On the web:

• First Look: Google Wallet "Pay by Gmail" (and the Pain of Authentication) - NetBanker - "Bottom line: This is a brilliant play by Google, taking everyone by surprise."
• PayPal Here in Japan: One year, 2,700 stores and thousands of happy merchants - PayPal Blog - "Via SoftBank retail shops and through SoftBank's business sales network across Japan we can now reach 80% of the Japanese small businesses that still do not accept credit card transactions today."
• The $45M Heist Heard ‘Round the World - 41st Parameter's Blog - "Given the scale of the global credit card networks, it is almost impossible to detect every kind of attack."
• GiftCards.com Agrees To Buy Giftly To Grow A Mobile Platform - TechCrunch - "Giftly built a platform that avoided the hassle of individually dealing with merchants and point-of-sale systems."
• Shoppers start adding digital gift cards to Apple’s Passbook wallet - Internet Retailer - "Cash Star says. 30% of e-mailed e-gift cards are opened on a smartphone, and 50% of those smartphones run iOS6."
• The End Of Monthly Bills - Snarketing 2.0 - "Monthly bills are so 20th century. There’s no need for them."
• Here are the videos in the Commerce track (including Google Wallet) from last week's Google IO Conference
• iZettle wants to 'fundamentally change the process of becoming a customer' - "A good example might be that an auto dealer doesn't try to sell a Ferrari to everyone. That's essentially what banks have been doing for a while and most small cafes aren't looking for Ferraris…"
• Do Prepaid Cards Spell the End of Cash? - TMG Blog - "Did you know that March 1, 2013, marked “the end of cash” for the U.S. government?"
• Phone Firms Sell Data on Customers - Wall St. Journal - "…carriers are coming to see subscribers as sources of data that can be mined for profit..."
• Bank innovation: this time there's commitment - Financial Services Club Blog - "Are banks truly committed to innovate? Will they invest without a business case? Will they allow failure? Will they let the innovation cannibalise the existing business model?"
• Wallet Wars – Coming to a Mobile Near You Soon - Gemalto Telecom Blog - "Consumers want help managing their lives; banks, retailers and mobile network operators want customer loyalty; it’s down to all of us to work together, securely, to offer the best possible consumer experience for mobile wallets."
• SumUp, One Of Europe’s Many Mobile Payments Startups, Launches In Russia - TechCrunch - "SumUp said Russian businesses can now sign up to its service in Svyaznoy stores as well as on its own website..."
• Not just contactless, but M&S contactless - Tomorrow's Transactions - "It was a brilliant plan, and we might have got away with it if it hadn't been for you darn kids."

On the wires:

• Hastings Entertainment Adds Payment by PayPal and Bill Me Later Options to goHastings.com - "PayPal is used by millions of consumers and we feel that in addition to the added security benefits, our customers will also enjoy a simpler, more convenient checkout process when using PayPal."
• Wells Fargo Leads Fraud Management by Launching 3-Domain Verification for Commercial Card Customers - "In a related enhancement, Wells Fargo is also issuing EMV-compliant WellsOne Commercial Cards with an embedded microprocessor chip and traditional magnetic stripe to customers…"
• NCR to Make Mobile Ordering Easier for Jamba Juice Customers - "Working with NCR and PayPal we are using mobile ordering and payment technologies to align with our brand essence of a healthy, active lifestyle and help us deliver more value to our customers."
• American Express Offers Promotion of Free Two-Day Shipping with ShopRunner to U.S. Consumer Cardmembers - "Shipping costs can really add up when shopping online and with this new offer, our Cardmembers can benefit from the savings that ShopRunner provides at many of their favorite places to shop."
• Wake Up and Smell the Coffers! Mobey Forum gets Bullish with Banks at MobeyDay 2013 - "Many financial institutions still do not appreciate the revenue generating power offered by the mobile channel."
• France Overtakes UK as Europe’s Top Card Fraud Victim, FICO Map Reveals - "For the first time in years, the UK did not have the highest card fraud losses in Europe — France took its place, with 29 percent of the region’s losses, compared to the UK’s 27 percent."
• NCR Installs First EMV Compliant ATM in U.S. at People’s United Bank - "The upgrade of U.S. ATMs – including those at People’s United – includes an upgrade to the card reader hardware inside the machines as well as a software upgrade."
• Dynamics Inc.'s New LifeCode™ Electronic Card Empowers Consumers to "Save Your Own Life(SM)"
• Citi Invites Its Cardholders to Upgrade with Hotel Privileges - "Hotel Privileges provides special access to more than 1,000 luxury hotels around the world…"
• Oberthur Technologies’ dragonFly NFC SIM Card Certified by MasterCard and Visa - "As the fastest card on the market, it offers speedy download of new services and files through an integrated “NFC Turbo Engine”…"
• Net Element to Acquire Aptito, a Next Generation Cloud-Based Point of Sale Payments Platform - "Restaurants equipped with Aptito have experienced key benefits including increased revenue per table, higher customer service scores and now have a tool to drive acquisition and retention of new customers…"

This morning Citigroup reported financial results for the first quarter 2013. Its card-related business in North America reported flat results for its combined Citi-branded and Citi retail services businesses.

"Citi-branded cards revenues declined 1% to $2.0 billion, reflecting lower average loan balances as Citi-branded cards loans declined 5% partially offset by an improvement in net interest spreads."

Cit has announced a new price protection program called Citi Price Rewind. Here's how it works. After a Citi cardmember purchases and registers an eligible item, Price Rewind will search hundreds of retailers’ sites for 30 days after the purchase to find a lower price. If a price is at least $25 less than what the cardmember paid, Citi will refund the difference in price – up to $250 per item.

“During the holiday season when the clock is ticking on getting popular gifts and toys, our customers can make their purchases today with more confidence that we will help get them a lower price,” said Ralph Andretta, Head of Co-Brands and Loyalty at Citi Cards. “Citi Price Rewind is another way that we’re delivering value to our cardmembers by using unique technology, and we’ve found a lower price for one-out-of-four registered purchases over $100.”

For more information on Citi Price Rewind, including a full description of coverage, eligible categories and Citi credit cards, visit http://www.citi.com/pricerewind.

On the web:

• Commentary on Interchange Preliminary Settlement - Credit Slips
• Visa, Startup iZettle Settle Mobile Payments Issue - ITworld
• Supreme Court Deals A Blow To Credit Card Privacy - chicagotribune.com
• The Rule of 3, or Desperately Seeking Payment Products - Portals and Rails
• The Plot Thickens in the Bizarre Bitcoin Blackmail Caper - American Banker

On the wires:

• Tabbedout Announces Customer Relationship Management Solution
• New Glyph Mobile App Helps Consumers Triple or Quadruple Credit Card Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Rewards Members Can Now Shop With Points at Amazon.com
• Virtual Piggy Adds Barnes & Noble and Sephora to Merchant Roster
• Austria’s PayLife Selects VeriFone to Modernize Payment System Estate
• nFinanSe Agrees to Acquisition By AccountNow, Inc.
• Karma Koin Coming to Mexico

On the web:

• China’s Alipay Has 700 Million Registered Accounts - Tech in Asia
• Square's Global March Faces A Plucky British Challenger, mPowa - Forbes
• Payments Startup Stripe Expands to Canada in Challenge to PayPal - Bloomberg

On the wires:

• MasterCard Debuts First Single-branded Cards in China with Citibank
• Euronet Worldwide Expands Independent ATM Networks to Spain and Italy
• MasterCard Study: Bill Payment Represents Key Entry Point to Greater Financial Inclusion
• Visa and Others Form "Better Than Cash Alliance" to Accelerate Global Shift to Electronic Payments

On the web:

• Wal-Mart Brings Back Layaway for a 2nd Year - NYTimes.com
• Payment Data Is More Valuable Than Payment Fees - TechCrunch
• Visa Prepaid CitizenCard: ID Card That Doubles As A Prepaid Card - MSN Money UK
• Citigroup Becomes First U.S. Bank to Issue Own Card in China - Bloomberg
• Finding a Reasonable Definition of Commercially Reasonable - Portals and Rails
• 5 Ways to Pay for Dinner With Your Phone - Mashable

On the wires:

• PayPal Prepaid MasterCard Now Available at Dollar General
• ThreatMetrix Enhances Protection Against Account Takeovers and Fraudulent Payments
• Mercator Releases Ninth Annual U.S Closed-Loop Prepaid Cards Market Assessment
• CardinalCommerce Introduces CustomerConnect to Improve Mobile Commerce Conversion
• Fnbox Chooses Adyen's Payments Platform to Facilitate Global Expansion
• App Developers Boost Revenues With Enhanced Jumio Netswipe Mobile SDK
• CreditCall Makes Mobile 'Chip and PIN' Acceptance a Reality in the UK

On the web:

• Policymakers, Regulators Keep a Watchful Eye on Mobile Payments - Portals and Rails
• Oops! American Express Never Agreed To Be Part Of Google’s Big Wallet Upgrade - TechCrunch
• The Current State of Daily Deals (infographic) - Truaxis

On the wires:

• Virtual Piggy Adds Security Service for Online Youth Market
• Citi to Sell Diners Club UK and Republic of Ireland Issuing Businesses
• Datacard Group Announces Upgrade Package for U.S. Card Issuers to Become EMV Compliant
• New Mercator Report on Next Generation Debit Products
• TD Bank Chooses CheckFree RXP from Fiserv

Citigroup has released financial results for the second quarter 2012. In its North American Consumer Banking sector, Citi reported that its Citi-branded cards revenues declined 8% to $2.0 billion versus the prior year period. Citi-branded cards loans also declined 3% from second quarter 2011

On the web:

• LoveBucks, A New Subscription-Based Monetization Platform For Online Publishers - TechCrunch
• Ben Milne, Dwolla - Taking On the Entire Banking Systems - Inc.com
• Are Portable POS Devices Coming To A Table Near You? - Portals and Rails
• Personalising Online Prices: Identifying Which Customers Will Pay More - The Economist
• mPowa - Like Square But For Corporations - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Citi Expands Mobile Alerts For Global Commercial Card Clients
• Merchant Warehouse's 'Genius' Offers Device and Operating System Agnostic Payments API

On the web:

• BancBox Debuts Its Payments Platform: You Could Build A PayPal On This - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Text2Pay Announces Mobile Payments for the Online Dating Community
• Identitymind Launches a Campaign to Help Non-Profits Fight Online Fraud
• Park Group plc Selects Giftango International to Power Its Digital Gift Cards
• Wright Express, PaySpan Introduce Virtual Payments Solution for Healthcare Providers
• Chase Sapphire Partners with Pandora to Provide Listeners with Personalized Music for Summer
• Citi Announces New CitiBusiness ThankYou Card

On the web:

• FBI Explores The Implications Of Bitcoin - Techdirt

On the wires:

• Paymetric, Inc. Deploys Secure Mobile Payments
• CardinalCommerce Has Processed Over One Billion Transactions
• Digital River Introduces The App Practice for Online Merchants
• Bill.com Integrates with NetSuite to Deliver Seamless Cloud-Based Financial Management
• Citi and American Airlines Announce the New CitiBusiness / AAdvantage World MasterCard
• Virtual Piggy Adds New Family-Friendly Merchants to Growing Roster of Partners

On the web:

• Apple: Sleeping Giant Within The Mobile Payment Industry - Seeking Alpha
• How Safe Are Mobile Payments? - US News and World Report

On the wires:

• Sell Anything On Pinterest With Pin2Sell
• Yodlee Interactive Announces New Accelerator/Incubator Programs
• Citibank Rolls Out New ThankYou Rewards Program for Small Business
• New Mercator Report on Prepaid Reload Payment Method Mix
• Payfirma Opens its Mobile Payment App for Integration

Citigroup has released financial results for the first quarter 2012. In its North American Consumer Banking sector, Citi reported that its Citi-branded cards revenues declined 6% to $2.1 billion versus the prior year period. Citi-branded cards loans also declined 2% from first quarter 2011.

On the web:

• PayPal Teams Up With Gas Station Chain On A Payment App And Fuel Discounts - TechCrunch
• Bump Unveils Brand New iPhone App for Splitting Payments - Huffington Post
• Mobile Payment Startup Money-on-Mobile Raises $29.7M From Calpian VCCircle
• What Defines an Efficient Market? - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• LexisNexis Launches Multi-factor Authentication Solutions to Help Mitigate Identify Theft
• Western Union Signs Expands Online Account-Based Money Transfer Service to Financial Institution Customers in Canada
• Citi and American Airlines Announce the New Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage Card
• Chase Launches the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card in Canada

On the web:

• PayPal May Get Permit To Offer Mobile Payment Service in China - M.I.C. Gadget
• Mobile Payments Price War Heats Up: Pay Anywhere Slashes Merchant Fees to 2.69% - AllThingsD
• Balancing Payments Risk Management and Regulation with Innovation - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• TSYS Introduces “People-Centered Payments”
• Amway and Citi Prepaid Services Announce Prepaid Payment Program
• TNS Introduces TNSPay Mobile for Simplified Management of Secure Wireless Payments
• DRF Survey Reveals for the Majority of Retailers Less Than 2% of Sales Are Currently From Mobile Devices
• Seamless: Axfood tests SEQR mobile payment in pilot project
• VeriFone U.S. Payment Gateway Volume Hits $10 Billion

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

On the web:

• FTC to Review Mobile Payments Impact on U.S. Consumers - NFCNews
• Starbucks Says It's Number One in World in Mobile Payments - AuctionBytes
• Experiments in Virtual Currencies - MarketingVOX

On the wires:

• Simply Market Streamlines eInvoicing Through Ariba’s b-process
• Campus Apartments First to Offer Residents Ability to Pay Rent Through Facebook
• Live Gamer Partners with PaymentOne to Expand International Mobile Payment Options
• GE Capital Retail Bank Announces New Agreement to Provide Credit Card Program for Toys“R”Us
• iovation Stopped 50 Million Online Fraud Attempts in 2011, Biggest International Offender: Ghana
• Citi Launches First Account Analysis Tools for Credit Card Users on the iPad
• T-Mobile To Distribute Square Card Readers to Small Businesses
• Sabre Launches Travel Settlement Services Powered by Conferma
• CyberSource Announces Renewed Agreement With Facebook
• New Mercator Report on Next Generation EFT Networks

On the web:

• PayPal Tests New NFC Mobile Payment App in Sweden - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• Isis looks for Mobile Payments Partnerships beyond the US - Rethink Wireless
• Western Union Targets Small Businesses with Payments Portal - American Banker
• InspirePay Launches Online Payment Tool - Boulder County Business Report
• Target To Sell Credit Card Business, Focusing On Core Biz - Forbes
• The Many Flavors of EMV - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Citi Expands Global Coverage of Its Commercial Cards Business in Israel
• BillingTree Enlists IP Commerce to Expedite Merchant Boarding Services

Citi has announced the launch of the Citi Corporate Chip and PIN card, a compliant smart card designed for U.S. corporate cardholders traveling abroad

"Many of our clients are leading multinational organizations with cardholders that travel extensively,” said Julie Monaco, Head of North America Global Transaction Services, Citi. “They require a payment product that can meet their needs wherever their business takes them and Citi is at the forefront of bringing this product innovation to our commercial card clients."

Google, Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint have announced and demonstrated Google Wallet, "an app that will make your phone your wallet so you can tap, pay and save money and time while you shop. For businesses, Google Wallet is an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships by offering a faster, easier shopping experience with relevant deals, promotions and loyalty rewards."

“Today, we’ve joined with leaders in the industry to build the next generation of mobile commerce,” said Stephanie Tilenius, vice president, commerce and payments, Google. “With Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint we’re building an open commerce ecosystem that for the first time will make it possible for you to pay with an NFC wallet and redeem consumer promotions all in one tap, while shopping offline.”

Google Wallet is currently in a field test and will be available to consumers this summer. The official site is www.google.com/wallet. The Google Wallet merchant acceptance site is www.firstdata.com/googlewallet.

If you missed the announcement — and all the Q&A — EnGadget was live blogging everything with photos. Nice job.

Sprint, VeriFone, and NXP all issued related announcements.

On the wires:

• Citi Commercial Cards Launches Citi Project Card
• Bill.com Expands Mobile Offering
• Sequent Selects ViVOtech to Provide Trusted Service Manager Software for NFC Mobile Payments

On the web:

• CUinsight: Wescom Resources Group to Market PayPal P2P Solution to Credit Unions
• Marketing Magazine: Starbucks Announces UK Contactless Payment Trial

Citi Cards has announced that it is introducing "Citi ThankYou(SM) Cards, a new line-up of credit cards that offers enhanced features and benefits so cardmembers earn more as members of Citi's award-winning ThankYou Rewards program. Customers will have the ability to choose the card level that best suits their needs -- whether it means a card that provides additional point earning opportunities in select categories, no expiration of points at all, no fee for foreign purchase transactions and even complimentary companion travel."

Dynamics Inc. has announced its Redemption payment device in a card form-factor. Redemption™ allows consumers to pay at the POS with credit or request to redeem their reward points or cash rewards toward the purchase of any item at any merchant. Redemption has been in trials with a small number of Citi credit card customers since May 2010. Citi expects to expand the trial with select U.S. credit card customers this November. This photo nicely illustrates things. READ MORE »

Citigroup announced that Jud Linville will become Chief Executive Officer of Citi Cards. Linville joins Citi from American Express, where he was President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Consumer Services. Citi also announced the formation of a new Global Enterprise Payments business unit to leverage the bank's industry-leading wholesale and retail payment capabilities across regions and organizations globally. The unit will be led by Paul Galant, who will be the Chief Executive Officer of Global Enterprise Payments.

Citigroup has reported financial results for the second quarter 2010. In its North American Consumer Banking sector, Citi reported a 6% increase in Citi-branded card revenues. Average card loans decreased 5% to $79.2 billion, reflecting lower accounts and a decline in purchase sales.

Citi Cards has announced a new location-based mobile application called Citi Shopper that delivers "local offers and deals, compares prices, provides maps to nearby retailers, as well as reminds Citi cardmembers of offers and benefits specific to their Citi credit cards." The application was built by GPShopper and is available on the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and via browser.

In addition, Citi is making available MasterCard PayPass stickers that can be affixed to the back of mobile phones for contactless payments - and will also be providing a PayPass locator application to help cardholders find PayPass-accepting merchants. READ MORE »

Citigroup has reported financial results for the first quarter 2010. In its North American Consumer Banking sector, Citi reported purchase sales on cards declined 10% year over year to $36.2 billion. Average managed card loans declined 5% to $79.2 billion.

Citi has announced that "millions of Citi credit card customers in the U.S. can now manage their card accounts via the downloadable Citi Mobile application for the iPhone device." READ MORE »

MasterCard Worldwide, Credicard, Citibank’s credit card administrator for the Brazilian market, and Redecard have announced the launch of MasterCard PayPass contactless payment technology in Rio de Janeiro for public transportation and other quick service merchants. MasterCard says that PayPass is the first contactless payment product to be introduced for public transportation in Latin America. READ MORE »

Citigroup reported financial results for the third quarter of 2009 this morning. In its Citi Cards unit, end of period open accounts were 54.6 million, down 11% from 61.1 million a year ago. Purchase volume on its cards was $65.5 billion, down 13% from $75.5 billion. Managed net credit losses were 10.29% vs 6.39% a year earlier.