On Twitter:

We're hosting a payments meetup at @gumroad with talks by @airbnb and @square —come by! gumroad.com/meetup

— Sahil Lavingia (@shl) May 17, 2013

On the web:

• The future of Bitcoin: 3 predictions from experts - GigaOm - "Casares explained how some people in his country are using “old Android phones” to acquire and exchange Bitcoins at a time when the government is clamping down on the trade in U.S. dollars."
• Inside Mastercard’s Social Command Center - Digiday - "For Mastercard, diffusing social in the organization, ironically, meant centralizing it."
• High-Profile VCs Caught up in Bitcoin Mania - PEhub - "As big as the bitcoin opportunity is, it is equally rife with risk."
• Black-hat bitcoin’s days are numbered - Quartz - "Bitcoin has a lot of problems as a currency—its tendency for spasms of crazy volatility, most notably—but fewer as a payments system."
• Bitcoin’s consumerization continues with Perk, a rewards platform and Web browser for normal people - PandoDaily - "Now the only problem is figuring out how to get bitcoin into the hands of the masses."
• Google in Payments: Why Yesterday was BIG News - FinVentures (Tom Noyes) - "Osama and the Google team have done great work getting this out to market. Congrats."
• T-Mobile’s Twitter Account Explains Why Carrier Won’t Support Google Wallet - TmoNews - “We’re supporting ISIS, the wireless payment standard for mobile devices.”
• Square launches faster card swipe machine - Taking Charge - "Sure, we could make payments work better, but why should we when everyone really seems to like plastic?"
• Moving Upstream, PayPal and Square Make a Play for the Local Merchant’s POS - Street Fight - "The gist of PayPal’s and Square’s long-term aspirations is fairly clear: create a two-sided network with a consumer-facing mobile wallet on one end and a merchant processing network on the other, creating a system that gives them control over the entire payment stack."

On the wires:

• International Payment Networks Facing Emerging Threat from Domestic Competition and m-POS - "…the real threat comes when the successful m-POS solution providers follow the PayPal model and enable their own digital wallets and P2P transactions which could completely cut the international networks out of the equation.”
• What is the Killer App for Mobile NFC? It May Not Be Payments, Executives Agree at the 2013 NFC Solutions Summit - "When asked the question "Is NFC dead?" compared to alternate technologies such as cloud payments, Glenbrook Partners Consultant Allen Weinberg stressed that all these technologies are still in the early days and it is too soon to make judgments on what mobile commerce technologies will be the winners and losers. "At the end of the day, we don't have a widespread, commercialized anything yet," he said."
• sweetgreen rewards App an Immediate Success - "Representing the first white-label app from LevelUp, sweetgreen rewards has been an immediate success, allowing guests to earn dollars that can be redeemed at any of sweetgreen's 17 locations and offers various perks that can be unlocked over time…"

Over on Payments Views, Glenbrook's Russ Jones blogs about the how the card industry is starting to subdivide at the point of sale into two submarkets, one being the “smart” transaction market and the other being the “basic” transaction market. He explores how this trend is exemplified through solutions from Google, Isis, PayPal, and Visa. The full article is here.

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:

• A Juicy Hands-On With The Facebook Omni-Gift Card - TechCrunch
• Isis to Change Wallet Design; Hires New Wallet App Developer - NFC Times
• Google Quietly Rolls Out New 'Offer Extensions' in AdWords - Search Engine Land
• Tokenization And The Collapse Of The Credit Card Payment Model - Forbes
• More States Consider Ban On Credit Card Surcharges - NBCNews.com
• PayPal Enters Crowded European Mobile Payment Field - WSJ

On the wires:

• PSCU, MasterCard Team to Offer MasterPass to Member-Owner Credit Unions
• Virtual Piggy Integrated into World-Leading Internet Community

USA Technologies announced up to 7,500 vending machines in Austin and Salt Lake City will be targeted for mobile payment acceptance powered by USAT’s NFC-enabled ePort technology and ePort Connect service in order to participate in the Isis Mobile Wallet market trial.

“Our work with Isis is a great example of how we are executing our comprehensive mobile payments strategy, including leveraging USAT’s growing footprint of NFC enabled touch points to bring more value to our customers,” said Stephen P. Herbert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of USA Technologies. “We also believe that our work with Isis sends a clear message to vending companies in these two cities—and to the broader market we serve—that there is tremendous opportunity in cashless adoption. Through the Isis Mobile Wallet, we believe these merchants will have unparalleled new opportunity to attract consumers as well as participate in marketing programs with global brand names.”

Isis has announced the availability of the Isis Mobile Wallet in Austin and Salt Lake City. Consumers can visit their AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon retail location and select from nine Isis Ready handsets, with an expected 11 additional handsets coming to market by year end.

“The launch of the Isis Mobile Wallet in Austin and Salt Lake City represents a milestone for both Isis and the mobile commerce industry,” said Ryan Hughes, chief marketing officer, Isis. “With as many as 20 Isis Ready handsets headed to market by year end, we are experiencing an unprecedented level of support for NFC and consumer choice.”

American Express, Capital One, and Chase are the card issuing partners.

On the web:

• Isis Mobile Wallet lands on the Play Store for T-Mobile - Android Community
• American Express Launches Mobile App for its Bluebird Prepaid Card - NetBanker
• PayPal Opens Up 'Bill Me Later' To Small-to-Medium Online Businesses - GigaOM
• Payments Platform Braintree Raises $35M From NEA, Accel - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Netsuite Integrates with Worldpay to Offer Merchants End-to-End Commerce
• Leading Social Gaming Platform Developer Huzutech Selects Virtual Piggy for Secure Payments
• LevelUp Integrates With Merchant Warehouse's Genius Customer Engagement Platform

On the web:

• Groupon Eyes Restaurants With Nationwide iPad POS Offering - chicagotribune.com
• Apple's Passbook: Helping To Make Baseball Tickets Extinct (12% Adoption) - TUAW
• Isis Mobile Wallet Set For Oct. 22 Release In Austin And Salt Lake City - NFCNews
• Stripe’s New Payments Product Could Be A Boon For Collaborative Consumption, E-Commerce Startups - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Vindicia Chosen by LogMeIn to Optimize Customer Retention and Subscription Renewals
• TSYS Signs International Payments Agreement with Scotiabank
• Alaric Launches A Unique “On Premises” Solution for Optimal CNP Fraud Prevention
• BillingTree Extends Industry Partnership Program into Electronic Patient Payments
• MasterCard Unveils MasterCard Labs Dublin

On the web:

• Isis Mobile Pay Service May Start Trials In August - CNET
• PayToo's New Mobile Wallet Helps Consumers Build, Repair Their Credit - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• Capital One to Pay $210M in U.S. Consumer Agency's First Action - Reuters
• Dutch Telcos and Banks Drop Plans for NFC Joint Venture - NFC Times

On the wires:

• paysafecard Now Also Available In Canada
• TSYS Signs Multi-year Agreement with Bank of America
• Elan Financial Services Launches New Credit Card Program for Edward Jones
• i2c's Payments Platform Now Servicing Consumers in 216 Countries & Territories
• Dynamics Inc. Receives MasterCard Certification for Card Production Facility
• Dollar General Now Offering Western Union Prepaid Cards at 10,000 U.S. Locations
• Revel Systems Unveils iPad POS Solution For Food Trucks With Twitter
• Square Mobilizes Campaign Fundraising

On the web:

• Changing How We Make Change (Video) - CBS Sunday Morning
• Payleven, A Square Clone That Has Its Sights Set On Europe And Asia - Digital Trends
• An Interview With A Risk Expert: The Costs Of Complying With Dodd-Frank 1073 - Portals and Rails
• China UnionPay To Expand Bank Card Service In Europe - chinadaily.com.cn
• T-Mobile, Verizon Invest $100M More In Isis - Puget Sound Business Journal

On the wires:

• Merchant Warehouse Announces Insight Partnership Program
• CommerceGate Partners With Cupid PLC as Global Payment Processor
• Shift4 Announces New Point-to-Point Encryption Capability

Isis has announced the first of its merchant partners to participate in its Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah market trial.

“Today’s announcement signals the mobile commerce experience has arrived. A strong merchant base in Austin and Salt Lake City will make the Isis Mobile Wallet real for consumers as they choose to use their mobile wallet at many of their favorite merchant locations to pay and redeem offers,” said Jim Stapleton, chief sales officer, Isis. “We look forward to working closely with both local and national merchants to enable a mobile commerce experience that transforms how consumers shop and interact with their favorite brands.”

In addition to naming local merchants, Isis also indicated that Aéropostale, The Coca-Cola Company, Champs Sports, Dillard’s, Foot Locker, Jamba Juice, and Macy’s would participate in the market trial as national merchants.

American Express and Isis have announced an agreement to make American Express’ U.S. Consumer, OPEN Small Business and Serve Cards available in the Isis Mobile Wallet, starting in Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas later this year.

“Now our Cardmembers and merchants can benefit from the ease and convenience of a tap-and-go experience on a mobile phone and still enjoy the benefits, services and support of American Express,” said Josh Silverman, President, U.S. Consumer Services for American Express.

On the web:

• Making Plastic Credit Cards Smarter at SXSW - CardSpring
• Isis’ campaign to win over consumers starts at SXSW
• Can Banks Avoid Being Friends with Facebook?
• 63 Minutes With Jack Dorsey
• No wallet? No problem. PayPal Now Available Through the Tabbedout Mobile App
• Luxury Daily: Are retailers ready for mobile payments?
• How mobile payments might drive health behavior change
• Apple Wins Patent for iWallet: The one that will rule the World
• AMEX’s new Twitter integration is “brilliant” marketing
• On the mobile payments front at MWC: Much ado about nothing
• Clover Raises $5.8M From Andreessen Horowitz; Launches As A One-Click Mobile Payments Platform
• 15M Facebook users bought virtual goods with Credits in 2011
• Virtual Currency Is The Next Big Platform
• Best Buy snags Starbucks tech guru

On the wires:

• Green Dot to Acquire Loopt
• Discover Financial Services and National Payment Corporation of India Announce Strategic Alliance Enabling Increased Network Acceptance

Isis has announced today that VeriFone, Ingenico, ViVOtech and Equinox Payments will integrate and support the Isis Mobile Commerce Application in current and future product lines.

“Payment systems suppliers provide critical infrastructure for the development of mobile commerce,” said Scott Mulloy, chief technology officer, Isis. “Today’s announcement is an important step in enabling NFC technology adoption throughout the mobile commerce industry. It also validates the open platform approach being offered by Isis across multiple business sectors.”

Related announcements from VeriFone and Ingenico are also online.

Isis has announced that Chase, Capital One and Barclaycard have entered into agreements to enable their credit, debit and prepaid cards to be placed into the Isis Mobile Wallet.

“Today’s announcement is testament to the vision and commitment of Chase, Capital One and Barclaycard to make mobile commerce a real and positive experience for their customers,” said Michael Abbott, CEO, Isis. “Mobile commerce is more than a new way to pay; it’s about extending the relationships consumers enjoy with their banks and merchants into a powerful and convenient new form factor.”

On the web:

• Stripe Aims to Reinvent E-Payments - Businessweek
• Why It’s So Hard to Transfer Cash to Your Friends - NYTimes.com
• Isis to Come with Prepaid Card, Location-based Offers - NFCNews
• Facebook Announces Operator Billing For Its Apps - TechCrunch
• Belgian NFC Payments Joint Venture Hits the Rocks - NFC World
• QR Codes vs NFC: Cheaper, but Worth the risk? - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• PayPal Opens up New Frontiers for Carrier Payments
• MoneyGram Adds Near East Bank to Money Transfer Network
• Western Union, WIND to Launch Mobile Money Transfer service in Italy
• GE Capital Retail Bank and Pep Boys Renew Consumer Financing Agreement
• Western Union, Roshan to Introduce Mobile Money Transfer in Afghanistan
• GlobalCollect Acquires Latin Latin America Payment Service Provider Sub1
• Failsafe Payments Adds WebMoney Transfer to its CertoConnect Service
• Chase Selects Gemalto for Trusted Service Management
• 3V Launches New Visa Pre-Pay Youth Card Service

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

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

On the web:

• Banks Quietly Ramp Up Consumer Fees - NYTimes.com
• Samsung Adds First Paypal-Capable App To Smart TV Apps Store - HDTVtest
• Square Mobile Payments Surge to $11M a Day - FierceMobileContent
• How Visa Protects Your Data - Fast Company
• Evidence for PCI’s Effectiveness in the Fight Against Fraud - Portals and Rails
• Isis Says It Continues to Make Progress - MobilePaymentsToday.com

On the wires:

• InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions Enhances Capabilities with New Discover Prepaid Cards
• FirsTech Launches Mobile Payments to Complete their Capabilities Suite
• Adyen to Power Pathé Payment Platform
• New Aite Group Report on Global Non-Cash Payments Market
• CardinalCommerce and STAR Network Announce Universal PIN Debit Service Initiative
• New Service Provides Small and Medium Businesses with Secure and Efficient Online Banking and Payment Services via the Cloud

Isis has announced that HTC, LG, Motorola Mobility, RIM, Samsung Mobile and Sony Ericsson will introduce NFC-enabled mobile devices that implement Isis’ NFC and technology standards.

“Isis’ technology standards provide the direction and certainty needed for the development and deployment of NFC devices and the mobile commerce ecosystem,” said Scott Mulloy, chief technology officer, Isis. “Working together with the device makers and our founding mobile carriers, Isis can provide the consumer choice and scale necessary for widespread adoption of mobile commerce.”

On the web:

• Isis Finds Tech, Seeks Banks - Bank Technology News
• Smartphone-based Payments Business is Quietly Booming (Ireland) – Siliconrepublic.com
• A Virtual Store With No Products Opens in Korea -Korea JoongAng Daily (via MSNBC)

On the wires:

• CashStar Adds Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises to its Growing Roster of Restaurant Brands
• HID Global Launches Next Generation Access Control Readers and Contactless Smart Cards

C-SAM has announced it has licensed its wallet management platform and software development kit (SDK) to Isis to support the Isis Mobile Commerce Platform. "The C-SAM platform will enable Isis to offer smartphone users a comprehensive mobile wallet for conducting secure near-field-communication (NFC) transactions related to payments, rewards, coupons, tickets, transit and other services."

Isis, the national mobile commerce joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has announced that "Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express will join Isis in making mobile commerce a reality for millions of U.S. consumers and merchants."

“Since the formation of Isis in November, we have been committed to building a mobile commerce platform that aligns and advances the interests of consumers, merchants and banks,” said Michael Abbott, chief executive officer for Isis. “By working with the nation’s payment networks – Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express – we significantly advance the vision of an open and secure platform that provides banks and merchants with a new and highly relevant way to connect with consumers.”

On the web:

• Isis Plans Mobile Payments Launch in Austin - Reuters
• Merchants Shred Costs of Payments by Plastic - Wall Street Journal

On the wires:

• U.S. Bank Launches Payment Plus to Automate Business Payments in Canada
• New Corporate Insight Report on Mobile Finance Landscape
• Cardtronics to Acquire EDC ATM Business

On the wires:

• CashStar Continues to Extend eGift Card Leadership in Restaurant Industry
• Cashplus: Prepaid Cards to Make Refuelling Easier for Fleet Drivers
• Heartland Payment Systems Introduces Tip Manager for Restaurants
• Digital Payment Technologies Introduces Extend-by-Phone Service for Parking Pay Stations

On the web:

• paidContent: Blippy Abandons 'Purchase Sharing' Model
• Portals and Rails: The Dilemma of Measuring Fraud in the U.S.Payments System
• Rethink Wireless: Orange and O2 bring mobile payments to UK
• Infosecurity: Small Merchants Make Up Lion's Share of Credit Card Breaches
• New York Times: Study Says Spam Can Be Cut by Blocking Card Transactions
• NFCnews: Breaking Down ISIS
• InfoWorld: Why the Mobile Payments Frenzy Doesn't Matter
• Gizmodo: What Is BitCoin?

On the wires:

• Text2Pay Launches Mobile Payments Platform with Direct Billing
• Merchant360 Releases NFC Stack for Payment Terminals and VeriFone Acquires First License
• ACI Worldwide Joins U.K.'s Payments Council
• Sage Helps Alleviate the PCI Compliance Burden for Larger Nonprofits
• Three in Four Consumers Say Using Their Information For Fraud Detection Purposes is ‘Okay’

On the web:

• Computerworld: Isis says carrier-backed mobile payments 'accelerated,' not 'dialing back'
• Internet Retailer: DigiMo Pioneers First True Mobile Payment Solution

On the wires:

• mBlox Closes New Fund Raising Round with Singapore’s EDBI
• Western Union Money Transfer Service Available at Banco Bradesco Locations in Brazil
• Giftango and Vesta Eliminate Payment Fraud for Merchants of eGift Cards
• YESpay International Provides a Cross-Border Integrated Payment Solution to North American Merchants
• CPI Card Group Signs Reseller Agreement with DeviceFidelity to Commercialize Mobile Payments

On the web:

• Wall Street Journal: Wireless Carriers Scrap Plans for Their Own Mobile-Payment Network
• FOX Business: PayPal's Mobile Business (Scott Thompson Video Interview)
• VentureBeat: Why in-app billing doesn’t solve all of Android Market’s problems
• MSNBC: Online Game Gets Real-World Banking License in Sweden
• NFC World: Oracle: Is NFC Too Slow for Payments and Coupons?
• NACS Online: Tap-and-Go Payments on the Rise in UK

On the wires:

• TNS Unveils New TNSPay Capabilities
• Telcel Mexico Selects Vesta Corporation to Launch New Recharge Functionality
• Shift4 Brings a Higher Standard of Payment Processing to Microsoft Dynamics RMS Users

On the web:

• Portals and Rails: Dispelling the Myths about Mobile Banking and Payments
• VentureBeat: Why does NFC matter? Does tap beat swipe for mobile payments?
• Bloomberg: AT&T, Verizon Wireless to Open Venture to All Payment Networks
• All Facebook: Forrester Says Facebook Commerce Won’t Take Off
• Mobile Commerce Daily: Survey Says Majority of Smartphone Users have Bought Physical Goods via Mobile

Isis, the joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has announced it will pilot the Isis mobile commerce program in Salt Lake City in early- to mid-2012. "Isis has also entered into an agreement with Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to make the entire UTA transit system Isis-enabled, marking the deployment of Isis as the first commercially available mobile transportation fare payment program in the U.S."

In related news, Bloomberg is reporting that Sprint will beginning deploying a competing NFC-based mobile payments solution later this year.