MasterCard has announced the availability of M/Chip Advance, a payment platform takes traditional debit, credit and prepaid chip cards to the next level by advancing payment functionality, facilitating deployment of contactless applications and integrating information needed for business applications such as transit and loyalty. The result according to MasterCard: "the potential to deliver versatile, multi-functional payment capabilities to consumers on one payment card." READ MORE

ViVOtech has announced the launch of its ViVOtag sticker solution and its backend ViVOapps mLoyalty redemption software designed to "enable merchants to deliver targeted and engaging mobile advertising, marketing and loyalty programs to customers’ existing mobile phones." READ MORE

INSIDE Contactless has announced that it is providing critical infrastructure components to Taggo, a membership card aggregator and storefront, for the new service Taggo will launch in Singapore and other parts of South East Asia early next year. Using ID stickers based on INSIDE's PicoPass(r) 2KS contactless memory chip, contactless readers based on INSIDE's M210-2G proximity coupler and INSIDE's integration and adoption services, Taggo has developed a way for mobile phone stickers to replace plastic loyalty and membership cards from a variety of retail merchants. READ MORE

INSIDE Contactless has announced a partnership with ADELYA, a Software-as-a-Service company specializing in contactless and mobile loyalty and relationship programs, to enable consumers to conduct retail loyalty, ticketing, low-end ID and other transactions using the mobile phones they already have. INSIDE Contactless is providing ADELYA with PicoPass contactless stickers to transform mobile phones into contactless loyalty cards. More than 300,000 loyalty cards embedded with contactless stickers have already been deployed throughout France to customers of a children's clothing retailer. READ MORE

Metavante has announced that Danversbank has deployed its expanded rewards and loyalty product to offer Danversbank's clients a blended rewards program that combines issuer- and merchant-funded rewards. "Through its deployment of Points2U Plus, Danversbank now awards cardholders with bonus points for debit card-based transactions made at participating retailers — this is in addition to the points a cardholder already earns by using their Dansverbank-issued debit card. The bank is also leveraging Points2U Plus to award double points for card use during seasonal promotions, as well as to reward cardholders with additional loyalty points for the use of other Danversbank services." READ MORE

Barclaycard has announced that it plans to introduce a retailer rewards scheme in partnership with Welcome Real-time "that will enable Barclaycard customers to benefit from a retailer rewards scheme that is expected to encompass retailers ranging from sole traders to major high street names." READ MORE

First Data Corp. has a growing collection of white papers in its Thought Leadership Library covering a wide range of payments-related topics. The latest papers include:

• Mobile Account Management: The Mobile Commerce Enabler - by Barry McCarthy, President, Mobile Commerce Solutions
• Innovations in Payments and Decoupled Debit Reshape the Power of Merchant Loyalty Programs - by Timothy Horton, Vice President of Product Management
• Financial Institutions Must Rethink Their Remote Deposit Capture Support Models - by Kathleen Houseman, Vice President, Remote Deposit Capture Solutions, and Mark Nevle, Director, Product Development

Maritz and Welcome Real-time have announced a partnership to launch an new loyalty offering in the United States and Canada that will allow customers to redeem points to make purchases and allow card issuers to deliver personalized offers at the point of sale. READ MORE

PayPal is holding one of its weekly webinars later this morning on the subject of "Building Loyal Customers to Increase Profitability". Speakers include David Daniels, vice president and research director at JupiterResearch, and Jeff Wisot, vice president of marketing at Buy.com.

On Track Innovations has announced that Garanti Technology (GT), an affiliate of Garanti Bank, Turkey's third largest private bank, has won the "Best Innovation in a Loyalty Programme" award at the Cards & Payments Europe 2008 for the "Bonus Trink" Sticker project based on OTI's smart sticker contactless payment device. READ MORE

Chockstone and RBS Lynk have announced a strategic partnership to provide loyalty services to RBS Lynk restaurant merchants. According to the two companies, "Chockstone's unique loyalty platform helps further differentiate RBS Lynk's product offering for restaurant operators, demonstrating RBS Lynk's commitment to offering unrivaled products and service for its restaurant customer locations." READ MORE

Chockstone has announced the availability of the Chockstone Meet & Greet loyalty application - calling it "a unique offering that allows restaurant operators to personalize the customer experience from the moment a patron walks in the door. With one swipe of a customer's card, the Meet & Greet functionality provides restaurant managers, hosts and wait-staff with a full customer profile, immediately enabling a more personal experience within participating restaurants." READ MORE

in an article about merchant-centric loyalty programs, Kelli B. Grant writes for the Wall St. Journal about how 'retailers are hoping to get customers back into their stores is by offering all sorts of new rewards programs and in-store bonuses to their most loyal customers.'

Vesdia has announced the expansion of its merchant-funded rewards network to include multi-channel merchants and service providers: ADT Home Security by Security Choice, DIRECTV, Hard Rock Cafe and Golfsmith. Vesdia says its network is 'the largest coalition loyalty program in the U.S. and consistently provides clients with measurable program growth in the marketplace.'

Loyalty Lab has announced a 'strategic alliance with HSBC Finance Corporation’s card and retail services business to extend advanced loyalty and customer retention marketing (CRM) capabilities to retailers that offer private label and co-branded credit cards through HSBC.' READ MORE

Bank of America has announced the availability of MLB banking - described as 'an exclusive new suite of personal banking products for fans of all 30 Major League Baseball Clubs. MLB banking is the only nationwide portfolio of Club-specific checks, MasterCard check cards and credit cards that are complemented by special rewards for fans of America's National Pastime.'

In a press release this morning, Shell said 'don't be surprised if you see drivers smiling as they fill up at Shell-branded gasoline stations this summer. They'll likely be taking advantage of an "Earn 25 Cents per Gallon" second quarter promotion designed to reward new Shell Gasoline Card consumer account holders for their gasoline purchases.'

Chockstone has announced SingleSwipe, calling it 'a new identification program that allows credit and debit card companies and merchants to tie merchant loyalty programs to a customer's existing credit or debit card.'

At its annual meeting today, Starbucks announced several new initiatives including adding a new rewards feature for registered users of its Starbucks Card. Starbucks says that currently one in seven customers uses the Starbucks Card to pay.

Single Touch Interactive and InComm have announced that they have partnered to provide customers with mobile coupons through retail loyalty cards. According to the two companies, "combining InComm’s point of sale integration at over 100,000 top national retail stores with Single Touch Interactive’s ADC mobile technology creates an easy to use mobile coupon platform that doesn’t change customer or retailer behavior."

Vesdia Corporation, a provider of loyalty marketing services, has announced the launch of four new Visa credit cards to support its leading reward programs: BabyMint, NestEggz, Stockback and FundraiserRewards. According to the company, these new cards, launched in partnership with MXT Card Services, provide consumers with additional earning opportunities in the rewards currencies that matter most to them.

Chockstone has announced that in 2007 it processed $1.1 billion of volume across its gift card programs, its integrated gift and loyalty programs, and its credit card gateway services, representing a growth rate of 169 percent over 2006’s volume of $395 million.

HSBC Finance Corporation’s card and retail services business and Pathmark Stores have announced "an agreement to offer a multi-purpose rewards and payment card for supermarket customers. The new Pathmark Advantage Payment Card enhances the current Pathmark Advantage Club card by providing an easy and superior one-swipe payment process that also generates loyalty rewards." The card is linked to the consumer's checking account and functions as a PIN-debit card for purchases. The cards will also be accepted "at more than 200,000 merchant locations in the U.S. that participate in the Tempo Payment Network."

Chockstone has announced the availability of Simply Loyalty™, saying it "provides local and regional merchants easy to deploy loyalty programs that deliver measurable results via highly targeted offers on the POS receipt."

Following the closing of the KKR acquisition yesterday, First Data Corp. has updated some of the information on its web site. Included in the bio for newly appointed Chief Strategy Officer Tom Bell is a description of his responsibilities for FDC's "Centers of Excellence" - described as 1) mobile payments, 2) loyalty, 3) data analytics and 4) fraud and security.

Nicole Monroe Bell writes for the Charlotte Observer about loyalty cards going higher tech - delivering tailored coupons from kiosks to consumers as they enter stores.

Parago, a provider of rebate, incentive and promotion solutions, has announced "FSV Payment Systems has been selected as a strategic partner for prepaid services. In the newly formed partnership, FSV Payment Systems will manage prepaid card processing while their partner, Meta Payment Systems will provide issuing bank services."

Alliance Data Systems Corporation has announced that it has "entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P., an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, in a transaction valued at approximately $7.8 billion, including the assumption of certain debt. Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Alliance Data for $81.75 per share in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 30 percent over Alliance Data's closing share price of $62.96 on May 16, 2007."

MasterCard Advisors has announced several enhancements to its "Segmented Loyalty Programs, which enable issuers to design customized promotions to reach highly targeted groups of cardholders and thereby encourage card usage."

Tash Shifrin reports for Computerworld UK that PayPoint is launching a "mobile-phone based loyalty scheme, allowing retailers to scrap paper discount coupons." The scheme, called "Shop Scan Save", involves shoppers presenting a unique bar code sent to their mobile phones following consumer registration.