On the web:

• House Lawmakers to Propose Repeal of Durbin Swipe-Fee Rule - BusinessWeek
• Lemon.com Lets You Store, Organize Your Receipts In The Cloud - TechCrunch
• Mobile Payments Looking at Turbulent Times - CNET Reviews
• $4.7 Billion in Digital Goods Will Pass Through PayPal This Year - Mashable

On the wires:

• PULSE and NETS Sign Long-Term Network Agreement to Increase POS and ATM Acceptance
• Digital River Extends Global E-Commerce Agreement with Nuance Communications
• Upromise by Sallie Mae Spreads Holiday Cheer with Increased Cash Back for College
• Western Union Business Solutions Online FX Service Now Available in France, Germany, Ireland and Italy

On the web:

• Visa Offered 35% Interchange Cut for Small Merchants to Delay Durbin - Digital Transactions
• Peter Thiel: If I'd Known, I Would Never Have Started PayPal - Business Insider
• Beeline and Alfa-Bank Launch Russian Mobile Payments Brand Called RuRu - NFC World
• Discover Chief Says Pulse Has Beefed up for Expected Durbin Volume - Digital Transactions
• PayPal Says Mobile Payments To Hit $3 Billion - Wall Street Journal
• Can 'Zoosh' At The POS Overcome The Mobile Payments Gap? - StorefrontBacktalk
• Danish Cellcos Form Joint Venture to Tackle Mobile Payments - Rethink Wireless
• An Industry Divide over Durbin’s Impact on PIN Debit for E-Commerce - Digital Transactions

On the wires:

• More Americans Plan on Using Credit Card Rewards This Summer to Offset Rising Travel Costs

A new study of debit cards in the US market commissioned by PULSE indicates financial institutions are employing new tactics to increase debit card use:

According to the fifth-annual study, 72 percent of issuers view improving the performance of their debit portfolios by increasing penetration, activation and usage as a top priority this year. One of the key tactics issuers are using to accomplish this objective is the deployment of instant issuance technology.

PULSE has announced that it is "bringing the security, reliability and convenience of PIN debit to online shopping with the introduction of PULSE Internet PIN debit." The new payment solution, which uses Acculynk's PaySecure Internet PIN debit software, "reinforces the issuer and cardholder relationship by using a financial institution-branded graphical PIN pad." READ MORE »

PULSE has announced findings from its 2010 Debit Issuer Study that "the debit market remained robust during the second year of the economic downturn and is projected to grow strongly in 2010. The study finds that much of the growth in debit use is in small-ticket transactions, suggesting that more consumers prefer debit over cash."

PULSE also reported that "the 2010 Debit Issuer Study found that debit card penetration – the percentage of eligible accounts that can be accessed by a debit card – has remained steady at 73 percent since 2007. Sixty-four percent of consumer debit cards are active, largely unchanged from 66 percent in 2008."

With respect to fraud losses borne by issuers, PULSE found that "average signature POS fraud losses increased 43 percent last year from 5.2 basis points (bps) to 7.5 bps, and PIN POS fraud losses rose by 24 percent from 0.8 bps to 1.0 bps." READ MORE »

PULSE, the Discover Financial Services business unit responsible for expanding global cash access for the company, has signed a long-term ATM acquiring agreement with TRIONIS, a European interbank processing network. TRIONIS is jointly owned by retail banks from nine European countries, the European Savings Banks Group, and First Data. READ MORE »

PULSE has launched PULSE Select, a surcharge-free ATM network alliance with the MoneyPass Network. The PULSE Select/MoneyPass Surcharge-free ATM Network provides financial institution participants with access to more than 16,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the US. READ MORE »

PULSE has announced the launch of a new website, DebitFacts.org, that is says offers "consumers timely and practical information about debit's role as a convenient payment method and a valuable financial planning tool. The site addresses myths and misconceptions surrounding debit cards by offering fact-based information consumers need to know when using debit, as well as advice on making debit part of their personal money management strategy." READ MORE »

Surcharge-free ATM access is gaining in popularity among debit card issuers as they explore new ways to better serve cardholders, according to the 2008 Debit Issuer Study, commissioned by PULSE. Financial institutions also are increasingly offering debit rewards. READ MORE »

The PULSE debit network has launched its annual ATM & Debit Card Safety Awareness Month, encouraging consumers to review and practice safety tips when using their ATM/debit cards. This month, PULSE will release a series of safety tips for consumers to consider when traveling or making debit card purchases throughout the year. READ MORE »

A new study of debit cards in the US market commissioned by PULSE identified superior performance by “best-in-class” issuers - 'suggesting significant untapped potential in debit for many financial institutions.' READ MORE »

PULSE and its parent company, Discover Financial Services, have announced the signing of agreements with seven additional financial institutions for the issuance of Discover Debit cards. READ MORE »

PULSE EFT Association, a Discover Financial Services company, has announced that it is implementing DebitProtect, a fraud detection and notification system, across its ATM/debit network.

The PULSE ATM/debit network has announced it is offering "utility companies, lenders and certain other billers a new payment option that enables consumers to automatically pay recurring bills using a debit card without entering their personal identification number (PIN)."

The PULSE EFT Association has launched its annual nationwide effort encouraging consumers to review and practice safety tips when using their ATM/debit cards. New to the network’s ATM/Debit Card Safety Awareness Month campaign this June is an increased focus on privacy and fraud protection.

The PULSE EFT Association has announced results of its 2007 Debit Issuer Study - concluding that "U.S. debit card-issuing financial institutions experienced debit card transaction growth of 18 percent in 2006 and expect continued strong growth in 2007."

The Board of Directors of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas has announced it has voted unanimously to exclusively endorse Discover Debit, a new signature debit program developed jointly by PULSE EFT Association LP and Discover Network.

PULSE EFT Association LP and LINK Interchange Network Ltd., the operator of the UK Cash Machine Network, have announced a reciprocal agreement that will allow the 4,200 financial institution participants in the PULSE ATM/debit network to offer their cardholders access to all but a handful of the more than 58,000 cash machines across the United Kingdom and allow LINK to offer its 38 participating financial institution members access to an additional 250,000 PULSE cash machines in the United States.

David Breitkopf writes for the American Banker about Stan Paur's view of the future of the US debit card market. Paur has been president and CEO of Pulse EFT for years and is about to step up from that role to chairman following last year's acquisition of Pulse by Discover.

Discover Financial Services has announced the launch of Discover® Debit, the first new signature debit program to be offered to financial institutions since the ruling in the Department of Justice anti-trust case in October of 2004. Two signature debit card products will be supported: the Discover Debit Card for individuals and the Discover Debit Business Card.

The PULSE EFT Association has announced the result of a new study into debit card fraud, comparing PIN and signature debit.

Discover Financial Services and China UnionPay have announced they have entered into a strategic alliance that will lead to acceptance of Discover Network Cards at China UnionPay ATMs and point-of-sale terminals in China and acceptance of China UnionPay cards on the PULSE network in the U.S. Both also agreed to pursue ways to enable acceptance of China UnionPay cards at Discover Network's more than four million merchant and cash access locations in North America.

Reuters reports on Discover's growth strategies including entering new international markets, partnering with banks to issue Discover cards, and debit following its recent purchase of the Pulse EFT network.

Discover Financial Services and the Pulse EFT Association have announced the completion of their merger following approval by Pulse's financial institution members.

Discover Financial Services has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the PULSE EFT Association for a purchase price of $311 million.

CyberSource has announced support for the use of ATM cards for online payments without PIN's within certain specific acceptance categories. READ MORE »

In a press release today, Pulse EFT Association released the results of a study it commissioned comparing the US debit payments system with that of Canada. READ MORE »