Travelex has announced availability of "America’s first prepaid foreign 'currency cards' available in Euros and British Pounds that utilizes chip & PIN technology." Travelex’s new Chip & PIN Cash Passport™ MasterCard provides Americans traveling abroad with technological compatibility with overseas merchants that have migrated towards chip-based transactions. The card will also include a traditional magnetic stripe, for those merchants not yet using Chip & PIN technology.

The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) has announced a high-level set of policy and technology recommendations for changing how U.S. payment systems work. "This 'Mobile Road-map' will be submitted to stakeholder groups in the payments business to help them understand merchant needs and preferences in transitioning to more secure and efficient transacting—especially with mobile devices."

The position paper is here (PDF). The key take away is the group endorses widespread use of Chip & PIN in the U.S.

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• New Mercator Report on Closed-Loop Gift Cards
• US-Based Shift4 Becomes First Hosted Gateway Certified for Canadian EMV
• New Celent Report on The Future of Consumer Remote Deposit Capture (RDC)
• PCI QSA Determines Heartland Payment Systems' E2E Encryption Solution for Terminals Can Reduce PCI Scope by Up to 79%

• American Banker: Stay with Me - Mobile Pay System Ties Buyers to One Card
• MSNBC Red Tape Chronicles: Friendly Fraud
• SFgate: Facebook Testing Out A "Pay Later" Option For Credits
• MIT Technology Review: How Mobile Phones Jump-Start Developing Economies
• The Moscow Times: Russia Government Drafts E-Payment Rules
• Portals and Rails: The Continuing Challenge of Workplace Fraud in Financial Services

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• New Mercator Report on Co-Branded Consumer Credit Cards
• Credit Unions Continue to Move Item Processing In-House
• Bling Nation Taps Merchant360 to Support Rapid Growth
• SmsCoin Now Connects 87 Countries

• Business Insider: Eric Schmidt (Google CEO) Shows Off New 'Nexus S' Payment System
• Wall Street Journal: The New Bank Fees — Lenders' Latest Tricks
• Mobile Marketing: CreditCall Launches Smartphone Chip & PIN Payments Trial in UK
• iStockAnalyst: China to Stop Issuing Magnetic Stripe Cards After 2015
• The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Layaway Back In Style
• MIT Technology Review: Connecting Credit Cards with the Social Web
• Portals and Rails: Retail Payments Risk Forum publishes white paper on mobile payments
• Treasury & Risk: ACH Settlement Accelerates
• AZcentral.com: Denver Card-Processing Firm Wins Battle for Phone Number

Headline News is brought to you by Glenbrook Partners:

• Visa Europe Completes €0.5 Billion Investment in European Processing Platform

• CBS News: Canada Delays Chip-and-PIN Rollout
• Google Checkout Blog: Extended Country Support (for Android) and the Latest Growth Stats
• STORES.org: Enabling the Mobile Wallet

CardEase Mobile, from CreditCall, a new mobile POS acceptance app that allows fully secured Chip & PIN (EMV) transactions to take place on BlackBerry and other smartphones. How does it work? The card is read and the user’s PIN entered on a separate Bluetooth-linked PIN Pad that is paired to the smartphone. The data is encrypted while in transit and while on the smartphone, then sent over a wireless network to authorize the transaction. Checkout the video for more information. CreditCall indicates the app will be available in fall 2010.

Gemalto has announced it has been selected by the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) to deliver the first U.S. issued, globally compliant microprocessor payment card. According to the company, "UNFCU recognized the need of their members, who reside and frequently travel to more than 210 countries and territories, to have a more convenient and secure payment option when traveling internationally. Partnering with Gemalto, UNFCU will be able to provide a globally compliant Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) standard-based Dynamic Data Authentication (DDA) contact and contactless dual interface card that can be used anytime – anywhere their members travel. UNFCU anticipates introducing the program in the second half of 2010." READ MORE »

EMVCo, the EMV standards body jointly owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa, has announced its 2010 User Meeting to be held on 29-30 June, at the Singapore Marriott, Singapore. READ MORE »

EMVCo, the industry organization that manages the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications, has announced a new participation framework that it says "will allow all payment industry stakeholders to play a more active role in guiding the organisation’s strategic and technical direction. This new framework creates unique opportunities for interested organizations, including payment card issuers, acquirers, merchants, processors, card and terminal vendors, networks and their representative associations, to provide input into the enhancement of existing and creation of future EMV Specifications for payment technologies." READ MORE »

Gemalto has introduced the World Traveler program, a globally accepted dual interface EMV payment microprocessor card and complete issuance service for U.S. banks and card issuers. According to the company: "With most countries around the world moving to EMV-based payment for greater security, U.S. travelers are increasingly having trouble using magnetic stripe bankcards abroad, especially in offline applications like unattended ticketing/payment kiosks. Gemalto’s new World Traveler program allows any U.S. issuer to provide cards to their customers in under two months, ensuring secure and hassle-free payments while traveling internationally and at home." READ MORE »

Javelin has announced a new report titled "End-to-End Encryption, Tokenization, and EMV in the US: Vendor Analysis of Emerging Technologies and Best Hybrid Solutions" that "assesses the capabilities of end-to-end encryption, tokenization, virtual terminals, magnetic-stripe security and the EMV standard as solutions to combat payment-related data breaches." READ MORE »

EMV/chip technology will be the topic of a January 2010 webinar from the Smart Card Alliance, featuring speakers from Aite Group, Bank of Nova Scotia, KeyPoint Consulting and Visa on the reasons behind the global migration to this technology, and the possibilities for U.S. adoption.

The free educational webinar, "Top 10 Reasons for Considering EMV in the U.S," will take place on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time/10:00 a.m. Pacific time. To register, please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-events-top-ten-reasons-us-should-consider-emv. READ MORE »

Aconite has announced that it will collaborate with Ecebs Limited to develop and deliver a smart card that combines transport ticketing and payment capabilities with other services. According to the company, "he combination of Aconite’s back-office smart card administration and transaction processing software with Ecebs’ software for developing on-card applications will provide a unique end-to-end solution for managing smart card products, individual smart cards and their applications." READ MORE »

MasterCard has announced the launch of a solution that harnesses the mobile phone as a form factor for its Chip Authentication Program. According to MasterCard," the initiative focuses on enabling consumers to authenticate their banking and online transactions through their own mobile phone with solutions from three leading industry vendors." READ MORE »

Gemalto has launched the world’s first bio-sourced degradable smart cards. According to the company, "the card body is made from renewable material, is easily recyclable and compostable, and can be incinerated without emissions of toxic fumes. Additionally, Gemalto offers packaging made from recycled paper and vegetable inks that significantly reduce the product’s environmental impact. Gemalto’s bio-sourced smart cards will be ready for mass production in the first quarter of 2010." READ MORE »

New findings announced by Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest payment processor, reveal that "merchants who process chip card transactions are experiencing fewer chargebacks than ever before due to increased security and fraud detection. This is the first data of its kind from Canada and demonstrates that chip cards reduce fraud and chargebacks." READ MORE »

INSIDE Contactless has introduced the MicroPass 6000 dual-interface intelligent payment processor, designed as an EMV-compliant platform providing both contact and contactless operation. READ MORE »

Commidea, a card payment processing solution provider in the UK, has announce the launch of Ocius Sentinel - calling it "the UK's first solution to offer both true end-to-end dual encryption and tokenisation. Ocius Sentinel has been fully certified for use by the major UK acquiring banks." READ MORE »

Recently, US travelers to Europe have encountered problems having their magnetic stripe-based credit cards accepted at some merchants where Chip and PIN have been implemented. See, for example, "The End of Cards as We Knew Them?" by Glenbrook's Jacqueline Chilton.

Earlier today, JP Morgan announced several commercial card initiatives regarding expansion into Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Included in that press release was mention of a new card that the bank will be issuing next year: J.P. Morgan’s International Dollar Card (USD) which the bank calls "a cross-border dollar solution complete with Chip and PIN security, and the ability to support clients’ needs in the Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia."

J.P. Morgan has announced that it has "significantly advanced its commercial card expansion initiative in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to provide corporate clients with higher degree of visibility and flexibility on spending and expenses in today’s challenging economic environment. As part of its continued investment in its global Treasury Services business, J.P. Morgan has introduced several new commercial card product offerings and service enhancements in the region, while a number of new product offerings are due to launch early next year." READ MORE »

In an article titled "For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad", Michelle Higgins writes for the New York Times about how US-issued magnetic stripe credit cards lack a chip that is increasingly required at unattended POS locations in countries overseas. Higgins writes that "as more countries around the world move to chip-and-PIN cards, it’s inevitable that Americans will encounter more difficulties paying for things abroad."

MasterCard has announced that it has approved personal card readers and authentication servers from four vendors for MasterCard Advanced Authentication for Chip - a new EMV authentication solution that leverages the hundreds of millions of EMV cards already in the wallets of cardholders. According to MasterCard, "banks looking to manage the growing threat of online fraud can today deploy this best-of-breed two-factor authentication solution by working with leading providers to the payments industry: DSSS, Gemalto, Logos and Thales." READ MORE »

In a new PaymentsViews.com post, Glenbrook's Jacqueline Chilton updates her earlier post that described her personal experience trying to use her US-issued mag stripe (non-chip) credit card during a recent visit to the UK.

INSIDE Contactless and Cryptography Research have announced an agreement regarding the use of CRI’s patents covering countermeasures to Differential Power Analysis (DPA) and related attacks for INSIDE’s MicroPass and other secure semiconductor products. Under the agreement, INSIDE may use CRI's patents as part of the security strategy for its contactless semiconductor products which are used around the world in a variety of form factors – including contactless cards, key fobs, mobile payment bridge products, and NFC secure elements for mobile phones – for use in applications such as contactless payment, loyalty, identification, transit and access control. READ MORE »

In an article titled "U.S. magnetic stripe credit cards on brink of extinction?", Beverly Harzog writes for CreditCards.com about the potential effects of a ban on mag stripe cards being considered by the European Payments Council.

Harzog takes a comprehensive look at the implications of such a move on US card issuers and their cardholders traveling to Europe - as well as exploring whether the US will eventually need to move from mag stripe-based cards to the Chip and PIN technology deployed in Europe and, increasingly, in other markets around the world.

Ingenico has announced a three-year partnership with Ryanair to develop the world’s first self-service passenger kiosks with chip and pin technology to allow passengers to purchase optional services such as priority boarding when they arrive at the airport. READ MORE »

The Smart Payment Association (SPA), a group of the industry's largest manufacturers of payment smart cards, has announced findings from its 2008 market monitoring activity - undertaken in order to get a better understanding of the current status of the payment smart card market and its key trends.

"A lot of industries were severely affected by the financial crisis. Despite a slowdown in the SPA payment smart card shipments at the end of 2008, the smart card manufacturers are not as heavily impacted as others can be", said Marie-Jane Denis, President of the Smart Payment Association. "High volumes continue to be shipped around the world and a majority of regions carry on their migration to EMV standards." READ MORE »

EMVCo, the EMV standards body jointly owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa, has announced that it will host an inaugural EMV User Meeting on 30 June-1 July 2009, at the Sheraton Arabellapark in Munich, Germany. Users of the EMV Specifications from across the world are invited to attend the meeting, and participate in technical discussions on the development of the EMV standard for future contact, contactless and mobile payments. READ MORE »

White Eagle (Europe) in conjunction with Newcastle Building Society has launched the Freedom Eagle Cash Card, an instant issue prepaid MasterCard available in a handy retail pack. According to White Eagle, the card "is fully re-loadable, unlike most other instant issue products in the market which can only be loaded once - some even have to be thrown away when the funds are exhausted. The Freedom card is fully functional even at entry level and can be easily upgraded to higher spend levels depending upon certain criteria being satisfied. The Chip & PIN facility offers additional security and the card represents great value for money." READ MORE »

Travis Pantin writes for The National that the Central Bank of Abu Dhabi has issued a statement requiring banks to introduce chip and PIN technology on their cards.