On the web:

• Silicon Valley firms claim new California data disclosure bill is “overbroad” - ArsTechnica - "If passed, the bill would allow an unprecedented amount of access to individuals to find out what companies know about us."
• The Man (Jack Dorsey) Who Made the Cash Register Obsolete - Inc. - "One guiding philosophy at Square is that technology should be so intuitive that no one stops to question how difficult it must have been to create. That philosophy is paying off."
• With Tablets, Businesses Ring Up at More Fanciful Cash Registers - New York Times - "With the advent of tablets, particularly the iPad, many stores have traded in their clunky cash registers for mobile devices."
• "Bankalytics" – Banks and Analytics - BankInnovation - "I feel the future of banks depends on how relevant they stay to the target market, based on how they analyse the Big Data in their databases."
• Bitcoin’s Last Mile Problem - TechCrunch - "The world needs Bitcoins to exist, even if the mass of humanity doesn’t use it."
• Online Sales-Tax Bill Could Get Senate Votes This Week - Storefront Backtalk - "The bill, known as the “Marketplace Fairness Act,” would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales tax, even if the e-tailer doesn’t have a physical presence in the state."
• Dunkin’ Donut email campaign showcases ongoing mobile payment endeavors - Mobile Commerce Daily - "Mobile payments are on the rise. And, this campaign helps the company solidify its place in the space."
• Are You the Weakest Link? - Retail Payments Risk Forum - "A basic tenet of security that we often mention in Portals and Rails is that experienced criminals attack the weakest points in the system."
• Small Banks Lead the Innovation Agenda: Are They Making the Elephants Dance? - "Today, we are witnessing numerous instances of smaller players spawning innovations across social media, self-service channels, mobile banking, pricing, payments etc. to deliver customer delight."

On the wires:

• American Express OPEN Simplifies Expense Tracking for Small Business with Launch of ReceiptMatch
• Clear2Pay and Earthport partner on low value clearing - "With the OPF Earthport Connect module, clients of the Open Payment Framework (OPF) will have out of the box connectivity to Earthport’s global payments infrastructure in over 50 countries."
• Consumers Want a More Seamless and Personalized Customer Experience From Their Bank - Cisco - "Overall, the report demonstrates consumer interest in more personalized, timely and valuable connections with banks…"
• ACI Worldwide Paves the Way to True Enterprise Payments with Universal Payments Platform - "The Universal Payments Platform is a solution that provides purpose-built payments functionality to orchestrate all aspects of payments processing for any payment type, any channel, any currency and any network."
• With Consumer Optimism Rising, Chase Blueprint Unveils New Initiative to Reinforce Positive Spending Habits - Drawing upon the expertise of Chase and respected experts, the Resource Center for Mindful Spending is a free knowledge center available at Chase.com/MindfulSpending.
• USA Technologies To Demonstrate Two New Cashless Payment Devices at NAMA OneShow - "The ePort G9 represents a redesigned, feature-rich offering for USAT’s popular JumpStart program. It will include all of the functionality of USAT’s NFC-enabled ePort G8, plus new features…"
• Boulder Valley Credit Union Introduces Tyfone Mobile Banking Financial Services - "One Tyfone client has reported more than a 10 percent mobile adoption from non-PC bankers, which in turn increases the ROI for the financial institution."

On the web:

• M-Pesa fraud losses less that 1% - Safaricom - "Chief executive Bob Collymore said the money lost in M-Pesa fraud averages 0.006 per cent of the amount transacted which currently stands at Sh2 billion daily."
• Bitcoin Buzz Draws Western Union, MoneyGram - Fox Business
• Credit Unions: Reinvent P2P Lending - Ron Shevlin - "I’m just thinking about how smaller FIs are going to compete with the big ones for the coveted lending market."
• Fewer Bank Accounts May Lead to More Savings, Study Finds - NY Times Bucks Blog - "In this research, we demonstrate that individuals allocating their earnings to a single account saved more than those who spread their earnings across multiple accounts…"
• A new way to pay restaurant bills - Seattle Times looks at the "RAIL" payment system...
• The real opportunity for payment startups: simplicity - VentureBeat (Jon Soberg) - "Intermediaries, paperwork, antiquated systems, processes, and regulations still play a prominent role in today’s ecosystem."
• US PIN Debit Consolidation - Tom Noyes - "I have a strong bet that the US banks will consolidate around a single PIN provider within the next 18 months."
• Adam Davidson Explains Bitcoin To Stephen Colbert (video) - Planet Money
• Visa Europe is holding its Insights 13 Conference today - follow the news in Visa Europe's Twitter feed. See pictures from the conference on Visa Europe's Pinterest board.
• “Mobile is the end game”: VeriFone discusses the future of payments as a service - My-Retail Media - "Ultimately, retailers' business is about making a sale. You either need to take a payment or redeem that value to a retailer."
• Bitcoin exchange BitFloor halts operations, shuts down - CNet - "Bitcoin exchange BitFloor announced Wednesday it is closing its trading operations and plans to return its remaining funds to its users."

On the wires:

• DeviceFidelity Adds Multiple NFC Patents to its Extensive Portfolio, Totaling 40 Granted and Allowed Patents Worldwide - "DeviceFidelity’s extensive portfolio of patents covers the implementation and management of NFC technology, security and unique miniaturization and amplification solutions…"
• Moneris Solutions and LightSpeed to Provide Integrated Mobile Payment Solutions for Canadian Retailers - "Our partnership with Moneris represents an important milestone in Canadian retail, which has been newly empowered by mobile, iPad(R) and Mac solutions that engage customers in an interactive and re-energized shopping environment…"
• Mobile Users Well Aware of Fraud but, for Many, Convenience Trumps Security Concerns - "Users may be willing to accept risk now in favor of convenience, but this tolerance will weaken as fraud continues to grow."
• Alliance Data Reports Record First-Quarter 2013 Results - "Revenue increased 18 percent to $1.05 billion while adjusted EBITDA increased 18 percent to $357 million for the first quarter of 2013."

Visa Europe has announced two additions to its Visa Personal Payments mobile service that will enable consumers to make instant transactions from their mobile phone to any Visa cardholder in Europe, in any European currency.

The Multi-Currency feature, to be available by the end of 2013, allows payments to be sent and received across borders, bringing international money transfers to mobile devices. Immediate Payments, launching in the UK this week with other markets to follow later in the year, makes it possible for consumers to receive money sent via Visa Personal Payments in a matter of minutes.

Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President, Visa Europe, said:

"Mobile payments have the potential to fundamentally change the way that people pay and are paid. The new Multi-Currency and Immediate Payments features combine the convenience of mobile device use with the ability to send money to 460 million Visa cardholders across Europe, solving a problem that millions of consumers face every day – giving money to another individual easily and securely."

Visa Personal Payments is a person-to-person payments service that enables anyone with a Visa credit, debit or reloadable prepaid card to accept payments from another Visa card without needing to share any account details.

On the web:

• Walmart Joins NRF, Ends Longest-Running Retail Feud Ever - StorefrontBacktalk - "According to one person familiar with the players involved, what changed is the nature of some of the legislation that Walmart is now pushing, such as interchange and tax considerations for E-Commerce."
• The case for digital tender - FT Alphaville - "…Central banks should issue their own e-money instead of leaving it in the hands of private companies."
• Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin Architect: Meet The Man Bringing You Bitcoin (And Getting Paid In It) - Huffington Post - "The mission is really to create a stable worldwide currency for the internet."
• Yay, hiss! Cards' mag stripe 'fingerprint' may foil thieves - Taking Charge Blog - "It turns out there's a similar lo-fi static attached to your credit card's magnetic stripe that, much like my vinyl mixtape, has long gone unheard and unappreciated."
• Champ at the Bitcoin (Comic) - AllThingsD
• Prepaid Debit Cards More Popular, Despite Fees - NY Times Bucks Blog - "One of the more frustrating fees on the cards is a charge for calling customer service."
• Bitcoin Isn’t the Only Cryptocurrency in Town - Technology Review - "Several others are also surging in popularity and value, and they claim to offer technical improvements that make them better suited to mainstream use."
• Eat Out Kenya Launches Partnership with KopoKopo, Safaricom - Yummy - "MPESA should be an option that every restaurant offers, especially when KopoKopo have streamlined the management and reporting process."
• The business case for EMV in the USA, yet again - Consult Hyperion's Tomorrow's Transactions Blog - "…I might go a little further and say that if cross-sector authentication solutions are developed reasonably quickly, then the issuers might be much better off shifting to the "something present" (SP) model sooner rather than later…"
• PayPal Extends Seller Protection Provision Off eBay - EcommerceBytes.com - "It appears not all sellers are covered for off-eBay protections yet, as PayPal rolls out coverage through the year, so look for a letter in your email inbox."
• Miura: we’ll ship 500,000 chip & PIN readers this year - Mobile Money Revolution

On the wires:

• Steve Elefant: A Pioneer in Payments, Point of Sale and Electronic Commerce Joins GoPago to Lead Strategy - "I have looked at all of the solutions and without a doubt, GoPago has the most robust cloud-based commerce, point-of-sale and mobile ordering platform on the market today."
• WorldPay and Intershop partner to deliver eCommerce solution with extensive payment processing and risk functionality - "The integration will provide retail merchants with a complete eCommerce solution with extensive payment processing, global customer reach and risk functionality."
• Mercury Leader Joins ETA Mobile Payments Committee - "In this role, Nayfack will develop best practices in mobile commerce with industry peers to enable merchants and consumers to navigate technological “ease-of-use.”

On the web:

• CMU students show fingerprints may be way to buy - "With PayTango, a swipe of the finger links users' personal information to their credit or debit card in less than 15 seconds, making for a quick and easy-to-use system."
• Do Cyberattacks Threaten Confidence in Our Payment Systems? - FRB Atlanta Retail Payments Risk Forum
• Atlanta a Key Talent and Business Market for Square's Payments Business - MidtownPatch - "The company, which launched its Atlanta presence by hiring eight former Google Inc. engineers, expects to have a staff of 35 infrastructure engineers and customer support staff by the end of the year."
• Alipay Launches Sound Wave Mobile Payments System In Beijing Subway - Techcrunch - "Alipay has launched a new payment system in the Beijing subway that uses sound waves to connect smartphones with ticketing machines."
• American Express mobile advertising campaign generates 95pc view-to-completion rate - Mobile Commerce Daily - "A big part of American Express’ mobile and digital initiatives center around narrative storytelling, from both marketing and consumer perspectives."
• The real cause of the Bitcoin bubble and burst - Financial Services Club Blog - "Bitcoin is an experiment. Treat it like you would a promising Internet start-up company: Maybe it will change the world, but recognize that investing your money or time in new ideas is always risky."
• Consultation on a new payments regulator for the UK - Consult Hyperion's Tomorrow's Transactions Blog - "Will PayCom work? It's impossible to say, since I don't know what it is supposed to do."
• Will Bitcoins make you rich? - Sydney Morning Herald - "…indeed, I don't care at all for Bitcoin as a currency. Instead, I wanted to buy Bitcoins as pure, shameless speculation. I wanted a chance to ride a rocket ship."

On the wires:

• Discover Card Leads the Way in Customer Loyalty for the 17th Consecutive Year - "Discover has managed to create the highest levels of loyalty by leveraging real, emotional category values…"
• UL first lab selected to provide testing for mPOS solutions for the Visa Ready Partner Program - "UL was selected as the first lab to guide mPOS solution providers who want to ensure their products are ‘Visa Ready’ through all of the certification processes required by Visa."

On the web:

• Why Banks Love Debit Cards Again - TIME.com
• Dwolla Taken Offline by DDoS attack - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• What You Need to Know About Credit Card Processing (Five Part Series) - NYTimes.com
• Seamless’s SEQR Skips Visa, MasterCard to Battle Google Wallet - The Washington Post
• How An Unregulated Virtual Currency Became A Billion Dollar Market -TechCrunch
• PayPal of Russia 'Oiwi' Aims to Raise $100 million in a U.S. IPO - Internet Retailer
• Taiwan Plans To Let Local Banks Issue China Unionpay Cards - Reuters

On the wires:

• Cars.com Signs With 41st Parameter
• Bango Hits 100 Operator Connections with Global Bill-to-Mobile Service
• Alibaba Group and MasterCard Sign MOU to Enhance e-Commerce Environment
• IDT and Fiserv Announce Strategic Agreement to Expand Availability of International Calling Services and Walk-in Bill Payments
• Digital River Expands Its Global Online Payments Portfolio with Prepaid Payment Solution, paysafecard

The use of mobile phones to access a bank account, credit card, or other financial account became more prevalent in the Unites States last year, according to the Federal Reserve Board's latest report entitled, "Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2013".

Mobile devices have increasingly become tools that consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, and shopping. The Board's report looks at how consumers access their bank's services using mobile phones ("mobile banking"), at their payment for goods and services using mobile phones ("mobile payments"), as well as their use of mobile phones to inform their shopping decisions.

The full report can be downloaded here.

On the web:

• 'Cover' Automates Restaurant Payments, Enabling Diners to Eat and Leave - Springwise
• PayPal Co-Founder Gets Back Into Payments Startups With 'Affirm' - San Jose Mercury News
• Coupon Clipping Declines As Shoppers Get Savvier - NBCnews.com

On the wires:

• Fortumo Launches Payments on Windows Phone
• Payment Processor i2c Takes Money Management to the Next Level
• TIO Networks Surpasses 1 Million Transactions Across All TIO Wallet Members
• hyperWALLET Announces New Payment Services and Expanded Global Payments Network
• BofA Merrill Launches Dodd-Frank Payments Solutions for Financial Institution Clients
• Zeevex Partners with Valve to Provide Cash-Based Consumers More Purchasing Options

NOOK Media, the eBook subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, has announced in-app purchasing is coming soon to NOOK through a partnership with mobile payment provider Fortumo.

For customers, in-app purchasing offers greater access to the most popular games and free apps on NOOK, and gives them the flexibility to buy extra levels, coins and other upgrades to make the app experience even better. And with the integration of Fortumo’s one-click checkout, once a customer has registered for in-app purchasing there’s no need to enter long credit card numbers before each payment. They simply click “Pay” and the purchase is completed in seconds.

Heartland Payment Systems and LevelUp announced they are partnering nationwide on the first national roll out of a mobile payment solution.

“The biggest challenge facing mobile payment companies right now is scale,” said Chris Mahl, LevelUp’s chief revenue and strategy officer. “LevelUp has been able to reach 1 million users and 5,000 merchants relatively quickly, but we need even wider consumer and merchant adoption before LevelUp hits the mainstream. Our partnership with Heartland Payment Systems will allow us to fire up our growth rate as we begin a phased roll-out with Heartland’s impactful sales force selling LevelUp and our white-label solutions to businesses and consumers across the country.”

Heartland will distribute LevelUp's mobile payment and loyalty platform to merchants; LevelUp will use Heartland for processing.

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

Starbucks introduced a new cross-channel, multi-brand reward program at its annual meeting. They also took a minute to discuss the adoption they've seen with their mobile payments initiative.

In January 2011, Starbucks became the first national retailer to offer its own mobile payment technology combined with a world-class loyalty program, and the company now generates over three million mobile transactions each week in the U.S. alone – accounting for approximately 10% of total U.S. tender (Starbucks card, broadly, represents 1 in 3 transactions in the U.S.). New mobile users report that they are embracing the Starbucks mobile payment experience because of the benefits they receive and because it enables them to track their loyalty status in an interactive and engaging way directly on their mobile device.

AJB Software Design has announced availability of FIPay Mobile, a new app that allows smartphone users to pay for gas purchases while remaining in their car. Hughes Car Wash, a Petroleum & C-Store retailer based in Edmonton, Alberta is the first customer.

“The Hughes MobilePay application, powered by our FIPay suite of products, is an example of how petroleum merchants can quickly deploy mobile applications with minimal new investment or configuration,” said Eric Wong, Director, Special Projects, AJB Software Design. “On miserable days, when it’s too hot, rainy or cold, or when it’s late at night, consumers can sit and pay in the safety and comfort of their car, while the fuel dispenser refills their gas tank.

On the web:

• March Madness on the Hardwoods, Mobile Madness in the Payments Arena - Portals and Rails
• Capital One Offers $20 Incentive to Try ShopSavvy Mobile Wallet - NetBanker

On the wires:

• Western Union and Woodforest National Bank Sign Multi-Year Agreement

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

Monitise and Visa Europe have announced that they are further strengthening their partnership via a new three-year commercial agreement spanning the development and deployment of Mobile Money payments and mobile commerce solutions for Europe’s leading financial institutions. The investment provides Visa Europe with licence rights to all aspects of Monitise’s mobile technology. "The new relationship incorporates minimum revenues to Monitise of €45 million over the first three years with the potential for greater revenues as certain user generated thresholds are achieved."

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'.

MasterCard made a number of announcements this week at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona.

• MasterCard Introduces MasterPass – The Future of Digital Payments
• mFoundry and MasterCard to Deliver Digital Wallets Services to Banks
• MasterCard and Orange Join Forces to Deliver Leading Mobile Payments in Spain
• VeriFone and MasterCard to Demonstrate Omni-Channel Checkout Experience to Merchants and Consumers
• Social Media Study Shows Interest and Confusion Over Mobile Payments

Additional information about what MasterCard is doing at the Mobile World Congress is available here.

Pageonce has introduced the capability to pay individuals and small businesses through its new Pay Anyone service. "In addition to supporting thousands of national and regional bills, Pageonce now allows users to pay local bills such as rent, gardeners, piano teachers, pre-schools, sports teams, and more."

Visa announced the launch of a new plug-and-play mobile money platform that will make it easy and cost-efficient for financial institutions and mobile operators to offer mobile financial services to consumers.

The global platform is the world’s first bank-grade managed service for mobile money – meaning it allows Visa to host and fully manage all aspects of a mobile money program on behalf of the provider, from user interface design to consumer enrollment, transactions processing, authorization, clearing and settlement. The new service can enable domestic-only or globally interoperable mobile money services.

The new platform is built on Fundamo’s technology, the mobile money technology acquired by Visa in 2011.

On the web:

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

On the wires:

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

On the web:

• Canada Drops Penny From Currency - chicagotribune.com
• Square Competitor mPowa Signs Up Portugal Telecom - TechCrunch
• Alipay Sees Massive Growth In Mobile Payments In China - MobilePaymentsToday.com

On the wires:

• ACCC Commences Federal Court Proceedings Against Visa Inc (Australia)
• MACH and payvia Partner to Offer Seamless Worldwide Mobile Payments Platforms
• Western Union Expands Indian Rupee Payments for Colleges and Universities
• FleetCor’s Global Fuel Card Processing System ‘Goes Live’ at Shell
• SafetyPay Expands Global Coverage To Germany and Austria
• Skype Goes Live With MACH Direct Operator Billing
• GlobalCollect Grows Payment Volume By 36.5%

comScore has released a new report entitled, "Digital Wallet Road Map 2013" which measures consumer awareness, perceptions and intent to use current digital wallet offerings.

"Digital wallets represent an innovative technology that has not yet reached critical mass among consumers due to a variety of factors, including low awareness and a muddied understanding of their benefits," said Andrea Jacobs , comScore Payments Practice Leader. "This study delves deeply into the mindset of consumers with respect to their potential use of digital wallets, in addition to helping size the market opportunity."

The study is based on comScore's opt-in panel of 1 million U.S. consumers and two separate surveys of more than 2,000 U.S. Internet users conducted in November 2012.

Braintree has introduced Venmo Touch, a service that enables one touch payments across multiple applications.

“Filling out forms and entering payment information on a mobile device is a real hassle for users,” said Bill Ready, CEO of Braintree. “Each time a user downloads a new app, the user needs to re-enter payment information, creating frustration for users and a huge obstacle in the user sign-up process for apps. Venmo Touch lets you store payment information once and then use it across multiple apps without requiring users to sign-up or download a separate app. This makes the payment and sign-up process much easier.”

Cumberland Farms, a leading convenience and gasoline retailer, announced the launch of its SmartPay Check-Link payment program that lets consumers pay for gas and in-store purchases using their mobile phone or with a swipe of a card.

SmartPay Check-Link is an upgrade from the first release of SmartPay, which was launched in April 2012 in partnership with PayPal. While the first release offered PayPal as the only payment option, SmartPay Check-Link is a new feature to the SmartPay program, and offers consumers the ability to debit their checking account as a second payment option. Additionally, Smart-Pay Check-Link is available in both mobile and payment card format.

SmartPay Check-Link users will automatically save 10 cents on every gallon of gas.

Glenbrook's Bryan Derman and Carol Coye Benson have published a white paper entitled, "Mobile Remote Commerce: Addressing the Challenges". The white paper explores the unique aspects of payment fraud in remote mobile commerce, and examines how Payfone combats this new form of fraud while streamlining mobile checkout for the buyer.

The freely-available white paper can be downloaded here.

FIS announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining 78% interest in mFoundry.

“mFoundry has a well-earned reputation for innovation, powerful vision and agile development and delivers one of the most advanced mobile platforms in the market today,” noted Gary Norcross, FIS president and chief operating officer. “Consumers have adopted the mobile channel faster than any other delivery channel in existence, and delivering industry-best mobile solutions is a vital focus area for FIS. Our goal is to provide the solutions that underpin an organization’s ability to best reach and serve its customers, and the addition of mFoundry plays a key role in that strategy.”

mFoundry's mobile platform has more than 850 clients including some of the largest banks, credit unions, payments processors, and retailers in the US. mFoundry built the original Starbucks Card mobile app.

On the web:

• Payoo, Vietnam's Paypal, Rolls Out Paybill - Tech in Asia
• Soldsie Enables Online purchases through Facebook Comments - Springwise
• Parallel Paths or Course to Collision? Technology's Effects in the Payments Industry - Portals and Rails
• Pageonce Now Processes $1M In Mobile Bill Payments Each Day - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• BOKU Announces Mobile Payments Partnership with U.S. Cellular
• Six Credit Unions Select OnCU from Fiserv for Account Processing
• ACI Worldwide Alleviates Dodd-Frank Compliance Burden for Financial Institutions
• Oberthur Technologies Selected by Banco Bradesco for EMV Card Personalization and Fulfillment
• TransCard acquires HQ: Announces Plans To Introduce New Prepaid Products To Mall Operators

Amazon has announced an In-App Purchasing service that enables developers to let customers use their Amazon accounts to purchase virtual goods and currencies from within Mac, PC and Web-based games.

“We’re passionate about making game developers successful, and we’ll continue to build services that make monetization easier and remove undifferentiated heavy lifting from developers,” said Mike Frazzini, Director Amazon Games. “Game developers build games that are used across multiple platforms and mediums. In-App Purchasing for Mac, PC and Web-based games is our latest service that helps game developers grow their business and increase their customer-base. For years, Amazon has focused on making the online shopping experience as frictionless as possible, and we are excited to share this expertise and technology so that game developers can offer customers this same great experience.”

The UK Payments Council has announced that the countdown has started for the launch of a new country-wide mobile P2P payments service in the UK. Specifics include:

• Financial institutions representing 90% of UK current accounts commit to spring 2014 launch of first industry-wide mobile payment service.
• Sending security-protected payments by mobile will be as easy as texting, without the need to disclose account details.
• Customers will be able to send and receive payments straight from their account after simple sign-up process with their provider.

The new mobile payments service will move money directly between accounts using the Faster Payments service and the LINK network.