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Microsoft Unveils Mobile Wallet with SIM-Based NFC

6/21/12 NFC World

The launch presentation for Windows Phone 8 shows how Microsoft plans to make its NFC mobile wallet more widely accepted than Google's, provides details of a forthcoming NFC-enabled Chase payments app and highlights a new deals platform and in-app purchasing technology that charges items to the user's default payment card. "Windows Phone 8 will include what we think will be the most complete mobile wallet experience on any mobile phone."

Wallet Hub and Passbook: What's the Difference?

6/21/12 Pocket-Lint

The hour of the updates is upon us. First Apple with iOS 6 and now Microsoft with Windows Phone 8. Both have done plenty to revive their relevant operating systems. You can check out what Microsoft has done here and Apple here. Included as part of the update package has been some sort of mobile payment management system. For Apple, it’s Passbook, the big M has gone for something called Wallet Hub. Both are predictably different and both let you pay for things using your phone. So how do they work? And what do you need to get them working?

Discover’s Chief Hits Visa’s Strategy To Defend Its Debit Market Share

6/19/12 Digital Transactions

The chief executive officer of Discover Financial Services isn’t too pleased with what Visa Inc. is doing to retain its lead in the debit marketplace now that the Durbin Amendment’s transaction-routing provisions are in place. Discover owns the Houston-based Pulse network, which like other electronic funds transfer networks stands to benefit from the new regulations at Visa’s expense.

Contactless Cards Unwelcome in U.S.?

6/21/12 ISO & Agent

Standalone contactless payment cards may be headed for extinction in the United States. The tap-and-pay card technology that began to emerge here in 2005 never caught fire, as relatively few merchants adapted their payment terminals to accommodate it. And now as issuers face 2015 card-network deadlines to switch to more-secure EMV chip cards from magnetic stripe cards or risk taking on fraud liability–plus the simultaneous prospect of supporting emerging NFC-based mobile contactless payment.

Moody’s Cuts Credit Ratings of 15 Big Banks

6/21/12 DealBook

Already grappling with weak profits and global economic turmoil, 15 major banks were hit with credit downgrades on Thursday that could do more damage to their bottom lines and further unsettle equity markets. The credit agency, Moody’s Investors Service, which warned banks in February that a downgrade was possible, cut the credit scores of banks to new lows to reflect new risks that the industry has encountered since the financial crisis.

US Jobless Claims Fall, but 4-wk Average at 6-Month High

6/21/12 Reuters

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits was little changed last week, according to government data on Thursday that suggested the labor market was struggling to regain momentum. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 387,000, the Labor Department said. The prior week's figure was revised up to 389,000 from the previously reported 386,000.

New Square CRM Features To Create Loyalty, But Mainly To Square

6/21/12 StorefrontBacktalk

When Square on Tuesday (June 19) added CRM features to its mobile payment system, it certainly provided a way to add more loyalty. But the system setup seems designed to guarantee loyalty of retailers to Square just as much as it does the loyalty of retailers’ customers to those retailers. On the surface, the additions are innocuous, with new punch-card-like functionality integrated into the system. The effect of this, though, is for retailers to even more completely turn over crucial information to Square, which can use it for whatever purposes Square wants.

Consumer Bureau Discloses Credit Card Compliants

6/19/12 Chicago Tribune

Consumers shopping for a credit card can see for the first time, starting on Tuesday, how many complaints issuers have received before picking their plastic. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a complaint database on its web site in one of the agency's more high-profile moves. While the initial release of figures was limited, covering less than a month, it created a ranking among credit card issuers that could leave some uncomfortable. Capital One Financial Corp tallied the most complaints since June 1.

Facebook Says Bye-Bye to Credits

6/21/12 SFGate

Facebook is phasing out Facebook Credits, a virtual payment method that once showed the potential to become a universal currency system, in a move to broaden the social network's share of online commerce. Instead, the Menlo Park company is allowing its app and game developers to accept local currency and subscription plans that could be used by media outlets and entertainment companies.

Facebook Upgrades Its Payment System

6/20/12 BTN

Facebook (FB) is moving away from its Credits virtual currency to a more robust payment system that supports real money. At the same time, new survey data show that consumers are interested in bringing their banking business to the social network. Nearly 30% of consumers surveyed said they might one day use Facebook for some type of banking service if it were offered, according to an online survey Cisco conducted in May among 1,061 consumers in North America.

LivingSocial Says It Has No Plans to Be a Mobile Payments Provider

6/20/12 All Things D

LivingSocial has no plans to build a payment system for local merchants, but it does see itself playing a role in building loyalty programs and other merchant services. During an all-day media event today, the company’s top executives provided a very broad overview of the privately held company. Dickson Chu, LivingSocial’s SVP of merchant services, said this summer it will test out at least three concepts with merchants in the payments and loyalty space. He declined to provide specifics, but LivingSocial’s CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy verified that it was not interested in competing directly with payment processors.

Bernanke’s Twist Sharpens Year-End Anxiety Over Stimulus

6/22/12 Bloomberg

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has repeatedly warned lawmakers that a fiscal cliff threatens the economy. Now he’s created a precipice of his own. The Fed on June 20 extended its Operation Twist program to swap $267 billion in short-term securities with longer-term debt through December. That end date coincides with reductions in federal spending, a halt to payroll-tax cuts and expiration of income-tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush.

BancBox Debuts Its Payments Platform: You Could Build A PayPal On This

6/20/12 TechCrunch

BancBox, a startup that’s been flying under the radar over a year, is launching its new payment services platform today. At first, you might think the most apt comparison is that of Stripe, which also offers a developer-friendly way to accept payments on web and mobile. But BancBox goes much further than transactions. The platform lets developers build all sorts of payment services within their apps including credit card payments, ACH transfers, peer-to-peer payments, multi-party transactions, wire transfers, check acceptance, and more.

Square Gets Another Competitor with COIN

6/18/12 VentureBeat

Mobile payments company Square just got another new competitor: RevCoin’s Coin service. Coin is offering small businesses merchant processing for 2.55%, a rate 20-basis points lower than Square. Although the rates aren’t as low in most cases as those that Groupon is offering, Coin represents another competitor in a very crowded space. The savings are hardly worth crowing about: A merchant who processes $1,000 a month in transactions would save $24 over the course of a year compared with Square.

BluePay Offers Mobile Credit Card Processing Solutions for Any Merchant Type

6/21/12 BluePay

BluePay, a credit card processing company based in Chicago, offers mobile credit card processing among its wide selection of payment solutions. With BluePay’s mobile processing capabilities, merchants of any type can accept credit cards conveniently from their cell phones. “Today’s mobile market is rapidly advancing, with people relying on their cell phones and smartphones to do nearly everything,” said BluePay CEO John Rante.

Moneris Extends Relationship with Sage

6/20/12 The GreenSheet

Moneris Solutions, one of North America’s largest payment processors, today announced Sage Payment Solutions, the payments division for Sage North America, has extended its merchant processing relationship with Moneris. Moneris has provided bank sponsorship to Sage through BMO Harris Bank N.A. for the previous 10 years. Both companies benefit considerably from the agreement. Through its partnership with Moneris, Sage is able to acquire new payment processing customers, better support their current customers and hold down costs.

Girl Scouts Across the U.S. Sell More Cookies Using Sage Mobile Payments

6/212/12 MarketWatch

Sage North America today announced that Girl Scout troops across the U.S. using Sage Mobile Payments sold more during the 2012 Cookie Program. Earlier this year, Sage announced its partnership with more than 30 Girl Scout councils, representing more than 40,000 troops, to add mobile payment via credit or debit card as an option for sales of Samoas, Tagalongs, Thin Mints and eight other cookie varieties.

First Data OfferWise Solution Enables Universal Commerce for Offer Publishers and Merchants

6/18/12 First Data

First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today announced the extension of the First DataSM OfferWiseSM solution to all offer publishers and the first wave of First Data’s network of more than four million U.S. merchant locations. Over 500,000 merchant locations are now enabled to leverage the OfferWise solution for customized offers programs and other electronic incentive solutions, with more than 100 publishers using the platform to develop innovative, card-linked services.

Heartland Payment Systems Adds Three Senior Executive Positions to Drive Company’s Future Growth

6/18/12 HPS

Heartland Payment Systems® announced that it has enhanced its executive leadership team with three new positions designed to further develop Heartland’s portfolio and services within key industries. The executive leadership enhancements include Robert H.B. Baldwin, Jr., previously president of the company, being promoted to vice chairman; Michael A. Lawler, previously chief of corporate development, being promoted to president - strategic markets group; and David Gilbert joining Heartland as president - hospitality group.

ACI Worldwide Partners With Bell ID to Simplify Mobile Near Field Communication Payments With ACI Token Manager for Mobile

6/18/12 Global Newswire

ACI Worldwide, a leading international provider of payment solutions, has expanded its partnership with Bell ID, a leader in the field of smart card and token management solutions, to deliver issuance and management of mobile near field communication (NFC) payment tokens for devices equipped with contactless technology, using ACI Token Manager™ for Mobile.

O2 Tests Mobile Wallet in Small Welsh Village

6/22/12 Finextra

Rhiwbina was chosen from villages across the UK to demonstrate how the newly launched O2 Wallet could help the 11,000 residents who often find themselves short of cash at the most inconvenient moments. Launched last month, O2 Wallet enables users to send and receive money, compare prices and shop via their mobile. Residents of Rhiwbina were challenged to use their digital wallets in everyday situations.

2012's Top Anti-Fraud Tech Investments

6/21/12 Bank Info Security

Banks and credit unions say investments in enhanced fraud detection, monitoring systems and customer and member education top their lists for fighting fraud this year. That's according to BankInfoSecurity's second annual Faces of Fraud survey. A full report on the survey is now available. More than half of the more than 200 financial institutions that participated in this year's survey say they have increased funding for new fraud technology and personnel.