On Twitter:

We're hosting a payments meetup at @gumroad with talks by @airbnb and @square —come by! gumroad.com/meetup

— Sahil Lavingia (@shl) May 17, 2013

On the web:

• The future of Bitcoin: 3 predictions from experts - GigaOm - "Casares explained how some people in his country are using “old Android phones” to acquire and exchange Bitcoins at a time when the government is clamping down on the trade in U.S. dollars."
• Inside Mastercard’s Social Command Center - Digiday - "For Mastercard, diffusing social in the organization, ironically, meant centralizing it."
• High-Profile VCs Caught up in Bitcoin Mania - PEhub - "As big as the bitcoin opportunity is, it is equally rife with risk."
• Black-hat bitcoin’s days are numbered - Quartz - "Bitcoin has a lot of problems as a currency—its tendency for spasms of crazy volatility, most notably—but fewer as a payments system."
• Bitcoin’s consumerization continues with Perk, a rewards platform and Web browser for normal people - PandoDaily - "Now the only problem is figuring out how to get bitcoin into the hands of the masses."
• Google in Payments: Why Yesterday was BIG News - FinVentures (Tom Noyes) - "Osama and the Google team have done great work getting this out to market. Congrats."
• T-Mobile’s Twitter Account Explains Why Carrier Won’t Support Google Wallet - TmoNews - “We’re supporting ISIS, the wireless payment standard for mobile devices.”
• Square launches faster card swipe machine - Taking Charge - "Sure, we could make payments work better, but why should we when everyone really seems to like plastic?"
• Moving Upstream, PayPal and Square Make a Play for the Local Merchant’s POS - Street Fight - "The gist of PayPal’s and Square’s long-term aspirations is fairly clear: create a two-sided network with a consumer-facing mobile wallet on one end and a merchant processing network on the other, creating a system that gives them control over the entire payment stack."

On the wires:

• International Payment Networks Facing Emerging Threat from Domestic Competition and m-POS - "…the real threat comes when the successful m-POS solution providers follow the PayPal model and enable their own digital wallets and P2P transactions which could completely cut the international networks out of the equation.”
• What is the Killer App for Mobile NFC? It May Not Be Payments, Executives Agree at the 2013 NFC Solutions Summit - "When asked the question "Is NFC dead?" compared to alternate technologies such as cloud payments, Glenbrook Partners Consultant Allen Weinberg stressed that all these technologies are still in the early days and it is too soon to make judgments on what mobile commerce technologies will be the winners and losers. "At the end of the day, we don't have a widespread, commercialized anything yet," he said."
• sweetgreen rewards App an Immediate Success - "Representing the first white-label app from LevelUp, sweetgreen rewards has been an immediate success, allowing guests to earn dollars that can be redeemed at any of sweetgreen's 17 locations and offers various perks that can be unlocked over time…"

Visa Inc. has announced enhancements to its Visa Offers platform that delivers targeted rewards to Visa cardholders.

Visa says that "the enhanced service has the potential to eliminate paper coupons, allowing consumers, who opt in, to earn points and discounts as well as redeem special offers instantly at checkout by simply using their enrolled Visa card."

Smarter commerce means having the right offer, delivered to the right customer at the right time,” said Jim McCarthy, global head of Products, Visa Inc. “Visa’s new real-time point-of-sale redemption platform is a great example of Visa’s ability to apply its processing and technology expertise to simplify the use of offers and discounts, bringing benefits to merchants, acquirers, issuers and consumers.”

• Fully Customizable Offer Content - Retailers and financial institutions can deliver offers that are tailored to individual customers, through email, web and mobile.
• Real-Time Offer Relevancy - The platform also provides retailers and issuers data insights and analytics to measure the point-of-sale redemption rate, allowing them to create customized and more relevant offers.
• Consumer Loyalty Qualification - Retailers and issuers can use real-time messaging capabilities to identify and uniquely reward loyal customers.
• Multiple Redemption Options - Support for real-time redemption of offers and rewards at the point-of-sale - complementing the existing statement credit capability.
• Support for Multiple Offers Programs - Supports both Visa-specific and third-party offer programs.

On Twitter:

Here's my new @paypal card - yes, PayPal is issuing cards. It's too cool to have an account number on it. #payments twitter.com/joxman/status/…

— Jason Oxman (@joxman) May 7, 2013

On the web:

• The Banking Industry's Tech Nightmares Are Coming True - Motley Fool - "In the end, big banks and credit card companies need to realize that their era of dominating global payments could be coming to an end."
• Google Wins a Surprising Design Patent for a New Tablet based Credit Card Reader - Patent Bolt - "Google's design patent is for what appears to be a commercial tablet computer with a built-in credit card reader."
• Visa Plants a Seed for Growth Abroad - Wall St. Journal - A look at Visa's efforts in Rwanda.
• In Tomorrow’s Retail Universe, the Destination Is ‘You’ - StreetFight - "Based on clues we can see all around us, it is my belief that retail, as we’ve known it for at least the last two millennia, is coming to an end."
• More regulation of Bitcoin is a good thing - Lightspeed Venture Partners (Jeremy Lieu) - "Am I naive, am I a tool of the government overlords, or is more regulation an inevitable part of the path towards widespread Bitcoin adoption?"
• US financial regulator: We could regulate Bitcoin “if we wanted” - Ars Technica - "The American financial regulator for derivatives trading has told multiple news outlets that it is considering new rules for Bitcoin."
• Showrooming: Retailers Fight Back With New-Fangled Apps & Old-School Marketing - "Retailers, it appears, are getting better at keeping customers buying in the store, no matter what they are finding on their phones and tablets."
• Protecting Seniors from Identity Theft - Google Public Policy Blog - "Google’s Good to Know site is designed to help educate consumers of all ages about online threats and tools they can use to protect themselves…"
• The Next Phase of Social Business is the Collaborative Economy - Jeremiah Owyang - "That’s where brands will rent, lend, provide subscriptions to products and services to customers, or even further, allow customers to lend, trade, or gift branded products or services to each other."
• Mobile Payments Marked by Fragmentation and Increasing Channel Convergence, Says Fed - "While the U.S. mobile payments market continues to gain taction, it has not grown as steadily as expected, and the likelihood of mass adoption is not high…"

On the wires:

• Payments Veteran to Lead North America Business Development for ReD - "25-year payment services veteran John Lees is the company’s new North America vice president of sales."
• American Express Organizational Announcement – Daniel T. Henry, Chief Financial Officer - "Over the last few months Dan Henry and I have been discussing his plans for the next chapter of his personal and professional life."
• New AARP® Credit Card from Chase Offers Customers Cash Back on Every Purchase, Every Time - "By receiving 3 percent cash back on gas station and restaurant purchases and 1 percent on all other purchases, the average family can easily earn more than $250 cash back every year just by using the card."
• CPI Card Group Awarded US Patent for Innovative Secure Card Packaging Technology Utilized in Its Ultra Secure Pack™ Products - "The technology allows CPI to offer a superior, tamper proof, cost effective product for point of sale card activation applications including open loop prepaid cards."
• AIRTAG Enables Magento E-Commerce Sites to Mobilize in Native Mobile Wallet Apps - "For all retailers starting to think about how they are going to go mobile, we have created a solution that significantly eases the transition to digital commerce, without sacrificing the user experience."

On the web:

• Bitcoin vs. Ben Bernanke - WSJ - "The chief scientist for the digital currency talks about its appeal—and pitfalls—in a world of fiat money."
• Square sets its sights on Foursquare: 'We can do something better' - TheVerge.com - "Lots of apps and web services make recommendations for places to eat, drink, and shop, but Square is betting its payment data will give it a decisive edge."
• Mobile payment entrepreneurs need inspiration - Taking Charge (CreditCards.com) - "I thought about that dilemma earlier this week while reading the obituary of … Stanley A. Dashew … who was the first to come up with the idea of plastic cards in place of paper…"
• What's your mobile wallet recipe? - FastCasual - Commentary by Cardfree's Chuck Davidson - "…establishments that are competing in the mobile market space would be wise to build from their existing POS infrastructure…"
• Visa’s TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon Generates Fresh Thinking on Payment Security Education - Visa Viewpoints Blog - "Visa joined in on the fun by sponsoring the Disrupt hackathon, where 700 developers descended on New York City for a chance to win $8,500 from Visa."

On the wires:

• Ingenico Secures Deal With Heartland Payment Systems® for Heartland's Next Generation E3™ End-to-End Encryption and EMV Terminals

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:

• 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:

• Nate Silver: What Big Data can't predict - Fortune - "It's important to know, too, that there's a difference between how good we are relative to our potential and how intrinsically predictable something might be."
• Two-factor or not two-factor? That is the security question - InfoWorld - "The case for two-factor authentication would appear to be a slam dunk. But not all security experts praise the solution as a remedy for all security ills."
• PayPal President Makes Surprise Commentary About Bitcoin: “We’re kinda thinking about it” - Silicon Angle - "It’s too far out to speculate on how PayPal would enable this, but if they did it could bring about an accessibility revolution overnight."
• PayPal Sees $20 Billion in Mobile Transactions - Bloomberg video interview with PayPal's David Marcus
• Visa and Fandango Mobilize Buying Movie Tickets - AdWeek - "If consumers opt in for the GPS-enabled Tixpress, they'll see a virtual marquee with movies that are showing nearby. With a couple of taps, they can view showtimes and purchase tickets if they've synced up Fandango app with their Visa account."
• Banks Should Act More Like Apple: Cap One's Innovation Chief - Bank Technology News - "The bank is additionally trying to learn lessons from other industries. It's been looking at, of all categories of companies, newspapers for inspiration..."
• Bitcoin takes an important step toward becoming part of every web browser on the planet - "Bitcoin just took an important step closer to becoming the universal, open, distributed payments glue that binds the world of digital money, anonymous transactions, and extra-governmental currencies together."
• Why banks FAIL at partnerships in mobile finance - "In summary, a bank now has to partner to deliver mobile finance. That means that the bank that used to do everything itself is now just part of a mixed value chain of solution providers covering hardware manufacturers, network operators, payments processors, information service providers and more."
• Smartphones Finally Surpass the Feature Phone - NY Times Bits Blog - "Manufacturers shipped 418.6 million cellphones, 216.2 million of which were smartphones, says IDC."

On the wires:

• Coming Soon!

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."

On the web:

• CMU students show fingerprints may be way to buy - "With PayTango, a swipe of the finger links users' personal information to their credit or debit card in less than 15 seconds, making for a quick and easy-to-use system."
• Do Cyberattacks Threaten Confidence in Our Payment Systems? - FRB Atlanta Retail Payments Risk Forum
• Atlanta a Key Talent and Business Market for Square's Payments Business - MidtownPatch - "The company, which launched its Atlanta presence by hiring eight former Google Inc. engineers, expects to have a staff of 35 infrastructure engineers and customer support staff by the end of the year."
• Alipay Launches Sound Wave Mobile Payments System In Beijing Subway - Techcrunch - "Alipay has launched a new payment system in the Beijing subway that uses sound waves to connect smartphones with ticketing machines."
• American Express mobile advertising campaign generates 95pc view-to-completion rate - Mobile Commerce Daily - "A big part of American Express’ mobile and digital initiatives center around narrative storytelling, from both marketing and consumer perspectives."
• The real cause of the Bitcoin bubble and burst - Financial Services Club Blog - "Bitcoin is an experiment. Treat it like you would a promising Internet start-up company: Maybe it will change the world, but recognize that investing your money or time in new ideas is always risky."
• Consultation on a new payments regulator for the UK - Consult Hyperion's Tomorrow's Transactions Blog - "Will PayCom work? It's impossible to say, since I don't know what it is supposed to do."
• Will Bitcoins make you rich? - Sydney Morning Herald - "…indeed, I don't care at all for Bitcoin as a currency. Instead, I wanted to buy Bitcoins as pure, shameless speculation. I wanted a chance to ride a rocket ship."

On the wires:

• Discover Card Leads the Way in Customer Loyalty for the 17th Consecutive Year - "Discover has managed to create the highest levels of loyalty by leveraging real, emotional category values…"
• UL first lab selected to provide testing for mPOS solutions for the Visa Ready Partner Program - "UL was selected as the first lab to guide mPOS solution providers who want to ensure their products are ‘Visa Ready’ through all of the certification processes required by Visa."

On the web:

• Interview: MasterCard's Vision for a Cashless, Cardless, World - AdAge Digital - "Masterpass extends the idea of 'a world beyond cash' to be inclusive of 'a world beyond plastic.'"
• The best interface is no interface - Cooper - "As Jack Dorsey of Square explains, 'NFC is another thing you have to do. It’s another action you have to take. And it’s not the most human action to wave a device around another device and wait for a beep. It just doesn’t feel right.'"
• The Real Significance of the Bitcoin Boom (and Bust) - Time.com - "Once alternative currencies are frictionlessly available on the Internet, every laptop will become its own Cayman Island. However the current boom-and-bust plays out, Bitcoin is the beginning of something, not the end."
• Why Bitcoin crashed, and how Ripple might avoid the same fate - Gigaom - "That single point of failure is the most popular Bitcoin currency exchange, MtGox."
• Rakuten.com Shopping adds a new digital wallet payment option - Internet Retailer - "Online marketplace Rakuten.com Shopping announced this week it has added a digital wallet service called MasterPass to the handful of alternative payment options offered."
• Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall - Reuters - "Retail sales fell 0.4 percent during the month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That was below analysts' expectations that sales would be flat."
• How does Bitcoin work? - The Economist - "Unlike traditional currencies, which are issued by central banks, Bitcoin has no central monetary authority."
• MCX Makes Its Case for a Merchant-Led Mobile Wallet - PaymentsSource - "As the Merchant Customer Exchange asserts its position in the mobile wallet market, it emphasizes that the path to a consumer’s physical wallet runs through retailers."
• America’s Most Profitable Export Is Cash - NY Times Economix Blog - "Measured in dollar terms, there is 42 percent more cash in circulation today than five years ago."

On the wires:

• CLEAR and Visa Offer Expedited Travel for Visa Signature Account Holders - "Visa Signature account holders can enroll to receive discounted pricing on CLEAR membership with a six-month free trial plus $60 off the annual renewal rate of $179."
• Elavon and Banco Santander Close Deal to Deliver Merchant Services in Spain - "The agreement establishes the JV, Santander Elavon Merchant Services, 51% of which will belong to Elavon and the remaining 49% to Santander."

On the web:

• Coinsetter Lands $500K To Help Bring Leverage, Shorting To Bitcoin Trade - TechCrunch
• UnionPay Cards To Be Accepted In Turkey - Cards International
• Intuit GoPayment Adds Card Scan Feature - GadgeTell

On the wires:

• ADP Renews Agreement with Visa amid Rising Adoption of U.S. Prepaid Cards
• Nomis Solutions Announces Payments Pricing and Profitability Solution
• MoneyGram and First National Bank Launch Mobile Money Transfer Service in South Africa
• SecureNet Exceeds $19 Billion in Annual Processing, Announces Four New Partnerships
• Virgin Atlantic Welcomes Chase Ultimate Rewards Cardholders Onboard

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

On the web:

• Visa Inc. May Have to Buy Visa Europe - WSJ.com
• Beyond NFC and QR, the Next mPayment Acronym Might be BLE - MobilePaymentsToday.com
• Billtrust Speeds eBilling Adoption with Integrated QR Codes - Billing World

On the wires:

• Overstock.com Joins Roster of 35 eCommerce Merchants that Accept V.me by Visa
• TransCard Rolls Out Student Prepaid Card

Over on Payments Views, Glenbrook's Russ Jones blogs about the how the card industry is starting to subdivide at the point of sale into two submarkets, one being the “smart” transaction market and the other being the “basic” transaction market. He explores how this trend is exemplified through solutions from Google, Isis, PayPal, and Visa. The full article is here.

On the web:

• RBS and NatWest Launch Visa-based Mobile P2P Transfers (UK) - Guardian
• Google Organizationally Moves Google Wallet Inside Google Advertising Group - WSJ.com
• Intuit Rolls Out Mobile POS Solution In Europe, Starting First In The UK - TechCrunch
• Mobile Payments from Western Union Make It Easier To Pay Bills - Mobile Commerce News
• UnionPay To Widen Global Issue Of Single-Branded Cards - chinadaily.com.cn
• PayPal Debuts PayPal Here "Register" App for iPad - AllThingsD

On the wires:

• BBVA to Start JCB Merchant Acquiring in Spain
• eLayaway Integrates PepperJam Exchange Network and Welcomes Dazadi to its eLayawayMALL
• Virgin Atlantic Airways further strengthens payment security with Semafone

On the web:

• Payments Company Stripe Makes First Acquisition, Buys Kickoff - TechCrunch
• PayPal Launches Next Generation Developer Tools Mobile Payments - PayPal Blog
• Payments Startups Take The Data, Design And Development Route To Reengineer The Credit-Card Business - TechCrunch
• Retailer Sues Visa Over $13 Million 'Fine' for Being Hacked - Wired.com
• The ATM: Disappearing Soon from a Location near You? - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Elavon Launches Mobile Innovation Center
• Western Union Continues Mobile App Expansion
• Early Warning Advances Mobile Banking by Reducing the Threat of Duplicate Deposit Fraud
• Discover Announces International Alliance with Nigeria’s Interswitch Limited
• Fiserv Multiplies Consumer Mobile Payment Options by Combining P2P Payments and Mobile Banking
• FirsTech Accelerates Electronic Payments Growth With the Fusion Bill Pay Platform
• Earthport Signs American Express for its Cross-Border Payments Service
• Net Element International to Acquire Unified Payments

Monitise and Visa Europe have announced that they are further strengthening their partnership via a new three-year commercial agreement spanning the development and deployment of Mobile Money payments and mobile commerce solutions for Europe’s leading financial institutions. The investment provides Visa Europe with licence rights to all aspects of Monitise’s mobile technology. "The new relationship incorporates minimum revenues to Monitise of €45 million over the first three years with the potential for greater revenues as certain user generated thresholds are achieved."

Visa and JPMorgan Chase have announced that the companies have agreed to a letter of intent for a new and expanded 10-year renewable partnership agreement to better serve both Chase cardholders and merchants.

“We are pleased to extend our long-term partnership with Visa,” said Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer & Community Banking, JPMorgan Chase. “Chase Merchant Services enables us to build direct relationships with merchants and give enhanced benefits, such as targeted offers and discounts to Chase Visa cardholders.”

Chase Merchant Services combines the capabilities of JPMorgan Chase’s acquiring business, support functions and extensive card portfolio with a customized processing solution that Visa and JPMorgan Chase will create using Visa’s network, VisaNet.

Visa made a number of announcements late last week and this week at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona.

• Visa Introduces Visa Ready Partner Program
• Visa and Samsung Sign Global Alliance Agreement to Accelerate Mobile (NFC) Payments
• Visa Signs Agreement with ROAM to Increase Availability of Mobile Acceptance Solutions Worldwide

The Visa Ready Program includes 'Visa Ready for Mobile Acceptance (mPOS) Solutions' and 'Visa Ready for Mobile (NFC) Payments'.

On the web:

• Mobile POS Firm iZettle Launches ‘Chip & Pin’ Device - The Next Web
• Death of Cash? Maybe, but not quite yet in Japan - Fortune Tech

On the wires:

• Reserve Bank of Australia Announces Proposal for Fast Payments
• Visa Showcases Mobile Payments at Mobile World Congress 2013
• Virtual Piggy Increases Global Footprint

Visa announced the launch of a new plug-and-play mobile money platform that will make it easy and cost-efficient for financial institutions and mobile operators to offer mobile financial services to consumers.

The global platform is the world’s first bank-grade managed service for mobile money – meaning it allows Visa to host and fully manage all aspects of a mobile money program on behalf of the provider, from user interface design to consumer enrollment, transactions processing, authorization, clearing and settlement. The new service can enable domestic-only or globally interoperable mobile money services.

The new platform is built on Fundamo’s technology, the mobile money technology acquired by Visa in 2011.

Visa announced the results of a study it commissioned from Moody's Analytics on the impact of electronic payment products, such as credit and debit cards, on the GDP of 56 countries.

“Despite a challenging global economic landscape, the increased penetration of payment cards helped boost consumer consumption and, on average, added to GDP,” noted Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics. “This was particularly true for emerging markets. The increase in consumption parallels the growing popularity and accessibility of electronic payments among global consumers, and the findings point to the need for governments to adopt policies that encourage the shift to efficient and secure electronic forms of payments.”

The study found that increases in card consumption contributed to an average additional growth in GDP of 0.17% per year over a five-year period. Over the same time period, GDP in those 56 countries grew by an average of 1.8%.

Visa has announced financial results for the Company's fiscal first quarter 2013. Q12013 highlights include:

• Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended September 30, 2012, on which fiscal first quarter service revenue is recognized, was 6% over the prior year at $1.0 trillion.

• Cross-border volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, was 11% for the three months ended December 31, 2012.

• Total processed transactions, which represent transactions processed by VisaNet, for the three months ended December 31, 2012, were 14.2 billion, a 4% increase over the prior year.

Full information is available on the Visa investor website.

On the web:

• Canada Drops Penny From Currency - chicagotribune.com
• Square Competitor mPowa Signs Up Portugal Telecom - TechCrunch
• Alipay Sees Massive Growth In Mobile Payments In China - MobilePaymentsToday.com

On the wires:

• ACCC Commences Federal Court Proceedings Against Visa Inc (Australia)
• MACH and payvia Partner to Offer Seamless Worldwide Mobile Payments Platforms
• Western Union Expands Indian Rupee Payments for Colleges and Universities
• FleetCor’s Global Fuel Card Processing System ‘Goes Live’ at Shell
• SafetyPay Expands Global Coverage To Germany and Austria
• Skype Goes Live With MACH Direct Operator Billing
• GlobalCollect Grows Payment Volume By 36.5%

Visa announced its support for a common U.S. debit solution and an expansion of Visa's previously announced roadmap for EMV chip card adoption in the United States to include a migration path for ATM transactions.

"To help facilitate chip adoption and issuer compliance with U.S. debit regulations, Visa plans to provide some of its proprietary EMV chip technology to the industry. This approach will simplify EMV chip implementation for debit, reduce migration costs and increase flexibility for card issuers, acquirer processors and merchants."

On the web:

• ‎Debit Networks Reject MasterCard’s EMV-Durbin Solution - Digital Transactions
• Mobile Ordering Provider 'OLO' Receives $5M in Funding from PayPal and Others - QSRweb.com
• Rogue Valley Merchants Leery Of 'Checkout Fee' Surcharge - Ashland Daily Tidings
• Angie's List, Square Announce Mobile POS Partnership - Benzinga
• Visa Service Restored After Canada-Wide Outage - CBC News
• Google Wallet Gets A Makeover - NFC World

On the wires:

• TransUnion Announces Acquisition of ZipCode in Brazil
• MasterCard Expands Strategic Alliance with Hotel Company IHG into the U.S.
• Merchant Warehouse Announces Availability of 'Genius Customer Engagement Platform'
• MedDirect Launches Online Payment Portal for Patient Responsibility Balances
• PayLeap, Acculynk’s Payments Processing Arm, Introduces Developer Integration Tools
• NCR Silver to Make Everyday Easy for 600 Cellairis Franchise Stores and Their Shoppers

Visa announced that Bank of America has agreed to offer Visa’s digital wallet service called V.me and has begun piloting it to its online banking customers.

“We look at everything through the lens of the customer and continue to prioritize security, privacy, and fraud protection above all else,” said David Godsman, Online and Mobile Solutions executive, Bank of America. “We believe our customers shouldn’t have to forgo security for convenience when using a digital wallet. V.me offers customers a greatly simplified and secure checkout process when shopping online without sharing their financial information.”

Visa announced a new solution in its information products line up to help issuers reduce the risk of eCommerce fraud using real-time, risk-based transaction analysis.

Visa Consumer Authentication Service authenticates the consumer prior to the authorization process, adding a powerful layer of protection against fraud. As the consumer begins the online checkout process, the solution performs a real-time risk assessment of the transaction based on numerous inputs including device and transaction information and historical spending patterns. The result is that issuers can complete lower-risk eCommerce transactions without requiring consumers to go through the extra step of entering their passwords or other verification. The solution minimizes disruption and abandonment at the point of purchase, while also helping issuers and merchants reduce fraud losses.

The Visa Consumer Authentication Service supports Verified by Visa and is available in all Visa Inc. markets immediately.

Visa announced that more than 50 additional financial institution partners will be distributing V.me, Visa’s new digital wallet service.

“Whether you’re shopping for holiday gifts or shopping for yourself, V.me is now available to anyone in the U.S. looking for a more simple, secure, and personal online shopping experience,” said Jennifer Schulz, global head of eCommerce, Visa. “V.me is built around a single concept, to help people shop online simply and securely. We understand that need and believe our long-standing relationships with financial institutions, merchants and acquirers put Visa in a strong position to deliver the very best digital wallet experience.”

These relationships bring the addressable base of cardholders to as many as 55 million, allowing account holders to easily enroll Visa and other U.S.-issued payment cards through V.me and begin shopping online from a PC, tablet or mobile phone.

Judge John Gleeson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has granted preliminary approval in the U.S. merchant litigation. Reuters has a nice write up of the hearing:

During a packed hearing on Friday, lawyers for dozens of objectors -- including Target Corp and Home Depot Inc -- told the judge that the settlement offered meaningless relief for merchants saddled with an estimated $30 billion in annual swipe fees. They also argued that releases shielding Visa and Mastercard from new litigation over the same claims would violate their legal rights and give the two companies protection from for any future anti-competitive behavior.

The National Retail Federation said that is will continue to oppose the settlement and look at other legal options.

In other legal news, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to AmEx's bid to force merchants to arbitrate antitrust claims over it fees.