On the web:

• To Sign Merchants, Square Heads to Campus To Recruit a Sales Force - Digital Transactions
• PayPal Says It's Business as Usual a Month After President Resigns - AllThingsD
• Self-Checkout Footprints Get Smaller For Retail - Point of Sale News
• Citigroup Gets Approval to Issue China Credit Cards - WSJ.com

On the wires:

• Datacard Group Announces an Equity Investment and Strategic Partnership with DeviceFidelity
• INSIDE Secure Chosen by Leading Smartphone Manufacturer
• Navigant Credit Union Selects Acumen from Fiserv

American Express announced an operating agreement with Lianlian Group which will allow Lianlian Group to use Serve in products and services it develops for its consumer and business customers in China.

The Serve platform, which American Express will license to Lianlian Group, is expected to help power a new Lianlian Group digital wallet that consumers can use to top up mobile phone minutes, pay bills and purchase products or services. American Express has also made an equity investment in Lianlian Pay Inc., an overseas company of the Lianlian group of companies (collectively “Lianlian Group”).

On the web:

• AmEx and eBay Belly Up to the Barcode - American Banker
• Apriva Wallet Enters Mobile Payments Arena - Vending Times
• Near Field Communication — the Next Mobile Boost? - CNBC
• Thief Drops Stolen Coin Collection into Coinstar Machine - KPTV Channel 12

On the wires:

• AsiaPay launches PayDollar Debit Payment for APAC region
• Suze Orman Launches "The Approved Card" Prepaid MasterCard

MoneyGram International has announced a cash-to-account service with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), one of China’s largest banks. "With the new service, consumers can now send money directly into ICBC bank accounts in China. ICBC has locations across China and manages more than 269 million personal banking customers."

On the web:

• Visa to Offer Mobile Payments in Developing Nations - NYTimes.com
• GSMA Says Handset Availability is Sparking NFC “tipping point” - Mobile Business Briefing
• PayPal Send Money App for Facebook - PayPal Blog
• China Sidelines MasterCard, Visa - Economic Observer Online

On the wires:

• Citi Renews U.S. Private Label Card Relationship with Sunoco
• Southwest Airlines Launches Rapid Rewards Shopping Powered by Cartera Commerce
• Cubic Selected for Chicago Open Standards Fare System Contract
• YODLEE and Open Solutions Launching Personalized Finance Capabilities for Consumers via Community Banks and Credit Unions

On the web:

• Updated PayPal Mobile App for Android Featuring P2P NFC Capabilities - PayPal Blog
• In Myeong-dong Shopping District, Mobile Phones Replace Credit Cards - The Korea Herald

On the wires:

• Secure Remote Payment Council White Paper on Secure eCommerce and Mobile Payments
• Bell ID (Netherlands) Launches TSM Software Solutions to Manage NFC Ecosystem Complexity
• GlobalCollect Study Reveals Key Differences in Social and Mobile Gaming in China and Korea
• InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions Expands Offerings in Canada with Universal Visa Prepaid Card
• Delego and YESpay Jointly Provide SAP Customers with a Multi-channel EMV Payment Solution
• Aconite Partners with MK Technology to Distribution Payment Solutions in Vietnam

Bank of China (BOC) and American Express have announced a new strategic partnership, whereby Bank of China will begin issuing American Express-branded credit cards in China.

"China is a key growth market for American Express, and we are delighted to partner with Bank of China to offer the first American Express-branded credit card that targets the fast-growing, private banking customer segment in China. The launch of the Bank of China Private Bank American Express Card represents an important opportunity to further expand the reach of our brand and offer world-class benefits and services to the growing number of affluent consumers in China," said Dave Keung, Vice President and Group General Manager, American Express Global Network and Merchant Services, American Express.

On the web:

• Pygg Launches Twitter-based, Social Media Payments App in Australia - StartUpSmart
• Swiff Hopes to Become the 'Square" of Singapore and Malaysia - SGEntrepreneurs
• Square to Distribute Payment Swipe Device Through Wal-Mart - Businessweek
• Real World Feedback: How to Spend $100 With Google Wallet - Advertising Age
• In China, App Enables Discounted Mobile Payments at Vending Machines - Springwise
• Keeping Pace as Money Transmitters Proliferate - Portals and Rails
• New Zealand Carriers Create Cooperative Direct Carrier Billing Framework - MobilePaymentsToday.com

On the wires:

• Bank of America, Intuit to Offer Full Service Payroll to Small Businesses
• TSYS Purchases Portfolio from Vanguard Payment Systems

The Wall Street Journal and others outlets have recently reported that American Express has partnered with Tencent Holdings to enable Tenpay users to make online purchases outside of China using a new American Express services called 'GlobalShop'. Tenpay is the number two online payment enabler in China, after Alipay, with roughly 20% market share.

On the web:

• A NACHA Proposal Calls for Networkwide Same-Day ACH - Digital Transactions
• China's e-Payment Booms, Foreigners Get the Boot - Reuters

On the wires:

• Visa Europe Launches Mobile Person-to-Person Payments and Alerts
• Survey Finds 85% of Retailers Concerned About Lack of Personalization of Gift Cards

ChinaTechNews is reporting that Alipay has acquired OnCard Payments, the third-party payment service subsidiary of Australia's OnCard International. Integrating the two services together, it's believed, will help Alipay's 550 million registered users buy airline tickets from major Asian carriers.

99Bill has announced its new '99Bill+' payment platform and announce its strategy for mobile payments in China.

Through an open and collaborative platform, '99Bill+' offers a seamless linking of the end-user's back-end payment system and 99Bill's front-end e-commerce platform. This enables clients to embed all kinds of new and innovative applications aimed at improving user experience and speeding up the growth of their business.

On the web:

• Dreams of Mobile Payments Lead Telco to Try Banking in Canada - GigaOM
• VocaLink Launches New Product for Mobile Payment Services in UK - Banking Business Review
• Using Data Mining to Catch Suspected Financial Wrongdoers - Portals and Rails
• Mobile Payments for Vending Machines in China - Penn-Olson

On the wires:

• PriceTravel Selects Accertify to Protect Its Online Travel Platform Against Fraud
• eMerchantPay Partners With cashU Expanding Its Presence Across the MENA Region
• CSI globalVCard Mobile App Looks to Change the Way Mobile Online B2B Payments Are Made
• Heartland Payment Systems and Marathon National Bank of New York to Offer Business Clients Expanded Services

Fall payments boot camps in San Francisco and New York, Final Durbin Rules webinar, and revised eCommerce market analysis reports...

Payments Boot Camps – Two day “deep dive” into the industry, $1995

Oct 04-05, 2011: Santa Clara, CA - Allen Weinberg and Carol Coye Benson

Oct 26-27, 2011: New York, NY - Bryan Derman and Carol Coye Benson

Dec 07-08, 2011: Santa Clara, CA - Scott Loftesness and Carol Coye Benson

Payments Essentials Webinars Library

Glenbrook's webinar analyzing the Final Durbin Rules - with Bryan Derman, Scott Loftesness, and Russ Jones - is now available for playback in the Payments Essentials Library, $149.

eCommerce Market Analysis Reports

Glenbrook's report on the Chine eCommerce market has been revised to reflect 2010 data, new payments acceptance providers, and much greater detail on mobile commerce in China.

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:

• 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:

• 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:

• Zynga Explains Method For Recording Real Revenue From Virtual Goods - Wall Street Journal
• Speed Bumps on the Road to Virtual Cash - New York Times
• New Starbucks Mobile-Pay App Adds Facebook Link for Gifting - American Banker
• Handicapping the Mobile Payments Battle - Mobile Commerce Daily
• China Telecom Opens Mobile Payment Function For 3G Users In Beijing - ChinaTechNews.com
• Alipay Invades China's High Streets, with Mobile Barcode Payments - Penn Olson
• PayMate launches 'WayPay', 1st Mobile Cashless Management Service - MSN India
• VeriFone to Unveil Tablet Credit-Card Reader This Year to Take On Square - Bloomberg
• Users Can Now Buy Facebook Credits in 32 New Currencies, Including Chinese Yuan - Inside Facebook

On the wires:

• 99Bill Enters into Strategic Agreements with Eight Major Banks in China
• Plimus Debuts Online GoGuides to Accelerate Seller and Affiliate Sales Success
• TCF Requests Dismissal of Lawsuit Challenging Durbin Amendment
• Regions Bank Completes Purchase of $1 Billion Credit Card Portfolio
• Western Union Expands Cash Payment Option to More Than 60 Countries for AdSense Publishers

On the web:

• Square’s Remarkably Similar Chinese Competitor Appears - TechCrunch
• Implications of Visa's Recent Change to Chargeback Rules - Vindicia Blog
• Bling Nation’s Pause to Retool Likely to Leave It Behind Rivals - Digital Transactions
• China UnionPay Launches Bankcard-free Trade Handling Platform - TMCnet
• Apple Backpedals On App Store Subscription Rules - TechCrunch
• Bus Tickets Purchased & Presented via SMS - SpringWise

On the wires:

• Edenred Launches MasterCard PayPass Commuter Check Card
• ImpulsePay launches PublishPay to Help Publishers Monetise Mobile Content (UK)
• SelectCore Announces Industry-Changing Mobile Remittance Solution
• New In-App Purchasing and Mobile Payment Capabilities for Windows Phone 7 on CloudMiddleware.com

On the wires:

• Axioma Launches Enhanced Global and Regional Risk Models
• Electronic Payment Exchange and Sprint Extend Relationship through Co-Marketing Deal
• Beanstream Introduces New Global Transaction Product Suite Allowing Merchants to Accept Payments From Around the World
• Global Payments Canada Teams with Precidia for Semi-Integrated EMV Solution for ECRs
• SEGA Chooses PlaySpan for Monetization of MLB Manager Online
• Contis Group Acquires GTP Financial Services for European Prepaid Push

On the web:

• New York Times: How to Avoid Credit Card Problems Abroad - Practical Traveler
• Dow Jones: Verifone Looks To Advances In Mobile Payment
• China Daily: PayPal to End Partnership with Alibaba
• New York Times: New Russian ATM’s Are Built to Detect Lies
• ComputerWorld: MasterCard Warns Skimming Hole Will Be Open For Years

Travelex Global Business Payments has announced that "their business customers will now be able to trade in Chinese renminbi through Travelex’s unique GEO Global Clearing Network. Travelex will be the first non-bank Payments Specialist to offer business transfers in renminbi, the official currency of the People’s Republic of China."

On the wires:

• New Aite Group Report on Global Anti-Money Laundering Vendors
• SelectCore Extends Prepaid Reload Platform in Canada
• Think Launches On-Line Ordering, More New Features with FaceCash
• Revel Systems Raises $3.7 Million Series A for iPad-based IPOS System

On the web:

• NetBanker: BillGuard's "Anti-virus for Credit Cards"
• American Banker: Starbucks Mobile Pay App for Android a Hit (Unofficially)
• BusinessWeekMake Business Credit Cards Fair, Too
• PCWorld: NFC Smartphone Payments Taking Off? Not So Fast
• Xinhuanet.com: China Issues Third-party Payment Licenses to Regulate, Spur Online Business
• Monetising Mobile: Speaker Presentations - Visa, BOKU, Nokia
• The Washington Post: Credit Unions Increasingly Offer High-Rate Payday Loans
• TechCrunch: Minno Rebrands As BuySimple, and Raises Money to Go After Micropayments

Just for fun:

• My Modern Metropolis: Pop Culture Cash

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

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.

On the wires:

• J.P. Morgan’s Order-to-Pay Network Crosses 100,000 Supplier Threshold
• NRF Welcomes Consumer Groups’ Support for Swipe Fee Reform
• Near Field Communication Forum Announces New Members (including CSR, Google, and Intel)
• New Mercator Report on Prepaid Card Market in China
• The VoiceCash Single Prepaid MasterCard (Germany)

On the web:

• NFC World: Amazon Planning NFC Payments and Marketing Service?
• SmartMoney: The New Best Credit Cards
• Vending Times: Cashless Payments Go Mainstream In Unattended POS Markets
• TechCrunch: Social Payments Enabler WePay Celebrates First Birthday

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

On the wires:

• Wells Fargo Patient Payment Solution Increases Collections, Cuts Costs for Healthcare Providers
• MoneyGram International and Societe Generale Expand Partnership
• Zuora Enables Informatica to Launch Pay-as-You-Go Cloud Data Integration Service on AppExchange

On the web:

• SmartMoney: Credit Card Declined? Blame Your Bank
• Lifehacker: Are Credit Card Surcharges Out Of Control in Australia?
• StrategyEye: Zynga Challenges Facebook With Its Own zCoins Virtual Currency
• Bloomberg: Lawmakers Readying Bills to Delay Debit-Card `Swipe' Fee Caps
• People's Daily Online: China launches its first network credit rating system
• PayPal Blog: Survey: Merchants Seeing 18% Lift with PayPal
• Bloomberg: Google Is Said to Ready Test of NFC Payment System in New York, San Francisco

Glenbrook is launching a new series of eCommerce Market Analysis Reports designed to help U.S. companies better understand eCommerce markets around the world — why they might be attractive expansion targets, what makes them unique, what payment options are necessary to reach the broadest possible cross-section of online buyers, and which payment providers can help companies enter the market.

Reports are available for purchase now for the following markets: China, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Poland. We're working on others, so let us know if there is a specific market you would like to know more about.

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• Fiserv Delivers Retail Online: New Name, New Features for eCom Internet Banking Clients
• Cartera Commerce and Vesdia Announce Merger
• McKeever’s Price Chopper is First To Market With WorldPay’s E2E Encryption Solution

• Wall Street Journal: The Hazards of Using Cards Abroad
• iStockAnalyst: China 2010 Cross-Bank Card Transactions Up 46% YoY According to China UnionPay
• VentureBeat: Kabbage Raises $6.65M to Kick-Start Online Sellers with a Cash Advance
• Los Angeles Times: Small Town Launches Its Own Stimulus Effort: a Local Currency

Looks like Mobile Payments will be a big theme in 2011:

• BusinessWeek: CEO Guide to Mobile Payments
• Mobile Commerce Daily: Mobile Wallet Will Take Huge Strides Forward in 2011 (featuring Zenius Solutions)
• Fortune: Google to power your mobile wallet?
• BusinessWeek: Wells Fargo to Employees: Leave Wallets Home, Pay by Phone
• FinanceAsia.com: China to Expect Dramatic Take-off in Mobile Payments
• InformationWeek: Google Prepping Retail Mobile Payment Service
• TechCrunch: Prediction No. 4 (Mobile Wallets) Already Coming True