Fiserv announced that its ACCEL/Exchange payments network had "another record-setting year, processing more than 1.5 billion transactions in 2011, an increase of nearly 29% over 2010. ACCEL/Exchange payments network from Fiserv is one of the fastest-growing payments networks in the industry, supplying the infrastructure for financial institutions to give cardholders around-the-clock access to their demand deposit account funds at ATMs and the point of sale."

On the web:

• A Guide to PayPal Alternatives in Asia - SGEntrepreneurs
• Contactless ATMs: The New Wave of Banking? - Think Money
• Obama Campaign Is Using Square For Fundraising - TechCrunch
• Google Wallet Struggles to Gain Acceptance - Mobile Commerce Daily
• Is the U.S. Payments Industry Following in the Footsteps of the Netherlands? - Portals and Rails
• Green Dot to Launch Bank Account This Year - American Banker

On the wires:

• PayLane Becomes a Certified American Express Partner
• GE Capital Extends Consumer Financing Program with Art Van Furniture
• MusicSkins Partners With Virtual Piggy Offering Innovative Youth Purchasing System
• South Carolina Selects Heartland as Preferred Provider for Electronic Financial Aid Disbursement
• GE Capital Retail Bank and ShopNBC Announce Renewal of Consumer Credit Card Program
• Canada's Payfirma Updates Its Mobile Payment App

Visa and Better ATM Services have announced the ability to dispense Visa Gift cards in addition to cash at existing ATMs.

With this introduction, ATM menu screens now include a “Purchase Visa Gift Card” option and prompt to designate the value to load on each card. Cards are available with no activation fee in $25 denominations during the pilot. The new ATM-dispensed Visa Gift card is made of a durable yet thinner material, which allows cards to easily pass through the cash mechanisms of ATMs.

An in-market pilot program is currently underway offering Visa Gift cards at walk-up and drive-through ATMs in select locations throughout Arizona.

Clear2Pay announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Level Four Software Holdings Ltd., a UK headquartered company providing development and test automation solutions for all types of ATM networks, enabling banks and processors.

On the web:

• Your Next Credit Card Is Your Last - Fast Company
• Wal-Mart, McDonald's Execs Sour on New Debit Rules - chicagotribune.com
• Starbucks Finds Success in Mobile Payments - TMCnet.com
• International Fraud Awareness Week is Here - Portals and Rails
• PayMate To Launch NFC Based Mobile Payments Product in India - MediaNama

On the wires:

• USA Technologies Maintains Branded Credit and Debit Rate Structure for Small-Ticket Markets
• Digital River Offers Enterprise Software Publishers New Revenue Channel
• Euronet Expands its Polish Network with ATM Acquisition from Diebold’s cash4you Network
• Wright Express Announces International Capabilities for Single-Use Virtual Payments
• Cubic Integrates Video Interface in Next-Gen Ticketing Machines
• 3 Point Alliance chooses Transactis as EBPP Partner
• New Celent Report on State of Remote Deposit Capture

On the web:

• Debit-Fee Retreat Complete - WSJ.com
• PayPal's Coolest Mobile Wallet Feature: The Oops Button - Forbes
• Square to Allow Card-free Payments - San Jose Mercury News
• Russian ATM Can Detect When Users are Lying - Springwise
• Womply’s New Deals Startup Loads Local Offers Onto Your Credit Cards - TechCrunch
• Google Wallet Roadshow Schedule - Google Commerce Blog
• PayPal Opens Shopping Showcase in New York - PayPal Blog

On the wires:

• SafetyPay and PlaySpan Partner to Offer International e-Shoppers Secure Payment Option
• Vindicia Adds New Campaign Management Features to CashBox
• Cardlytics Brings the Power of Transaction-Marketing to Leading Local Retailers
• CashStar Unveils Mobile Web Gift Card Purchasing
• Gemalto Launches Ezio Plug & Sign for Unmatched Online Transaction Security
• Fiserv Integrates ACCEL/Exchange and Prepaid Solutions to Deliver Next-Generation Prepaid Services

On the web:

• BofA, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Sued by ATM User Over Fees - Bloomberg
• USPS Eyes Prepaid Card Market - MyBankTracker.com
• Whole Foods Stores Stop Accepting Checks - Raleigh Durham News & Observer

On the wires:

• Durbin to Wells Fargo: Your Numbers Don't Add Up
• Bethpage Federal Credit Union Announces “No Fee” Free Checking Guarantee
• Western Union and Societe Generale International Retail Banking extend Global Money Transfer Agreement
• Chase Strengthens Partnership with United’s MileagePlus to Offer Ultimate Rewards Cardmembers Expanded Travel Flexibility
• New Report from Mercator on Online Bill Management

NCR has announced they will be working with PayPal and S1 Corporation to enable real-time P2P payments from their bank’s ATMs to almost anyone with a mobile phone or e-mail address. This service will initially be available in the U.S. with the ability to send money to people in more than 60 countries around the world.

NYCE has announced that it has signed an agreement with UnionPay (China’s bankcard association) to allow cardholders reciprocal access to ATMs in both networks.

“UnionPay attaches high value to giving UnionPay cards as many access points to their funds as possible. By enhancing the cooperation with its partners, UnionPay is focusing on building broader acceptance in the U.S.,” said Jianbo Cai, First EVP of China UnionPay. “Now more and more ATMs in the U.S. will accept UnionPay cards at key locations that are enabled via the NYCE Payments Network. This new cooperation between UnionPay and NYCE can serve both UnionPay and NYCE cardholders more effectively. We also believe that UnionPay and NYCE will have greater win-win opportunities in the future.”

On the web:

• An "Open" Perspective on Near Field Communications - ReadWriteWeb
• Card.io Enables Card Data Capture with Phone Camera - PCMag.com
• Eric Schmidt: Mobile Payments at Retail to Explode - CNET News
• Survey: Discounts and Coupons Will Drive Adoption of Mobile Payments - NFC World
• Apple Is Now Pimping Square’s iPad App In A 'How-To' Video - TechCrunch
• Itautec Unveils 3-D ATM in Brazil - ATM Marketplace

On the wires:

• Chase Upgrades Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card by Adding Amazon Shop with Points
• Optum EFT Solution Makes Health Care Payments Faster and Cheaper
• SponsorPay Introduces Offer-Based Monetization Suite For Publishers

On the web:

• Isis Plans Mobile Payments Launch in Austin - Reuters
• Merchants Shred Costs of Payments by Plastic - Wall Street Journal

On the wires:

• U.S. Bank Launches Payment Plus to Automate Business Payments in Canada
• New Corporate Insight Report on Mobile Finance Landscape
• Cardtronics to Acquire EDC ATM Business

On the web:

• More Hurdles Crumble for Same-Day ACH Payments - American Banker
• Is a National Data Breach Notification Law on the Horizon? - Portals and Rails
• FinovateSpring 2011 Demo Videos are Now Online - Finovate
• Durbin 'Ripple' for Community Banks - BAI Banking Strategies
• Little Interest Among U.S. Consumers for Mobile Wallets - Computerworld
• Mobile Payments Startup Calls it Quits, Hires Auctioneer to Sell Off Assets - dBusinessNews

On the wires:

• Turkish Bank Kuveyt Turk’s ATMs to Dispense Gold
• MICROS Simphony Certified to Elavon’s Fusebox Payment Gateway
• TapBase Introduces the Tap Mobile Payments, Loyalty and Rewards Platform
• Coolidge Corner Merchants Association to Offer PXT Money App as Member Benefit
• PAY.ON Continues to Cover Latin America: New Cooperation with DineroMail

Payment Alliance International (PAI) and MagTek have jointly announced the deployment of MagTek’s Qwick Codes across PAI’s nationwide network of over 50,000 ATM machines.

“Qwick Codes illustrates our goal of expanding and improving the consumers’ ability to use their smartphones to conduct everyday financial transactions,” said Andy Deignan, MagTek vice president of global marketing and strategy. Deignan adds, “In line with offering the high level of security MagTek is known for, static card data converted into a one-time use Qwick Code can be used to retrieve cash at any supported ATM, effectively eliminating the risk associated with compromised ATMs rigged with card skimmers.”

On the wires:

• Fiserv Provides Remote Deposit Capture Solutions to More than 160,000 Users
• Wells Fargo’s Latest Mobile Innovation: Commercial Card Expense Reporting
• Quepasa Partners With Tutudo to Offer Innovative Game Payment Solution
• PhoneFactor Launches Replacement Program for RSA SecurID Tokens
• Over One Fifth of Online Shoppers in UK Have Been A Victim of Online Fraud
• Wright Express Acquires rapid! PayCard, a Domestic Prepaid Payroll Card Provider

On the web:

• Springwise: In South Africa, Cardless ATM Withdrawals via Mobile Phone

On the wires:

• New In-Stat Report on Mobile Payments
• PaymentOne Expands Global Coverage and is Now Available in 67 Markets
• txtNation launches Mobile Network Lookup services
• Maas Global Solutions Turns to ThreatMetrix for Fraud Prevention on Its Payments Gateway
• Zoovy Adds Buy.com and Sears.com to Marketplace Line Up
• eProcessingNetwork Introduces ePNBillPay (PDF)
• Virgin Atlantic adopts OB10’s global e-Invoicing solution

On the web:

• Fast Company: Why PayPal Doesn't Care About NFC
• Credit Slips: Small Banks and Debit Interchange Reform: Winners or Losers?
• Bank Systems & Technology: ATMs Resume Working in Japan
• Wall Street Journal: ATM Fees in US are Heading Higher

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• SOFTBANK MOBILE in Japan Selects Gemalto for Mobile Contactless Payment Trial
• ThreatMetrix Achieves Record Revenue, Billings, Transactions, and Customer Growth in 2010
• Main Street Softworks Inc. Adds Credit Card Enhanced Data (Level III) Reporting Features
• ValidSoft Technology Targets Belgian Bank Card Fraud Crisis
• ProPay Partners with 3DCart to Provide Merchants a Complete Set of eCommerce Tools
• Mitek Seeing Strong Deployment of its Mobile Remote Deposit Capture Application
• BPC Banking Technologies and Banca Transilvania Introduce Western Union Transfers through ATM´S

• New York Times: Now at Starbucks: Buy a Latte By Waving Your Phone
• Portals and Rails: Retail Payments Risk Forum Hosts 4th Annual "Emerging Risks in Emerging Payments" Conference
• eMarketer: In-App Purchases Become Major Mobile Revenue Stream
• Cult of Mac: iPad Cash Register Arrives at Grand Central Coffee Shop

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• New Mercator Report on Top 50 Debit Card Issuers Loyalty and Rewards Programs
• Ukash, the Global e-Money Network, Chooses iovation Fraud Protection

• Bloomberg: Senate's Durbin Plans to Seek Limits on `Abusive' Prepaid Debit-Card Fees
• Sacramento Business Journal: Wells Fargo ATMs speak Russian
• Reuters: Plastic Posse: Credit Card Winners and Cards They Love
• Collections & Credit Risk: Building Credit By Paying Bills: An Alternative To Secured Cards?

MasterCard and Cardtronics have announced an exclusive alliance providing Prepaid MasterCard issuers and program managers an opportunity to expand their ATM footprints through Cardtronics’ Allpoint Network, America’s largest surcharge-free ATM Network. The agreement provides Prepaid MasterCard issuers with the tools to compete effectively for new business and participants with surcharge-free access to more than 32,000 ATMs within the US at retail locations like Target, 7-Eleven, and Costco.

A news story in today's Sydney Morning Herald caught my eye: "New software to beat credit card fraud". The story describes how National Australia Bank is rolling out new technology - called liquid encryption numbers (LEN) - developed at its Bank of New Zealand subsidiary to deal with card fraud.

Exploring a bit further, I found this BNZ page with more details about LEN. According to BNZ, "LEN updates the magnetic stripe security information on BNZ credit cards when a transaction is completed at a BNZ ATM. This technology allows us to automatically detect if your card has been copied or duplicated without your knowledge. " READ MORE »

ATM transaction flows under the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes (EAPS), which unites European debit card schemes, have increased thanks to Consorzio Bancomat and Zentraler Kreditausschuss opening up the Italian and German processing gateways, SIA-SSB and CardProcess, under the EAPS framework to support their agreement to allow each other’s cardholders to withdraw cash from their respective ATM networks. READ MORE »

In an article titled "Under Attack! Threats to Deposit Accounts: an Interview with FICO Fraud Solutions", Glenbrook's Jacqueline Chilton talks with Mike Urban, FICO Senior Director of Fraud Solutions, about how criminals are enhancing their margins in ATM and debit card fraud.

The Federal Reserve has provided a new online Federal Reserve Board publication titled What You Need to Know: New Overdraft Rules for Debit and ATM Cards intended to help consumers better understand rules that provide additional protection when a debit card or automated teller machine (ATM) transaction causes an account to be overdrawn. READ MORE »

Glenbrook's Jacqueline Chilton is attending this week's ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum 2009 in Las Vegas. You can follow her reports from the conference over on our PaymentsViews.com sister site.

Bankrate.com has published results from a new study of bank fees showing that the costs of checking accounts have risen again this year to an all-time high. Bankrate's 2009 Checking Study details the average fees associated with using and maintaining an interest bearing account, including bounced check fees, ATM surcharges, and monthly services fees, plus tips on how to avoid them. READ MORE »

INTERAC, Canada’s national debit network, and China Unionpay, China’s national bank card payment network, have announced the launch of a new service that will give China Unionpay cardholders traveling in Canada the ability to withdraw cash from ATMs of participating acquirers in Canada. READ MORE »

PULSE, the Discover Financial Services business unit responsible for expanding global cash access for the company, has signed a long-term ATM acquiring agreement with TRIONIS, a European interbank processing network. TRIONIS is jointly owned by retail banks from nine European countries, the European Savings Banks Group, and First Data. READ MORE »

MasterCard has announced that the MasterCard ATM Hunter application is now available as a free download on the Apple iTunes App Store. ATM Hunter lets iPhone and iPod touch users easily locate the nearest ATM no matter where in the world they are. READ MORE »

NCR has launched "a new web-based service for easier and faster management and processing of envelope-free deposits at ATMs. With Intelligent Deposit ATMs already making up more than 70 percent of its 2008 U.S. SelfServ ATM orders, NCR believes its new service – NCR APTRA Deposit Gateway – will significantly help the next wave of financial institutions move to image-based ATMs. NCR APTRA Deposit Gateway is a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that enables financial institutions to perform check image processing for envelope-free deposits made at the ATM." READ MORE »

A working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City titled "Product Innovation and Firm Survival in A Network Industry" by Fumiko Hayaski and Zhu Wang studies product innovation and network survival in the U.S. ATM/debit card industry. "The findings suggest introducing the point of sale debit function in the mid 1980s played an important role driving the network consolidation."

Yesterday, NCR held an Analyst Day for investors - the presentation slides are available in an SEC filing made by the company.

Online Resources held an Investor Day yesterday - the presentation slides are available online.