On the web:

• GAO Report and Live Chat on “Virtual Currencies” - Bitcoin Foundation - "In response to questions about specific tax situations involving Bitcoin, Director White pointed to the future guidelines from the IRS, in addition to recommending that those using Bitcoin seek the advice of a tax professional. He also mentioned that Bitcoin is the most widespread of the “virtual currencies” covered in the report."
• Starbucks: Mobile payments now 10% of all U.S. transactions - Fierce Mobile Content - "Mobile payments now account for more than 10 percent of all transactions across Starbucks stores nationwide, the coffeehouse chain said Tuesday."
• Retailers to Forge Uber-Like Mobile Payment Pacts, Collison Says - Bloomberg BusinessWeek - "Mobile payments companies and retailers will forge more partnerships where they retain customer identities, making it unnecessary to re-enter credit-card information..."
• iZettle Takes Its Mobile Payment Service To Mexico, Its First Market Outside Of Europe, And One Step Closer To Square - TechCrunch - "De Geer notes that 95% of cards in Mexico are chip-based. That, in fact, may be one reason why Square, whose dongle reads the magnetic stripe for transactions, may have yet to make a move here."
• Voicekey unveils biometric iPhone app - Finextra - "Voicekey has already launched an iPhone app, called OpenSezMe..."
• Mobile Money Maths - Mobile Money Asia - "Creating a viable mobile money service is fundamentally a question of marketing (driving appropriate use cases tapping into clear customer pain points) and distribution (creating a sufficiently dense, liquid agent network)."
• Indian firm enters Nigeria's mobile money sector - Economic Times (India) - "Nigeria's central bank has been campaigning for a cashless economy whereby citizens can use electronic means to transfer funds and make payments."

On the wires:

• MasterCard Announces Leadership Changes in its Latin America and Caribbean Region - "MasterCard announced today the appointment of Gilberto Caldart as president of its Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) business…"
• Portico Private Residence Collection to Provide Special Membership Benefits to MasterCard Cardholders - "MasterCard and pioneering vacation brand Portico™ today joined to provide MasterCard cardholders with access to unique vacation home experiences beyond traditional hotels and resorts…"
• ACI Worldwide Survey: EMV Will Accelerate Adoption of Mobile Technologies, Industry Monitoring Mobile Wallet Adoption - "According to the survey, nearly half of all respondents (49 percent) believed the U.S. migration to EMV will result in consumers turning away from card-based transaction in lieu of mobile payments."
• MasterCard and Western Union Launch Dedicated International Payments Service for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses - "We view the introduction of this service to American small-business owners as the first of several opportunities across the globe to support this segment’s money-transfer needs..."

Upcoming from Glenbrook:

• Summer Camp! - A special summer session of our popular Payments Boot Camp - in Half Moon Bay on August 6th and 7th... Also, an optional half day course on Data In Payments - August 8th, also in Half Moon Bay. Join Carol, Scott and Russ for lively, interactive sessions - register now!
• Follow Glenbrook Partners on LinkedIn! -

On a slow news day today in the world of payments, we noticed an interesting juxtaposition between a commentary titled "Back in the real world (well, West London)" that Consult Hyperion's Dave Birch posted about paying with PayPal at The Farmery frozen yoghurt shop in West London and an article by PayPal's CEO David Marcus on Huffington Post titled "So Long Cash Register, Hello Innovation".

Dave told the story about paying for for his yoghurt purchase using PayPal on his iPhone linking to The Farmery's PayPal Here app on their iPhone. Dave went on to say that "PayPal have made a real effort to produce a slick customer experience, and it makes you wish that other more conventional players in the retail payment world would do the same. There seems to be an attention to detail in what guys like this do, to be honest."

Dave is then compelled to ask: "Is it better than NFC?" He answers: "Yes it is better than NFC is, but it's not better than NFC could be." He goes on to describe how that better NFC experience might work: "Instead of opening my PayPal application, finding the shop and checking in, I could have just tapped the phone on the PayPal Here logo and had all three steps done for me." But, alas, it doesn't work that way today - in spite of "years of work and hundreds of millions in investment."

Meanwhile, PayPal's Marcus describes another version of the future - one that "can easily and cost-effectively transform a legacy cash register into an interactive point of sale solution that makes it easier to operate a business and adds to a truly enjoyable consumer experience rather than a mundane transaction."

Where do you think NFC fits into mobile payments? Feel free to add your comment below.

PayPal has provided more details of a new incentive program for its Cash for Registers program announced last month. Here are some of the details:

Starting on July 10th, 2013, PayPal is waiving transaction fees for up to $20,000 worth of transactions each month through January 31st, 2014 for a qualified small business owner who upgrades to a modern point-of-sale system by choosing either PayPal Here™ or one of our pre-integrated partners: ShopKeep POS or Vend.

Merchants who want to participate need to apply for PayPal Here, be approved and then submit proof of purchase of a minimum of $450 in eligible hardware. Once their submission is approved, the offer will apply to swiped credit card, debit card and PayPal payments processed by PayPal through PayPal Here, ShopKeep POS or Vend.

On the web:

• How many payments professionals does it take to hire a bike? Three! (A story of Chip & PIN) - Payments Views - Glenbrook's Erin McCune tries to rent a bicycle in London - without a chip card...
• Mobile money in the UK - Tomorrow's Transactions - "There are significant populations in developed markets that closely match the characteristics of mobile money customers in the emerging markets, and there is a clear opportunity for the right mobile money propositions."
• Beyond Bitcoin: Your Guide to Digital Currencies - Mashable - "Think of digital currency as an Esperanto that people are actually beginning to speak."

On the wires:

• First Data Leverages Bank Relationships with Latest Mobile Payment Solution for Merchants - "Pogo> works by allowing a merchant to combine a web-enabled smartphone or tablet with a mobile application and secure mobile card reader to create a point-of-sale (POS) device that leverages First Data’s proven technology…"
• SecureKey Brings Hardware-Based Security to MasterPass Digital Commerce Platform - "MasterPass is a perfect example of how Intel IPT working with briidge.net DNA can provide a hardware root of trust that can be utilized by multi-factor authentication solutions for identity protection and transaction verification."

Upcoming from Glenbrook:

• Summer Camp! - A special summer session of our popular Payments Boot Camp - in Half Moon Bay on August 6th and 7th... Also, an optional half day course on Data In Payments - August 8th, also in Half Moon Bay. Join Carol, Scott and Russ for lively, interactive sessions - register now!
• Follow Glenbrook Partners on LinkedIn! -

iZettle has announced Banco Santander, the Eurozone’s largest bank by market capitalization, is making a strategic investment of more than €5 million in the company.

Millions of small business owners and professionals in the markets where we operate need an alternative to conventional credit card terminals, and simple software to manage and analyze their transactions,” said Ramón Tellaeche, head of Santander Cards at Banco Santander.

“We are strongly committed to innovation that satisfies emerging needs of our customers, we believe iZettle’s innovative mobile technologies will be crucial to those merchants’ near and long term success.”

Separately, iZettle also announced a partnership agreement with Santander UK for Santander's Business Banking unit to "offer a solution that includes the iZettle Chip & PIN reader, to its small business customers at a preferential rate, enabling them to accept card payments using their smartphones and tablets in a far more cost effective and flexible way than traditional card terminals."

On the web:

• PNC to add deposit, balance requirements for free checking - Chicago Tribune - "According to the Web site of the Pittsburgh-based bank, free checking will no longer be available for new accounts as of Aug. 18."
• Accelerating the migration to electronic payments through mobile acceptance solutions - "At Visa, we see great potential to accelerate the migration to electronic payments through mPOS solutions."
• “Life on Bitcoin”: These newlyweds plan to live for 90 days entirely on bitcoin, and film the whole thing - PandoDaily - "As someone who has used bitcoin in the digital world but never in the physical world, I’m fascinated to see how this plays out."
• Who is your Edward Snowden? - The Bankwatch - "The core assumption, which is flawed, applies to the NSA and to Banks, as well as all businesses. That assumption is that business information is opaque to the information system handlers."

On the wires:

• MasterCard and Kount Join Forces to Help Merchants Fight e-Commerce Fraud - "Kount is the first company to offer the MasterCard Expert Monitoring API to merchants."
• Moneris Solutions names Angela Brown, President & CEO - "Brown’s mandate is to continue to position Moneris as the leading merchant services and card processing provider in North America."
• CardConnect Announces Launch of CoPilot - "CoPilot brings every aspect of running a successful, growing ISO to each agent’s fingertips…"
• MoneyGram Joining Forces with Lebara to Offer International Money Transfers on Mobile Devices - "MoneyGram’s money transfer platform is now integrated within the Lebara Money iPhone and Android mobile payment platform solutions and the Lebara Money website…"
• Taco John's Chooses FreedomPay Commerce Platform to Enable Growth - "The new Taco John’s Platform is a virtual transaction superhighway with the power to enhance the customer experience in-store, online and across any mobile device."
• <Oberthur Technologies Partners with HID Global to Carry Seos Digital Keys on NFC SIM Cards for Mobile Access - "Oberthur Technologies’ dragonFly NFC SIM cards and its secure elements in general are interoperable with Seos from HID Global…"

SEC Filings:

• Green Dot Bank to Acquire Wal-mart Prepaid Cards Agreement from GE Capital Retail Bank

Upcoming from Glenbrook:

• Summer Camp! - A special summer session of our popular Payments Boot Camp - in Half Moon Bay on August 6th and 7th... Also, an optional half day course on Data In Payments - August 8th, also in Half Moon Bay. Join Carol, Scott and Russ for lively, interactive sessions - register now!
• Follow Glenbrook Partners on LinkedIn! -

Visa Inc. has announced that it has signed agreements with three additional mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) providers to enable merchants to accept Visa payments using mobile technology.

iZettle, SumUp and SCCP Group’s Swiff, will participate in the Visa Ready Program to have their mobile acceptance hardware and software tested and approved for use with Visa payments. Visa also announced that approval of two new mPOS devices by AnywhereCommerce and Miura Systems to accept Visa payments.

“The Visa Ready Program is designed to provide innovators with an easy way to collaborate with Visa and gives merchants and consumers the peace-of-mind they need when transacting with a mobile phone,” said Jim McCarthy, Global Head of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Visa Inc.

“Mobile acceptance technology is precisely the kind of innovation we need to bring the benefits of electronic payments to more merchants, financial institutions and consumers around the globe.”

From 2011 to 2012, the number of mobile point-of-sale terminals in operation worldwide increased 111 percent, from 4.5 million to 9.5 million, and it is expected to reach 38 million by 2017.

On the web:

• Bitcoin's a Revolution, Not a Convenience - Bloomberg - "Bitcoin's cryptographic network also solves for a problem that digital cash schemes have faced in the past: double-spending, which is when users try to use a single token twice."
• Personal Capital Raises $25 Million Financing - "Jim Feuille of Crosslink Capital led this financing and has joined the company’s Board of Directors. Crosslink and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, are new investors in the company..."
• Stripe Makes It Easier For Marketplaces To Collect And Distribute Payments To Multiple Accounts - TechCrunch - "The company is debuting a technology that allows for payments to be distributed to multiple bank accounts."
• Mobile Wallet Kuapay Gets An Upgrade, Reaches 600 Locations Through Trials With KFC & Others - TechCrunch - "The company is running a pilot program with KFC here in the States, which includes trials in more than 100 KFC stores..."
• EBay to open 'shoppable windows' in New York - "Shoppers will be able to touch the screens to order and have products delivered to them within an hour via courier. Payment will be accepted by the couriers through PayPal Here, a mobile payment service developed by eBay."
• US mobile wallet users spent $500M in 2012 – nearly all of it at Starbucks - GigaOm - "According to Berg Insight, the vast majority of in-store mobile wallet transactions occurred in a Starbucks using the coffer giant’s own smartphone card app."

On the wires:

• FTC Sues Payment Processor for Assisting Credit Card Debt Relief Scam - "…the agency sued a payment processing business that allegedly assisted and facilitated a telemarketing credit card interest rate reduction scam."
• Visa Teams with ICBA Bancard to Bring Real-Time Visa Offers Programs to Community Banks - "We are committed to customizing Visa’s products and services, such as Visa Offers, to help our partners provide the greatest value to their customers in ways that are both scalable for their business and relevant to their local communities."
• Bell ID Launches Secure Element in the Cloud - "The solution manages keys, certificates and NFC credentials in a secure remote environment rather than in the mobile device, providing application issuers with the independence and control to manage their credentials without the need for third party involvement."
• Signature Card Services Makes EMV Migration Easy and Affordable - "With all major card brands supporting the US migration to EMV, Signature Card Services is preparing its merchants for an easy and affordable transition. In addition to free terminals, they are providing support and education to help merchants embrace the change."
• USA Technologies and NEXCOM to Pilot Availability of Cashless Payment Vending Options at Selected Navy Bases in the U.S. - "NEXCOM will be utilizing USAT’s ePort NFC enabled cashless payment technology and ePort Connect service…"
• Wells Fargo Joins with LGBT Organizations for Pride 2013 to Amplify Anti-Bullying Efforts - "Wells Fargo team members will march alongside several organizations focused on raising awareness for anti-bullying efforts to support LGBT and non-LGBT youth who face harassment."

On the web:

• Disrupting payments - Bdaily - "The spark for iZettle came from a conversation between the founder, Jacob de Geer and his wife."
• CFPB exodus: Brain drain or growing pains? - Politico - "There is both a push and a pull on these folks."
• Consumer Complaints on Checking Accounts Show Need for Action - Pew Charitable Trusts
• Mobile money making its mark with major groups: Millicom, MTN, Vodafone, and Orange - GSMA - "The four telecom groups represented in this blog post account for over 55 million mobile money subscribers according to their latest published figures."
• The cash-free challenge... are contactless cards a safe way to pay? - London Evening Standard - "People will argue forever that they don’t own contactless cards and then will open their wallet and find one…"
• Banks Battle Telcos for Cash in South African Townships - Bloomberg BusinessWeek - "Mobile-phone payment services like M-Pesa have blossomed in east Africa, while in South Africa they have struggled because of regulation and a lack of a network to deposit and withdraw cash…"
• Consumers ready for biometric payment methods - Cards International - "Instead of entering a PIN, users only had to place a finger on a reader to be authenticated."
• Calculating The Long-Term Value Of A Bitcoin - TechCrunch - "First, I agree with the common sentiment that in 10 years, bitcoins will either be worth nothing, or a lot more than they are now …"
• Do Digital Currencies Need Bank Secrecy Act Regulations? - Portals and Rails - "At the heart of the issue with this particular digital currency is its anonymous nature. "

On the wires:

• Silicon Valley Bank Hires New Chief Information Officer (Beth Devin) - "Beth is a great addition to our team with experience that will help us better serve our clients, and take advantage of disruptive financial tools…"
• i-Free, Tinkoff Credit Systems Bank and MasterCard come together to introduce first NFC wallet with remote Mobile MasterCard PayPass® issue in Russia and CIS - "This launch of the first NFC service in Russia that supports remote Mobile MasterCard PayPass card issue and personalization is a milestone event in the development of NFC infrastructure and services available to Russian banks and their customers…"
• Gemalto delivers micro-banking technology in Bangladesh - "This is a great example of how digital security can benefit a developing market and bring essential financial services to the world’s under-banked…"

On the web:

• Google Copies Amazon's Playbook - Wall St. Journal - "Google's moves to copy Amazon underscore how the tech companies are expanding into each other's areas…"
• East Grand Rapids native Ryan McInerney named president of Visa Inc. - MLive - "McInerney, a 1993 graduate of East Grand Rapids High School, had been chief executive of consumer banking at JP Morgan Chase …"
• Bitcoin Hits the Big Time, to the Regret of Some Early Boosters - MIT Technology Review - "We’ve had multiple billionaires come in and talk to us for an hour and open an account…"
• Target, Macy's and Others Sue Visa and MasterCard Over Fees - Wall St. Journal - "The exercise of this market power has led merchants to pay excessive interchange fees..."
• Judge: Unredeemed Borders Gift Cards Are Worthless - NPR - "…the bankrupt and defunct book chain owes nothing to the roughly 17.7 million people who hold $210.5 million in unredeemed gift cards."
• A Summary of the Electronic Payment Order Forum - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta - "On March 28, 2013, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta hosted an Electronic Payment Order (EPO) Forum with payments industry participants, including banks, nonbank payment service providers, retailers, and regulators."
• Why PayPal is bullish on Bitcoin - Fortune Tech - "The big question is whether it's going to go mainstream or stay limited to just a few zealots and criminals."
• Jamba Juice rolls out mobile payments more broadly following successful pilot - Mobile Commerce Daily - "The number one issue for a restaurant is controlling the guest experience..."
• Square Starts Mobile Payments In Japan, Its First Country Outside Of North America, In Partnership With Visa’s Ally - TechCrunch - "The Square Reader allows businesses to accept credit card payments from mobile devices for a transaction fee of 3.25% per swipe."
• Bitcoin ATMs: Handy Vending Machines or Money-Laundering Nightmares? - Wired - "Regulators aren’t sure what to make of it. And all that makes the future of Bitcoin ATMs as cloudy as it is interesting."

On the wires:

• Square Arrives in Japan - "Square is available in Japan with the support and partnership of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation (SMCC)."
• LIFT and Capital One Join Forces in Million Dollar Commitment to Fight Poverty in the United States
• Virtual Piggy Delivers Security Service to Ease Compliance with Federal Trade Commission Regulations - "We validate the identity of both the parent and the child and can authenticate that the parent has approved the website for use by their child quickly and seamlessly…"

On the web:

• First Look: Google Wallet "Pay by Gmail" (and the Pain of Authentication) - NetBanker - "Bottom line: This is a brilliant play by Google, taking everyone by surprise."
• PayPal Here in Japan: One year, 2,700 stores and thousands of happy merchants - PayPal Blog - "Via SoftBank retail shops and through SoftBank's business sales network across Japan we can now reach 80% of the Japanese small businesses that still do not accept credit card transactions today."
• The $45M Heist Heard ‘Round the World - 41st Parameter's Blog - "Given the scale of the global credit card networks, it is almost impossible to detect every kind of attack."
• GiftCards.com Agrees To Buy Giftly To Grow A Mobile Platform - TechCrunch - "Giftly built a platform that avoided the hassle of individually dealing with merchants and point-of-sale systems."
• Shoppers start adding digital gift cards to Apple’s Passbook wallet - Internet Retailer - "Cash Star says. 30% of e-mailed e-gift cards are opened on a smartphone, and 50% of those smartphones run iOS6."
• The End Of Monthly Bills - Snarketing 2.0 - "Monthly bills are so 20th century. There’s no need for them."
• Here are the videos in the Commerce track (including Google Wallet) from last week's Google IO Conference
• iZettle wants to 'fundamentally change the process of becoming a customer' - "A good example might be that an auto dealer doesn't try to sell a Ferrari to everyone. That's essentially what banks have been doing for a while and most small cafes aren't looking for Ferraris…"
• Do Prepaid Cards Spell the End of Cash? - TMG Blog - "Did you know that March 1, 2013, marked “the end of cash” for the U.S. government?"
• Phone Firms Sell Data on Customers - Wall St. Journal - "…carriers are coming to see subscribers as sources of data that can be mined for profit..."
• Bank innovation: this time there's commitment - Financial Services Club Blog - "Are banks truly committed to innovate? Will they invest without a business case? Will they allow failure? Will they let the innovation cannibalise the existing business model?"
• Wallet Wars – Coming to a Mobile Near You Soon - Gemalto Telecom Blog - "Consumers want help managing their lives; banks, retailers and mobile network operators want customer loyalty; it’s down to all of us to work together, securely, to offer the best possible consumer experience for mobile wallets."
• SumUp, One Of Europe’s Many Mobile Payments Startups, Launches In Russia - TechCrunch - "SumUp said Russian businesses can now sign up to its service in Svyaznoy stores as well as on its own website..."
• Not just contactless, but M&S contactless - Tomorrow's Transactions - "It was a brilliant plan, and we might have got away with it if it hadn't been for you darn kids."

On the wires:

• Hastings Entertainment Adds Payment by PayPal and Bill Me Later Options to goHastings.com - "PayPal is used by millions of consumers and we feel that in addition to the added security benefits, our customers will also enjoy a simpler, more convenient checkout process when using PayPal."
• Wells Fargo Leads Fraud Management by Launching 3-Domain Verification for Commercial Card Customers - "In a related enhancement, Wells Fargo is also issuing EMV-compliant WellsOne Commercial Cards with an embedded microprocessor chip and traditional magnetic stripe to customers…"
• NCR to Make Mobile Ordering Easier for Jamba Juice Customers - "Working with NCR and PayPal we are using mobile ordering and payment technologies to align with our brand essence of a healthy, active lifestyle and help us deliver more value to our customers."
• American Express Offers Promotion of Free Two-Day Shipping with ShopRunner to U.S. Consumer Cardmembers - "Shipping costs can really add up when shopping online and with this new offer, our Cardmembers can benefit from the savings that ShopRunner provides at many of their favorite places to shop."
• Wake Up and Smell the Coffers! Mobey Forum gets Bullish with Banks at MobeyDay 2013 - "Many financial institutions still do not appreciate the revenue generating power offered by the mobile channel."
• France Overtakes UK as Europe’s Top Card Fraud Victim, FICO Map Reveals - "For the first time in years, the UK did not have the highest card fraud losses in Europe — France took its place, with 29 percent of the region’s losses, compared to the UK’s 27 percent."
• NCR Installs First EMV Compliant ATM in U.S. at People’s United Bank - "The upgrade of U.S. ATMs – including those at People’s United – includes an upgrade to the card reader hardware inside the machines as well as a software upgrade."
• Dynamics Inc.'s New LifeCode™ Electronic Card Empowers Consumers to "Save Your Own Life(SM)"
• Citi Invites Its Cardholders to Upgrade with Hotel Privileges - "Hotel Privileges provides special access to more than 1,000 luxury hotels around the world…"
• Oberthur Technologies’ dragonFly NFC SIM Card Certified by MasterCard and Visa - "As the fastest card on the market, it offers speedy download of new services and files through an integrated “NFC Turbo Engine”…"
• Net Element to Acquire Aptito, a Next Generation Cloud-Based Point of Sale Payments Platform - "Restaurants equipped with Aptito have experienced key benefits including increased revenue per table, higher customer service scores and now have a tool to drive acquisition and retention of new customers…"

On Twitter:

Each minute, 5 new businesses sign up to use #PayPal, says @davidmarcus. #SMB #paypalit

— PayPal (@PayPal) May 21, 2013

On the web:

• PayPal to increase marketing this year for offline push - Reuters (Alistair Barr) - "We want to make sure we have enough density of consumer experiences before we do a lot of marketing. "We have really only one chance at this and we do not want to disappoint customers."
• FTC targets cash-reload code scams - CreditCards.com - "The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Tuesday announced new restrictions on "novel payment methods" that phone and Internet scammers favor…"
• Kopo Kopo: Six Revolutionary Digits -Huffington Post - "Kopo Kopo is a world-class platform which enables small and medium businesses to accept mobile payments and build relationships with their customers. They receive a six-digit till number that allows customers to pay using mobile money."
• Dimon Strengthens Grip at J.P. Morgan - Wall St. Journal - "…shareholders voted overwhelmingly against a proposal to split the chairman and chief executive roles…"
• BitInstant’s Charlie Shrem sees Bitcoin battles ahead - CoinDesk - "…it would be nice if regulations were standardized so businesspeople like him did not have to get fingerprinted again and again to comply with every state’s requirements."
• Swipely Raises $12.5M to Expand Push Into SMB Payment Analytics - Street Fight - "The payments processing and analytics play announced today that it has raised $12.5 million in new funding in a series B round led by Shasta Ventures…"
• Contactless cards: how safe is your money? - Guardian - "The even simpler alternative, I've found, is to have more than one contactless card in your wallet."
• Square will challenge PayPal with its own peer-to-peer cash service - GigaOm - "Square might just be another peer-to-peer payments setup, but it’s building up a consumer following thanks to Square Wallet..."
• Google Admits Defeat In Its 7-Year Battle With Amazon And PayPal - ReadWrite - "Google Checkout may have had great expectations, but it delivered little in the way of results."

On the wires:

• NRF To Reject ‘One-Sided’ Credit Card Swipe Fee Settlement - "The proposed settlement does nothing to bring swipe fees under control and would give Visa and MasterCard a legal blessing to continue their abuse of merchants and consumers indefinitely. No settlement at all would be better than this one-sided ‘agreement’…"
• Xoom and Vesta Announce Partnership for Mobile Wallet Integration - "Through this partnership, the Vesta wallet will also provide subscribers with access to Xoom's money transfer services directly from their smartphone."
• target="_blank"Swipely Secures $12 Million Series B Financing to Accelerate Growth - "It's a major innovation in payments and marketing for small business, and we hope it will transform the way merchants understand and engage with their customers."
• Mobile POS Grows to $2 Billion Market in North America, But Retailers Are Separating Hype From Reality - "…28% of North American retailers plan to adopt Mobile POS in some form by the end of 2013."
• Vesta Introduces New Mobile Wallet for Prepaid Operators featuring Integrated Suite of Financial Services - "By offering the Vesta PayMobile wallet, mobile network operators (MNOs) can enable their prepaid customers to conduct mobile commerce and access critical banking services through their smartphones."
• Virtual Piggy Signs First UK Partners - "Virtual Piggy promotes financial management while empowering youth under 18 to make purchasing, saving and other money management decisions for themselves…"

On Twitter:

Proud to be working with Google --> "Google closes Checkout, pushing thousands of merchants to Braintree" pandodaily.com/2013/05/20/goo…

— William Ready (@williamready) May 20, 2013

On the web:

• Square will challenge PayPal with its own peer-to-peer cash service - GigaOm - "We reached out to Square to get more details on the mysterious service, but the company isn’t revealing any more details for now."
• Google closes Checkout, pushing thousands of merchants into Braintree’s arms - PandoDaily - "For customers without their own way to process payments in-house, Google has partnered with Braintree, Shopify, and Freshbooks to offer discounted migration programs."
• Email Money to Friends With Square Cash (But Only if You Work For Twitter, Pinterest or Box) - AllThingsD - "Ultimately, this could be a faster way of getting more people to link up their checking accounts to Square’s service…"
• Bitcoin 2013 in review - CoinDesk - "The more than 1,000 Bitcoin enthusiasts who converged on San Jose were an impassioned bunch — some fired with the excitement of getting in on something big the ground floor…"
• ATM Cash-Outs: A Major Escalation - Portals and Rails - "This highly sophisticated and coordinated attack is a game changer for the security controls of all types of card management applications." Google I/O payment announcements: is a revolution with no insurgency possible? - TekFin (Yann Ranchere) - "The more interesting announcement was in my view Google Instant Buy…"
• How Amazon's Rising Headwaters Could Threaten Google - ReadWrite - "I’m convinced the day will come — sooner rather than later — when Amazon unleashes its data and announces itself as an advertising powerhouse."
• Google takes lessons from PayPal, Apple’s Passbook to drive mobile wallet adoption - Mobile Commerce Daily - "Google Wallet Objects is similar to Apple’s Passbook in that it enables developers to integrate their loyalty programs and offers into Google Wallet…"
• Apple retail revenues per visitor reach new record - Asymco - "In the US, on a sales per square foot basis, Apple retail continues to perform twice as well as Tiffany & Co…"
• NFC mobile payments – fixing the big issues - Mobile News - "The widespread introduction of NFC-based mobile payments could be delayed for years as retailers, operators and finance firms continue to disagree on how best to implement the system and the logistics of making payments."
• Mobile Payment Startup Payvia Buys Mogreet To Add Messaging-Based Marketing To Its Payment Platform - TechCrunch - "Payvia says that it has the largest direct carrier connected messaging and mobile payments platform in the U.S..."
• GrubHub to Merge With Seamless as Food Orders Go Mobile - Bloomberg - "Food-delivery sites and mobile applications are gaining in popularity as more people order their meals online..."
• Harnessing the Remittance Boom - "Adding up the cost of the transfer, travel, and time, remittances are far too expensive for people living in poverty."

On the wires:

• Intuit Realigns Organization to Accelerate Growth - "The new structure comes as the company increases its focus on two strategic outcomes: being the world’s small business operating system, and providing winning solutions to do the nations’ taxes in the U.S. and Canada."
• Tabbedout Now Offers Google Wallet as a Payment Option - "For a limited time, when a user pays with Google Wallet in the Tabbedout app, they'll get $7 off their next tab."
• Huntington Bank Introduces Commercial Card Featuring Payables Automation and Monthly Rebates
• NCR and LevelUp to Take Mobile Payments to More Restaurants - "NCR understands what it takes to help restaurants keep pace with technology, and by integrating LevelUp, we are helping them get the great tools they need to run their businesses better."
• PayAnywhere Launches Phase Two of Aggressive Retail Channel Rollout - "The partnership takes the PayAnywhere mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution beyond the big box retailers the company announced partnerships with in 2012…"
• CorFire™ and OLO Partner on Integrated Mobile Commerce Solution for Restaurants - "Instead of requiring separate mobile apps for mobile payment and mobile ordering, this integration will provide brands with a one-stop shop for all forms of mobile customer engagement through the industry’s proven, best-of-breed providers."

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…"

On the web:

• Connect your loyalty programs, offers and more to Google Wallet with the Wallet Objects API - "Save anything to Google Wallet: Integrate your loyalty programs, offers and more into Google Wallet. Users can save these items directly to their Google Wallet for easy use."
• Fast and easy checkout for Android apps selling physical goods and services - Google Commerce - "...our new Google Wallet Instant Buy Android API … makes buying in native Android apps fast and easy."
• Google Is Rebooting Its Troubled Digital Wallet On The Web - ReadWrite - "Google has long aimed to become a payments player. It knows that many of its searches drive people to e-commerce sites where they conduct transactions. …"
• The Feds Are Cracking Down On Mt. Gox (Not On Bitcoin) - Forbes.com - "…the Department of Homeland Security has some issues with how Mt. Gox is running its American operations."
• Give me that old bitcoin religion - PandoDaily - "To engender this trust, and tamp down the threat of counterfeiting, it relies on an ingenious combination of transparency and anonymity."
• Surprise! Prepaid debit cards actually a good deal for consumers Red Tape Chronicles - "Prepaid debit cards, long synonymous with frustrating or even exploitative fees, are suddenly a pretty good deal."
• Mobile Payments Startup ZooZ Debuts In-Ad Payments (Yes, “Ad” Not “App”) - TechCrunch - "With in-ad payments, mobile users will be able checkout by tapping once on a visible banner ad within a mobile app…"
• Visa concessions on card fees: a step in the right direction - EuroCommerce - "EuroCommerce will continue to campaign for a regulation which removes excessive interchange fees, not only cross-border but also on all domestic markets."
• Payleven and MICROS spawn a cloud-based point-of-sale system with Chip & PIN support - The Next Web - "The cloud-based POS system works via 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi and comes with integrated Chip & PIN card payments functionality, as well as automatic sales and card history transactions reconciliation."
• UK's Faster Payments is five years old - Financial Services Club Blog - "The UK's Faster Payments Service (FPS) celebrated its fifth birthday on 8th May."
• Google Wallet’s high turnover - Mobile World Live - "Google has been losing its payments executives at a surprising rate since its launch in the autumn of 2011."

On the wires:

• Federal Court Reinstates $203 Million Judgment Against Wells Fargo For Misleading Consumers On Posting Of Debit-Card Purchases That Resulted In Unexpected Overdraft Fees - "The case before Judge Alsup was brought on behalf of California Wells Fargo customers who, from November 15, 2004 to June 30, 2008, incurred overdraft fees on debit card transactions as a result of the bank's practice of sequencing transactions from highest to lowest."
• Visa Cuts Europe’s Swipe Fees But Continues to Stiff U.S. Merchants & Consumers - Merchants Payments Coalition - "U.S. merchants and consumers pay the highest fees in the world to credit card companies and banks to swipe their cards because of unfair price-fixing within the industry."
• Monitise Launches MPOS Payment Service - "The new white-labelled mobile payment service helps banks, mobile operators and acquirers offer their business customers the ability to accept card payments on a mobile device..."
• CHARGE Anywhere Launches EMV MPOS Solution at BlackBerry Live - "In integrating a Bluetooth enabled EMV/Chip & PIN smart card reader with a BlackBerry smart phone, CHARGE Anywhere, continues to lead the way in providing secure, innovative payment solutions"
• Vantiv and NCR to Bring Powerful Mobile Point-of-Sale Solutions to Small Businesses - "The multi-year agreement will focus on developing exclusive new solutions and expanding both companies’ innovative technology platforms to deliver personalized customer experiences that help smaller merchants compete more effectively against larger competitors."
• Tyfone Connected Smart Card Solution Fixes Cyber Security and Biometric Vulnerabilities - "Tyfone’s CSC solution operates much like the traditional plastic smart card systems already in widespread use, but has a much smaller physical footprint and uniquely has the ability to connect to any mobile device, tablet or PC."
• New C-SAM Applet Development and Testing Services Enable Rapid Rollouts of NFC-Enabled Mobile Commerce Products and Services
• APWG Report: Mobile Device Crimeware Evolves into Global Criminal Marketplace in Response to Mobile Payment and Banking Expansion - "The sprawling mobile devices marketplace has spawned an industrialized mobile financial fraud plexus that today drives increasingly sophisticated criminal technical innovation to exploit the mobile devices explosion"

A couple of interesting announcements were made today in the world of point-of-sale and next generation "cash registers":

• PayPal introduced a new "Cash for Registers" program - including offering "free credit, debit card, check, and of course PayPal processing for the remainder of the year to any qualifying U.S business turning in their dusty old cash register in exchange for a modern solution like PayPal Here (iPad, card reader, iPad stand, cash drawer, and printer)."

  See PayPal's David Marcus' blog post about the new program.

  Here's a TechCrunch story on the program.

• Square has announced Square Stand, calling it "beautiful new hardware for brick and mortar businesses that turns an iPad into a complete point of sale." Square Stand includes an integrated card reader that keeps information secure from swipe to payment, and easily connects to the hardware accessories businesses need, including a receipt printer, kitchen printer, cash drawer, and barcode scanner.

  Here's a TechCrunch story on Square Stand.

  Also, see this Fortune interview with Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Jesse Dorogusker, a former Apple exec who led the development of Stand: "A bamboo stand can be very beautiful and there's a lot of great craftwork out there, but it doesn't have the intelligence of this system."

• GroupOn also introduced "Breadcrumb POS, a free, easy to use, and reliable iPad point of sale that will blow your cash register away. It offers the functionality that cafés, health and beauty businesses and shop owners need." The company also said that "as of today we’re throwing in free processing on the first $5,000 in credit card transactions."

On the web:

• Lessons From the New York ATM Heist - Steptoe Cyberblog - "This case should be a wake-up call to anyone who underestimates the sophistication and determination of today’s cyber-criminals."
• QFPay, The Square of China, Is Processing Close To $400M Per Year - TechCrunch - "They have 30,000 merchants all over China and recently picked up funding from Sequoia China…"
• Ahead of I/O, Google Wallet Drops Plans to Introduce a Physical Card - AllThingsD - "The dumping of the physical card plan was certainly abrupt, since it had actually been built into the new update of Google Wallet..."
• Barclaycard takes on Groupon with 'daily deals' - Telegraph - "Barclaycard is aiming to stand above other loyalty and deals offers by offering this personalised service…"
• Cover Raises $1.5M From OATV And Others To Bring Uber-Like Payments To Restaurants - TechCrunch - "Users simply check in to a restaurant at the start of their meal, and when it’s time for them to pay the final bill, it’s immediately charged to their credit card."
• Lessons from the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2013 - Mobile Commerce Daily - "Why does engagement matter? Because it drives customer satisfaction, utility and value."
• It’s Official: Foreign Bitcoin Operators Servicing Texas Residents Must Obtain a Texas Money Transmitter License - Contrarian Compliance - "As of May 1, the state of Texas became the second US state to explicitly require foreign-located money transmitters (including Bitcoin exchangers and administrators) to obtain a state money transmitter license if their customers are residents of Texas."
• US Regulator’s Confusion Around Bitcoin Is Exactly Why No One Wants Them Involved - The Genesis Block - "To many people besides Mr. Chilton, bitcoin’s legal color is not as clear: bitcoin still lives in the grey area between a currency and a commodity…"

On the web:

• India: Oxigen ties up with NPCI to unveil instant remittance service OxiCash for unbanked people - TechCircle.in - "OxiCash is a mobile wallet service through which people can make money transfers to any bank and also receive funds using the IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) platform of the NPCI…"
• Google Wallet chief leaves the company - VentureBeat - "Osama Bedier, the head of Google Wallet is out, according to several sources."
• Gay Bankers, Once Silent, Speak of Progress — and Hurdles - American Banker - "No one should be afraid to come to work every day as who they are, and no one should have to check who they are at the door…"
• PayPal’s John Lunn reveals how online retailers are using consumer data to beat high street stores - The Next Web - "…find out which startups are helping online retailers to maintain this market dominance, and what physical retailers should do next to fight back."
• Why mobile wallets alone will fail - Cyriac Roeding (shopkick CEO) - "The problem with mobile payments is that payment isn't a problem in the shopping world."
• Off The Schneid - AVC - "I've led a new venture investment for USV, which closed a few weeks ago and was announced last night. The company is Coinbase and my blog post announcing the investment is on the USV blog."
• Purchase, Deposit, and Bank from a Smartphone with Paidpiper - Programmable Web - "Paidpiper represents a new player to the field with a slightly different value proposition over some of its competitors."
• CardFlight Partners With Stripe And Launches SDK To Become The ‘Stripe Of Real-World Payments’ - TechCrunch - "Enter CardFlight, which is launching with an encrypted, Square-like card reader of its own, as well as an SDK and APIs that will allow developers to create apps and take “card-present” payments on their mobile apps."
• EMV Takes Center Stage on Day Two of THE Tech EVENT - Convenience Store News - "Several speakers stressed in today’s standing-room-only session that EMV is a set of guidelines, not standards."
• Prepaid Cards for Jobless Benefits - The Members Group - "…42 states in the U.S. now direct deposit monthly unemployment benefits to out-of-work consumers on reloadable prepaid cards…"
• Discover Card's Email Balance Alert is a Thing of Beauty - NetBanker - "The message is nicely laid out with plenty of white space and it's chock full of links to get more information."

On the wires:

• MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program - "This program is the largest roll-out of a formal electronic payment solution in the country and the broadest financial inclusion initiative of its kind on the African continent."
• Wells Fargo Adds Bankers, Launches New Secured Credit Products to Help More Small Businesses - "Wells Fargo’s new Business Secured Credit Card also helps new businesses establish and rebuild business credit…"
• Tabbedout and Future POS Expand Partnership to Bring Unrivaled Merchant Marketing Solution to All Future Fusion Merchants - "This new partnership means that the Tabbedout merchant marketing solution, Periscope, is now available in the 4,000+ Future POS merchant locations that use the Future Fusion software in their restaurants, bars, and hotels…"
• Elavon Names Simon Haslam President and Chief Executive Officer - "Simon’s experience and passion for growth and innovation make him the best individual to lead Elavon as we continue to extend our global reach and the value we deliver to our customers."
• Barclays Uses Nuance Voice Biometrics to Identify Customers by the Sound of their Voice - "No longer will customers need to answer intrusive security questions in order to verify their identity. By simply speaking with an agent, a customer’s voice is verified using Nuance voice biometrics technology, making the authentication process quick, secure and transparent."

On Twitter:

Here's my new @paypal card - yes, PayPal is issuing cards. It's too cool to have an account number on it. #payments twitter.com/joxman/status/…

— Jason Oxman (@joxman) May 7, 2013

On the web:

• The Banking Industry's Tech Nightmares Are Coming True - Motley Fool - "In the end, big banks and credit card companies need to realize that their era of dominating global payments could be coming to an end."
• Google Wins a Surprising Design Patent for a New Tablet based Credit Card Reader - Patent Bolt - "Google's design patent is for what appears to be a commercial tablet computer with a built-in credit card reader."
• Visa Plants a Seed for Growth Abroad - Wall St. Journal - A look at Visa's efforts in Rwanda.
• In Tomorrow’s Retail Universe, the Destination Is ‘You’ - StreetFight - "Based on clues we can see all around us, it is my belief that retail, as we’ve known it for at least the last two millennia, is coming to an end."
• More regulation of Bitcoin is a good thing - Lightspeed Venture Partners (Jeremy Lieu) - "Am I naive, am I a tool of the government overlords, or is more regulation an inevitable part of the path towards widespread Bitcoin adoption?"
• US financial regulator: We could regulate Bitcoin “if we wanted” - Ars Technica - "The American financial regulator for derivatives trading has told multiple news outlets that it is considering new rules for Bitcoin."
• Showrooming: Retailers Fight Back With New-Fangled Apps & Old-School Marketing - "Retailers, it appears, are getting better at keeping customers buying in the store, no matter what they are finding on their phones and tablets."
• Protecting Seniors from Identity Theft - Google Public Policy Blog - "Google’s Good to Know site is designed to help educate consumers of all ages about online threats and tools they can use to protect themselves…"
• The Next Phase of Social Business is the Collaborative Economy - Jeremiah Owyang - "That’s where brands will rent, lend, provide subscriptions to products and services to customers, or even further, allow customers to lend, trade, or gift branded products or services to each other."
• Mobile Payments Marked by Fragmentation and Increasing Channel Convergence, Says Fed - "While the U.S. mobile payments market continues to gain taction, it has not grown as steadily as expected, and the likelihood of mass adoption is not high…"

On the wires:

• Payments Veteran to Lead North America Business Development for ReD - "25-year payment services veteran John Lees is the company’s new North America vice president of sales."
• American Express Organizational Announcement – Daniel T. Henry, Chief Financial Officer - "Over the last few months Dan Henry and I have been discussing his plans for the next chapter of his personal and professional life."
• New AARP® Credit Card from Chase Offers Customers Cash Back on Every Purchase, Every Time - "By receiving 3 percent cash back on gas station and restaurant purchases and 1 percent on all other purchases, the average family can easily earn more than $250 cash back every year just by using the card."
• CPI Card Group Awarded US Patent for Innovative Secure Card Packaging Technology Utilized in Its Ultra Secure Pack™ Products - "The technology allows CPI to offer a superior, tamper proof, cost effective product for point of sale card activation applications including open loop prepaid cards."
• AIRTAG Enables Magento E-Commerce Sites to Mobilize in Native Mobile Wallet Apps - "For all retailers starting to think about how they are going to go mobile, we have created a solution that significantly eases the transition to digital commerce, without sacrificing the user experience."

On the web:

• iPads as Cash Registers Are About to Go From Novelty to Norm - Wired - "Such numbers suggest that checking out by phone or tablet is nearing that magical inflection point at which technology tips from novel and surprising into “unsurprising because it’s everywhere.”"
• Material Histories of Debt and Payment - Anthropology News - "Through commentaries, we seek to forge unexpected and generative connections across the history of payments and payments artifacts, and between actors and institutions that study, make, collect and use payments artifacts."
• Preliminary EU ruling finds Google's Motorola guilty of abuse of standard-essential patents - FOSS Patents
• Wendy’s trials mobile payments with commerce-enabled app - Mobile Commerce Daily - "Once the card is loaded with money, the payment is triggered by consumers swiping their finger across the screen. A unique, one-time code is then revealed on the screen that consumers can read to a Wendy’s employee."
• Canada: Rogers gets closer to starting banking business - Financial Post - "The company said Friday afternoon the Minister of Finance has issued letters patent incorporating Rogers Bank."

On the wires:

• Ink from Chase Enhances Jot Mobile Application with Receipt Capture Capability - "Jot sends small business owners a push alert within seconds of making a purchase with their Ink card. Customers can immediately tag these purchases to custom categories on a mobile device or online."
• New RushCard Initiatives Aim for Best-in-Industry Transparency - "With our new disclosures, it’s now easy for the average customer to understand all of the fees associated with our cards, including those fees levied by other companies…"

The Mobey Forum has just released a new white paper title "The MPOS Breakthrough: How the Power of Mobile has Disrupted Payments".

The paper begins:

"Little more than three years after the December 2009 launch of Square, MPOS has redefined merchant card acceptance at the point of sale (POS), by both rewriting the rules on who can accept card payments and vastly simplifying their means to do so."

On the web:

• Trustev Tackles E-Commerce Identity Fraud With An Online Fingerprint Made From Social Signals And More - TechCrunch - "Trustev … has developed a product to tackle online fraud using an algorithmic system of social signals, behavioral data and transaction history…"
• PayPal expands further into stores, but Wal-Mart holds out - Reuters - "PayPal's expansion into brick-and-mortar stores gives the company access to a market that is roughly ten times the size of the online payments sector..."
• Payments Network Dwolla Raises $16.5 Million Series C From Andreessen Horowitz & Others, Expands To San Francisco- TechCrunch - "The legacy payments networks in existence today are bogged down with outdated technology, slowing progress…"
• Payment Services Firm Qiwi Eyes $100 Million In IPO - Investors.com - "Qiwi is a leading provider of next-generation payment services in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States."
• RetailNext Raises $15 Million More to Track Your Every In-Store Move - PE Hub - "Our focus is on taking analytics happening online and providing it to physical retailers."
• It's Time for Better Online Authentication Solutions - Portals and Rails (FRB Atlanta) - "Improving authentication techniques and requiring their use are critical to better mitigate online account takeover risks."
• The Elephant in the Payments Room - American Banker - Jon Matonis - "Disruption in the unit of account is the way to disrupt the payments space."
• 4G will boost mobile payment uptake, says MasterCard - V3 - "The rise in 4G networks will help usher in a new wave of innovative mobile payment services for businesses to offer customers…"
• Chase Visa deal and SDWOANAF: where potential and confusion meet - Mobile Payments Today

On the wires:

• The UnionPay Travel Prepaid Card Launched by The Bancorp - "Though the card is targeted to those planning to travel to Asia, the card will be accepted within the US wherever UnionPay cards are accepted."
• ROAM Releases RP350x: World’s First PCI-PTS certified Chip and Signature Mobile Card Reader - "The reader provides a low cost solution for enabling Chip and Sign payment acceptance…"
• VeriFone Enables Channel Partner Success with New EMV-Capable, Portable and Mobile Payment Solutions - "VeriFone is committed to enabling channel partner success in a rapidly evolving market by providing EMV-capable, portable and mobile solutions…"
• TriSource Solutions Introduces First End-to-End Merchant Aggregation Processing Solution During ETA - "The increased functionality of our merchant acquiring platform can get PSPs and PFs up and running in record time…"
• Leaf Announces a Better Way to Sell Merchant Credit Card Processing - "Leaf’s open approach to payments offers a seamless reseller option for our partners to empower their sales teams with a new, competitive solution…"

Earlier today, we noticed a couple of tweets about a new service from Capital One known as Spark Pay.

Turns out that Spark Pay is the latest entrant in the market of providing card acceptance to small merchants using a smartphone or tablet. Spark Pay and its encrypting card reader allow small merchants to "start accepting all major credit cards immediately." The Spark Pay app is available on Android and iOS (iPhone and iPad).

Spark Pay is offering two pricing plans to merchants: a Pro Plan and a Go Plan. "The Pro Plan Pro offers a lower per swipe fee of 1.95% per swipe for Visa®, MasterCard®, and Discover® cards plus a $9.95 monthly fee. The Go Plan offers 2.70% per swipe for Visa®, MasterCard®, and Discover® cards with no monthly fee."

We expect to hear more about Spark Pay soon.

Leaf, creators of new tablet specifically designed for commerce, has announced the Leaf Appstore, an app store dedicated to serving the needs of brick and mortar businesses.

Building on the foundation of its built-for-business point of sale (POS) tablet, the LeafPresenter, and its online analytics and management portal, LeafBusiness, the Leaf Appstore completes the company’s vision by enabling third parties to supplement and extend the core features in its technology platform for small business.

The key feature of the Leaf platform and Leaf Appstore is the ability to capture common functionality between different industry verticals such as retail, quick serve and restaurants, while ensuring the specific needs of each business type is accounted for.

Flint Mobile has announced a partnership with Fidano, a subsidiary of NXGEN International, one of the largest merchant service providers.

“Fidano is committed to helping our merchant partners succeed, and we’ve heard resounding demand for a simple mobile payments offering,” said Thomas Nitopi, CEO of Fidano. “Flint’s platform not only enables Fidano partners to get started easily, it also offers a unique combination of ease-of-use and powerful customer engagement features.”

On the web:

• What's Next in Mobile Payments? - Portals and Rails
• Remote Mobile Shoppers and Their Payment Preferences - EcommerceBytes.com
• Booming Swedish IT Startup 'Klarna' Eyes PayPal's Home Turf - Reuters
• Payouts For Startups Gets Easier With New Braintree Service - TechCrunch
• Stripe Partners With Parse To Integrate Mobile Payments For App Developers - TechCrunch
• Walmart Expanding iPhone Checkout System to More Stores and Android - AllThingsD
• Cash Registers Fade Away As Smartphones, Tablets Take Over - Green Bay Press Gazette
• Where's George?: The Trail Of $1 Bills Across The U.S. - NPR
• Facebook to Move From Credits to Local Currency Payments in Q3 2013 - Facebook Blog

On the wires:

• NCR Launches Aloha Mobile to Make Everyday Easier for Restaurants
• MasterCard Smart Data App Helps Eliminate Paper Receipts for Corporate Cardholders
• Mobivity and CheckAlt Partner to Develop Mobile Check Acceptance Solutions
• BitPay Exceeds $2 Million in Transactions Month-to-Date, Lowers Fees for All Merchants
• Zuora Unveils Z-Business for Media, Helping Media Companies Use Paywall 2.0
• Swap Launches Dynamic Digital Payments Platform -- The eWallet Cloud Solution
• Net Element Expands its Mobile Payments Business to 39 More Countries

On the web:

• RBS and NatWest Launch Visa-based Mobile P2P Transfers (UK) - Guardian
• Google Organizationally Moves Google Wallet Inside Google Advertising Group - WSJ.com
• Intuit Rolls Out Mobile POS Solution In Europe, Starting First In The UK - TechCrunch
• Mobile Payments from Western Union Make It Easier To Pay Bills - Mobile Commerce News
• UnionPay To Widen Global Issue Of Single-Branded Cards - chinadaily.com.cn
• PayPal Debuts PayPal Here "Register" App for iPad - AllThingsD

On the wires:

• BBVA to Start JCB Merchant Acquiring in Spain
• eLayaway Integrates PepperJam Exchange Network and Welcomes Dazadi to its eLayawayMALL
• Virgin Atlantic Airways further strengthens payment security with Semafone

On the web:

• Who Am I? Authentication Challenges - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• BitPay Expands Seed Round with VC Investors
• First American Payment Systems to Enable PayPal In-Store Checkout
• BillMyParents Changes Name to The SpendSmart Payments Company
• Bluefin Introduces PayConex Payment Gateway, CardConex Management System
• Bank of America Introduces New Card That Rewards Customers for Good Payment Practices
• Barclaycard Launches Its Latest Balance Transfer Credit Card (UK)
• Spire Payments Acquires Mobile POS Provider Thyron (UK)
• TransCard to Offer New Traveler Prepaid Card

Visa made a number of announcements late last week and this week at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona.

• Visa Introduces Visa Ready Partner Program
• Visa and Samsung Sign Global Alliance Agreement to Accelerate Mobile (NFC) Payments
• Visa Signs Agreement with ROAM to Increase Availability of Mobile Acceptance Solutions Worldwide

The Visa Ready Program includes 'Visa Ready for Mobile Acceptance (mPOS) Solutions' and 'Visa Ready for Mobile (NFC) Payments'.

On the web:

• VeriFone Sells SAIL Mobile POS Business - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• PayPal Co-Founder Levchin Launches New Payments Startup, Affirm - AllThingsD
• Wal-Mart Expands Self-Checkout in Stores via its iPhone App - Internet Retailer
• Alternative Payments Provider Skrill Is Being Prepared For Sale - Business Sale Report
• Vodafone Picks Wirecard For Mobile Payments Launch - NFC World
• Focus on Fraud: Targeting the Weakest Link - Portals and Rails
• Oakland To Issue IDs That Double As Debit Cards - NPR
• China UnionPay Works With Gemalto on NFC - NFC World

On the wires:

• Spindle Now Offering NCR Silver Mobile Point-of-Sale System
• MasterCard, Equity Bank and Ezetap Introduce MPOS Technology to Kenya
• PermataBank, BlackBerry and Monitise to Bring Mobile Payments to BlackBerry Messenger
• ThreatMetrix Introduces Behavioral Analysis in ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Defender Platform
• Paydiant, Menusoft Systems Launch Mobile Pay-at-the-Table Offering for Restaurants
• Aptys Solutions Launches ACH and Wire Origination Solutions
• TSYS Signs Full-Service Processing Agreement with MLS Direct Network
• MasterCard and VimpelCom Partner to Offer Mobile Money Globally