First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of January 2012 compared to January 2011.

Overall year-over-year dollar volume growth was 7.0% in January, while overall transaction growth was 7.2%. Mild winter weather nationwide resulted in lower energy demands, providing consumers with additional income to spend at retailers.

SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

First Data has reported its financial results for 4Q2011.

"Consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.69 billion, down $43 million or 2%, compared to a year ago on a $115 million decline in debit network fees. These fees are passed directly to customers and therefore did not impact operating income. Adjusted revenue, which excludes certain items including debit network fees, increased $47 million, or 3% year-over-year to $1.73 billion."

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of December 2011 compared to December 2010.

Dollar volume growth on cards overall was a healthy 6.9% in December. However, strong auto sales, driven by low interest rates, likely diverted consumer spending to car sales from other retail areas. Auto sales are not captured in SpendTrend figures. Overall year-over-year average tickets declined 0.1% in December, the first negative reading since January 2011. Merchants resorted to steep discounting to spur holiday traffic. Consumers responded favorably to bargain pricing, as overall transaction growth was up 7.0% in December.

SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

On the web:

• PayPal Ready to Compete in Daily-Deals Market - American Banker
• Citi India launches mobile payment facility for corporate clients - Hindu Business Line
• Use Your AmEx, Scan a Bar Code, Get an iPod? - AllThingsD

On the wires:

• First Data Introduces New Online Payment Gateway
• Heartland Payment Systems Signs Five-Year Contract with ConocoPhillips
• Zions Bancorporation Selects Fiserv for Comprehensive Multi-Channel Payments Platform
• Digital River Offers Online Merchants Enhanced Administrative Toolset for Managing their Global E-Commerce Sites

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of November 2011 compared to November 2010.

Overall year-over-year dollar volume growth was up 7.3% in November, down from October’s 9.4% growth. November 2011 had tough comparables as November 2010 was a particularly strong month, with dollar volume growth up 8.1%. November 2011 transaction growth was 6.1%.

SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

First Data has announced that its binding corporate rules for data privacy have been authorized by the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office, and are now approved by the data protection authorities in 18 European Union member states.

“Data privacy is fundamental to the success of our business, and we’re deeply committed to protecting the information entrusted to us by our clients and employees alike. We have high standards for data privacy, and this recognition from exacting European regulators demonstrates our global leadership in data protection compliance,” said First Data Chief Executive Officer Jonathan J. Judge.

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of October 2011 compared to October 2010.

In October, dollar volume growth held steady at 9.4% versus September’s growth of 9.5%. Overall transaction growth improved to 7.5% in October from 7.1% in September. Inflation continued to be evident in the food sector as Food/Beverage Stores posted average ticket growth of 2.3% for the second consecutive month.

SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

First Data has reported its financial results for 3Q2011. Consolidated revenue for the third quarter increased $99 million to $2.7 billion, up 4% compared to $2.6 billion a year ago. "Revenue growth was primarily attributable to increases in debit network fees and favorable impacts of changes in foreign currency. Adjusted revenue, which excludes certain items including reimbursables, increased $37 million, or 2%, year-over-year to $1.7 billion."

On the web:

• Visa Europe Takes 8.8% Stake In Monitise - WSJ.com
• Cash, Check, or Charge: Paying for Illegal Activities - Portals and Rails
• Kenya's mobile money service M-Pesa now processes more transactions that Western Union all around the world - IntoMobile

On the wires:

• Fifth Third Bank Selects FIS for Online Bill Payment
• First Data Selects VeriFone for Caribbean POS Product Offering
• Western Union Business Solutions to Introduce Electronic Wallet for Small Businesses; Bringing Simplicity to Global B2B Payments
• Leading Payday Lender QC Holdings, Inc. Makes the Switch to MoneyGram

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of September 2011 compared to September 2010.

Overall year-over-year dollar volume growth continued to show improvement at 9.5% in September versus 9.0% in August. Transaction growth was flat at 7.1% in September compared to 7.2% in August. General merchandise stores (including value retail) continued to perform well with dollar volume growth of 9.5% in September.

SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

First Data has announced that The Bankers Bank, of Oklahoma City, has selected the STAR Network to provide electronic funds transfer (EFT) network services to its customers. Owned by nearly 100 community banks, The Bankers Bank serves correspondents in Oklahoma, Texas, and throughout the Midwest.

On the web:

• Google Wallet Hands On Review - Katherine Boehret - AllThingsD
• No Cards, No Cash. Just a Phone - David Pogue Reviews the Google Wallet - NYTimes.com
• In MasterCard's Future, You Can Buy Things by Waving at Your TV - Mashable
• Here's a Facebook App That's Basically a Bank - AllThingsD
• A First Look at the BankSimple UI - BankSimple Blog

On the wires:

• Visa Europe extends CodeSure family with Matrix Display card
• CreditKarma.com Releases Data on 5 Million Credit Cards
• Commerce Bank Adds First Data TransArmor Solution to Merchant Product Suite
• NexTech Partners with Chase Paymentech to Streamline Payment Processing

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of August 2011 compared to August 2010.

Year-over-year dollar volume growth was up 9.0% in August compared to 7.3% in July. In August, misc. store retailers and non-store (mail/telephone order) retailers drove overall retail growth of 9.2% with Back-to-School discounting in these subcategories. Overall average ticket growth at retailers grew only 0.3%, exceptionally low considering government figures showed inflation exceeded 3.0% in recent months.

On the web:

• PayNearMe Now Lets You Pay Your Utility Bill At The Local 7-Eleven Store - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• PDS to Develop Robust Mobile Payments Acceptance Application
• Payfirma Launches Canada's First Blackberry Mobile Payment App
• USA Technologies Expands JumpStart Offering to Include Stand-Alone Wireless Telemetry Option
• First Data Selects Trusteer to Help Financial Institutions Comply with new FFIEC Guidance for Online Banking Security

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of July 2011 compared to July 2010.

Year-over-year dollar volume growth was 7.3% in July, a sharp slowdown from June’s 8.8% growth rate. Dollar volume growth was hampered by slower increases in average tickets. However, dollar volume growth at General Merchandise Stores, including Value Retail, rose 10.3%, the largest increase in 10 months. Value retailers increased merchant promotional activity and discounting to attract consumers.

First Data has reported its financial results for 2Q2011. Consolidated revenue for the quarter increased $135 million to $2.7 billion, up 5% compared to $2.6 billion a year ago. "Revenue growth was primarily attributable to increases in debit network fees and favorable impacts of changes in foreign currency."

First Data has introduced a new suite of product offerings from its Information and Analytics Services (I&AS) division, all of which draw insight based in part on First Data’s proprietary SpendTrend consumer spending and payments data.

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of June 2011 compared to June 2010.

Year-over-year dollar volume growth increased 8.8% in June, up from May’s 6.6% growth rate. Inflation has driven core prices higher, as June average ticket growth was 2.1%, the largest increase in over a year. Most industries posted higher dollar volume growth in June versus May. The exception was the hotel industry, which saw dollar volume growth slow from 11.5% in May to 7.6% in June.

First Data Corporation has shared highlights from its Q2 2011 Product Release, which has been "enhanced with additions to its Information & Analytics Solutions, Prepaid Solutions and Payment Acceptance offerings for merchants."

LSN Mobile and First Data have announced a new mobile offer program that "gives both advertisers and retailers an efficient, cost-effective and trackable mobile marketing solution to boost store traffic."

Branded as “My Mobile Offer,” this first-of-its-kind solution leverages the combined characteristics of Short Message Service (SMS), mobile advertising and traditional marketing and capitalizes on the popularity and increasing usage of personalized offers and discounts. The program allows brands to take full advantage of the power of mobile marketing.

On the web:

• Justice Department Seeks OK for Pact With Visa, MasterCard - Wall Street Journal
• What is NFC, and why do we care? - Engadget
• SK C&C USA, InComm Will Let Merchants Offer Mobile Payments - Bloomberg
• Citi Says Many More Customers Were Affected by Data Theft - New York Times

On the wires:

• Fifth Third Processing Solutions Changes Name to Vantiv
• First Data Rebrands UK Acquiring Business to First Data Merchant Services
• Report Says Cash is King When it Comes to Credit Card Incentives
• VoiceTrust Expands With Mobile Payments in the Middle East
• Study Finds Mobile Check Deposit Top Reason to Switch Primary Banks
• ThreatMetrix Launches New “ThreatMetrix Fraud Facts”

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of May 2011 compared to May 2010.

Higher unemployment and weaker economic conditions negatively impacted consumer spending in May. Year-over-year dollar volume growth slowed to 6.6%, the lowest monthly growth rate in 2011. Year-over-year transaction growth of 5.1% represented the slowest growth over the past 12 months.

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.

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of April 2011 compared to April 2010.

Overall year-over-year transaction and dollar volume growth held steady in April. Transaction growth was 6.7%, identical to March’s growth. Dollar volume growth was 8.0% versus 8.1% in March. However, excluding gasoline stations, April dollar volume growth was 6.7%. Rising gas prices and a late Easter contributed to the steady growth in April.

First Data has reported its financial results for 1Q2011. Consolidated revenue for the first quarter increased $142 million to $2.5 billion, up 6% compared to $2.4 billion a year ago. "Revenue growth was primarily attributable to increases in debit network fees, merchant related services from the favorable impact of U.S. economic growth, and improved international volumes."

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of March 2011 compared to March 2010.

Overall year-over-year dollar volume growth increased 8.1% in March, compared to February’s 8.4% growth rate. Excluding sales at gasoline stations, dollar volume growth was 6.9% in March versus 7.7% in February. Gasoline prices in March were up 30% year-over-year, which limited consumer discretionary spending.

First Data and SK C&C USA, a pioneer in mobile commerce technology, have announced the commercial release of a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) solution.

The comprehensive First Data TSM solution is now available for enablement of Near Field Communication (NFC) devices for issuers, merchants and mobile network operators (MNOs) looking to quickly prepare consumers for the fast approaching mobile payment reality through the most scalable, cost-effective and secure service available today.

First Data has announced the next step in its eCommerce fraud detection and prevention solution with the launch of Fraud FlexDetect, built in collaboration with Accertify.

"We must be relentless in our efforts to stay one step ahead of fraudsters; with Fraud FlexDetect merchants can better respond to changing fraud trends," said Bruce Dragt, SVP and division manager, Payment Acceptance, First Data. "We are seeing a great initial response to this solution amongst our merchants. With Fraud FlexDetect, merchants can develop a customized strategy that strikes the right balance between control and delegation of fraud prevention activities, and because it is integrated into our existing payment platforms, there is virtually no IT effort or maintenance."

First Data has announced a mobile vouchers (mVoucher) capability for merchants looking to "extend their brand and commerce services to their ever-more-mobile customers."

Sometimes referred to as coupons, mVouchers store a prepaid value funded by the merchant or consumer product goods company. Mobile vouchers can be delivered as coupons, loyalty rewards, promotional rewards, contest rewards or general marketing initiatives. The virtual offer can then be used for redemption online or in-store through a mobile device as an SMS (short message service) or 2-D barcode, and ultimately through contactless exchange such as Near Field Communication (NFC).

First Data has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of February 2011 compared to February 2010.

Overall dollar volume growth increased 8.5% in February, up from January’s 7.4% growth, as many retailers reported sales that beat expectations. Consumers demonstrated a renewed faith in the economic recovery and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.9% in February.