On the web:

• Apple Advances their Future Shopping App Again & More - Patently Apple - "Today's patent application adds at least five major aspects to the "Shopping" apps patent claims."
• Half of Visa’s payments will be via mobile by 2020, says Visa Europe VP - The Drum - "...Hawkett said that Visa views mobile as the opportunity to “redefine” payments."
• How to build trust in the Bitcoin ecosystem - Jeremy Liew - "So what is needed to create trusted Bitcoin companies?"
• Can Google Be The Amazon.com For The Rest Of The Web? - ReadWrite - "Virtually every other payment provider lacks the social integration that Google includes."
• New Cash Registers Are Sexy, But What’s Beneath the Counter Matters More - Wired - "Payments are really the only online connection into every retail store that matters..."
• mPOS: Our Latest Disruptive Device For QSRs - GoPago Blog - "Our new mPOS will debut on the Nexus 4 with a card reader, rugged case and with our POS software already loaded for $49 a month."
• Safeway CEO has big plans for payment program that avoids bank debit card fees - San Francisco Business Times - "...Safeway is already hearing from other retailers eager to avoid fees associated with accepting debit cards carrying the MasterCard and Visa logos."
• The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Udayan Goyal (commenting on Google Wallet) - "In terms of wider industry impact, I think that incumbents will have to completely rethink how they make money around payments."
• Blimpie expands mobile repertoire with gift cards - Mobile Commerce Daily - "…40 percent of Blimpie’s traffic comes from mobile devices."
• The Road Ahead for Mobile Payments - Mobile Future Institute - "Overall, I came away with the impression there’s still quite a ways to go for mobile payments…"
• PayPal, Groupon, Square focus on traditional POS to boost mobile strategies - "In order for consumers to ditch their physical wallets in favor of digital wallets, merchants need to get rid of their old cash registers…"
• The mobile money paradox – if everyone wants it, why is it doing so badly? - Tomorrow's Transactions - "There are in excess of 160 live MM services being operated around the world right now, but despite high expectations created by success in Kenya, only a handful have thus far reached critical mass."

On the wires:

• Marqeta Online-to-Offline Commerce Engine Powering the Multi-Retailer Facebook Card - "We are very proud that Facebook has adopted our technology, and look forward to a lasting partnership with them…"
• Marqeta Raises $14 Million Series B to Accelerate Wide Adoption of its +M Platform - "Instead of receiving points and product rewards, Marqeta merchants simply give consumers more money to spend in grocery, restaurants, dry cleaning and beyond."
• BitPay Raises $2 Million led by Founders Fund - "Businesses selling electronics, precious metals, and other low-margin products over the internet are seeing a large increase in profitability by accepting bitcoin payments."
• Mobile Banking Explodes and Keynote Announces Who Does It Best – One Billion Mobile Banking Consumers Expected by 2017 - "Chase achieved its third consecutive win for Overall Score, while also repeating were Wells Fargo in second place and Bank of America in third."

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 Twitter:

For bitcoin to make it it needs to be banned by a few governments and critiqued by policy makers. Otherwise it will fade. #Antifragile.

— Nassim N. Taleb (@nntaleb) May 15, 2013

5 reasons the financial industry is ripe for disruption smrt.io/10N3isR > drawn from @coreemc @cfsinnovation report on #underbanked

— Arjan Schutte (@arjanschutte) May 15, 2013

On the web:

• What to watch as the bitcoin drama develops - PandoDaily - "If the promises of bitcoin could ever be unlocked – perhaps one of the biggest ifs in the tech world today – it’s about as big of a venture-style opportunity as you could imagine."
• Dept. of Homeland Security freezes accounts between Dwolla and bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox - PandoDaily - "…the Department of Homeland Security served the Dwolla mobile payment service with a court order requiring it to immediately cease all account activities with the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange."
• Square And PayPal Push The iPad-ification Of America's Small Businesses - ReadWrite - "Square, PayPal, and Groupon all made news today with the common goal of getting small businesses to junk their cash registers for Internet-connected devices…"
• Google Ventures invests in OpenCoin, the firm behind Bitcoin exchange Ripple - GigaOm
• Why Prepaid Cards Appeal to Hackers - Bank Technology News - "…overall, prepaid cards are as safe as any other payment instrument available to consumers..."
• Visa Europe Offers to Cap Credit-Card Fees to End EU Probe - Bloomberg - "…this will allow cheaper use of cards that are a payment system used in almost half of our total payments in the EU…"
• Compass Plus survey reveals industry expectations for contactless are overambitious - Bob's Guide - "Actively tracking the difference in opinion between industry experts and the general public has been an interesting experiment..."
• Lightspeed is anchoring a Bitcoin focused fund - Lightspeed Venture Partners - "It’s no secret that that I see the opportunity for Bitcoin to disrupt multi-billion-dollar markets and dramatically cut transaction costs for people around the world."
• Liberty City Ventures Launches $15 Million Fund To Invest In Bitcoin And Other Digital Currency Startups - TechCrunch - "It seems like everyone is talking about Bitcoin these days."
• Consumers, payments and unknown knowns - Tomorrow's Transactions Blog - "It’s hard in fact for non-industry ‘civilians’ to know what they want from a technology they barely understand. Furthermore, payments is boring – consumers don’t want to think about it."

On the wires:

• Vantiv to Bring Next Generation Point-of-Sale Redemption Technology to the U.S. Market with Visa Offers Platform - "Vantiv is the first U.S. acquirer to announce their intent to offer this technology to clients across the country..."
• TapBase Introduces NFC-Less Proximity Payments - "We’re very pleased to offer merchants and consumers the ability to perform proximity or ‘contactless’ transactions with their iPads and iPhones…"
• Square reinvents the register with Square Stand - "Square Stand gives merchants a remarkable new way to manage and grow their business, all for the price of a cash register."
• Leaf Unveils Second Generation of its Built-for-Business Tablet - "Leaf is on a mission to turn standard point of sale into point of smart interactions for small businesses…"
• FIS Study Shows Significant Revenue Opportunity for Large and Mid-tier Financial Institutions from Real-time Payments Offerings - "Offering real-time payments can help consumers better manage their financial lives, offer a differentiated banking experience and provide additional revenue streams for financial institutions..." - Report available here
• eftpos Announces Contract to Enable Mobile Payment Trials - "eftpos today announced it would begin mobile payments trials with selected Australian retailers in the next few months."
• Boku Partners with Swisscom to Offer Mobile Payments - "This agreement will bring direct-to-bill mobile operator billing as a payment option to more than 6 million customers, covering more than 60% of Switzerland’s mobile market."

Visa Europe has announced two additions to its Visa Personal Payments mobile service that will enable consumers to make instant transactions from their mobile phone to any Visa cardholder in Europe, in any European currency.

The Multi-Currency feature, to be available by the end of 2013, allows payments to be sent and received across borders, bringing international money transfers to mobile devices. Immediate Payments, launching in the UK this week with other markets to follow later in the year, makes it possible for consumers to receive money sent via Visa Personal Payments in a matter of minutes.

Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President, Visa Europe, said:

"Mobile payments have the potential to fundamentally change the way that people pay and are paid. The new Multi-Currency and Immediate Payments features combine the convenience of mobile device use with the ability to send money to 460 million Visa cardholders across Europe, solving a problem that millions of consumers face every day – giving money to another individual easily and securely."

Visa Personal Payments is a person-to-person payments service that enables anyone with a Visa credit, debit or reloadable prepaid card to accept payments from another Visa card without needing to share any account details.

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

On the web:

• College Debit Cards: Hidden Costs Of Convenience - NBC News
• ‘European Square’ iZettle Now Works With Android; Visa Europe Dispute Drags On - TechCrunch
• Google To Sponsor Free Wi-Fi Experiment To Drive Google Offers Sign Ups - GigaOM
• National Payment Preference by Card Type - Litle & Co. Blog

On the wires:

• Visa and IDB Partnership Brings Financial Inclusion to Complexo do Alemão in Brazil
• PAYBOX from VeriFone’s Point Group Drives Mobile Orders to McDonald’s in France
• Capario Launches Integrated Solution to Streamline Patient Payment Processing

On the web:

• Wal-Mart Opposes Credit-Card Swipe-Fee Settlement - Wall Street Journal
• Visa Europe May Get Antitrust Complaint on Credit Cards, EU Says - Bloomberg
• Nordstrom and J.C.Penney to Shift to Mobile Checkout – USATODAY.com
• Virtual Piggy Lets Kids Shop Online, With Controls - Wall Street Journal
• Visa: Mobile Payments Will Hit Mainstream In 2 To 3 Years - CNET News
• Blockbuster Buys Mobile POS Company to Enhance In-Store Experience - Mobile Commerce Daily
• Profile: Braintree Wants to Make Mobile Payments History - Forbes

On the wires:

• Chase Launches New Disney’s Visa Debit Card
• New Mercator Report on Third-Party Walk-In-Bill Payments in the US
• Silver Tail Systems Raises the Bar for Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention
• Visa Europe Improves UK Online Checkout With Verified by Visa Changes
• Fortumo Launches Subscription Payments for Digital Content

Visa has announced that during the London 2012 Games it will showcase its latest payment innovations in mobile payments, contactless payments, and mobile prepaid.

“Electronic payments play a crucial role in facilitating tourism and meeting the needs of consumers on the go during a world sporting event such as the Olympic Games, making this an unique opportunity to showcase how technology is changing the way people shop, pay and get paid around the world,” said Jim McCarthy, Head of Products at Visa Inc. “This summer we will be demonstrating the future of payments in London – a future where most consumers will rely on mobile devices, tablets and PCs to manage their daily financial lives.”

Visa Europe has announced that its new digital wallet service, V.me by Visa, will launch to an initial group of consumers in the UK, Spain and France in autumn 2012.

Mariano Dima, Executive Vice President of Product and Marketing Solutions at Visa Europe, said: "V.me sits at the heart of Visa's future of payments. For the first time, consumers and retailers will have a streamlined online checkout experience through an acceptance mark that offers industry-leading security and, when a Visa card is used in a V.me wallet, the same protection and rights that come with any Visa card transaction.

Visa Europe also announced WorldPay as key UK development partner.

O2 has announced the launch of the O2 Wallet, "a seamless and secure digital wallet service that will deliver the benefits of mobile money to more UK consumers than any other product or service currently available."

James Le Brocq, Managing Director at O2 Money, said: “O2 Wallet delivers the benefits of mobile money to more UK consumers than any other product or service currently available. With O2 Wallet, it’s easier to transfer money, track expenditure and pay swiftly and securely, all using your mobile. We believe it will transform the way people manage their finances and spend money.”

Visa Europe provides the payment underpinnings of the O2 Wallet. See the O2 Wallet webiste for more information.

On the web:

• How the Illicit Economy Would Work in a World without Cash - Slate Magazine
• Amazon Enlists Poste Italiane to Deliver Goods, Collect Payment - Internet Retailer

On the wires:

• Forever 21 Enlists Accertify to Fight Fraud
• Visa Europe backs Mobile Money Network

Visa has made a series of announcement over the last several days at the Mobile World Congress 2012 to shore up its position in the ever changing mobile payments industry.

• Vodafone and Visa Announce Mobile Payments Partnership

• Visa and Intel Form Strategic Alliance to Advance Mobile Commerce

• New Visa Service Provides Secure “Over the Air” Provisioning of Mobile Payment Accounts

• Visa and Samsung Reveal Mobile Payments Application for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

On the web:

• Attack of the New Bank Fees - WSJ.com
• Rare Legal Fight Takes On PCI Security Standards and Fines - Wired.com
• La Caixa, Visa Europe to Blanket Barcelona with Contactless Payments - American Banker
• Swedish Carriers Pick Mobile Wallet Suppliers - NFC World
• Verizon Versus Google Wallet - IEEE Spectrum

On the wires:

• MaxMind and TeleSign Partner to Provide Best-in-Class Multilayer Fraud Prevention
• Moneris Launches PAYD, a New Mobile Payment Processing Service

Visa Inc and Visa Europe have jointly announced that NFC-enabled smartphones from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Research In Motion (RIM) have been certified for use with Visa’s mobile application for payments at the point-of-sale, Visa payWave.

“This is an important step for Visa, its financial institution partners and the mobile industry,” said Bill Gajda, Global Head of Mobile Product, Visa Inc. “In addition to issuing plastic magnetic stripe or chip-enabled payment cards, financial institutions can now consider offering their accountholders a way to transform their smartphones into fully functional mobile payment devices.”

On the web:

• Credit Cards In Numbers (InfoGraphic) - PayLane Across the Board Blog
• PayPal Holding Your Funds? State Regulators Want to Know - AuctionBytes

On the wires:

• Fiserv to Offer Sageworks’ Products via its Account Processing Platforms
• InspirePay Consolidates Online Transactions With First Universal Payments Hub
• Bon-Ton Stores Announces New Private Label Credit Card Agreement with Alliance Data
• Brighton Collectibles Engages Shoppers in the Aisle with VeriFone’s GlobalBay Mobile POS on iPod Touch
• RushCard Continues On Its Mission to Serve Those Left Behind by Big Banks
• Seamless and SBAB Bank in Mobile Payment Pilots in Sweden
• Visa Europe Launches Exclusive UK Offers Portal

Visa Europe announced that it has taken a minority stake in Beyond Analysis. "The investment will strengthen Visa Europe’s data analytics capabilities and forms part of its strategy to deliver increased value for consumers, retailers and banks through electronic payments."

On the web:

• Visa Europe Takes 8.8% Stake In Monitise - WSJ.com
• Cash, Check, or Charge: Paying for Illegal Activities - Portals and Rails
• Kenya's mobile money service M-Pesa now processes more transactions that Western Union all around the world - IntoMobile

On the wires:

• Fifth Third Bank Selects FIS for Online Bill Payment
• First Data Selects VeriFone for Caribbean POS Product Offering
• Western Union Business Solutions to Introduce Electronic Wallet for Small Businesses; Bringing Simplicity to Global B2B Payments
• Leading Payday Lender QC Holdings, Inc. Makes the Switch to MoneyGram

On the web:

• A NACHA Proposal Calls for Networkwide Same-Day ACH - Digital Transactions
• China's e-Payment Booms, Foreigners Get the Boot - Reuters

On the wires:

• Visa Europe Launches Mobile Person-to-Person Payments and Alerts
• Survey Finds 85% of Retailers Concerned About Lack of Personalization of Gift Cards

On the web:

• Google Wallet Hands On Review - Katherine Boehret - AllThingsD
• No Cards, No Cash. Just a Phone - David Pogue Reviews the Google Wallet - NYTimes.com
• In MasterCard's Future, You Can Buy Things by Waving at Your TV - Mashable
• Here's a Facebook App That's Basically a Bank - AllThingsD
• A First Look at the BankSimple UI - BankSimple Blog

On the wires:

• Visa Europe extends CodeSure family with Matrix Display card
• CreditKarma.com Releases Data on 5 Million Credit Cards
• Commerce Bank Adds First Data TransArmor Solution to Merchant Product Suite
• NexTech Partners with Chase Paymentech to Streamline Payment Processing

Visa Inc., Visa Europe and Google have announced that Google has received a worldwide license to Visa payWave, Visa's NFC-based payment technology.

The agreement sets the stage for Visa-issuing banks worldwide to enable Visa account holders to add their credit, debit and prepaid accounts to Google Wallet -- a mobile application that turns a smart phone into a digital wallet. This is the latest effort by Visa and Google to simplify the consumer shopping experience by enabling them to make mobile payments using their mobile phones.

On the web:

• The Ritz London Installs China UnionPay Terminals - AsiaTravelTips
• UK Mobile Payments JV Hits Rocks Before It’s Started: Three Appeals To EU - mocoNews

On the wires:

• Visa Europe France Announces Strasbourg’s Contactless Payments Pilot
• Facebook Commerce Evolves with New Version of Payvment
• US Airways Adopts NCR Mobile Boarding Pass Solution
• Western Union Expands Network: Money Transfer Services now also available at over 30,000 ATMs in Europe and Asia
• Skrill (ne Moneybookers) Announces Acquisition of Payolution

On the wires:

• American Express Takes Aim at Identity Thieves with ID Protect Premium
• Hypercom Brings EMV Card Payment to Dubai’s Metro
• Visa Europe’s €100m Investment in Convergence

On the web:

• MSNBC: Study: Banks Hiding Fee Info, Skirting Law
• Digital Transactions: Secure Vault Payments Will Go Mobile Later This Year with Bar Codes
• Business Standard: IndusInd to Buy Deutsche Bank's Credit Card Biz in India
• BayPay Event: Mobile Payment Beyond NFC

On the wires:

• FreedomPay Opens World’s Most Flexible Payment Gateway to Independent Developers
• 10 Million UK Consumers Using Mobile Commerce but 83% Have Experienced Problems
• New Aite Group Report on Network Branded Prepaid Cards
• SIMalliance Open Mobile API boosts Smartphone Application Security
• MasterCard SpendingPulse March 2011 Retail Report
• Visa Europe: Q1 UK Expenditure Index

On the web:

• BBC: NFC Trials for Payment in UK Shops
• Slate: Paying With Your Phone Is Awesome, Because... Because.

Recent white papers:

• Bell ID: Six Myths Preventing EMV Migration in the United States
• First Data: The Marketing Side of Tokenization (PDF)
• SJB Research: NFC Business Models (registration required)
• Ensenta: Agile Risk Management for Remote Deposit Capture

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

On the wires:

• Visa Europe and Monitise Sign Partnership Agreement to Develop Mobile Payments
• MoneyGram International and Movistar Sign Strategic Agreement
• INSIDE Secure Brings Biometric On-Card Matching Security to SecuRead NFC Solution
• MoneyGram and Visa Extend Remittance Service to World's Largest Remittances Corridor
• INETCO “Ready to Rocket” with INETCO Insight Business Transaction Management Solution
• ProPay Debuts 'Zumogo' Mobile Payment Application for Smartphones
• BillFloat Gives NewWave Communications Customers More Time to Pay Bills
• The Clearing House Announces New Board Leadership (PDF)
• TomorrowVentures & CompuCredit Holdings Corporation Invest in Social Payments Leader Twitpay

On the web:

• Rethink Wireless: Ericsson Unveils its Mobile Money Framework
• American Banker: Mobile Banking Pioneer Firethorn Shifts Gears
• Springwise: More donations to charity via rounded-up credit card purchases
• U.S. News: 8 Things You Can’t Do With Cash

Visa Europe and Wireless Dynamics have announced that they have developed a mobile contactless payment solution that will bring Visa contactless payments to iPhone users across Europe.

iPhone users simply attach the Wireless Dynamics iCarte accessory, available through their bank or mobile operator, to their iPhone and download the companion Visa Mobile application for iCarte App from the App Store.

"Spend on Visa cards in Europe grew by over 16% in 2010 to total over €1 trillion", according to results released by Visa Europe. "This growth now means that €1 in every €8 of consumer spend in Europe is spent on a Visa card, up from €1 in €9 in 2009." The Visa Europe Annual Report 2010 was also released.

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• First Data Announces Big Brand Additions to its eGift Social Marketplace
• American Express to Eliminate Foreign Currency Transaction Fees on U.S. Platinum and Centurion Cards
• WesPay and Northwest Clearing House Association announce intention to merge operations
• Visa Europe launches new contactless payment solution for London’s black cabs

• New York Times: Fed Proposes Rules to Cut Debit Card Fees
• BusinessWeek: Ingenico Gets EU1.44 Billion Offer From Undisclosed Buyer
• globeandmail.com: Rising Credit Card Fees Raise Merchants' Ire In Canada
• Bloomberg: American Express to Buy Munich-based Loyalty Partner

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• Visa Europe Settlement on Debit Interchange Fees
• FIS Announces Innovative Mobile Financial Services iPhone App
• BankServ Announces BlackBerry Support for Mobile Check Capture App
• Coinstar Money Transfer Signs with Land Bank to Develop the Remittance Business from Italy

• MIT Technology Review: Smart Phones Help Fight Bank Fraud
• New York Times: Apple Ban on iPhone Donation Apps Anger Nonprofits