PlaySpan has announced an agreement to acquire Spare Change - calling it "the first and largest micropayments solution on social networks whose platform enables buyers and sellers to transact safely, easily and inexpensively." READ MORE

Walter Isaacson, former managing editor of TIME, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, writes this week's Time Magazine cover story titled "How to Save Your Newspaper". His article is all about how save your newspaper from what appears to be inevitable financial ruin. Isaacson's answer: micropayments.

The key to attracting online revenue, I think, is to come up with an iTunes-easy method of micropayment. We need something like digital coins or an E-ZPass digital wallet — a one-click system with a really simple interface that will permit impulse purchases of a newspaper, magazine, article, blog or video for a penny, nickel, dime or whatever the creator chooses to charge.

He's aware the earlier efforts (citing Flooz, Beenz, CyberCash, Bitpass, Peppercoin and DigiCash!) - but feels the times have changed. Along the way, he chastises PayPal for being too expensive for true micropayments and mentions Spare Change, Bee-Tokens, Tipjoy, and TwitPay.

PlaySpan, a provider of digital goods micro-transaction and payment solutions, has announced $16.8M in Series B investment from Easton Capital Group, Menlo Ventures, Novel TMT Ventures, STIC and other undisclosed investors. This new capital brings the company's total funding to $24M. The new funding will be used to expand into Europe and Asia and to grow PlaySpan's global publisher and user-base. READ MORE

On Web Worker Daily, Mike Gunderloy takes a look at Twitpay, described as "a simple way to send payments via Twitter." A Twitpay account is funded via PayPal in amounts between $10 and $49.99. Twitpay's FAQ page says that the service was created by a team at the Atlanta Startup Weekend.

Javien has announced that Javien Micropay now helps merchants meet Visa’s new guidelines for online micropayment transactions of Visa credit, debit or prepaid cards. Additionally, Javien says Micropay provides an auditable, provable method of managing online micropayment aggregations that conforms to Visa’s new rules. READ MORE

In an article titled 'Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business', Chris Anderson writes for Wired Magazine about how more and more things are trending toward free. Here's his view about why micropayments failed: 'The huge psychological gap between 'almost zero' and 'zero' is why micropayments failed. It's why Google doesn't show up on your credit card. It's why modern Web companies don't charge their users anything. And it's why Yahoo gives away disk drive space. The question of infinite storage was not if but when. The winners made their stuff free first.'

TechCrunch's Mark Hendrickson writes about Noca, a Redwood City, CA-based startup that "is attempting to virtually eliminate transaction fees by bypassing the credit card companies altogether with its own online payment service." Noca's mission statement says it is "building a new online payment system to provide significantly reduced transaction processing rates for online shopping enabling efficient processing of micro-transactions for digital goods."

In an article titled 'In Online World, Pocket Change Is Not Easily Spent", Dan Mitchell writes for the New York Times about micropayments - noting that successful approaches seem to based upon aggregation of transactions, helping to reduce the payment system costs by consolidating multiple small purchases into a single, larger purchase amount transaction. Earlier efforts that involved prepaid-like characteristics (with consumers pre-funding an account) have failed.

Elizabeth Olson writes for the New York Times about the increasing use of payment cards for small ticket purchases. She writes "more consumers — especially younger ones — are shunning cash and paper checks almost entirely."

Charles Hudson writes: "I'm organizing a one day conference on virtual goods and virtual economies at Stanford this summer and I thought your readers might have an interest in attending the event - we have a few sessions focused on payments/economics and the role that real world payment vehicles could play in the development of this space." Details here on the Virtual Goods Summit 2007.

Mercator Advisory Group has announced its latest report, Solving the Micropayment Problem, Online and at the Point of Sale, that reviews "both the history and challenges of electronic micropayments and examines how the existing rails have evolved to address under $5 electronic payments at both the point of sale and for online transactions."

TowerGroup has issued a research note titled "Micropayments: Turning Nickels and Dimes into Profits" that "illustrates how card use for micropayments reinforces and can deepen issuers' relationships with their customers, thereby indirectly enhancing profitability. Customer retention is directly linked to product usage. Ideally, frequent use of cards for small everyday transactions will lead consumers to use the cards for larger and more profitable transactions."

CNN is carrying a Dow Jones Newswire story this morning reporting from Davos on a discussion with Bill Gates about Microsoft developing on an online payment system that will be cheaper than credit card transactions.

Bitpass has begun notifying its merchant and consumer customers via email that "due to circumstances beyond our control, we are discontinuing our operations. We have partnered with Digital River to provide operational support during the period prior to shut down. As of today, January 19, 2007, all Bitpass Buyers with US dollar denominated accounts are being notified that they will have seven (7) days to spend any amounts that currently exist in their Bitpass Account." Alas, Clay Shirky was right. Bitpass, RIP.

ClickandBuy has announced that "three independent online music stores have selected its international digital payments platform for its hosted digital commerce system and its ability to provide different types of payment methods, including yearly subscriptions, micropayments or single downloads of songs."

On the Apple Matters blog, James Stoup writes about the new Microsoft Zune Marketplace - where you can't just buy songs with a credit card. Instead, you first have to buy Microsoft Points - using your credit card. Then, you can use the Points stored in your account to buy music. He says "in effect, Microsoft has created a store that only accepts gift cards as the valid method of payments."

Peppercoin has announced that the 4th Annual Micro and Small Payments Conference will be held November 28 at New York City's Marriott Financial Center. The conference's theme is "Transforming Transactions" and growing the small payments markets. Niki Manby, senior vice president of product innovation at Visa USA, and Robert Carr, chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems, will keynote.

Carl Howe blogs for Seeking Alpha about the "new Microsoft cash system" called Microsoft Points originally rolled out with the Xbox Live Marketplace and to be used for making online music purchases for Microsoft's new Zune music player.

Visa USA has announced that leading U.S. merchants continue to adopt the Visa No Signature Required Program, which waives the signature requirement for qualifying Visa transactions less than $25 across 17 merchant categories using existing magnetic stripe POS card acceptance terminals. The program, launched in April 2006, is designed to accelerate Visa acceptance and card usage at traditionally cash-intensive merchants. According to Visa, 7-Eleven, Inc., Clearview Cinemas, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, and Sonic Drive-In are among the newest merchants now participating in the program. Visa estimates indicate that by the end of 2006 as much as 27 percent of all Visa transactions may qualify for Visa's No Signature Required Program.

Duncan Solutions and Peppercoin have announced a strategic partnership to "offer innovative, integrated solutions that grow parking revenues by increasing the profitability of credit and debit card transactions and deliver greater conveniences to motorists." The companies, who already work together in a number of cities, including Las Vegas and Oklahoma City, are enhancing their relationship with additional technology integration and coordinated sales efforts.

T-Online Venture Fund has announced it has made a 10% investment in Zug, Switzerland-based FIRSTGATE Holding AG, owner of Click&Buy.

Executives from Chase, Peppercoin, TYS, and Visa plan to hold a Small Payments Webinar on July 19th. Moderated by Jeff Green of Card & Payments Magazine, the session will cover contactless payments, card acceptance in the everyday spending market, and emerging loyalty requirements. Jeff Gordan, an Arby's Roast Beef franchise operator, will provide the merchant perspective. Peppercoin will also be unveiling new Ipsos-Insight data on the growth and obstacles facing the contactless payments adoption, as well as which markets have the greatest potential.

Are you a payments professional living in the San Francisco Bay Area? The next meeting of BayPay, the payments professionals' networking group for the San Francisco area is being held this Thursday, June 29, beginning at 6 PM in Mountain View. This meeting's topic is small/micro payments - speakers are Mark Friedman, CEO of Peppercoin and Doug Knopper, CEO of Bitpass. There's ample time alloted at each meeting for networking with other local payments professionals. If you're not already a BayPay member and are interested in attending this Thursday's meeting, please contact us for more information and details about meeting location, etc.

James C. McGrath of the Payments Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published a new discussion paper titled "Micropayments: The Final Frontier For Consumer Payments" (pdf). The paper concludes that,"despite some structural limitations, the existing payment card infrastructure and related products are likely to be the primary vehicles for electronifying micropayments in the U.S. in coming years."

Peppercoin has announced a loyalty program for small payments both online and at the physical point-of-sale. Peppercoin says its new program is "the first to allow merchants to attract and retain customers buying small dollar-value items and services -- such as a cup of coffee or a music file download -- without requiring a separate pre-enrollment process or additional card."

BitPass has announced an agreement with Entercom, one of the five largest radio broadcasting companies in the US, to enable subscription access to online broadcast content.

Over on the TextPayMe blog, the founders share why they really started this new mobile payments company:

"We wanted to split dinnertime bills easily and fairly."

Digital Media Wire is hosting a 1-day executive forum for companies addressing the digital entertainment space on Tuesday, January 31 in New York City.

3i has announced a $23 million investment in Zurich (Switzerland) based Webpay AG, owner of Click & Buy, an ePayment and storefront provider for online and mobile digital content.

Ezra Roizen writes for AlwaysOn about BitPass and new CEO Doug Knopper.