On the web:

• Bitcoin Foundation Launches To Drive Bitcoin's Advancement - Forbes
• Walmart Exec Says 'No' To Google Wallet, NFC - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• Gap, Bed Bath, Other Merchants join MCX Mobile Wallet Service - Reuters
• RBS and Natwest Launch Mobile Payments Service For iPhone - Mobile Today
• Telefónica O2 Begins Mobile Payments Rollout In Germany With Contactless Stickers - NFC World
• Stripe Announces New 'Transparency' Policies - Stripe Blog

On the wires:

• Cardtronics Launches FeeAlert
• Koupon Media Platform Passbook-Enabled
• VersaPay and Chase Paymentech Renew Partnership
• Western Union Expands Money Transfer Network in Mexico
• IdentityMind Protects Magento e-commerce Stores from Fraud
• Western Union Sees Significant Increase in Use of Chinese Renminbi for Business Payments by U.S. Firms

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

On the web:

• Apple to Remodel App Store this Summer - Rethink Wireless
• Mobile P2P Payments Startup Beamit Raises $2.4M From Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt & Others - TechCrunch
• Mobile Payments Platform to be Delayed Again by European Regulators - The Telegraph (UK)
• 41st Parameter Raises $13M From Kleiner Perkins And Others - TechCrunch
• Japanese Biometric ATM Reads Your Palm, Tells Fortune - Engadget
• The Rise of Mobile Payments (info graphic) - TruAxis

On the wires:

• TSYS Extends Payments Agreement With First Hawaiian Bank
• Cardtronics and 7-Eleven ATM Relationship Finds New Frontier in Canada
• MoneyGram Expands Online Money Transfers to Customers in the U.K.
• Elavon Leverages NewNet Payment Processing Solutions in South America
• Government of Canada Increasing the Use of Direct Deposit

On the web:

• Visa’s Saunders Downplays Merchant-Cost Concerns For Digital Wallet - ISO and Agent
• Report: 798 Daily Deal Sites Folded In The Last 6 Months Of 2011 - TechCrunch
• Amazon Pulls Plug on PayPhrase Service - Mashable

On the wires:

• Valero Corner Stores Get New ATMs and Program Manager in Cardtronics
• Businesses Can Capture Signatures, Easily Calculate Taxes and Tips Using New Sage Mobile Payments 2.0

On the web:

• Intuit says Mobile Payment 'Swipes' Will Go Away, But NFC Probably Not The Solution - Forbes
• Scan Your Groceries on Your Own Mobile Phone with a Grocery Shopping App - Mobile POS News

On the wires:

• ShopSavvy Secures $7 Million Round Led by Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin
• Chase Military Credit Cards Unveil Enhanced Cash Back Rewards, No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Cardtronics Acquires Mr. Cash

On the web:

• China UnionPay is Now the World's Largest Card Scheme - Bank Systems & Technology
• Cabela’s Embraces In-app Purchasing and Bar Code Scanning - Mobile Commerce Daily
• Online Banking Customers Demand Paper Checks - TIME.com

On the wires:

• Shandong Airlines Launches UATP Program
• NCR Secures Largest Ever ATM Services Deal in China
• Bank of America to Exit International Credit Card Businesses
• Experian Report Shows Credit Card Delinquencies are Below Prerecession Levels
• Bank of Internet Launches a POPmoney Person-to-Person Payment Service
• Admeris Partners With Global Transaction Services Group
• Cardtronics to Acquire Access to Money

On the web:

• UK Company Offers Mobile Wallet Fraud Insurance - NFCNews
• Mobile Banking Changes Everything, or Nothing - NetBanker
• Struggling Nokia to Roll Out 'Mobile Money' Service to Revive Fortune - The Economic Times
• MasterCard to bring NFC payments to Georgia - NFCNews

On the wires:

• Renasant Bank Joins the Secure Vault Payments Network
• U.S. Bank and SkoreIt! Introduce Co-Branded Visa Gift Card for Penny Auction Bidders
• Admeris Partners With Omnego to Deliver Secure Mobile Payments on Leading Mobile Wallet Platform
• Lending Club Announces $25 Million Round Led by Union Square Ventures
• New Mercator Report on Prepaid as Best Bet for Financial Inclusion
• Cardtronics Buys LocatorSearch to Enhance Convenience Marketing Capabilities

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 wires:

• Cardtronics Enlists Lexcel for Payment Network Testing
• Ethoca Partners with NCFTA, Launches FraudStop Service

On the web:

• Wall Street Journal: Google Pursues Role in Mobile Payments
• Portals and Rails: The nitty gritty of money transfer operators (MTOs)
• Mobile Commerce Daily: Mobile commerce and shopping experiencing phenomenal growth rates
• Wall Street Journal: Is Your Charity Chiseling You?
• paidContent: The NYT Pay Plan’s Most Dangerous Foe: Perception
• ETA Blog: Merchants Still Far From PCI Compliant
• China Daily: UnionPay network works well, competition not needed
• LINC New York: Innovations in Payment and Marketing in Web, Mobile and Social Networking

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.

MoneyGram International and Cardtronics have announced that MoneyGram money transfer and ExpressPayment urgent bill payment services will be offered through 2,250 advanced-function ATMs located at 7-Eleven, Inc. convenience stores in the U.S. beginning in late 2008. READ MORE »