On the web:

• PayPal’s Ambitious Plans For Stores - Internet Retailer
• UK-based ERN Raises $2M For 'Big Data' Card Analytics - TechCrunch
• ‎ As EMV-Debit-Durbin Problem Festers, a Solution May Be on Its Way - Digital Transactions
• UAE Exchange collaborates with ElectraCard Services to Launch 'gocash' Prepaid Travel Card - AfricanBrains
• SimplyTapp Proposes Secure Elements In The Cloud - NFC World

On the wires:

• VeriFone NFC Managed Services to Drive China Mobile Commerce Network
• FDIC Survey on How Banks are Working to Meet the Needs of Unbanked, Underbanked
• Voltage Secure Stateless Tokenization Advances PCI DSS Audit Scope Reduction
• Digital River World Payments Offers Online Merchants Full Card Acceptance Services for AmEx
• CARDFREE Releases Study on Fast Food Restaurants Gift Card Sales and Redemption
• Western Union Now Offering Two Options for International Travelers

On the web:

• Square COO Predicts Monster 2013, Says Starbucks Is Just The Beginning - CNET News
• Wonga Launches 'Bill Me Later' Rival in UK - Telegraph
• The Fraud Triangle - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Fiserv Mobilizes UChoose Rewards
• CorFire Integrates PayPal to Enhance Mobile Commerce Services
• Fuze Network Processes More Than 3.5 Million Cash-to-Card Transactions
• VeriFone Acquires Two Major Players in New Zealand Payments Industry
• Live Gamer Partners With Openbucks to Expand Pre-Paid Payment Options
• PAY.ON Partners With ReD To Offer Integrated Payment and Fraud Prevention Services
• CardinalCommerce Partners With Virtual Piggy To Enable Under 21 Online Acceptance
• Payzur, Acculynk’s Debit-based P2P Solution, Gains Momentum
• TSYS Signs Long-Term Payments Agreement with Merrick Bank

On the web:

• Jack Dorsey Explains: Why Square Is Getting Into Gift Cards - WSJ
• Can a Computerized Credit Card Disrupt the Payment Industry? - PCMag.com
• PayPal Launches Prepaid “PayPal My Cash Card” for Cash-Preferred Customers - TechCrunch
• Earthport Partners With Bank Of America for Cross-Border Payments - RTT News
• ‘European Square’ iZettle Expands To Spain, Taking Total Markets To Seven - TechCrunch
• The Interchange Fee Cap: One Year Later - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Bango Launches Carrier Billing for Google Play
• Intuit GoPayment Unveils New Features to Help Small Businesses
• Seamless Enters into Agreement with Nordic Service Partners
• IdentityMind Releases Anti Fraud add-on Module for Zen Cart
• Payment Alliance International and Planet Payment Announce Strategic Partnership
• EUFISERV Expands European and Global Coverage with PULSE Global ATM Network
• EVO Payments International Acquires PowerPay
• Cardtronics Canada Growth Continues With Acquisition

On the web:

• PayPal President David Marcus On In-Store Payments, Data Strategy And More - TechCrunch
• TransferWise Wants To Become Preferred Method Of Money Transfer For Startups - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• TIO Adds Mobile Bill Pay App to its Suite of Services for El Paso Electric
• Vanco Services Introduces Mobile POS Solution for Faith-Based Organizations
• InComm and SkyMall Ventures Partner to Launch Electronic Gift Card Program

On the web:

• OTI Adds NFC to Standard Phones With Copni Wave Plug-In - NFC World
• Facebook Turns On Carrier Billing In France With Orange France And Bango - TechCrunch
• Department Of Homeland Security To Scan Payment Cards At Borders And Airports - Forbes
• The Art of Capturing Customers with Mobile Remote Deposit Capture - Portals and Rails
• Wordpress Now Accepts Bitcoins - PCWorld
• FiftyOne teams with PayPal on Currency Payments - Globes

On the wires:

• Western Union Introduces Value Pricing for Money Transfers
• AJB Integrates PayPal In-store Checkout at Guitar Center Retail Chain
• BNAK Launches Swiftcoin, Electronic Currency that is Safer Than Cash
• Vietnam's PeaceSoft Partners with CyberSource to Offer eCommerce Security to Retailers
• Koupon Media Launches 'Tap-to-Redeem' Technology -- No POS Needed

On the web:

• PayAnywhere Jumps Into Mobile-Payment Ring - USA Today
• PayPal Tests QR Codes In Shop Windows along with Mobile Check-Ins - TechCrunch
• Square Hits $10 Billion In Annual Payments Processed - CNET News

On the wires:

• Rockport Streamlines Mobile Checkout Flow with Google Wallet
• Western Union Expands Walk-In Biller Network to Over 15,000
• U.S. Bank and Sport Chalet Partner on Sport Chalet Visa Card
• Virtual Piggy Partners With PayPal To Increase Customer Sign Ups, Conversions, And Sales
• Cardholders of TMG Clients Gain Access to V.me for Simple Online Shopping
• eProcessing Network to Provide Level III Data Through Multiple Processing Platforms

On the web:

• PayPal Works to Take Its Business Offline - Wall Street Journal

On the wires:

• CNP Payment Forum Comes to Munich, Germany
• Cambridge Mercantile Group Launches Automated Payables Solutions
• PayEase Increases Fraud Protection for China Online Payments via CyberSource
• Revel Systems Launches Retail Enterprise iPad POS System With Goodwill & Belkin
• Body by Jake Launches Experience Application for Dynamics ePlate Credit Card Device
• Braintree Expands to Australia, Providing Sophisticated Payment Tools for Merchants
• Chase Eliminates Expiration on Cash Back Reward Points for Select Military Credit Cards
• Fifth Third Bank Introduces Reloadable Prepaid Card

MoneyGram announced a new global agreement with PayPal that will provide PayPal’s 117 million active account holders with the option to put cash in and take funds out of their PayPal accounts at MoneyGram locations.

“This agreement is a significant milestone for MoneyGram. It represents a new level of innovation and enhances our growth into new areas of the payments industry,” said Pamela H. Patsley, MoneyGram chairman and CEO. “We believe this agreement furthers our goal of making it easy for people to send and receive money in the ways they want, wherever they are in the world, and significantly increases the possibility of e-commerce to MoneyGram consumers.”

MoneyGram’s network currently includes more than 284,000 locations in 196 countries.

On the web:

• PayPal Here goes on Sale at AT&T Stores - Engadget
• Apple's iPod Touch Is Fast Becoming The New Cash Register - InfoWorld
• National Retail Group Says Revised Card-Fee Settlement Still Fall Short - The Washington Post
• Big Brother Meets Big Data: Governments Start Scrutinizing Credit Card Records - NBCnews
• Dwolla Takes On PayPal By Offering Lower MassPay Fees - TechCrunch
• Ignorance Is No Excuse--Or Is It? - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Bango's One Billion Users Mobile Payments Milestone
• LightSpeed and Braintree Announce Partnership Agreement
• Vantiv Partners With nTelagent for Healthcare Payment Processing Services
• PayNearMe And AppFolio To Provide Integrated Cash Payment Solution To Property Owners

PayPal's parent eBay announced financial results for 3Q2012.

PayPal delivered a strong third quarter performance. It ended the quarter with 117.4 million active registered accounts, a 14% increase over the third quarter of 2011. Revenue increased 23% year over year and net total payment volume (TPV) grew 20% year over year to $35.2 billion.

eBay reported that the PayPal 'take rate' was 3.89% in 3Q2012, down from the prior quarter, but up 11 basis points from a year earlier. Transaction expenses were 1.07%, down 7 basis points from a year earlier. The loss rate was 0.30%, up from the prior quarter, but down one basis point from a year earlier.

On the web:

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

On the wires:

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

Over on Payments Views, Glenbrook's Elizabeth McQuerry has posted a new article, entitled "Local Knowledge, Global Payments" that explores the challenges and options available to U.S. companies that find themselves sending large volumes of payouts to app developers, affiliates, ad network participants such as bloggers and other content providers. She profiles Tipalti, a new player in this segment, and positions it against a number of better known alternatives.

On the web:

• Mobile Wallets or Fully Digital Wallets? - eMarketer
• Victim Of Chip-And-Pin Fraud? It's All YOUR Fault, Insist The Banks - This is Money (UK)

On the wires:

• Vantiv Expands Strategic Relationship with Discover to Support PayPal In Store Checkout
• Experian And iovation Collaborate on Identity Verification And Device Reputation
• hyperWALLET and Valitor to Cooperate in Prepaid Card Issuance across Europe
• Virtual Piggy Partners with Land of Apparel

On the web:

• Google Wants to Be a Bank Now - The Atlantic Wire
• NYC MetroCards Go on Sale with Ads for Gap on Both Sides - NYTimes.com
• DOJ Seeks Documents on Debit-Card Market From Discover - Fox Business

On the wires:

• New Celent Report on State of Consumer RDC 2012
• Heartland Payment Launches Mobuyle Mobile POS Solution
• Valero Corner Store Selects VeriFone PAYMEDIA for Secure PumpPAY
• MasterCard Enhances Customer Expense Reporting and Management Tools
• MCR Virtual Business Center Now Offers Checkgateway ACH Solutions
• Dynamics and UMB Increase Experience Provider Rate to 0.5% for the ePlate Payment System
• SubscriberWise Protects Cable Operator From Fraudulent Service Requests
• Endorse and PayPal Team to Let Shoppers Access Cash Back for Buying Favorite CPG Brands
• Gaxsys Launches gaxWallet at DEMO Fall 2012
• Optimal Payments Launches NETBANX Checkout

On the web:

• China’s Alipay Has 700 Million Registered Accounts - Tech in Asia
• Square's Global March Faces A Plucky British Challenger, mPowa - Forbes
• Payments Startup Stripe Expands to Canada in Challenge to PayPal - Bloomberg

On the wires:

• MasterCard Debuts First Single-branded Cards in China with Citibank
• Euronet Worldwide Expands Independent ATM Networks to Spain and Italy
• MasterCard Study: Bill Payment Represents Key Entry Point to Greater Financial Inclusion
• Visa and Others Form "Better Than Cash Alliance" to Accelerate Global Shift to Electronic Payments

On the web:

• Ezetap Launches Mobile POS Solution in India - MediaNama
• PayPal’s New President Faces the Music: “If We Suck … We Now Face It” - AllThingsD
• Microsoft Extends 'Mach' Direct Mobile Billing to Skype Credits - TechCrunch
• Amazon Launches Program to Lend Sellers Cash - eCommerceBytes
• Google Reinvents Micropayments — As Surveywall - Slashdot

On the wires:

• Fiserv Launches Instant Issue Solution for Credit and Debit Cards
• MoneyGram Adds China Guangfa Bank to Agent Network

PayPal has announced an extension of its offline strategy by teaming up with Discover to bring PayPal to more than 7 million merchant locations across the U.S.

"We couldn't be more thrilled to work with Discover. This relationship quickly extends PayPal's reach to millions of merchant locations nationwide and is a milestone moment for us that will create new benefits for Discover merchants without requiring new hardware or software,” said Don Kingsborough, PayPal’s Vice President of Retail. "This relationship will deliver a truly seamless digital wallet, available most places consumers shop offline, which offers the speed, simplicity and security already enjoyed by 113 million active PayPal customers online."

Rollout to merchants will launch in April 2013.

On the web:

• Wal-Mart Brings Back Layaway for a 2nd Year - NYTimes.com
• Payment Data Is More Valuable Than Payment Fees - TechCrunch
• Visa Prepaid CitizenCard: ID Card That Doubles As A Prepaid Card - MSN Money UK
• Citigroup Becomes First U.S. Bank to Issue Own Card in China - Bloomberg
• Finding a Reasonable Definition of Commercially Reasonable - Portals and Rails
• 5 Ways to Pay for Dinner With Your Phone - Mashable

On the wires:

• PayPal Prepaid MasterCard Now Available at Dollar General
• ThreatMetrix Enhances Protection Against Account Takeovers and Fraudulent Payments
• Mercator Releases Ninth Annual U.S Closed-Loop Prepaid Cards Market Assessment
• CardinalCommerce Introduces CustomerConnect to Improve Mobile Commerce Conversion
• Fnbox Chooses Adyen's Payments Platform to Facilitate Global Expansion
• App Developers Boost Revenues With Enhanced Jumio Netswipe Mobile SDK
• CreditCall Makes Mobile 'Chip and PIN' Acceptance a Reality in the UK

On the web:

• Want to Do Mobile Payments Acceptance? Here's a Free Tablet from GoPago - NYTimes.com
• Square/Starbucks Partnership Q&A with Jack Dorsey and Howard Schultz - AllThingsD
• ViVOtech Unloads Its NFC Reader Business, Will Focus On Software Going Forward - TechCrunch
• PayPal And Major Chinese E-Commerce Platform Part Ways - CNET News

On the wires:

• VeriFone Selected for Contactless Payment Rollout in Mexico City

On the web:

• Mobile Payment Company LevelUP Raises Another $9 Million - BostInno
• CardSpring Gains Investors, First Data Partnership, As App Platform Nears Launch - TechCrunch
• 1.6% Of Facebook Users Spent Over $1 Billion On Virtual Goods - Forbes
• PayPal Antifraud Measures Are Extreme, Some Users Say - NYTimes.com
• Parking Payment Startup QuickPay Raises $3.5M - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Millennials Payment Solution Available on Popular Ecommerce Platform

PayPal's parent eBay announced financial results for 2Q2012.

PayPal ended the quarter with 113.2 million active registered accounts, a 13% increase over the second quarter of 2011. PayPal revenue increased 26% year over year, driven primarily by increased penetration on eBay as well as continued merchant and consumer adoption and strong growth in Bill Me Later. PayPal's net total payment volume (TPV) grew 20% year over year to $34.5 billion.

eBay reported that the PayPal 'take rate' rose to 3.94% in 2Q2012, up 21 basis points from a year earlier. Management also indicated that it expected PayPal mobile to transact $10 billion in volume in 2012.

On the web:

• PayPal Acquires card.io - PayPal Blog
• Visa May Be Helped by WTO Ruling on Chin - Businessweek
• How Cell Phones Are Bringing Rural Africans Into the Modern Economy - The Atlantic
• Merchants Consider Credit Card Surcharges or Cash Discounts - NYTimes.com

On the wires:

• Monitise Releases Unaudited Trading Update
• ROXO Adds Virtual Piggy as Payment Solution
• Ogone Acquires Tunz.com and Becomes Licensed e-Money Institution in EU
• Adyen Announces Availability of A/B Testing of Payment Pages
• Discover Card Now Accepted at Neiman Marcus Stores
• New Aite Group Report on How Remittance Details Arrive
• Commonwealth Bank (Australia) to Revolutionize the POS experience with Pi
• LevelUp Mobile Payments Launch in Colorado at Fast-Casual Chain Larkburger
• Western Union Enables Acceptance of Indian Rupee Tuition Payments
• Pacific Pride Launches New Universal Card Program for its Fuel Marketers
• Angry Birds Creator Selects Braintree’s Payments Platform

On the web:

• Google Wallet Launches Support For Subscriptions - Computerworld
• Wallaby Launches the Cloud Wallet Based on a Smart Universal Payment Card - PandoDaily
• NetSpend To Sell Prepaid PayPal Cards At 7-Eleven Stores - Austin Business Journal
• China Mobile, China UnionPay Join Forces For Mobile Payments - NFCNews
• Facebook Rolls Out Currency Conversion API For App Developers - AllFacebook
• BII to Start JCB Platinum Credit Card Issuing in Indonesia
• The High Cost Of Paying By Phone - Discovery News

On the wires:

• American Express OPEN Enhances the Plum Card for Small Businesses
• Orange Launches Nationwide Deployment of NFC SIM Cards with Gemalto Solution in France
• LightSpeed Launches New iPad Product Enabling Interactive Cross-Selling in Retail Stores
• Scotiabank Connects With Cardtronics to Extend ATM Access Into Canadian 7-Eleven Stores
• MAGIC Card - A Reloadable Prepaid MasterCard(R) From Earvin "Magic" Johnson

On the web:

• Mobile Payment Smackdown: Square vs. PayPal Here - Mashable
• Mobile Payments Startup Kuapay Grabs $4 Million Investment - TechCrunch
• Square Card Reader App Adds Admin Accounts & Permissions TechCrunch
• Revel Systems Debuts An iPad POS In A Box - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• CyberSource Online Security Destined for Thailand's eMerchants
• New U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Credit Card Lets Customers Choose Their Cash Back Categories

On the web:

• TiVo, PayPal to Enable Shopping Via Commercials - WSJ.com

On the wires:

• CloudLock Unveils the Industry’s First PII and PCI Compliance Scan for Google Drive
• Fiserv Launches Central Source Capture to Help Financial Institutions Adapt to Shifting Check Processing Demands
• Perry Ellis to Innovate the In-store Experience with Mobile POS from Starmount
• MoneyGram Expands Relationship with Speedway LLC

On the web:

• Groupon Acquires POS Start Breadcrumb to Connect with Local Restaurants - VentureBeat
• PayPal InStore App: Use your PayPal Account on the High Street (UK) - Shiny Shiny
• Banks Tacking Fees On To Campus Debit Cards (video) - MSNBC.com

On the wires:

• Discover and Ducks Unlimited Announce New Affinity Card
• i2c and KargoCard Announce Partnership to Power Prepaid, Mobile Payments and Loyalty Solutions in China
• Risk Office from Fiserv: Helping Clients Reduce Dollar Fraud Losses by an Average of 40%
• Acculynk and National Payments Corporation of India Announce Internet PIN Debit Partnership
• WorldPay Launches Advanced RFI and Chargeback Management Platform
• Planet Payment Acquires Branded Payment Solutions Ltd (Ireland)
• Cellum Introduces MasterCard Mobile Wallet (Hungary)

Over on Payments Views, Glenbrook's Erin McCune recently blogged about PayPal latest merchants and partners in its push to enter the world of "offline" payments. In addition to reviewing what PayPal said, she also explores what PayPal did not say.

PayPal has announced the next 15 national retail partners that will be testing PayPal In-Store Checkout.

In every market we’ve entered PayPal has changed the game. We did it for online payments in 1998, creating a business from nothing and building it to one with more than $118 billion in total payment volume last year. We were the first major player to enter the mobile space in 2006 and we plan to exceed $7 billion in mobile payment volume this year. And we’re on track to change the game again in offline payments.

On the web:

• iZettle, Europe’s rival to Square, hits the UK - GigaOM
• PayPal Teams With Coinstar To Move Cash and Coins Online - PayPal Blog
• Sprint Expands Carrier Billing Options for Google Play Store - GottaBe Mobile
• Credit Card Dispute Goes Before Competition Tribunal in Canada - CBCnews.ca
• PCI Council Urges P2P Encryption For Mobile Payments - TechTarget

On the wires:

• Mercury Payment Systems Acquires Sundrop Mobile
• MasterCard inControl Family Solutions to Launch in Philippines
• 24/7 Card Introduces Powerful Prepaid Visa Debit + Remit Card to the Hispanic Community
• uShip Selects Payoneer’s Innovative, Flexible Payment Solution
• Buck Reports Q1 2012 Mobile Payments Metrics

On the web:

• Visa Increases 'No-Signature Floor Limits" to $50 - Digital Transactions
• Cooperating Competitors? Yes, When It Comes To Payment Standards - Portals and Rails
• Digital Wallet Battle Heats Up As Visa And MasterCard Enter The Game - TechCrunch
• Wallet, Wallet Everywhere: Making Sense of the Mobile Payment Wars - TIME.com
• Public Apathetic Towards Contactless Payments In UK - Marketing Week
• PayPal’s Key To Winning Mobile Payments: Data - GigaOM
• 10 Ways to Take Credit Cards on your iPhone - MacApper
• 4 Risky Places To Swipe Your Debit Card - Bankrate.com

On the wires:

• New Mercator Report on Mobile Opportunities for Closed-Loop Issuers
• Latest EMVCo Figures Reveal Continued Market Adoption of EMV Technology
• Computer Services Enhances Card Sentry Risk Mitigation with ReD PRISM
• Acculynk Announces Alaska Option Issuers Enabled with PaySecure Internet PIN Debit
• Wright Express Acquires CorporatePay, a Leading Provider of Prepaid Virtual Cards to the U.K. Travel Industry