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 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…"

On the web:

• Apple Files Patent For Passbook Coupons With A Touch Of NFC - CNET News
• Yandex, Sberbank Form JV To Support Online Payments in Russia - MediaPost
• PayPal President Predicts Industry Changes We'll See In 2013 - PayPal Blog

On the wires:

• All Stop Vending Selects USA Technologies as Exclusive Partner for Cashless Payments
• Fiserv Partners with TOPS Software to Improve Payment Processing for Property Managers

On the web:

• Tello Launches PassTools To Help Businesses Build Their Apple Passbook Passes - TechCrunch
• AmEx Launches Integration With Apple’s Passbook - VentureBeat
• Starbucks: We'll Be Passbook-Ready Before October - CNET News
• Alternative Financial Services Grow, So Do the Unbanked and Underbanked - Portals and Rails
• WeChat App Aims at Social, Cash-Less Mobile Payments in China - Tech in Asia

On the wires:

• Digital River to Acquire LML Payment Systems in Canada
• Bango Goes Live With Facebook Mobile Payments
• AJB Announces Mobile Payments Strategy for Retailers
• Chase Cardholders Can Now Use Ultimate Rewards Points to Pay for Merchandise at Amazon.com
• Net Element Partners with Russia's MegaFon to Provide Payment Processing Services
• Paylane Launches World’s First 'Payments Just For Startups'
• Payza Market Share Skyrockets in Bangladesh

On the web:

• Square To Sell Card Readers At AT&T Stores - Reuters
• ‎Quiet During the Wallet Wars, Visa Readies V.me for a Year-End Rollout - Digital Transactions
• Square Clone Payleven Hits UK, Brazil, Confirms Double-Digit Million Funding - VentureBeat
• Pointing to the Future: Biometrics Crucial for Data Protection - Portals and Rails
• Walmart Tests iPhone App Checkout Feature - Reuters

On the wires:

• mopay Study Reveals Consumers’ Spending Behavior Via Direct Carrier Billing
• Western Union Launches International Business Payments Services in Chile, Cyprus and Jordan
• Discover Financial Services and Russian Standard Bank Announce Discover Card Issuance in Russia

On the web:

• Take The Cost Out Of Cash — Counting On Currency
• Facebook To Start Money Transfer System in Russia: Kommes - Businessweek
• Plastiq: Credit Card Processing Startup Raises $2.35M - Mass High Tech Business News
• Green Dot To Enter Mobile POS Wallet Market - Las Vegas Business Press
• Basketball Star Installs ATM In Kitchen (PHOTO) - HuffingtonPost

On the wires:

• Bottomline Technologies’ Paymode-X Network Exceeds 185,000 Vendors
• Guidance for the Growing Prepaid Market: Innovative New Tool Aims to Improve the Quality of Prepaid Cards
• AP Technology and Western Union Business Solutions Agree to Offer Online International Payments Services to Businesses

On the web:

• London Oyster Card Chief: NFC Not Ready for Fast-Paced Fare Payment - NFC Times
• Could The BlackBerry Save Mobile Payments? Maybe It’s The Only Thing That Can - StorefrontBacktalk
• Gocardless Opens Up For Dead Simple, Low-Cost Payments In Europe - GigaOM
• Russian Bank To Release Angry Birds Co-Brand Card -The Moscow News

On the wires:

• epay Launches Ria Branded PINless Calling Product
• Gemalto Supports “la Caixa” in Spain’s First Large Scale Deployment of Contactless EMV Payment

On the web:

• PayPal to team up with Russian Post - The Moscow News
• Square Card Case is Now an Improved 'Pay with Square' - CNET News
• Groupon buys 'FeeFighters' to Support Merchant Community - VentureBeat
• NFC Software And Reader Developer ViVOtech Raises More Cash - TechCrunch
• Is the Internet the World's Largest Crime Scene? - Portals and Rails
• Bitcoin Doesn't Need a Dongle - Forbes

On the wires:

• iovation and TeleSign Pair Device Reputation Management With Intelligent Authentication to Fight Online Fraud
• Super Sprowtz to Offer Virtual Piggy as Secure E-Commerce Solution for Online Checkout
• Seamless: SEQR will be part of Sweden’s largest POS system, Extenda

On the web:

• Debit-Fee Retreat Complete - WSJ.com
• PayPal's Coolest Mobile Wallet Feature: The Oops Button - Forbes
• Square to Allow Card-free Payments - San Jose Mercury News
• Russian ATM Can Detect When Users are Lying - Springwise
• Womply’s New Deals Startup Loads Local Offers Onto Your Credit Cards - TechCrunch
• Google Wallet Roadshow Schedule - Google Commerce Blog
• PayPal Opens Shopping Showcase in New York - PayPal Blog

On the wires:

• SafetyPay and PlaySpan Partner to Offer International e-Shoppers Secure Payment Option
• Vindicia Adds New Campaign Management Features to CashBox
• Cardlytics Brings the Power of Transaction-Marketing to Leading Local Retailers
• CashStar Unveils Mobile Web Gift Card Purchasing
• Gemalto Launches Ezio Plug & Sign for Unmatched Online Transaction Security
• Fiserv Integrates ACCEL/Exchange and Prepaid Solutions to Deliver Next-Generation Prepaid Services

On the web:

• Visa CEO: Bulk Of Durbin Impact On Profits Comes In Fiscal 2012 - Forbes
• As Plastic Reigns, the Treasury Slows Its Printing Presses - New York Times
• With Top Banks In Tow, Financial Service Provider Yodlee Hits 30 Million Users - TechCrunch
• Facebook’s Virtual Currency Draws Antitrust Complaints From Consumer Advocates - The Washington Post

On the wires:

• MOBIbucks Secures $5 Million in Series A Financing
• Facebook Tweaks Terms for Using Its Virtual Money After Antitrust Complaint
• Diners Club and Russian Standard Bank Partner to Form New Franchise in Russia
• Wawa and Wright Express Team Up to Offer Proprietary and Universal Card Program

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

Glenbrook has expanded its series of eCommerce Market Analysis Reports with a new profile of the market in Russia.

These reports are designed to help U.S. companies better understand eCommerce markets around the world — what local acceptance practices make each unique, what payment options are necessary to reach a critical mass of online buyers, and which payment providers can assist with market entry.

This new report complement our existing analysis of the eCommerce markets in China, India, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, and Poland. Let us know if you have questions or are interest in discounted, multi-report pricing.

On the wires:

• BPC Banking Technologies Plays Key Role In The Development Of Russia's "Universal E-Card"
• ShopVisible and Pitney Bowes to Help U.S. Retailers Deliver Seamless International Purchasing and Shipping Experience
• TEC Announces New Skip Trace Optimization Service

On the web:

• AMEinfo: MasterCard and Aramex Help Boost E-Tail in the Middle East Economy
• Bank Info Security: New Wave of Wire Fraud Strikes Banks

The Mobile Money Exchange has a great visual tool that nicely illustrates the proliferation of mobile money deployments around the world.

This tool was originally developed by the GSMA Mobile Money for the Unbanked team (covering the countries under their remit) and has been extended to include all worldwide mobile money deployments.

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• NFC Forum Publishes Transport Ticketing White Paper
• Kohl’s to Partner with First Data on Private Brand Credit Card Processing
• Western Union Announces Major Bank Signing in Russia
• Higher One Joins the Secure Vault Payments Network
• SAP Enables New Approach to Billing for Telecommunications Industry
• NEOVIA To Acquire Optimal Payments

• Forbes: How $150 Oil Prices Help MasterCard
• Bloomberg: PayPal Argues Against Fee Cap as Fed Decision Looms
• Wall Street Journal: US Bank To Raise Checking Pricing Earlier Than Expected
• Bloomberg: Barney Frank Backs Changes to Debit-Card Swipe Fees
• New York Times: Debit Card Predators (Editorial)
• SmartMoney: Banks Begone: Can You Really Go Cash-Only?
• Digital Money Blog: Mobile Challenges to the Financial Sector
• Daily Mail: Fake £20 Elvis Presley Banknote Fools Teller in German Central Bank

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• hyperWALLET Announces Payment Service Expansion to Russia
• Zong Offers Simple Monetization for Android Mobile App Developers
• Chase Provides Easy Access to Mobile Gift Cards with Launch of Chase GiftShelf App
• Oberthur Technologies Answering Card Issuers' Demands for EMV in the US
• Banks Lower Overdraft Fees 6% as Consumers Choose to Opt-In
• Thales enables Metro Bank to Bring In-Store Card Issuance to UK High Street
• New Aite Group on How Interchange Regulation Will Change the U.S. Payments Industry
• New PwC White Paper on UK Faster Payments Initiative

• SFGate: Websites Help Resell Unwanted Gift Cards

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• New Mercator Report on Closed-Loop Gift Cards
• US-Based Shift4 Becomes First Hosted Gateway Certified for Canadian EMV
• New Celent Report on The Future of Consumer Remote Deposit Capture (RDC)
• PCI QSA Determines Heartland Payment Systems' E2E Encryption Solution for Terminals Can Reduce PCI Scope by Up to 79%

• American Banker: Stay with Me - Mobile Pay System Ties Buyers to One Card
• MSNBC Red Tape Chronicles: Friendly Fraud
• SFgate: Facebook Testing Out A "Pay Later" Option For Credits
• MIT Technology Review: How Mobile Phones Jump-Start Developing Economies
• The Moscow Times: Russia Government Drafts E-Payment Rules
• Portals and Rails: The Continuing Challenge of Workplace Fraud in Financial Services

Equifax has announced that it has agreed to acquire a 28 percent equity stake in Global Payments Credit Services LLC (GPCS), a credit information company in Russia, from Global Payments Europe, s.r.o., a subsidiary of Global Payments Inc., and Home Credit and Finance Bank of Russia (Home Credit). READ MORE »

The IHL Group has released a new study finding that 'the PC-based electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) market in Europe/Middle East/Africa experienced a 4 percent shipment increase in 2007 and continues to show strong growth potential in 2008. Taking advantage of normal cyclical upgrades in Western Europe and enjoying strong oil revenues in Russia and the Middle East, the region is poised to remain strong even while shipments slow in North America.'

Visa and Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) have announced that they will support the Visa Money Transfer remittance service from 51 designated post offices in Singapore enabling the transfer of money to to Visa cardholders in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Kingdom. This is the first time Visa Money Transfer has been made available through a postal service provider.

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) has been examining the regulatory implications of new technologies in banking. According to the group, "basic, everyday financial services are out of reach for more than two billion people in developing countries. But the rapid growth of branchless banking - including mobile phone banking - is reducing the cost and expanding the availability of such services."

Andrew Kramer reports for the New York Times about a Russian hacker attack on Sweden's Nordea Bank's customers via a virus distributed via email. According to the report, "thieves using the program in Sweden defrauded 250 customers of Nordea’s online banking service over a period of 15 months."

Tom Zeller Jr. reports for the New York Times in Tuesday's edition on the illicit trading in stolen credit card data that takes place on the Internet.

"There's so much to this," said Jim Melnick, a former Russian affairs analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency who is now the director of threat development at iDefense, a company in Reston, Va., that tracks cybercrime.

"The story that needs to be told is the larger, long-term threat to the American financial industry. It's a cancer. It's not going to kill you now, but slowly, over time."

Business Week reports on the growth in consumer credit in Russia. READ MORE »

Victoria Lavrentieva reports on the growth in Visa cards in Russia.