Partners With Stripe And Launches SDK To Become The ‘Stripe Of Real-World Payments’ - TechCrunch - "Enter CardFlight, which is launching with an encrypted, Square-like card reader of its own, as well as an SDK and APIs that will allow developers to create apps and take “card-present” payments on their mobile apps."
• EMV Takes Center Stage on Day Two of THE Tech EVENT - Convenience Store News - "Several speakers stressed in today’s standing-room-only session that EMV is a set of guidelines, not standards."
• Prepaid Cards for Jobless Benefits - The Members Group - "…42 states in the U.S. now direct deposit monthly unemployment benefits to out-of-work consumers on reloadable prepaid cards…"
• Discover Card's Email Balance Alert is a Thing of Beauty - NetBanker - "The message is nicely laid out with plenty of white space and it's chock full of links to get more information."

On the wires:

• MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program - "This program is the largest roll-out of a formal electronic payment solution in the country and the broadest financial inclusion initiative of its kind on the African continent."
• Wells Fargo Adds Bankers, Launches New Secured Credit Products to Help More Small Businesses - "Wells Fargo’s new Business Secured Credit Card also helps new businesses establish and rebuild business credit…"
• Tabbedout and Future POS Expand Partnership to Bring Unrivaled Merchant Marketing Solution to All Future Fusion Merchants - "This new partnership means that the Tabbedout merchant marketing solution, Periscope, is now available in the 4,000+ Future POS merchant locations that use the Future Fusion software in their restaurants, bars, and hotels…"
• Elavon Names Simon Haslam President and Chief Executive Officer - "Simon’s experience and passion for growth and innovation make him the best individual to lead Elavon as we continue to extend our global reach and the value we deliver to our customers."
• Barclays Uses Nuance Voice Biometrics to Identify Customers by the Sound of their Voice - "No longer will customers need to answer intrusive security questions in order to verify their identity. By simply speaking with an agent, a customer’s voice is verified using Nuance voice biometrics technology, making the authentication process quick, secure and transparent."

On Twitter:

Here's my new @paypal card - yes, PayPal is issuing cards. It's too cool to have an account number on it. #payments twitter.com/joxman/status/…

— Jason Oxman (@joxman) May 7, 2013

On the web:

• The Banking Industry's Tech Nightmares Are Coming True - Motley Fool - "In the end, big banks and credit card companies need to realize that their era of dominating global payments could be coming to an end."
• Google Wins a Surprising Design Patent for a New Tablet based Credit Card Reader - Patent Bolt - "Google's design patent is for what appears to be a commercial tablet computer with a built-in credit card reader."
• Visa Plants a Seed for Growth Abroad - Wall St. Journal - A look at Visa's efforts in Rwanda.
• In Tomorrow’s Retail Universe, the Destination Is ‘You’ - StreetFight - "Based on clues we can see all around us, it is my belief that retail, as we’ve known it for at least the last two millennia, is coming to an end."
• More regulation of Bitcoin is a good thing - Lightspeed Venture Partners (Jeremy Lieu) - "Am I naive, am I a tool of the government overlords, or is more regulation an inevitable part of the path towards widespread Bitcoin adoption?"
• US financial regulator: We could regulate Bitcoin “if we wanted” - Ars Technica - "The American financial regulator for derivatives trading has told multiple news outlets that it is considering new rules for Bitcoin."
• Showrooming: Retailers Fight Back With New-Fangled Apps & Old-School Marketing - "Retailers, it appears, are getting better at keeping customers buying in the store, no matter what they are finding on their phones and tablets."
• Protecting Seniors from Identity Theft - Google Public Policy Blog - "Google’s Good to Know site is designed to help educate consumers of all ages about online threats and tools they can use to protect themselves…"
• The Next Phase of Social Business is the Collaborative Economy - Jeremiah Owyang - "That’s where brands will rent, lend, provide subscriptions to products and services to customers, or even further, allow customers to lend, trade, or gift branded products or services to each other."
• Mobile Payments Marked by Fragmentation and Increasing Channel Convergence, Says Fed - "While the U.S. mobile payments market continues to gain taction, it has not grown as steadily as expected, and the likelihood of mass adoption is not high…"

On the wires:

• Payments Veteran to Lead North America Business Development for ReD - "25-year payment services veteran John Lees is the company’s new North America vice president of sales."
• American Express Organizational Announcement – Daniel T. Henry, Chief Financial Officer - "Over the last few months Dan Henry and I have been discussing his plans for the next chapter of his personal and professional life."
• New AARP® Credit Card from Chase Offers Customers Cash Back on Every Purchase, Every Time - "By receiving 3 percent cash back on gas station and restaurant purchases and 1 percent on all other purchases, the average family can easily earn more than $250 cash back every year just by using the card."
• CPI Card Group Awarded US Patent for Innovative Secure Card Packaging Technology Utilized in Its Ultra Secure Pack™ Products - "The technology allows CPI to offer a superior, tamper proof, cost effective product for point of sale card activation applications including open loop prepaid cards."
• AIRTAG Enables Magento E-Commerce Sites to Mobilize in Native Mobile Wallet Apps - "For all retailers starting to think about how they are going to go mobile, we have created a solution that significantly eases the transition to digital commerce, without sacrificing the user experience."

On the web:

• Walmart Joins NRF, Ends Longest-Running Retail Feud Ever - StorefrontBacktalk - "According to one person familiar with the players involved, what changed is the nature of some of the legislation that Walmart is now pushing, such as interchange and tax considerations for E-Commerce."
• The case for digital tender - FT Alphaville - "…Central banks should issue their own e-money instead of leaving it in the hands of private companies."
• Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin Architect: Meet The Man Bringing You Bitcoin (And Getting Paid In It) - Huffington Post - "The mission is really to create a stable worldwide currency for the internet."
• Yay, hiss! Cards' mag stripe 'fingerprint' may foil thieves - Taking Charge Blog - "It turns out there's a similar lo-fi static attached to your credit card's magnetic stripe that, much like my vinyl mixtape, has long gone unheard and unappreciated."
• Champ at the Bitcoin (Comic) - AllThingsD
• Prepaid Debit Cards More Popular, Despite Fees - NY Times Bucks Blog - "One of the more frustrating fees on the cards is a charge for calling customer service."
• Bitcoin Isn’t the Only Cryptocurrency in Town - Technology Review - "Several others are also surging in popularity and value, and they claim to offer technical improvements that make them better suited to mainstream use."
• Eat Out Kenya Launches Partnership with KopoKopo, Safaricom - Yummy - "MPESA should be an option that every restaurant offers, especially when KopoKopo have streamlined the management and reporting process."
• The business case for EMV in the USA, yet again - Consult Hyperion's Tomorrow's Transactions Blog - "…I might go a little further and say that if cross-sector authentication solutions are developed reasonably quickly, then the issuers might be much better off shifting to the "something present" (SP) model sooner rather than later…"
• PayPal Extends Seller Protection Provision Off eBay - EcommerceBytes.com - "It appears not all sellers are covered for off-eBay protections yet, as PayPal rolls out coverage through the year, so look for a letter in your email inbox."
• Miura: we’ll ship 500,000 chip & PIN readers this year - Mobile Money Revolution

On the wires:

• Steve Elefant: A Pioneer in Payments, Point of Sale and Electronic Commerce Joins GoPago to Lead Strategy - "I have looked at all of the solutions and without a doubt, GoPago has the most robust cloud-based commerce, point-of-sale and mobile ordering platform on the market today."
• WorldPay and Intershop partner to deliver eCommerce solution with extensive payment processing and risk functionality - "The integration will provide retail merchants with a complete eCommerce solution with extensive payment processing, global customer reach and risk functionality."
• Mercury Leader Joins ETA Mobile Payments Committee - "In this role, Nayfack will develop best practices in mobile commerce with industry peers to enable merchants and consumers to navigate technological “ease-of-use.”

On the web:

• MCX Is A Mobile Payment Platform For Retailers, By Retailers - NRF Retail's BIG Blog
• VeriFone Introduces Payment Solution For iPad Mini - MobilePaymentsToday.com

On the wires:

• SpeechStorm Makes IVR Payments Easier (PCI Compliant) in Europe
• TSYS Technology to Help Achieve Financial Inclusion in India
• MasterCard and Equity Bank to Introduce PayPass Enabled Cards in Five African Markets
• Ingenico partners with Microsoft to Drive Retail Innovation
• NCR Launches Mobile Point-of-Sale Optimization Practice

On the web:

• Highlights from a Conference on Technology and Payments - Portals and Rails
• The Need For Mobile Money Spawns A Startup Ecosystem Across Africa - TechCrunch
• EU Takes Belgium to Court Over Electronic Money Providers - WSJ.com

On the wires:

• Chase Customers Can Get Debit Cards Instantly in Branches
• Amazon Makes It Simple for Unity Developers to Add In-App Purchasing to Their Games
• Fuel Rewards Network Launch Helps Dallas-Fort Worth Consumers Save at the Pump
• Payza Payment Gateway Licensed for Inbound Foreign Remittances in Bangladesh
• Transact24 Moves Its Prepaid Card Portfolio to CashFlows to Provide Global Issuing Services
• Blackhawk Network to Offer Univision MasterCard Prepaid Card at Select Retailers

On the web:

• SumUp (UK) Launches Mobile POS API for In-app Payments - ProgrammableWeb.com
• P2P Lending Club Surpasses $1B In Personal Loans, Hits Profitability - TechCrunch
• GustPay Gets Serious About Mobile Payments in South Africa - ventureburn
• Square Clone Payleven Hails Partnership With Berlin Taxi Association TVB - The Next Web

On the wires:

• PayGo, ELO to Bring Unique Energy Payment Solutions to Latin America
• Ziptip Announces a New Way for Restaurant Waitstaff to Receive Mobile Tips
• Fingerprint Cards Completes Integration Of Fingerprint Authentication For Secure Element
• peerTransfer Expands International Payment Services into Australian Markets

Vodafone announced that next month, it will connect its M-Pesa service to a leading international remittance hub, HomeSend operated by BICS. This will allow M-Pesa customers to send and receive funds via their mobile phone accounts by connecting directly to more than 21 international money transfer businesses in 35 countries.

On the web:

• 8 African Mobile Money Services That Aren't M-Pesa - Bizcommunity.com
• Canadian Telcos' Joint Venture Divests Zoompass Mobile Wallet Business - Global News

On the wires:

• Paying for an Elective Medical Procedure Is Now Easier with NuVida
• Accertify to Provide easyJet with New Fraud Protection Solution
• Yodlee Interactive™ Doubles Its Growth in Non-Bank API Business
• Elavon & 41st Parameter Deliver Comprehensive Fraud Mitigate Solution
• USA Technologies Expands Cashless Payment Services to Eaton's EV Charging Stations
• Moneris and Semafone Partner to Provide Secure Call Center Experience

On the web:

• Visa Europe Puts Brakes On iZettle - TechCrunch
• Shedding Light on Cloud Payments Risk Management - Portals and Rails
• Apple Buys Mobile Security Firm AuthenTec for $356 Million - Reuters
• ‎Visa's Interlink Volume Falls as Durbin Routing Provisions Take Effect - Digital Transactions
• ViVOtech Restructuring, Selling Reader Business - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• Flood of Competition Weighs on Prepaid-Card Companies - Wall Street Journal
• Global Payments Expects Its Data-Breach Tab Could Hit $120 Million - Digital Transactions
• E-Commerce vs. M-commerce (InfoGraphic) - BigCommerce

On the wires:

• British Retail Consortium Releases UK Payments Mix Study
• ROAM Data Introduces New Mobile Software Developer Kit
• AJB Software Accelerates EMV Migration for Retailers
• Merchant Warehouse Announces Acquisition of AVATAS Payment Solutions
• mopay Extends its Mobile Payments Portfolio in the Middle East & North African Region
• 2.5 Million MasterCard Debit Cards Issued to Social Welfare Beneficiaries in South Africa
• Chase and Marriott Rewards Launch the Only Hotel Rewards Card in Canada with No Foreign Currency Transaction Charges

On the web:

• PayPal Acquires card.io - PayPal Blog
• Visa May Be Helped by WTO Ruling on Chin - Businessweek
• How Cell Phones Are Bringing Rural Africans Into the Modern Economy - The Atlantic
• Merchants Consider Credit Card Surcharges or Cash Discounts - NYTimes.com

On the wires:

• Monitise Releases Unaudited Trading Update
• ROXO Adds Virtual Piggy as Payment Solution
• Ogone Acquires Tunz.com and Becomes Licensed e-Money Institution in EU
• Adyen Announces Availability of A/B Testing of Payment Pages
• Discover Card Now Accepted at Neiman Marcus Stores
• New Aite Group Report on How Remittance Details Arrive
• Commonwealth Bank (Australia) to Revolutionize the POS experience with Pi
• LevelUp Mobile Payments Launch in Colorado at Fast-Casual Chain Larkburger
• Western Union Enables Acceptance of Indian Rupee Tuition Payments
• Pacific Pride Launches New Universal Card Program for its Fuel Marketers
• Angry Birds Creator Selects Braintree’s Payments Platform

On the web:

• Africa’s Mobile Money Boom - African Business Review
• ACH Transaction Volumes Might Be Headed for a ‘New Normal’ - Digital Transactions
• Bar Code-Based Mobile Payments: Mcommerce’s Newest Darling - Mobile Commerce Daily
• Paying to Play: Planned Isis Fees Rankle Some Issuers - NFC Times
• drchrono Introduces Square Payments for Doctors - BetaKit

On the wires:

• Payments with PayLane Now Available in the UK and Ireland
• Bill.com Introduces Certification Program for Accounting Firms
• Mattersight Announces Fraud Analytics Solution For Call Centers
• Upromise by Sallie Mae Launches New Credit Card Rewards with the Ability to Earn 10% or More Cash Back for College
• Western Union and IBInvestor to Expand Small Business Access to Global Payments Platform
• Brightwell Payments Adds EMV Euro Card to its OceanPay Program

C-SAM and MasterCard have announced a joint initiative to offer a white-label mobile wallet solution based on C-SAM’s flexible Mobile Transaction Platform (MTP) integrated with MasterCard’s pre-paid platform, offers, PayPass Wallet Services and rich informational services.

“Our partnership with C-SAM offers telcos in the region a NFC solution that comes pre-packaged with prepaid instance issuance, TSM integration and coupon redemption at the point of sale and offers a path to a truly multichannel payment wallet through PayPass Wallet Services,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Regional Head of Mobile and Ecommerce for Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa for MasterCard.

On the web:

• Retailers To Collaborate on Their Own Digital Wallet - Wall Street Journal
• Google Wanted to Create a Google Bucks Currency - Digital Trends
• PayPal Casts Doubt on Near Field Mobile Payments Systems - The Guardian
• LevelUp Now Seeing $1M Per Month In Transactions; Launches API - TechCrunch
• We Don't Have a Mobile Payment Problem; We Have a Mobile Shopping Problem - Wired.com
• The Cashless Society: One Man’s Quest to Survive without Bills or Coins - Slate Magazine
• UK To Get Cardless Cash Withdrawals (via Ukash) - ATM Marketplace
• Me, My Money, and My Devices - MIT Technology Review

On the wires:

• VeriFone Bringing Lottery to Card Payment Screens
• Chase and Hyatt Unveil Co-Branded Hotel Card with EMV Chip Technology
• Payment Processors Worldwide Rely on Information Builders for Customer-Facing Analytics
• SelectCore to Launch Virtual Visa Through Its Facebook Social Mobile Remittance Platform
• Oberthur Technologies Leverages Global EMV Expertise and Historical Market Presence in the US
• FiftyOne Global Ecommerce Strengthens Service to Canada with Acquisition of Borderfree
• Orange to Offer Visa Mobile Prepaid Accounts to Orange Money Customers
• PULSE Adds Issuers to Network, Expands ATM Coverage in 2011
• MasterCard Recaps Recent Mobile Payments Partnerships

On the web:

• French Bank and Carrier Team Up to Bring Mobile Payments to Market - NFC World
• Telefonica Digital and RIM Announce NFC payments Market Trial in Spain - FierceMobileContent
• 3G Direct Pay Ltd (Kenya) to Integrate M-Pesa and Airtel Money - businessdailyafrica.com
• Starbucks Launches Mobile Payments App in UK and Ireland - Marketing Magazine
• Google Engineer Shares 2012 Plans for Google Wallet - American Banker
• Orange expands Money services in Africa - Rethink Wireless
• Visa and Retailers Discuss Chip Migration - NACS Online
• Australian Taxis Now Take China UnionPay - People's Daily Online
• EU Weighs Need For Mobile Payment Rules To Attract Industry Investment - Bloomberg

On the wires:

• Top Card Issuer Takes Online Resources’ Collections Global
• Ink from Chase Enhances Rewards Program for Small Business Cardholders
• Facebook Adds SafetyPay as New Global Payment Option for Facebook Credits
• Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) Offers Skrill World Post

On the web:

• Mobile payments for Dummies (infographic) - VentureBeat
• FNB Debuts New 'Pay2Cell" Mobile Payments Service in South Africa - TechCentral

On the wires:

• IronKey Dramatically Reduces Online Banking Risk With Next Generation Multi-Layer Fraud Prevention
• PriceTravel Selects Accertify to Protect Its Online Travel Platform Against Fraud
• TSYS Extends Processing Services Agreement with Clearent
• New Mercator Report on Mobile Wallet Wars

On the web:

• Vodafone to Extend Android Billing Worldwide - Rethink Wireless
• Mobile On/Off Switch for Debit Cards Now in Testing - American Banker
• Are Cheques Really Here to Stay in UK? - ThisIsMoney.co.uk
• Why Kenya’s M-Pesa Won’t Work Anywhere Else - memeburn

On the wires:

• Frontier Airlines Selects Accertify to Provide Online Fraud Protection
• NYPAY Event: Alternative Payments & Disruptive Innovation - Where Will the Winners Come From?
• E-invoicing Made Simple: the IKB Leasing Group signs up with Crossgate
• TransFirst Acquires Solveras Payment Solutions

On the web:

• Monitise Gets Mobile Payment License in Nigeria - Banking Business Review
• Time Running Out for Third-Party Payment Firms To Be Licensed in China - China.org.cn

On the wires:

• Mobile Accord and Payfone Team Up to Expand Global Mobile Donations
• ElectraCard Services powers MasterCard debit and prepaid cards in Zimbabwe for FBC Bank
• Aryty.com Expands Free Mobile Top-Up Trial Program to 19 Carriers in 11 Countries
• TrustCommerce Welcomes JayStar Group as New Partner

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

On the web:

• Subway Launches NFC payments in U.S. - NFCNews

On the wires:

• ROAM Data Takes Number One Market Position for Secure Mobile Phone Card Reader Solutions
• HSBC Sells Its Card and Retail Services Business in the US to Capital One
• NCR Launches Bill Pay / SIM Card Kiosk for Telecom Providers in Middle East and Africa
• Sutherland Global Services USA, Partners With ElectraCard Services (ECS)
• Launch of PlayStation Network Card Supported by InComm
• Hypercom UK and Spain Acquired by Spire Payments
• New Aite Group Report on the Role of VARs/ISVs in Merchant Acquiring Market

On the web:

• Facebook Said to Be in Talks to Bring Credits to Mobile Browsers - Bloomberg
• eBay and PayPal Open Registration to Developer Program Conference - eCommerceBytes
• Transit Kiosks at MoMA - Art That Begs to Be Touched - NYTimes.com
• Man Sentenced to Death for Fake Money Scam - chinadaily.com

On the wires:

• Ceridian Stored Value Solutions (SVS) and Twitpay Offer Innovative Social Commerce Solution
• New Mercator Report on Merchant Acquiring Industry and the Mobile Opportunity
• Neural Technologies Implements Solution for Mobile Payments Fraud Management in Africa
• eMerchantPay Launches the eComm Module to Streamline Payment Processing for Online Retailers in UK
• FiServ Business Online, formerly eCorp, Delivers Advanced Functionality for Corporate and Small Business Banking

On the web:

• Mobile Payments: 8 Awesome Ways to Pay with Your Phone - TheNextWeb
• Pay-by-Phone Parking: No quarters, but Hidden Costs? - MSNBC.com
• Monitise brings mobile payments to Nigeria - Real Business
• Mobile payments: How safe are they? - The Oregonian
• Paymentwall’s In-Game Payment Options Gain a Good Following - VentureBeat
• In a Surprising Twist, Reloadable Prepaid Not As Durbin-Proof As Originally Thought - Digital Transactions

On the wires:

• AsiaPay Expands its Payment Services and Technologies to Malaysia
• Chase and United Unveil United MileagePlus Explorer Card
• FICO and Círculo de Crédito Bring Credit Scores to Mexican Lenders
• TxVia Completes Certification to Process Payment Cards Using the Discover Network

Visa has announced that it is acquiring Fundamo and entering into a new, long-term commercial agreement with mobile-money provider Monitise plc.

The combination of acquiring Fundamo and expanding the relationship with Monitise will enable Visa to deliver best-in-class mobile financial services and payments capabilities to consumers across the full spectrum of uses, geographies and mobile environments from basic services on simple handsets to more advanced services for smart phone owners.

South Africa-based Fundamo has more than 50 active mobile financial services deployments across more than 40 countries, including 27 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. A related announcement from Monitise is also on the wire.

On the wires:

• VeriFone to Acquire South Africa Payments Solutions Provider
• Parkmobile and Liberty PlugIns Debut Pay by Phone Electric Vehicle Charging
• Telemundo Branded Gift Cards to Launch at Retail This Month via InComm
• New Aite Group Report on the Future of Merchant Acquiring

On the web:

• TechCrunch: WePay Adds Event Ticketing To Hassle-Free Group Payments Platform
• AllThingsD: Alipay Gets Its License to Operate in China
• PayPal Blog: PayPal Is Now a Payout Option for Developers Redeeming Facebrook Credits
• MIT Technology Review: What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters

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

The Mobile Money Exchange has a great visual tool that nicely illustrates the proliferation of mobile money deployments around the world.

This tool was originally developed by the GSMA Mobile Money for the Unbanked team (covering the countries under their remit) and has been extended to include all worldwide mobile money deployments.

Western Union has announced that consumers can now send money directly to the mobile “wallets” of Safaricom M-PESA subscribers in Kenya from 45 countries and territories. 'The service rides on Western Union’s worldwide network and trusted global “hub” for processing cross-border remittances. It also builds on the unprecedented success of M-PESA, a domestic mobile money transfer service in Kenya offered by Safaricom that has attracted more than 13.5 million customers since its launch in 2007."

Dateline Nairobi -- MasterCard, Standard Chartered Bank, and airtel Africa have launched the world’s first virtual card that operates off a wallet residing on a mobile phone. "This innovative payment method known as airtel 1time Shopping Card will offer communities the opportunity for greater participation in the financial system as they realize the substantial benefits of mobile commerce. This single use shopping card will soon be available in Kenya and rolled out to markets across Africa, subject to regulatory approvals."

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• Vindicia Wraps Another Record Breaking Year, Company’s SaaS Billing Solutions Continue to Outpace Competition
• Cubic to Test Open Payment Technology on PATCO
• CHARGE Anywhere Launches Mobile Payments in Nigeria with GPAY Africa
• Fathead Brings eBillme’s Secure Cash Checkout Option to Sports Enthusiasts

• Visa Blog: Visa CEO Joe Saunders On Debit Card Regulation

MasterCard has released its latest "Insights" report on online shopping in emerging markets.

The results of the index show the gap in online shopping is closing in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region; last year we saw a huge spike with India and Thailand jumping in terms of their increasing ease of shopping online, bringing them close to numbers for some of the more mature markets like China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. While scores in India and Thailand have stabilized since last year, this year we see a jump in markets like China and Malaysia.

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• New Aite Group Report on Open Payment Platforms
• MoreMagic Solutions Provides the Technology Behind Voilà and Unibank’s Mobile Money Service in Haiti
• Secure Vault Payments Network Adds Checkgateway
• iQmetrix Partners With Bill Payment Processor TIO Networks

• TechCrunch: Fortumo lets Android Developers Offer In-App Carrier Billing via SMS
• Portals and Rails: Numbers don't back up fears about WEB and TEL
• Wall Street Journal: Banks Look to Prepaid Cards to Replace Lost Revenue
• New York Times: Gift Cards With Bells and Whistles
• TechCrunch: Google Bought Stealthy Mobile Payments Startup Zetawire