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:

• Swiff Targets Banks With Its Mobile POS Solution (Singapore) - BetaKit
• ThreatMetrix Picks Up $18 Million To Expand Its Fight Against Cybercrime - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• Chase and United Launch United MileagePlus® Club Card
• U.S. Bank Global EMV Corporate Card Hits the Market
• Western Union and PODS Sign Agreement to Deliver National Walk-in Payments Network to U.S. Consumers on the Move

ThreatMetrix announced the launch of a new mobile software development kit (SDK) that helps identify fraudulent transactions originating from mobile applications. "The new product, called TrustDefender Mobile, expands on ThreatMetrix’s already established malware detection and cookieless device identification technology for laptops and desktop computers. The same risk-based fraud screening capability that is available to browser-based transactions is now available to mobile applications."

ThreatMetrix and TransUnion have announced a collaborative effort to incorporate features and functionality from their respective fraud prevention platforms.

“Today’s reality is that device identity is a critical component of a person’s overall online identity. The combination of personal and device identity verification now available through the TransUnion and ThreatMetrix platforms is good for consumers in that it can prevent unauthorized transactions if their online identity has been compromised,” said TransUnion’s Jeff Brown, vice president, Identity Risk Solutions.

ThreatMetrix has announced that it has acquired the Australian-based company TrustDefender, a "recognized leader of secure browsing technology to stop man-in-the-browser (MitB) attacks and provide malware protection." The combined companies will operate under the ThreatMetrix name with global operations in the United States, Australia and Europe. The corporate headquarters will be located in San Jose, California.

On the web:

• Justice Department Seeks OK for Pact With Visa, MasterCard - Wall Street Journal
• What is NFC, and why do we care? - Engadget
• SK C&C USA, InComm Will Let Merchants Offer Mobile Payments - Bloomberg
• Citi Says Many More Customers Were Affected by Data Theft - New York Times

On the wires:

• Fifth Third Processing Solutions Changes Name to Vantiv
• First Data Rebrands UK Acquiring Business to First Data Merchant Services
• Report Says Cash is King When it Comes to Credit Card Incentives
• VoiceTrust Expands With Mobile Payments in the Middle East
• Study Finds Mobile Check Deposit Top Reason to Switch Primary Banks
• ThreatMetrix Launches New “ThreatMetrix Fraud Facts”

ThreatMetrix has announced some results of a joint study with the Ponemon Institute that reveals consumers' growing concern over online fraud.

Results showed that 85% of survey respondents reported being worried and dissatisfied with the level of protection online businesses are providing to stop fraudsters today, which is up 5% from a 2009 Ponemon study that asked the same question. 42% of respondents, in fact, said they have been the victim of online fraud. Of those, 80% said they did not report the crime, however, and only 19% said they reported it only to the online business directly.

ThreatMetrix has announced the availability of its cloud-based Fraud Prevention Platform.

"The ThreatMetrix Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform provides companies with the ability to authenticate payments, new accounts and returning customers online regardless of the device involved -- be it a smartphone, personal or tablet computer -- without requiring a forklift install of hardware or software," said Reed Taussig, president and CEO, ThreatMetrix.

On the wires:

• Moneris Solutions Adds ThreatMetrix Device Identification Capabilities to Its Online Merchant Fraud Protection
• HID Global Delivers First Gift Card Issuance Project to Major Retailers in Korea
• Multiband, InterceptEFT Announce Partnership for Customer Payment Processing
• Radiant Systems Launches Additional Security Services to Help Restaurant and Retail Operators Protect Consumer Data

On the web:

• MSNBC: The Death of the Magnetic Stripe Credit Card (EMV story)
• New York Times: Debit Card Fees Bring Lobbyists to Capitol Hill
• Gov Info Security: EMV Roots Go Deep in Europe (Interview)
• Inside Facebook: Facebook Helps Sell Digital Media with Credits: Challenges and Opportunities
• ReadWriteWeb: NFC in 2011: Who's Building Your Mobile Wallet?

On the wires:

• ThreatMetrix Partners With ActivIdentity on Device Identification Capabilities
• VeriFone Integrates Card Payment & Media for UK Taxis
• Visa Europe and Foregenix join forces to deliver PCI cardholder data discovery education programme

On the web:

• Washington Post: Credit Card Companies Figure Out How To Spin Straw Into Gold
• Ars Technica: Near Field Communications: a Technology Primer

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• SOFTBANK MOBILE in Japan Selects Gemalto for Mobile Contactless Payment Trial
• ThreatMetrix Achieves Record Revenue, Billings, Transactions, and Customer Growth in 2010
• Main Street Softworks Inc. Adds Credit Card Enhanced Data (Level III) Reporting Features
• ValidSoft Technology Targets Belgian Bank Card Fraud Crisis
• ProPay Partners with 3DCart to Provide Merchants a Complete Set of eCommerce Tools
• Mitek Seeing Strong Deployment of its Mobile Remote Deposit Capture Application
• BPC Banking Technologies and Banca Transilvania Introduce Western Union Transfers through ATM´S

• New York Times: Now at Starbucks: Buy a Latte By Waving Your Phone
• Portals and Rails: Retail Payments Risk Forum Hosts 4th Annual "Emerging Risks in Emerging Payments" Conference
• eMarketer: In-App Purchases Become Major Mobile Revenue Stream
• Cult of Mac: iPad Cash Register Arrives at Grand Central Coffee Shop

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• Zuora Z-Force Checkout Now Available on Salesforce.com App Marketplace
• Payvment Closes $6 Million Round of Series B Funding
• myYearbook to Use the ThreatMetrix Fraud Network
• Ten of the Top 75 Online Retailers Sign-on to Sell Gift Cards with eBillme

• Newsweek: On PayPal, the U.S. Lags in Selling to the World
• MediaPost: Visa and LivingSocial Partner For 'Buy One, Get One' Promo

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• Zong Brings Direct Mobile Payments to the Philippines
• Ixaris Launches Secret Path Developer Challenge
• New Study Tracks Consumer Attitude Toward Online Shopping and Internet Security This Holiday Season
• New In-Stat Report on Virtual Goods in Social Networking and Online Gaming
• Verifi and Lime Light CRM Partner to Deliver Integrated Risk Management Solution for Direct Response Merchants
• Authentify and DocuSign Deliver More Than 35,000 Securely Signed Documents in First 90 Days of e-signature collaboration
• ThreatMetrix Announces Cookieless Device Identification to Prevent Online Fraud While Protecting Customer Privacy
• American Express Launches Premium Return Protection
• Blackboard Partners with PE Systems to Cut Credit Card Processing Costs for Colleges and Universities
• Virtual Red Kettles and Plastic Cash

• NFC World: Bling Nation to Launch National US Mobile Payments Service in Early 2011
• The Catalyst Code: Insights on Payment Innovation from Harvard Business School’s 16th Annual Cyberposium
• China Payments News: China Telecom, Bank of China, and UnionPay Launch New Mobile Payment Service

ThreatMetrix has unveiled a new mobile security application for smartphone users called SafeAndSurf - a web browser that securely stores a smartphone user's personal data until he or she is ready to sign-on to a social network, execute an online banking transaction, or complete an ecommerce purchase. According to the company, "SafeAndSurf is the only mobile security application to safeguard a smartphone user's personal information and also allow the user to automatically insert that information to transaction data fields, a combination that allows consumers to shop, bank and play on their smartphones more safely and easily." SafeAndSurf is available today for use on the Apple iPhone. READ MORE »

ThreatMetrix has announced an upgrade to its isoftware-as-a-service fraud and abuse-prevention solution. Calling it "the first major release of the product since ThreatMetrix relocated to the United States from Australia at the end of last year, ThreatMetrix Fraud Prevention 2.0 includes more than two dozen feature enhancements, all of which are designed to help merchants and financial institutions thwart cyber criminals before the first transaction." READ MORE »

ThreatMetrix, a on-demand fraud detection company, has announced that it has relocated to the US from Australia where the firm had been based since its inception in 2005. "A pioneer in device identification technology, which is quickly becoming the de facto standard in online fraud detection, ThreatMetrix will operate from Los Altos, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The company will continue to maintain research-and-development operations in Australia." READ MORE »