On the web:

• Dwolla Says It Wants to Compete With Credit Card Networks - ABC News
• Blink and It s Gone: Chase Drops Contactless Brand from Cards - American Banker
• Facebook Makes More Global Payment Methods Available to Buy Facebook Credits - ZDNet
• Swedish Operators to Form Mobile Payments Joint Venture - Mobile Europe
• Remote Deposit Capture: If You Expand It, Will Fraud Come? - Portals and Rails
• 28 Indicted in Theft of Credit Card Data at Steakhouses - NYTimes.com
• Lockbox: Still Crazy After All These Years - Celent Banking Blog

On the wires:

• U.S. Bank Customers Get Mobile Remote Deposit and Mobile P2P Payments
• Jollibee Launches Its Online Payment Service with AsiaPay (Philippines)
• Payair Rolls Out US Mobile Payment Services

On the web:

• Wal-Mart Benefits From Anger Over Banking Fees - NYTimes.com
• Credit Karma Launches "Hands Free" Account Aggregation - NetBanker

On the wires:

• mopay Upgrades its Mobile Payments Platform with HTML5 Features
• U.S. Bank Implements Secure Vault Payments for FamilySearch International for Online Donations
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch Adds EMV to Commercial Cards for International Travelers
• TNS Launches One-Stop Global GPRS Access Solution for Mobile Terminals across Europe

On the web:

• PayPal's Thompson on Cloud-Based Mobile Payments (Video Interview) - Bloomberg
• Mokipay Enables Mobile Payments in Lithuania (via NFC sticker) - ArcticStartup
• Mexico Remittances Rise the Most in 5 Years on Cheaper Peso - Businessweek
• PayPal to Open Global Operations Center in Malaysia - WSJ.com

On the wires:

• Braintree Now Processing $4 Billion Per Year
• Using MoneyGram to Send Money Now Supported Online at Walmart.com
• U.S. Bank Launches the New Visa Convenient Cash Card
• iovation and AliasLab Launch Fraud Protection and Device Identification Services to Southern Europe
• Travelex Introduces Chip & PIN-Enabled Prepaid Foreign Currency Card in Canada

On the web:

• Ericsson Enables In-App Android Payments Via Carrier Bills - mocoNews
• High-impact events in a warming world: Business continuity planning for retail payments - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• UseMyServices Partners with SafetyPay for Mutual Network Expansion
• Green Dot Partners with Blackhawk Network to Expand Product Availability
• U.S. Bank First in Industry to Launch Mobile-Enabled Credit Card Application at Select Retail Locations

U.S. Bank has announced the implementation of Secure Vault Payments (SVP), a "new consumer online payment option, for the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin's Polytechnic University. UW-Stout students and parents are able to initiate online tuition payments with SVP using a consumer online bank account at U.S. Bank or any Secure Vault Payment-enabled financial institution."

U.S. Bank has announced VITAband, a light-weight and durable wristband that combines contactless payment technology with emergency contact and medical information.

The VITAband allows customers to simply “Tap & Go” when making purchases at merchant locations that accept contactless payments. It also links to a customizable Emergency Response Profile (ERP) that provides medical professionals with fast access to critical medical information in the event of an emergency. U.S. Bank employees began testing the VITAband in multiple states in the second quarter of 2011, making U.S. Bank one of the first major card issuers in the United States to pilot this new technology.

U.S. Bank and TSYS have announced an agreement for TSYS to provide core processing services to Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank.

“TSYS is one of the leading processors of commercial payments in Europe, now processing in 17 countries across the continent,” said Bob Evans, managing director of Europe, TSYS International. “U.S. Bank’s decision to work with TSYS in Europe is a testament to the strong relationship that exists in the U.S. and the experience TSYS has gained through our expansion in Europe.”

U.S. Bank will begin issuing corporate cards in Europe this summer.

On the web:

• Isis Plans Mobile Payments Launch in Austin - Reuters
• Merchants Shred Costs of Payments by Plastic - Wall Street Journal

On the wires:

• U.S. Bank Launches Payment Plus to Automate Business Payments in Canada
• New Corporate Insight Report on Mobile Finance Landscape
• Cardtronics to Acquire EDC ATM Business

U.S. Bank has announced its "release of a dual interface payment solution that offers enhanced acceptance and compatibility with credit cards systems worldwide. The new U.S. Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa credit card combines Visa payWave, EMV chip, and magnetic stripe technologies, enabling customers to have the best experience possible wherever they use their cards."

On the wires:

• U.S. Bank Expands Mobile Banking Features to Include Remote Deposit Capture and Alerts
• eWise Creates Secure Vault Payments (SVP) Marketing Advisory Council
• One-Fifth of Young Consumers Plan to Obtain a New Credit Card This Year, Says Auriemma Consulting Group
• 2Checkout Expands International Market Reach with 13 Additional Currencies
• Aperta Provides Cheque Truncation and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) in Bangladesh
• BuyWithMe Acquires Daily Deal Site LocalTwist

On the web:

• BusinessWeek : Cash Registers May Get a Groupon Button
• Reuters Blog: Why the Fed needs to get its act together on payments
• Digital Money Blog: Hip to be Square
• Mobile Commerce Daily: Why banks should not ignore alternative payments
• Bloomberg: Citigroup Lets Some Asian Merchants Accept China UnionPay Cards
• Portals and Rails: Why U.S. issuers might be reluctant to adopt the EMV standard
• EEI Platform: Survey: Adoption of e-Billing in the U.S.
• Washington Post: In the battle over debit card swipe fees, consumers will lose (Michelle Singletary Column)

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

U.S. Bank, the fifth largest bank in the United States, will soon become the first major bank to implement Secure Vault Payments (SVP). "It gives businesses the only online payment option that provides real-time authorization of funds and guaranteed payments for ACH transactions at costs typically lower than traditional and other alternative payment methods."

"Launching Secure Vault Payments allows U.S. Bank to give our business customers a cost-effective, low risk option to accept online payments, while also offering our consumer banking customers one of the safest ways to pay online," said Jeff Jones, executive vice president for treasury management at U.S. Bank.

According to a new J.D. Power and Associates report, "Overall customer satisfaction with credit cards has rebounded from a three-year low in 2009, but professed loyalty continues to slip as skepticism that card issuers are focused on customers' best interests remains."

"Despite massive efforts by the credit card industry during the past year to educate customers about credit card terms as a part of the CARD Act, customers' grasp of those terms continues to be elusive," said Michael Beird, director of banking services at J.D. Power and Associates.

U.S. Bank has announced a new payment management tool, called ScoreBoard, that helps small businesses make smarter decisions about the financial operations of their business.

“ScoreBoard is unique because it gives our small business customers the ability to monitor their own spending and insight into how their sales trends compare to similar merchants in their business category,” said Pam Joseph, U.S. Bancorp Payment Services vice chair. “For our customers who have a U.S. Bank credit card and merchant account, the tool provides a comprehensive view of their business trends.”

CashEdge and U.S. Bank have announced that they are partnering to launch CashEdge's person-to-person (P2P) online and mobile payments service, Popmoney, later this year. According to the two companies, "U.S. Bank will offer Popmoney to its mobile banking customers through usbank.com and the downloadable mobile banking application, the U.S. Bank Mobile Wallet. U.S. Bank is the first large U.S. bank to offer a mobile P2P solution that enables users to send money directly from their bank account to anyone with an email address, mobile phone number and a bank account." READ MORE »

U.S. Bank and The Kroger Co. have announced a new strategic alliance that will give Kroger customers a suite of payment products. According to the two companies, "U.S. Bank has purchased Kroger’s existing credit card portfolio from RBS Citizens N.A., and plans to offer additional financial services for Kroger customers. Kroger is a large, well-known brand with strong customer loyalty, which creates an ideal platform to introduce innovative payments products and financial services." READ MORE »

U.S. Bank Healthcare Payment Solutions has announced it is "expanding its consumer product suite beyond health savings accounts (HSAs) with a comprehensive set of services designed to make consumer-directed healthcare (CDHC) easier to manage. U.S. Bank’s new integrated set of card-based payment solutions enables employers to offer competitive benefits plans, with tax savings to employees, while managing costs." READ MORE »

U.S. Bank has announced a new overdraft policy that includes a reduced fee of $10 for overdraft transactions that are $20 or less. The pricing change takes effect this August. READ MORE »

Elavon and Santander have announced the establishment of a joint merchant services alliance in Mexico. According to Elavon, "the alliance establishes a new global foothold for Elavon in a burgeoning credit card market and capitalizes on an existing relationship with Santander in Spain, the UK and Puerto Rico." READ MORE »

Elavon, the merchant acquiring subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp has announced the introduction of Fusebox - calling it a "next-generation hosted payment gateway that provides secure multi-point connectivity across a merchant’s enterprise." READ MORE »

U.S. Bank has announced that Visa Mobile is now available to select U.S. Bank debit card holders. Visa Mobile bundles alerts, offers, and a locator service -enabling cardholders to manage their U.S. Bank Visa accounts with near-real time updates. The application can be downloaded to mobile devices powered by Android, the Open Handset Alliance’s open source platform for mobile devices. READ MORE »

Visa has announced the North American rollout of its new transaction alert service allowing card issuers to provide near real-time alerts to Visa account holders throughout the U.S. and Canada.

According to Visa, "the service enables consumers to better manage and track their spending while providing them with an early warning system for potential fraudulent activities. Alerts are sent on behalf of participating issuers directly from VisaNet, Visa’s global processing network, typically within seconds of a transaction occurring. Alerts are triggered when the transaction meets certain criteria the account holder has selected and are delivered directly to the account holder via email, SMS text message or the Visa Mobile application. Visa’s transaction alerts let consumers monitor their accounts for unusual activity and take immediate action if they believe a potentially fraudulent transaction is taking place." READ MORE »

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP today announced the filing of a series of nationwide class action lawsuits against Bank of America, Wachovia, U.S. Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami for abusive overdraft fees. READ MORE »

U.S. Bank has announced a series of modifications to its service charge policies on checking accounts that will take effect in the first quarter of 2010. The changes include eliminating overdraft fees when a customer's account is overdrawn by less than $10, limiting the number of overdraft fees to no more than three per day and offering "opt out" to customers who would prefer to have transactions declined rather than pay overdraft fees. READ MORE »

In an article titled "Sticking with R&D, Even in a Downturn", Maria Aspan writes for the American Banker about US Bank's continuing focus on payments innovation.

"We can pilot things across both ends of the spectrum. We can issue and acquire in kind of a small pilot environment" without overspending or overextending the company's resources", Pamela Joseph, its vice chairman of payment services said.

Maria Aspan reports for American Banker this afternoon that Citi Holdings has sold $1.3 billion of managed card portfolios to US Bank. She reports that the portfolios were associated with KeyCorp, Associated Banc-Corp, and the affinity card portfolio for the American Dental Association.

Earlier, Floyd Norris of the New York Times posted a commentary about Citi's earlier press release announcing the sale - calling it the "least informative announcement." He said that "I can’t remember a deal announcement when a company said it had sold undisclosed assets to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed price, resulting in an undisclosed profit or loss."

U.S. Bank has announced that it is "the first card issuer in the United States to add Visa payWave technology to an unembossed debit card that is issued instantly to an account holder upon opening an account. The instant-issue Visa payWave pilot is being tested at select U.S. Bank branches in Denver and Salt Lake City as part of U.S. Bank’s on-going innovation in payments." READ MORE »

Visa and U.S. Bank have announced Syncada – a joint venture that the two companies say "provides a business-to-business (B2B) network for corporations and governments to process and track invoices, make and receive payments around the world, and have payables or receivables financed through local and global financial institutions." As part of the joint venture, Visa said it has made a capital investment in Syncada. READ MORE »

In an article titled "Testing the limits of new banking technology", ContactlessNews reports on recent trials by US Bank of NFC-equipped mobile phones, contactless stickers, smartphone-based mobile banking and small contactless payment keyfobs.

In an article titled "Frequent Fliers, Choose Your Card", Justin Bachman writes for BusinessWeek about the battle between US Bank and American Express over the former US Bank/Northwest Airlines WorldPerks cardholders - now that Northwest is about to merge with Delta, longtime partner with American Express. Bachman writes: "The fight over this customer base has been ferocious."