On Twitter:

"What's our bitcoin strategy?!" - frantic email from bad VC to all of their portfolio company CEOs today.

— Matt Harris (@mattcharris) April 30, 2013

On the web:

• Peak Cash? - Tomorrow's Transactons Blog - "What do these figures tell us? They tell us that all around the world, the principal function of cash in developed economies is no longer to support commerce, but to support crime."
• Live @TechCrunch Disrupt NY – Fireside Chat with Fred Wilson - "What Fred is interested in for investments: New forms of payment and money (Dwolla) - there should not be fees of 3.5% every time someone wants/needs to transfer money…"
• IRS Takes A Bite Out Of Bitcoin - Forbes - "…the tax rules seem pretty clear. If you provide services or sell goods for Bitcoin, you have income…"
• Angel Investor, Spotify Fixer Shakil Khan Launches Coindesk, A Bitcoin Resource - TechCrunch - "I am just fascinated by the digital currency space.”

On the wires:

• Billers Receiving More Mobile Bill Payments, Have High Expectations for the Channel - Fiserv - "…the number of mobile bill payment transactions processed … tripled within the past 24 months, rising from about 4 percent of bill payment transactions to about 15 percent."

On Twitter (follow us: @paymentsnews):

Banks,merchants,3rd parties all want to control mobile wallet experience. Don't consumers want to control their own experience?#PAYMENTS2013

— gschmeltzer (@gschmeltzer) April 23, 2013

Metaphor of the day: USAA exec compares MCX to the boat in "Life of Pi" #payments2013

— Aaron McPherson (@aaronmcpherson) April 23, 2013

Why can't the US have an FPS? They have laser beams and transistors and things don't they, same as us? #NACHA

— Dave Birch (@dgwbirch) April 23, 2013

50+% of all deposits are via mobile says Andrew Collins from USAA #payments2013 @chyppings

— Lanny Byers (@lannybyers) April 23, 2013

On the web:

• How Not to Install an ATM Skimmer - Krebs on Security - "Experts in the United States and Europe are tracking a marked increase in ATM skimmer scams."
• Macworld’s Transcript of Tim Cook’s Remarks on Today’s Earnings Call - Daring Fireball - "So he’s not talking about a new iPad or iPhone, he’s talking about an entirely new leg on the stool."
• Apple's Tim Cook on Mobile Payments: 'It's In Its Infancy' - MacRumors - "While he didn't address the topic directly, he did note that the mobile payments were "just getting started" and still "in its infancy."
• Payment Platform Startup ZooZ Raises $2M Series A To Add Product Functionality & Build Global Presence - TechCrunch - "The startup says that its user-friendly checkout platform helps prevent cart abandonment by frustrated mobile shoppers." (Zooz website)
• Passbook is standard for mobile wallets: Sumotext exec - Mobile Commerce Daily - "What I do like [about Apple] is that they didn’t wait for all of the payment stuff to shake out…"
• How Apple and Amazon Will Shape Mobile Payments - Bank Systems & Technology - "Although Apple already has a bridgehead into the payments business thanks to iTunes, experts seem to think Apple will refrain from entering the mobile payments business."

On the wires:

• The Center for Financial Services Innovation Awards $2.5 Million to Promote Financial Capability - "The eight organizations funded this year offer fresh perspectives on the industry’s efforts to foster positive financial behavior and provide concrete mechanisms for meeting consumer needs in new ways…"
• U.S. Bank Employees Testing Voice Command Feature on FlexPerks Visa Mobile App - "…allows U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Travel Rewards Visa Signature® customers to use their voice to view account balances, search transactions and make a payment on their accounts in the FlexPerks mobile app."
• ROAM Launches ROAMPay™ X4 - a new Mobile Point of Sale Application - "ROAMpay X4 is designed to help businesses of all sizes and geographies extend their traditional point of sale infrastructure onto Android and iOS-based smartphones and tablets."
• Vindicia and GlobalCollect help digital media distributors extend reach internationally
• Discover Financial Services Reports First Quarter Net Income of $673 Million or $1.33 Per Diluted Share - "Discover delivered strong profitability and growth in the first quarter, which combined with our outlook allowed us to increase our dividend by 43%..."
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Gives Cardholders New Reason to Celebrate Fridays - "The First Friday Favorites Facebook app, now available on Chase Sapphire’s Facebook page, allows consumers to interact with top restaurant lists in 17 U.S. cities by making reservations directly through OpenTable…"
• Fiserv Introduces Processing Services for Positive Pay and Account Reconciliation Solution - "ARP/SMS from Fiserv allows for immediate correction and updating of transactions as well as files and reports for real-time positive pay reporting, helping corporate customers gain tighter control over disbursements."
• ACI Worldwide Completes Expansion of Online Banking from the Desktop to the Mobile Device - "The solution delivers features to iPhone and Android smartphones previously limited to the desktop including personal financial management tools, integrated bill payment and account-to-account transfers."
• VeriFone Helps China PnR Address Growing Payments Complexity with POS Estate Managed Services Contract

Fiserv this morning announced that its debit payments network, formerly known as ACCEL/Exchange®, has a new name - Accel™. According to the company, "the new name reflects the network’s ability to accelerate funds transfers across retail, biller and social person-to-person payments, and positions the network within the Fiserv portfolio of payments capabilities to create the world’s leading real-time network."

Fiserv updated the network’s name to reflect the 24x7-always-connected world we’re living in,” said David Keenan, general manager, Network Solutions, Fiserv. “Accel helps consumers move money when and how they want. Our real-time payments platform, developed over the last 40 years, has expanded from ATM and retail payments to enabling social payments, as we demonstrated last year with the integration of Accel with our person-to-person payments service, Popmoney®.”

On the web:

• Lawyers To Interchange Judge: Tell Our Clients To Shut Up - Storefront Backtalk
• PayPal Provides “In-Aisle Selling” and “Order Ahead” Capabilities for Magento Community - PayPal Blog
• Bitcoin Is Already Making A Big Comeback - Business Insider
• Helixion launches NFC payments platform - NFC World
• Mobile Payments In Austin - BP3 Blog
• Apple Passbook users are among Sephora’s best customers - Internet Retailer
• Could Apple Give Mobile Payments a Shakeup? - Connected World

On the wires:

• Zipmark Partners with Rearden Commerce to Facilitate Payments for Deem™ Merchants
• Fiserv Launches Solution to Help Government Agencies Reduce Improper Payments
• New Mobile Payment Patent Expands PayOne Portfolio for Frictionless Secure Mobile Payments Online and in Stores

Fiserv has announced a new mobile loading capability for prepaid cards, giving cardholders the ability to safely load immediate, guaranteed funds from a personal or business check using a smartphone’s camera.

“By combining industry-leading check capture technology with easy check guarantee and authentication processes, Fiserv helps prepaid card processors and program managers increase card load volume, and has the potential to retain and grow their customer base,” said Gary Brand, director, Source Capture Solutions, Fiserv. “The ability to easily load funds from a check to a card adds a great deal of convenience for the consumer, and can be a valuable addition to traditional banking. For prepaid processors that offer mobile loading, this can mean increased balances, transaction counts, volumes and customer retention rates.”

The guarantee is enabled by a new agreement between Fiserv and VALID Systems.

On the web:

• PayTango Aims To Make Payments Work Through Biometrics - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Bluefin Payment Systems Announces Partnership with Commerce Science Corporation
• Bell State Bank & Trust Adds Mobile Payment, Mobile Deposit with Mobiliti from Fiserv
• SignaPay Partners with ControlScan for Stronger SMB Payment Security and Compliance
• GE Capital Retail Bank Extends Belk Private Label Credit Card Program
• BlueSnap Pushes Past Card-only Subscriptions to Increase Recurring Revenue Potential

On the web:

• Payments Company Stripe Makes First Acquisition, Buys Kickoff - TechCrunch
• PayPal Launches Next Generation Developer Tools Mobile Payments - PayPal Blog
• Payments Startups Take The Data, Design And Development Route To Reengineer The Credit-Card Business - TechCrunch
• Retailer Sues Visa Over $13 Million 'Fine' for Being Hacked - Wired.com
• The ATM: Disappearing Soon from a Location near You? - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Elavon Launches Mobile Innovation Center
• Western Union Continues Mobile App Expansion
• Early Warning Advances Mobile Banking by Reducing the Threat of Duplicate Deposit Fraud
• Discover Announces International Alliance with Nigeria’s Interswitch Limited
• Fiserv Multiplies Consumer Mobile Payment Options by Combining P2P Payments and Mobile Banking
• FirsTech Accelerates Electronic Payments Growth With the Fusion Bill Pay Platform
• Earthport Signs American Express for its Cross-Border Payments Service
• Net Element International to Acquire Unified Payments

On the web:

• Product Crack: American Express Launches ezeClick in India - Livemint
• PayOne sues Home Depot for PayPal In-Store Checkout - Silicon Valley Business Journal
• Bitcoin Processor Links Web Shopping Carts To Amazon.Com's Shipping - Network World
• Isis Revamps Its Mobile Wallet And It’s Actually Fixing What’s Broken - StorfrontBacktalk
• Why The Swipe Fee "Settlement" Is Far From Settled - Retail's BIG Blog
• GroupMe’s Mobile Apps Now Let Users Split Payments - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• CyberSource 2013 UK eCommerce Report Out Now
• Fiserv Makes it Easy for Small Businesses to Enroll for SpotPay and Accept Cards and Checks

On the web:

• 1-800-Flowers Testing Credit Card-Free Mobile Payments - Mashable
• Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Hunts for Online Password Alternatives - PCMag.com
• Stripe Rival Paymill Reveals $5M More Funding, From Blumberg Capital - TechCrunch
• Bucking the dongle, Buck launches mobile invoicing MobilePaymentsToday.com
• Balanced Launches A Standalone API For Next-Day ACH Payments - TechCrunch
• France Plans To Prohibit Cash Payments Over €1,000 - Forbes
• Isis Releases Utah Mobile Payments Usage Stats - NFC World

On the wires:

• Alliance Data Retail Services Expands Offering to Include Fiserve eBill Distribution
• Thales and Miura Help Reduce the Cost of Mobile Payments (Germany)
• Lack of Local Currency Pricing Suppresses Global eCommerce Sales (Survey)
• ACI Worldwide Arms Financial Institutions to Fight Accelerating Fraud

On the web:

• Apple Files Patent For Passbook Coupons With A Touch Of NFC - CNET News
• Yandex, Sberbank Form JV To Support Online Payments in Russia - MediaPost
• PayPal President Predicts Industry Changes We'll See In 2013 - PayPal Blog

On the wires:

• All Stop Vending Selects USA Technologies as Exclusive Partner for Cashless Payments
• Fiserv Partners with TOPS Software to Improve Payment Processing for Property Managers

On the web:

• Square COO Predicts Monster 2013, Says Starbucks Is Just The Beginning - CNET News
• Wonga Launches 'Bill Me Later' Rival in UK - Telegraph
• The Fraud Triangle - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Fiserv Mobilizes UChoose Rewards
• CorFire Integrates PayPal to Enhance Mobile Commerce Services
• Fuze Network Processes More Than 3.5 Million Cash-to-Card Transactions
• VeriFone Acquires Two Major Players in New Zealand Payments Industry
• Live Gamer Partners With Openbucks to Expand Pre-Paid Payment Options
• PAY.ON Partners With ReD To Offer Integrated Payment and Fraud Prevention Services
• CardinalCommerce Partners With Virtual Piggy To Enable Under 21 Online Acceptance
• Payzur, Acculynk’s Debit-based P2P Solution, Gains Momentum
• TSYS Signs Long-Term Payments Agreement with Merrick Bank

On the web:

• Adyen Offers Different Sort of Mobile Payment Service - Tech Europe - WSJ

On the wires:

• GlobalCollect Selects Alaric's Fractals for Enterprise Risk Management
• Fiserv Reaches Milestone, Delivers 2 Billionth e-Bill
• Mocapay Launches API Token Solution

On the web:

• Many Retailers Balk at Card-Fee Settlement - WSJ.com
• When Fraud Hits Close to Home: Risk Management for Community Banks - Portals and Rails
• Apple Preparing To Soon Accept Apple Store Payment Cards Via Passbook - 9to5Mac
• Card Fee "Settlement" Just Start Of Big Legal Battle - CNBC

On the wires:

• Citi Launches Citi Payment Exchange
• Lucky Strike Implements Tabbedout Mobile Payments
• OTI Receives $2M in Orders for NFC and Contactless Termiinals for Use in the U.S.
• Fiserv to be Sole Provider of Walk-In Bill Payments for AT&T Wireline Services
• Paymode-X Network Surpasses 200,000 Vendors

On the web:

• Kabbage Gives Ebay, Etsy Sellers Cash; Gets $30M Of Its Own - VentureBeat
• Success of Crowdfunding Puts Pressure on Entrepreneurs - NYTimes.com

On the wires:

• Realex Payments Launches Their Multi Settle Solution for the UK Retail Market
• Bluepoint Solutions Partners with Malauzai Software to Provide Rapid Deployment of Mobile RDC
• Fiserv Releases Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments Metrics
• IFX Version 1.9 Released to the Public

Fiserv has announced SpotPay, a mobile card reader solution for financial institution to offer to their small business customers that enables merchants to accept card and check payments anywhere, anytime.

"The ability to pay anyone, anytime, anywhere is revolutionizing commerce as we know it," said David Keenan, general manager, Network Solutions, Fiserv. "Financial institutions are an integral part of this revolution, as they are in a unique and trusted position to ensure the safety and security of these transactions. SpotPay is an innovative tool that helps financial institutions participate in anytime, anywhere commerce while deepening their relationships with businesses of all sizes."

On the web:

• Ezetap Launches Mobile POS Solution in India - MediaNama
• PayPal’s New President Faces the Music: “If We Suck … We Now Face It” - AllThingsD
• Microsoft Extends 'Mach' Direct Mobile Billing to Skype Credits - TechCrunch
• Amazon Launches Program to Lend Sellers Cash - eCommerceBytes
• Google Reinvents Micropayments — As Surveywall - Slashdot

On the wires:

• Fiserv Launches Instant Issue Solution for Credit and Debit Cards
• MoneyGram Adds China Guangfa Bank to Agent Network

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

Fiserv announced the launch of 'E-bill Introduction', a new feature within the CheckFree® RXP payment suite.

E-bill Introduction offers consumers an opportunity to receive electronic bills (e-bills) via their online banking service for an introductory period during which they also continue to receive paper bills in the mail. Pilots of the feature conducted with five financial institutions delivered solid results, with consumers enrolled in the pilot activating three times more e-bills than consumers who were not enrolled.

On the web:

• TiVo, PayPal to Enable Shopping Via Commercials - WSJ.com

On the wires:

• CloudLock Unveils the Industry’s First PII and PCI Compliance Scan for Google Drive
• Fiserv Launches Central Source Capture to Help Financial Institutions Adapt to Shifting Check Processing Demands
• Perry Ellis to Innovate the In-store Experience with Mobile POS from Starmount
• MoneyGram Expands Relationship with Speedway LLC

On the web:

• Groupon Acquires POS Start Breadcrumb to Connect with Local Restaurants - VentureBeat
• PayPal InStore App: Use your PayPal Account on the High Street (UK) - Shiny Shiny
• Banks Tacking Fees On To Campus Debit Cards (video) - MSNBC.com

On the wires:

• Discover and Ducks Unlimited Announce New Affinity Card
• i2c and KargoCard Announce Partnership to Power Prepaid, Mobile Payments and Loyalty Solutions in China
• Risk Office from Fiserv: Helping Clients Reduce Dollar Fraud Losses by an Average of 40%
• Acculynk and National Payments Corporation of India Announce Internet PIN Debit Partnership
• WorldPay Launches Advanced RFI and Chargeback Management Platform
• Planet Payment Acquires Branded Payment Solutions Ltd (Ireland)
• Cellum Introduces MasterCard Mobile Wallet (Hungary)

Fiserv has announced that it has partnered with Earthport, a specialist in cross-border payments services, to provide a solution for international payments processed through PEP+, Fiserv's online, real-time solution for originating and receiving ACH payments.

“PEP+ is the leading domestic ACH processor and now, with the integration with Earthport, we will expand that reach globally,” said Rahul Gupta, president, Digital Payments Solutions Group, Fiserv. “The commitment that we have always shown to payments within the U.S. will now expand to cross-border ACH payments – a capability our customers have requested.”

On the web:

• Visa Says China May Open Yuan Payment Processing Market - Bloomberg
• ReadyForZero Helps Users Pay Off $12.5M In Debt - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Western Union Rebrands eBillme as 'WU Pay'
• UChoose Rewards from Fiserv Experiences Double Digit Growth in 2011
• New Aite Group Report on the Prognosis for Purchasing and Corporate Cards
• New Mercator Report on Evaluating Multinational Card Programs for Commercial Cards
• Kachingle Premium to Revolutionize Freemium Conversions

Fiserv announced it will be adding MoneyGram’s money transfer services to the menu of money movement options available to financial institutions and consumers through the Popmoney, Fiserv's person-to-person payments product.

“With Popmoney, financial institutions can provide their customers with a faster, easier and more secure way to send and receive money from their bank or credit union accounts,” said Neil Platt, senior vice president and general manager of payments, CashEdge Division, Fiserv. “Working with MoneyGram will allow Fiserv to enhance the Popmoney service with cross-border and cash payment options, and expand consumer choices for managing their money.”

Fiserv has announced that it will combine the Popmoney and ZashPay person-to-person (P2P) payment networks, and market the enhanced service as Popmoney.

“The combination of Popmoney and ZashPay will accelerate the momentum underway in bank-focused person-to-person payments,” said Sanjeev Dheer, division president, Fiserv. “Consumers strongly prefer the convenience of their banking relationship for conducting these types of transactions. The expanded network enhances the usability of the service and accelerates adoption among consumers and small businesses.”

All clients will be upgraded to the enhanced Popmoney product and network by mid-2012.

Fiserv has announced new redemption options for its award-winning UChoose Rewards program. "UChoose Rewards supports both consumer and small business market segments for both debit and credit card programs. It is an innovative program that allows financial institutions to select from merchant-funded, issuer-funded or a blended rewards programs."

Fiserv announced that its ACCEL/Exchange payments network had "another record-setting year, processing more than 1.5 billion transactions in 2011, an increase of nearly 29% over 2010. ACCEL/Exchange payments network from Fiserv is one of the fastest-growing payments networks in the industry, supplying the infrastructure for financial institutions to give cardholders around-the-clock access to their demand deposit account funds at ATMs and the point of sale."

On the web:

• Credit Cards In Numbers (InfoGraphic) - PayLane Across the Board Blog
• PayPal Holding Your Funds? State Regulators Want to Know - AuctionBytes

On the wires:

• Fiserv to Offer Sageworks’ Products via its Account Processing Platforms
• InspirePay Consolidates Online Transactions With First Universal Payments Hub
• Bon-Ton Stores Announces New Private Label Credit Card Agreement with Alliance Data
• Brighton Collectibles Engages Shoppers in the Aisle with VeriFone’s GlobalBay Mobile POS on iPod Touch
• RushCard Continues On Its Mission to Serve Those Left Behind by Big Banks
• Seamless and SBAB Bank in Mobile Payment Pilots in Sweden
• Visa Europe Launches Exclusive UK Offers Portal

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

Fiserv announced the results of a survey of the mobile banking and payment plans of top-tier financial institutions.

The in-depth survey, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Fiserv in September 2011, evaluated the plans of 10 banks and credit unions that in total hold more than one-third of all U.S. deposit accounts. The results revealed that these financial institutions are moving beyond the basics to deliver increasingly sophisticated mobile capabilities. Transactional services such as remote deposit capture and mobile person-to-person payments will account for the bulk of mobile investment in 2012. However, despite a nearly unanimous commitment to expand overall mobile functionality, institutions remain split on plans to support mobile point-of-sale payments.

A white paper detailing the survey results can be downloaded from the Fiserv website.

On the web:

• Google Wallet Security Questioned - Bank Technology News
• Credit Card "Skimming" on the Rise - San Jose Mercury News
• Half of Online Consumers Would Trade Privacy for Deals - Internet Retailer
• SCVNGR’s New Mobile Payment Solution 'LevelUp' Goes Device Agnostic QR Codes - TechCrunch
• Retail Payments Risk Forum Conference Explores the Role of Government - Portals and Rails
• Mobile Phone Payments Company 'Bango' Signs Deal With Amazon - TechCrunch
• Isis selects Gemalto as TSM for NFC wallet - GigaOM

On the wires:

• TNS Enters Multi-Year Payment Services Agreement with Open Solutions
• peerTransfer and Nelnet Business Solutions Partner to Enhance International Payment Options on Campus
• Mobile Source Capture from Fiserv Gains Momentum among Banks and Credit Unions
• InComm Launches Prepaid Digital Content and Gaming Destination at Best Buy Mexico
• Blackhawk Network Launches Gift Card Mall(TM) in QuikTrip Locations Nationwide