Link2Gov has announced that it now offers Bill Me Later as a payment option for qualified taxpayers. Taxpayers can now log onto BML.PAY1040.com, powered by Link2Gov, to pay their individual or business federal taxes. Bill Me Later offers customers credit for single transactions at the point of payment online, and provides authorization for approved customers within seconds. In addition to federal taxes, Link2Gov plans to add Bill Me Later as a standard payment option along with the card-based and electronic check payment solutions it provides to non-IRS government agencies of all sizes. READ MORE

Merchant e-Solutions (MeS) has announced the integration of Bill Me Later into its payment gateway, processing platform and web-based reporting system. This added capability offers e-commerce merchants access to the Bill Me Later payment option, one of the fastest growing online payment alternatives. READ MORE

eBay reported fourth quarter 2008 financial results this afternoon - saying its

Payments business unit [PayPal + Bill Me Later] posted another solid quarter with $623 million in revenue, an increase of 11% year over year. Net total payment volume (TPV) for the quarter was $15.99 billion, an increase of 14% year over year. The revenue and net TPV growth was fueled by expanded adoption of PayPal Merchant Services across the Web and the inclusion of Bill Me Later, acquired on November 7, 2008. Active accounts reached 70 million, an increase of 23% year-over-year. The Payments business will continue to focus on greater penetration into the Marketplaces business as well as the acquisition of new merchants."

Amazon.com has announced that effective today Bill Me Later will no longer be accepted as a payment option on Amazon.com. Bill Me Later was acquired earlier this year by eBay/PayPal. More details are available in the Amazon Seller Forum and in this article on AuctionBytes.

In an article titled "Retailers Offering New Payment Choices", Kelli B. Grant writes for the Wall St. Journal about payments options available to consumers this holiday shopping season.

eBay has announced that it has "reached a definitive agreement to acquire Bill Me Later®, the number two online-oriented payments brand, for approximately $820 million in cash and approximately $125 million worth of outstanding options, net of option exercise proceeds. The acquisition extends the company’s leadership in payments by combining Bill Me Later with eBay’s PayPal, the number one online-oriented payments brand. Subject to various closing conditions, the deal is expected to be completed by year-end." A webcast and a presentation are available online - along with a blog post from PayPal's CEO Scott Thompson.

Among other announcements today, eBay announced "plans to reduce its global workforce by approximately 10 percent, affecting about 1,000 employees in addition to several hundred temporary workers and the reduction of open positions." READ MORE

Bill Me Later has announced that the number of online stores, catalogs and travel partners offering its payments approach has exceeded the 1,000 mark. According to the company, "the merchants in the network represent top-tier retail, airline and hotel brands offering tens of millions of products to Bill Me Later’s rapidly expanding consumer base." READ MORE

Bill Me Later has announced that Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation has made Bill Me Later Business available to businesses that purchase Fujitsu LifeBook notebooks and tablet PCs, Stylistic slates and mobile computing accessories on www.shopfujitsu.com and through the company’s 1-800-FUJITSU sales center. READ MORE

Bill Me Later has announced it will host a webinar on Thursday, September 18, at 1 PM EDT where Russ Jones and Allen Weinberg of Glenbrook Partners will provide an in-depth look at how retailers evaluate alternative payments. READ MORE

Bill Me Later has announced a strategic partnership with Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP), the airline-owned corporate travel payment network. The partnership enables airlines to integrate Bill Me Later by utilizing their existing UATP Network for processing Bill Me Later transactions. READ MORE

Bill Me Later has announced that QVC, one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world, "has added the Bill Me Later alternative payment method to further enhance the shopping experience for its valued customers online, in the call center and via automated phone service." READ MORE

Glenbrook's Russ Jones will be on hand at this year's Direct Response Forum (DRF) to lead a session on August 12th entitled "What We're Watching in Emerging Payments". Looking beyond the current generation of payment alternatives, Russ will be discussing TrialPay, eBillme, Secure Vault Payments, Amazon Payments, RevolutionCard, eLayaway, PaidByCash, and the Green Dot MoneyPak.

Russ will also be participating in a round table discussion on best practices in recurring payments on August 13th. The DRF 2008 conference is being held in San Diego. The full agenda is available online. If you're going to be at the conference, - he'd love to meet you!

Bill Me Later has announced "that to celebrate its launch on Amazon.com, customers that pay with Bill Me Later will receive $10 off qualifying Amazon.com purchases of $50 or more. The offer is available through July 21, 2008." READ MORE

As we noticed last week, Amazon.com is now supporting Bill Me Later for payments. This morning both companies officially announced that "millions of Amazon.com customers will be able to use Bill Me Later’s next-generation payments service to pay for their purchases instantly online without using a credit card." READ MORE

Last December, Bill Me Later announced that Amazon.com would be accepting Bill Me Later payments and that Amazon had made an equity investment in the company. Amazon.com now is accepting Bill Me Later - details here. Amazon.com is also now a featured store on the Bill Me Later home page - ironically, right next to its bookstore rival Borders.com.

Bill Me Later and ShoeMall.com have announced they have partnered to offer ShoeMall customers a more flexible way to pay online without the use of their credit cards. " READ MORE

Bill Me Later has announced that Borders has added its alternative payment functionality to its newly launched e-commerce site at Borders.com. "With Bill Me Later, Borders shoppers will be able to add to their book, movie and music collections online and via phone without sharing their credit card information." Borders.com is also offering customers no payments for 90 days on purchases of $99 or more with Bill Me Later. READ MORE

Glenbrook's Allen Weinberg and Jim Salters are attending this week's Payments 2008 conference in Las Vegas. Here's Allen's second report from today's sessions including his notes on the panel he chaired this afternoon titled “Payments aren’t about Payments Anymore”.

Keith Regan looks at Bill Me Later in a post on eCommerceTimes.com saying that "credit card-free alternative Bill Me Later has proven that merchants and consumers alike are hungry for alternatives."

Bill Me Later has announced that Journeys.com, a specialty retailer of footwear and accessories, has launched Bill Me Later on its web site. With the Bill Me Later payment service, consumers can conveniently and securely make online purchases without a credit card. Journeys.com is also extending the additional convenience and flexibility of no payments for 90 days to its customers. READ MORE

Bill Me Later, has announced that 'Continental Airlines is offering customers that pay with Bill Me Later $20 off the total price of their airfare. The discount is available to new Bill Me Later customers that purchase tickets at continental.com or by calling Continental reservations at 1-800-523-3273 through April 23. In addition, customers that pay using Bill Me Later can take advantage of special promotional financing offers including no payments for 90 days and no payments for six months on purchases of $1500 or more.'

Francine Kizner writes for Entrepreneur.com about alternative payments providers Bill Me Later, eBillMe, Revolution Money, and Bill-to-Phone. "Alternative payment companies entice buyers who may not have credit cards, feel wary about sharing their information online or just want an easier checkout experience."

Business Week's Catherine Holahan takes a look at PayPal - and other alternative payment providers including Bill Me Later and Google Checkout. "Experts point to three main drivers for alternative payments: concern over fraud risk, growth in merchant participation, and fear of, or lack of access to, credit cards."

Bill Me Later has announced its 2007 holiday results - reporting an upsurge in toys, travel and fashion purchases in Q4 2007 as compared to Q4 2006. Toy
purchases grew 131 percent, travel buying increased 67 percent, female
fashion, including shoes and handbags, increased 128 percent. The company also reported that consumers who used Bill Me Later more than doubled their use of deferred billing in Q4 2007 as compared to Q4 2006.

SmartMoney's Kelli B. Grant writes about alternative ecommerce payments - Bill Me Later, PayPal, and eBillMe - and identifies "four reasons you may want to think twice before hitting the "checkout" button using one of these services."

Suzanne Choney writes for MSNBC about Bill Me Later - but also about eBillMe and PaidByCash. Sounds ominous: "The Electronic Retailing Association advises consumers to make sure they read the fine print and know their rights when dealing with alternative online payment programs."

In an article titled 'E-Commerce Credit Card Alternatives Soaring In Popularity', Evan Schuman writes that "some of the largest E-Commerce chains have suddenly started to embrace non-traditional payment methods, with one analyst firm finding a startling 267 percent increase in such acceptance in February, when compared with the identical survey done in mid-October."

Meanwhile, HitWise looks at the growth in traffic associated with Bill Me Later. HitWise reports that Bill Me Later's traffic is up 271% from last year while PayPal's traffic is down 1% and Google Checkout is down 34%

Laura Smitherman writes for the Baltimore Sun about home-town favorite Bill Me Later's recent deal with Amazon.com. "Amazon.com and other retailers choose Bill Me Later because its 3 million users tend to spend more than the average customer and to return more frequently to participating merchants." Saul Hansell of the New York Times blogs about Bill Me Later on the Times' Bits blog: "What Mr. Marino has built is a rare thing: a new widespread payment method."

Amazon.com has announced it has signed an agreement with Bill Me Later to make the Bill Me Later payment option available on the Amazon.com website. Amazon.com also announced that it is making an equity investment in Bill Me Later, Inc. Note that Bill Me Later is not yet available on the Amazon.com web site - "the companies are working closely together to make the service available as soon as possible..." An FAQ is available.

Mylene Mangalindan reports for the Wall St. Journal on marketing promotions being offered this holiday season to online shoppers by PayPal, Bill Me Later and Google Checkout. "For consumers, the offers represent an increasingly significant variable to consider when trying to play the holiday promotions. Most of the latest promotions involve free shipping, discounts or credits."