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.

Maria Aspan reports in this morning's American Banker that Citigroup "is shutting down the cobranded cards it issues for a prominent retail partner, Home Depot Inc."

Maria Aspan reports for American Banker this afternoon that Citi Holdings has sold $1.3 billion of managed card portfolios to US Bank. She reports that the portfolios were associated with KeyCorp, Associated Banc-Corp, and the affinity card portfolio for the American Dental Association.

Earlier, Floyd Norris of the New York Times posted a commentary about Citi's earlier press release announcing the sale - calling it the "least informative announcement." He said that "I can’t remember a deal announcement when a company said it had sold undisclosed assets to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed price, resulting in an undisclosed profit or loss."

In an article titled "Card Act's Collateral Damage: Networks", Maria Aspan writes for the Monday edition of the American Banker about Citi "slashing some travel insurance benefits on its high-end credit cards." According to Aspan, "Citi said last week that it is reducing the amount of "travel accident insurance" it offers on several elite cards, in some cases to a quarter of the former coverage levels, effective Oct. 1."

In an article titled "Annual Fees: Citi Takes Leap" in tomorrow's American Banker, Maria Aspan reports that Citi "has started adding annual fees to some of its existing credit card accounts in one of the first such attempts by a major issuer to offset the effects of the government's crackdown." Many have expected to see a return to annual fees for more accounts as a result of Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act signed into last May.

Citigroup Inc. today reported net income for the first quarter of 2009 of $1.6 billion and a loss per share of $0.18.

In its North American credit card business, "purchase sales declined 18% reflecting a continued decline in discretionary and non-discretionary consumer spending. Average managed loans declined 4% due to lower purchase sales and balance transfer volumes, partially offset by a decline in payment rates."

"Continued weakening of leading credit indicators and trends in the macro-economic environment, including rising unemployment, higher bankruptcy filings and the housing market downturn, drove higher credit costs. Credit costs also reflected a significant increase in delinquencies, as well as the continued acceleration in the rate at which delinquent customers advanced to write-off. The managed net credit loss ratio increased 395 basis points to 8.88% in the Citi branded portfolio and 508 basis points to 12.40% in the retail partners portfolio."

MasterCard Canada, in partnership with Citi Cards Canada and Bell Mobility, has completed the first near-field communications (NFC) trial of Mobile PayPass in Canada. The four month long closed trial allowed participants to use Bell Mobility's wireless network to make purchases using their mobile device at MasterCard PayPass acceptance locations across Canada. READ MORE »

Citi has announced the launch of Citi Forward, calling it "a credit card designed to meet the specific financial needs and interests of today’s consumers. Specially built to help consumers maintain healthy credit, Citi Forward is the only credit card that lowers the purchase interest rate by a quarter percent when cardmembers use credit wisely and rewards them with ThankYou Points each billing period for paying on time and staying under the credit line." Citi Forward is a Visa-branded card. READ MORE »

Citi has announced it is offering members of its ThankYou Rewards Network the chance to put their creativity into wallets around the world with the launch of the ThankYou Gift Card Design Contest. READ MORE »

A group of credit card issuers and payments networks (Bank of America, Capital One, Citi and Discover Card along with MasterCard and Visa) have introduced Help With My Credit, a resource to assist and educate consumers struggling to make their credit card payments.

According to a press release issued late Tuesday, "Help With My Credit invites consumers to call a toll-free telephone number (1-866-941-1030) where operators will provide them with information about speaking with customer service representatives within participating credit card issuers or to accredited credit counseling agencies, depending on the individual’s situation and needs."

Consumers can also visit a new Web site, http://www.HelpWithMyCredit.org, which provides consumers information on how to manage credit cards and better communicate with their credit card companies, and how to identify and speak with an accredited credit counselor. READ MORE »

Citi today has announced the first edition of a new quarterly report on its use of TARP funds. The report, titled "What Citi Is Doing to Expand the Flow of Credit, Support Homeowners and Help the U.S. Economy" includes a section on Citi's credit card business (page 23) - where it says:

"Citi’s primary objective, particularly in this environment, is to fund the expansion of credit to existing card members and target new account originations, based on their ability to repay their loans" and that "in 2009, Citi Cards plans to extend a significant amount of new credit to U.S. consumers, within Citi’s customary sound lending standards."

What's not clear from Citi's TARP report is how these plans relate to Citi's upward adjustment of interest rates on outstanding credit card balances that began in mid-November.

In a story titled "Credit card holders livid about 'rate-jacking'", CNN looks at cardholder reactions to changes in the interest rates on credit card accounts - in particular by Citibank. "Citigroup seems to be the target of most bloggers' venom -- partly because Citigroup issues so many credit cards and partly because Citi began sending the notices at about the same time it was getting a $20 billion, taxpayer-financed government bailout."

See alto this story on Bloomberg.com: Credit-Card Users Feel Pain as Banks Reap Gain From U.S. Cash and Michelle Singletary's column in the Washington Post: Overcharged and Over a Barrel.

Citi’s ThankYou Rewards Network has announced that it now allows its members to redeem ThankYou Points for products fulfilled through Amazon.com. According to Citi, "members can enjoy using their points to shop the millions of items Citi has made available to them from Amazon.com, the online retailer that features earth’s biggest selection." READ MORE »

Citi and Firethorn Holdings have introduced Citi Mobile for Cards - call it "an advanced mobile solution that allows Citi credit card customers to quickly, easily and securely access real-time credit card account information on their mobile phones. Citi Mobile for Cards is now available to AT&T subscribers as part of AT&T Mobile Banking, and to Verizon Wireless customers who download and use the free mobile banking application on Get It Now." READ MORE »

In an article titled "Despite Pledge, Citigroup to Raise Credit Card Rates, Blaming ‘Difficult’ Environment", Eric Dash writes for the New York Times that Citi is "reneging on a promise it made to tens of millions of credit card customers in good times" by raising interest rates - by 2 to 3 percent - on credit cards for its customers that haven't had an increase in the last two years. The increased interest rate will be communicated to cardholders in their November statements. The affected cardholders can then choose to decline the increase and continue to pay interest at the original rate but only until their cards expire.

Citigroup has reported its third quarter 2008 financial results. In its cards business in North America, Citi reported a decline in purchase volume of 3% year over year along with a 3% decline in the number of open credit card accounts. Average managed loans in its North America cards business grew 4% while credit losses grew 68%. "The managed net credit loss ratio increased 262 basis points to 7.13%." Floyd Norris of the New York Times comments on Citi's overall financial results.