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"

On the web:

• This Guy Is Selling His Book Exclusively Via Bitcoin - Business Insider - "He convinced me (plus subsequent research) that Bitcoin has many features that make it attractive not only as a potential future currency but as a replacement for all contract law."
• Amazon Launches Amazon Coins Virtual Currency On Kindle Fire, Gives $5 In Free Coins To All Users - TechCrunch - "Amazon today is finally taking Amazon Coins, is new virtual currency, live on the Kindle Fire in the U.S."
• Thieves Stole $45 Million From ATMs Because The U.S. Uses Absurd 40-Year-Old Technology - PopSci - "The chief vulnerability of the EMV system? IT STILL HAS MAGNETIC STRIPES."
• New Android Boss Finally Reveals Plans for World’s Most Popular Mobile OS - Wired - "I have a secret project which adds four hours every day to the 24 hours we have."

On the wires:

• Amazon Coins Now Available for Kindle Fire Customers - "For customers, Amazon Coins is an easy way to purchase apps and in-app items on Kindle Fire, and for developers it’s another opportunity to drive traffic, downloads and increased monetization."
• Blaze Mobile Awarded Three Key Patents for NFC Mobile Payments - "Blaze Mobile, a leader in mobile payment solutions, has recently been awarded three key NFC Mobile Payment patents."

On the web:

• In A.T.M. Robbery Case, a Splashy Trail of Big Spending - NY Times - "The eight young men, according to law enforcement officials, had just pulled off the first of two thefts that would ultimately rank among the biggest in New York City history…"
• Exclusive: Indian card processor in $45 million heist is ElectraCard - sources - Reuters - "Experts in cyber security said the heists expose an Achilles heel in the global financial industry: prepaid debit cards."
• The Problem with Prepaid: $45 Million ATM Heist Edition - American Banker - BankThink - "This fraud scheme adds to the many reasons banks approach prepaid products with caution."
• How to Pull Off a $45 Million Global ATM Heist - TechNews Daily - "This specific attack requires a very high level of sophistication and perhaps some inside help."
• Mobile Gift Card App Gyft Partners With BitPay To Start Accepting Bitcoin Payments In Its Android App - TechCrunch - "Gyft is proud to be a pioneer in the bitcoin universe and we are excited about the possibilities for further innovation on our platform…"

Over on PaymentsViews.com, Glenbrook's George Peabody examines the recent attacks on two prepaid card processors which led to $45 million of cash being withdrawn from ATMs around the world over a very short period of time.

On the web:

• California Sues JPMorgan Chase Over Credit Card Cases - NY Times - "JPMorgan Chase … deluged the courts with dubious lawsuits to collect soured credit-card debt."
• How hackers allegedly stole “unlimited” amounts of cash from banks in just hours - ArsTechnica - "Prosecutors didn't identify the payment processors except to say one was in India and the other in the United States."
• PayPal exec aims to “obliterate passwords from the face of the planet” - ArsTechnica - "Our intention is to really obliterate, within a certain number of years, both passwords and PINs..."
• One good reason to accept Bitcoins: It screws credit card companies - Pando Daily - "Merchants should enjoy it while it lasts."
• Mobile Gift Card App Gyft Partners With BitPay To Start Accepting Bitcoin Payments In Its Android App - TechCrunch - "Bitcoin is hard to use today, and that’s a good thing. There are still bugs and it is too risky for the average consumer."
• WePay Debuts Veda, An Intelligent Risk Engine That Leverages Social Media Data To Prevent Merchant Fraud - TechCrunch - "A traditional credit score only shows a sliver of who you are, but an online profile allows us to assign our users a more accurate ‘WePay credit score’ based on their personal history of verified, social data."
• No big bang for mobile payments - Business Spectator - "Key to this is understanding that mobile payments are not a vertical market. Players must understand how the different participants in a payment system – the merchant, issuer, and consumer – can all benefit through mobile."
• Adam Smith, Paul Krugman and Bitcoin - Tomorrow's Transactions Blog - "There won't be a single world currency (whether the Dollar or the Remibi) and there won't be a single virtual currency (whether Bitcoin or MintChip). There will be lots of currencies and we will all be better off because of it."
• Free banking at risk as EU wants us to bank anywhere in Europe - Telegraph - "European proposals that would allow Britons to switch to a bank account in another country could hasten the demise of free banking, experts have warned."
• Mobile Payments Service Wins Bill and Melinda Gates Innovator Award - eCommerce Bytes - "Boleto is a unique barcode payment ticket that contains the customer's unique purchase data and Trak's bank information."

On the wires:

• Eight Members Of New York Cell Of Cybercrime Organization Indicted In $45 Million Cybercrime Campaign - "A four-count federal indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn charging eight defendants with participating in two worldwide cyberattacks that inflicted $45 million in losses on the global financial system in a matter of hours."
• Value-Based Payment Models Expected to Reach Tipping Point by 2018 - "Transitioning to payment models that base compensation on outcomes requires physicians and health plans to exchange new kinds of information – different than what is required under today’s predominant fee-for-service arrangements."
• Retailers, Listen Up: High Rates of Mobile Shopping Cart Abandonment Tied to Poor User Experience - "While the majority of smartphone and tablet owners (68%) have attempted to make a purchase on their device, two-thirds (66%) failed to complete a transaction due to obstacles encountered during checkout."
• First Data Releases April 2013 SpendTrend® Analysis - "Year-over-year dollar volume growth increased 5.1% in April, a slowdown from March’s 6.0% growth."

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 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…"

On the web:

• China's UnionPay Payment Network Launches Its First Card Issued in the U.S. - WSJ - "The UnionPay prepaid card will be sold online and in bank branches in major U.S. cities..."
• Mobile Commerce Isn’t Just About Payments - ZDnet UK - "When consumers get added value from their purchase transactions, their mobile phones become not only their conduit into the digital world, but also a kind of concierge, simplifying their lives."
• CBA's clever Kaching ambitions - Business Spectator - "By enabling so many types of payment through a mobile phone, Commonwealth Bank is teaching its customers that if they want to make a payment – in any situation – they should use the Kaching app."
• Starbucks generates 10pc of US revenue from mobile - Mobile Commerce Daily - "Every week, Starbucks is seeing close to four million mobile payment transactions…"
• Chip cards are fundamentally flawed - The Bankwatch Blog - "Sometimes when I read the debates on chip, PIN and EMV I feel I am listening to the Flat Earth Society."
• Future of payments does not need Mastercard or Visa - banking chief - HumanIPO - "The “gorillas” of Mastercard and Visa will in the future no longer be needed because of the direction of banking and payment solutions in the cloud…

On the wires:

• Barclaycard Germany Signed Multi-Year Contract for Debit and Credit Cards with Gemalto

On the web:

• PayPal Hits The Mall: eBay's Baby Takes On Google, AmEx And Apple At Cash Registers - Forbes (Clare O'Connor) - "The aim is for shoppers to be able to use PayPal at the cash register in two million stores by the end of 2013."
• Banks Urged to Put Limits on Payday-Style Loans - NY Times Dealbook - "Federal regulators on Thursday admonished some of the nation’s largest banks for offering payday-style loans, short-term costly credit tied to customers’ checking accounts."
• Google Think Insights: The Customer Journey to Online Purchase - "This tool helps you explore and understand the customer journey to improve your marketing programs."
• CGAP: Exploring Alternative API Product Concepts - "CGAP’s work in Applied Product Innovation (API) aims to understand how customer-centric design methodologies … could be tailored to branchless banking in order to achieve better financial service offerings for the poor."
• Medagate's health card combines incentives with functionality - Drug Store News - "...enables employers and health plans to combine a member/employee healthcare funding purse with a restricted-spend purse for targeted items and incentives…"
• Bank Customers Want A Seamless Experience (My Foot) - Snarketing 2.0 - "Consumers want things to work. Period."
• Banks use mobile phone history to determine credit rating - Springwise - "Cignifi’s new platform offers what it claims is the first to deliver credit and marketing scores for consumers without credit histories using mobile phone behavior data."
• Online Shopping, With Sales Tax Added - NY Times Bucks Blog - "Shoppers will now have to figure in sales tax when they are deciding whether it is better to buy a particular item online or in a brick-and-mortar store."
• The Mysterious World of Bitcoin: Does It Have Staying Power? - Knowledge @ Wharton - "Bitcoin has all the hallmarks of a classic speculative bubble..."
• Are QR codes losing their magnetism? - Mobile Marketer Daily - "Brands don't want to place a generic black and white box all over their creative…"
• Infographic: Mobile Devices Overtake Daily Life - "On average, people check their phones 150 times a day or every 6.5 minutes…"

On the wires:

• GateCrafters Now Offers Bill Me Later Payment Option - "We hope this option will give customers more peace of mind when purchasing big ticket items."
• Co-Op to Offer Enhanced Member Control of Cards Via New Mobile Card and Alert Product - "…the product to be offered by CO-OP will provide a range of services, including allowing members to set controls and alerts based on their preferences, such as transaction type, merchant, location and thresholds."
• Blackhawk Announces First Quarter 2013 Financial Results Consistent With Estimates Provided in Prospectus - "Demand for our prepaid products was strong during the first quarter as load value reached $1.6 billion, up 23% year-over-year..."
• Merchant Warehouse and LevelUp Announce $1 Million Development Fund - "LevelUp and Merchant Warehouse want to give more merchants the opportunity to extend the reach of their brand and tap into a wealth of customer data to help them grow their businesses."
• Accenture Survey Identifies Actions to Increase Consumer Adoption of Mobile Payments - "For mobile payments to achieve widespread adoption, consumers must be educated about the fact that mobile payments are secure and more convenient than other payment options."
• TSYS Merchant Solutions to launch TSYS Multi-Currency Solutions - "Pay in Your Currency, gives eligible international customers the choice of paying in their home currency at the point of sale, offering significant benefits to TSYS merchants and their customers."
• WorldPay, VeriFone Expand Efforts to Bring NFC/EMV-Ready Payment to Merchants - "VeriFone and WorldPay collaborate in crucial areas to deliver the right payment solutions to merchants…"

On the web:

• Possible Fed Successor Has Admirers and Foes - NY Times - A look at Janet L. Yellen, Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, by Binyamin Appelbaum.
• Federal Judge Threatens to Hold Merchant Trade Groups in Contempt Over Swipe-Fee Websites - WSJ - Judge John Gleeson is irritated about the website: http://merchantsobject.com/
• The Future of Mobile Payments: How to Make Sure You’re Ready
• PW Interview: Amber Feng, Stripe API, The Payment Web - Programmable Web - "Before Stripe, online payments mainly consisted of decades-old banking infrastructure grafted onto the web, resulting in an exceedingly complex process for businesses and a cumbersome experience for their customers..."
• Tesco: NFC payments are too complex and offer too few benefits - NFC World - "NFC was revolutionary 10 years ago but I think it just might have passed its sell-by date…"
• The Redesigned US$100 Note - coming October 8, 2013
• NACHA Positions the ACH Network To Be a P2P Payments Player - Digital Transactions - "...NACHA last August submitted an ACH P2P payments proposal for for comment last August and gave it final approval March 7."
• NACHA PAYMENTS 2013: Highlights from Day One and NACHA PAYMENTS 2013: Day Two Highlights - GXS' All About B2B Blog - Patty Hines
• 2013 Advanced Payments Report - Edgar Dunn - "The Advanced Payments Report 2013 … is based on a review of the global payments landscape, surveys of payments industry stakeholder opinion…"
• Total System Services Management Discusses Q1 2013 Results - Earnings Call Transcript - "…on the issuing side of our business, we kicked off what I would describe as our most significant business and technology initiative since, really, the launch of TS2."
• American Express streamlines expense tracking via mobile app - Mobile Commerce Daily - "The ReceiptMatch program is being rolled out for American Express Open business card users…"
• Prepaid Popularity on the Rise - The Members Group Blog - "The American Bankers Association study also found that more than 50 percent of U.S. FIs currently offer, or plan to offer, prepaid or reloadable debit cards."
• Visa Survey: Prom Spending Surges 33% Nationwide - "Prom season spending is spiraling out of control as teens continuously try to one-up each other…"

On the wires:

• Tabbedout Launches Powerful Merchant Marketing Tool 'Periscope' - "Periscope gives merchants the ability to monitor customer use of Tabbedout, review their customer's purchase history, collect and respond to guest reviews and create mobile marketing campaigns…"
• CPI Card Group Expands EMV Card Manufacturing Capabilities to Support EMV Migration in the U.S. - "The migration to EMV in the U.S. is unprecedented in terms of size and scale."
• Consult Hyperion joins Open Identity Exchange - "OIX is a non-profit trade organization driving the adoption of new and existing online identity products and services through the development of trust frameworks and listing services."
• FactorTrust Launches Underbanked Index - "Every three months, the Underbanked Index will provide a range of data points including demographic, loan behavior, seasonal effects and others, to help shed light on underbanked consumers."
• Too Busy to Save Money: Research at Stanford Graduate School of Business Examines Why Consumers Pass Up Store Discounts - "Seiler's look at individuals' purchases over time likewise suggests they're trying to minimize search costs."
• PULSE and fisoc Announce Agreement to Provide Buzz Points Rewards Program to Financial Institutions - “In this digital age, our solution enables PULSE to offer its financial institution participants a fully turn-key rewards program. This will provide a distinct advantage to PULSE in the highly competitive debit industry.” (See: Buzz Points)
• NCR Introduces Anti-Skimming Technology to Help Banks Increase Consumer Trust and Reduce Costs - “There were approximately 20,000 skimming incidents in the United States last year. The average cost per incident approached $50,000 and skimming costs across a U.S. bank’s entire ATM network is equivalent to about $2,500 per ATM each year."

Blackhawk Network Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Safeway, completed its initial public offering and began trading earlier Friday on NASDAQ under the symbol HAWK.

Shares were priced at $23 with 10 million shares being offered by the company. In today's trading, the shares advanced 13% to close at $26.01 at the market close. At that price, the market valuation for the company would be about $1.4 billion.

Blackhawk distributes prepaid cards, including gift cards, and connects brands to consumers via partnerships with various retail distributors, such as grocery store chains.

On the web:

• Other Drivers of Debit Consolidation - Tom Noyes - "The paradigms of debit and credit networks are ripe for disruption."
• Amazon Issued Patent To Make Mobile Purchases Anonymous - Storefront Backtalk
• Podcast: FIs Can Serve More Customers with Prepaid Cards - The Members Group Blog - "Konrad pointed out that although prepaid cards were once targeted to mostly underserved consumers, interest in them has now broadened to include customers with access to credit cards and other traditional banking products."
• Tracking your card purchases: Big data becoming big business - Taking Charge Blog - "Making money off of credit card users' purchase histories is an idea that's been floating around the business world for a while."
• Browser pays - Consult Hyperion's Tommorow's Transactions Blog - "...I remain convinced that there may be a way forward on this and perhaps the Mozilla API will stimulate more thought and perhaps make for a sea change in web economics."

On the wires:

• Dr. Gavin Michael Joins JPMorgan Chase As Head of Digital for Consumer and Community Banking - "Gavin has more than 20 years of experience across Retail Banking technology, including governance, organization, strategy, and innovation."

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.”

TransCard and FamZoo have announced a partnership to help parents teach their kids about smart personal finance habits.

With 'Unlimited Family Banking', the family pays one predictable flat monthly fee for multiple prepaid cards used collaboratively by individual family members to share funds and develop financial responsibility. The cards are linked together and accessed online through FamZoo’s award-winning family finance software designed specifically to help parents teach kids good money habits.

On the web:

• Mozilla Previews Direct WebPayment API - TechWeek Europe
• Can These Three Steps Protect Your Bank Account? - Portals and Rails
• Interac Debuts NFC Mobile Payment Solution in Canada - Mobile Marketing
• MasterCard Partners With Alibaba Group in China - ChinaRetailNews.com
• Bitcoin: The Internet's Secret Currency Makes Its First Public Appearances - NBCNews.com
• Could Linden Dollars Become Real Money? – Hypergrid Business

On the wires:

• Seamless: SEQR now also with NFC technology
• Global Payments supports V.me by Visa in UK
• Rakuten.com Shopping Incorporates MasterCard MasterPass
• Nubelo Selects Payoneer to Enhance Payment Capabilities to Freelancers Globally
• Green Dot and UniRush Introduce 'RushCard Live' Prepaid Card
• Virtual Piggy Now Integrated with Oracle’s eCommerce Platform

Fiserv has announced a new mobile loading capability for prepaid cards, giving cardholders the ability to safely load immediate, guaranteed funds from a personal or business check using a smartphone’s camera.

“By combining industry-leading check capture technology with easy check guarantee and authentication processes, Fiserv helps prepaid card processors and program managers increase card load volume, and has the potential to retain and grow their customer base,” said Gary Brand, director, Source Capture Solutions, Fiserv. “The ability to easily load funds from a check to a card adds a great deal of convenience for the consumer, and can be a valuable addition to traditional banking. For prepaid processors that offer mobile loading, this can mean increased balances, transaction counts, volumes and customer retention rates.”

The guarantee is enabled by a new agreement between Fiserv and VALID Systems.

American Express and Walmart have announced expanded security and funding capabilities to Bluebird, a debit and checking alternative that provides Americans with a better way to manage and control their everyday spending.

Bluebird Accounts(1) will now be eligible for FDIC insurance, providing an extra layer of security. As a result, permanent Bluebird Accounts will now have the ability to receive direct deposit of government payments, such as social security payments, military pay, and tax refunds. Customers can also balance their Bluebird checkbook in real-time with pre-authorized check writing, add checks to their Bluebird Account by mail and add funds up to $100,000 annually.

(1) Available to a Bluebird member who registers with American Express for a permanent account. These new features are not available with the temporary Bluebird card sold at Walmart retail locations.

Western Union announced the launch of the 'Western Union Global Share platform' which enables the company to partner with local companies around the world on stored-value solutions. Initial partners include Access Prepaid Worldwide, Advent Financial, AirPak, Credencial, Jade Payments, and mFunds.

“The launch of the Western Union Global Share platform and the addition of six companies are proof that Western Union is a relevant, wide-reaching and powerful brand – one with the trust of millions of customers,” said Diane Scott, Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Western Union. “We are truly a partner of choice for companies around the world.”

In addition, Western Union announced the launch of its Reload+ network, which allows customers with multiple types of accounts, including prepaid cards, mobile services and other e-commerce-based accounts, to “top up” or add cash to their accounts at participating Western Union Agent locations worldwide.

Akimbo, an Austin-based startup, announced a new service to share money with friends through electronic money transfers to Akimbo Visa Prepaid Debit Cards. Users can send funds instantly, and the recipient has immediate access everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, as well as at ATMs.

"As the payments industry tries to reinvent itself, we need to remember that it takes time for consumers to adopt and adapt to new technology," said Akimbo co-founder and CEO Houston Frost. "The reloadable prepaid account is a great 'bridge' to the wholly digital wallet -- it provides the convenience and ease of a cloud-based solution, with the familiarity and access of a physical card."

Akimbo helps individuals build their own network by allowing them to create up to five personalized "sub-cards" for friends. Once they have provided someone a sub-card, they can send money to the card. Website is www.akimbocard.com.

hyperWALLET has announced the integration of its prepaid card products and services with Apple Passbook.

“Our cardholders love our mobile apps and the ability to manage all aspects of their accounts from their phones. With passbook cardholders also receive balance updates and transaction notifications in real time in a native iPhone experience, providing even more convenience on the go”, states Lisa Shields, President & CEO of hyperWALLET Systems Inc.

MasterCard announced that its rePower service that transforms cash into electronic money on a prepaid account was recently launched in Europe. The cash reload service which is provided by CQR Payment Group is now available in the UK with other European markets to follow in coming months.

“By enabling cash electronification to take place at a far wider range of merchants or online, MasterCard is creating a series of environments where prepaid can be disruptive to the normal flow of cash in our society and where those people bound to cash can take advantage of the security, convenience and control offered by prepaid," said Matt Lanford Head of Prepaid at MasterCard Europe .

On the web:

• Capital One Charges Into Developer Territory With Beta APIs - Programmable Web
• BillGuard Integrates With Passbook To Track All Your Credit Cards In One Place - TechCrunch
• European Square Clone Payleven Introduces 'Chip & PIN' solution - TheNextWeb
• Square Launches A Merchant Directory To Help Customers Discover New Places - TechCrunch
• Google Launches Micropayments Service For Web Content - Digital Trends
• Wal-Mart to Let Customers Reload Other Brands Prepaid Cards - American Banker

On the wires:

• New Celent Report on State of Remote Deposit Capture 2012
• Elavon's Chip and PIN MobileMerchant Enables Irish Businesses on the Move
• NCR and Vantiv to Grow Multivendor ATM Software Availability in U.S.
• TransCard Partners with Netchex to Offer 100% Paperless Payroll

Marqeta has announced a new online-to-offline payments and commerce platform that enables merchants to leverage their own prepaid loyalty program without any new software or hardware at the point of sale.

“We based our technology on two key hypotheses – consumers will always be more loyal to their own money than to any given brand, while merchants will always be willing to reward shoppers who commit dollars before they walk in the door. After nearly nine months in the Bay Area and with more than 250 merchants signed on, we’ve proven these theories to be true and are focused on scaling our platform quickly and broadly.”

Western Union and MasterCard have announced that all cardholders with MasterCard rePower-enabled prepaid cards issued by any bank in the U.S. can now reload their cards at more than 45,000 Western Union Agent locations in the United States.

“Before you can use a prepaid card to shop online or pay bills, you must first be able to add funds to it,” said Mike Hafer, Senior Vice President, Global Prepaid, Western Union. “And it is easy to find a Western Union location and have the funds available almost immediately. Just visit your neighborhood Western Union location and you leave with the funds conveniently loaded on your prepaid card.”

On the web:

• Checking Accounts More Costly Than Prepaid Debit Cards - TIME.com
• Change Is the Only Constant: Section 1073 Set to Take Effect - Portals and Rails
• Google Kills Off Prepaid Cards For Google Wallet - ZDNet

On the wires:

• Atos Worldline Launches Ready-To-Go, NFC Mobile Wallet
• Western Union Signs ICBC for Account Based Money Transfer Services
• Zuora Announces Z-Business Relationship Business Management System
• Pivotal Payments and Frank & Oak Sign E-Commerce Payment Processing Agreement
• iSend Continues Strides in March to Global Coverage with Cross-Border Payments
• Now in Croatia: Pay Online With Prepaid Voucher paysafecard

MasterCard announced that is has partnered with CQR Payment Solutions to Launch the MasterCard Reload Service for Prepaid in Europe. Cardholders will be able to load cash at a wide variety of merchant locations across Europe via a direct card reload or through a Ukash voucher, which can then be used to reload the card online. The rePower voucher launch will be in November this year.

PreCash has announced FlipMoney, a mobile wallet app for underbanked consumers.

“Historically, people with the least amount of money and free time pay more and have fewer convenient options to do simple things like pay bills or cash checks,” said Steve Taylor, PreCash CEO. “Until now, the current cadre of mobile payments and financial services apps largely ignore the needs of people without bank accounts and credit cards. Flip changes all of that by combining instant remote check deposit and free expedited bill payments in a single mobile wallet that works with a prepaid card.”

PreCash also announced that the mobile solution can be customized and branded for mobile carriers, prepaid program managers, money service businesses and other merchants.

On the web:

• Prepaid Plastic Is Creeping Into Credit - WSJ.com
• On A Mission To Be Mobile Payment Agnostic, LevelUp To Roll Out NFC Terminals - TechCrunch
• Can WePay Replace Paper Checks and PayPal? - Forbes

On the wires:

• Sacombank Boosts Vietnam's eCommerce Security with CyberSource
• MoneyPass Expands Network to Offer Surcharge-Free ATM Access in 2,000 Walmart Stores
• Neiman Marcus and Visa Personalize the Shopping Experience With Mobile Messaging
• MoneyGram Enters Bosnia and Herzegovina

f

On the web:

• BofA Joins Chase, Citibank in Simplifying Checking Disclosures - latimes.com
• Biggest Names in Mobile, Payments Can't Hasten Pay-With-Your-Phone Future - Wired.com
• U.S. Bank to Process Electronic Invoices for Order Express' International Money Transfers - Bank Systems & Technology
• Reddit Is Getting A Dwolla and Stripe-Powered Fundraising Button - Fast Company

On the wires:

• Spreedly Makes Dwolla an Option for E-Commerce Sites - American Banker
• Contis Group Expansion Results in End-to-End Prepaid Service Capabilities
• MoneyGram Expands Relationship with Vietcombank, Adds New Service
• Interac Flash Provides Esso Customers With More Convenience
• WePay Introduces: Copy, Paste, Payments
• MoneyGram Expands UnionPay’s Global Emergency Cash Services

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