The UK’s new Payment Systems Regulator looks set to shake up the way the industry is structured, with reviews of the ownership of the infrastructure and of the way that indirect access is managed through sponsoring banks.
Türk Ekonomi Bankası is to launch a mobile contactless payment application using Visa Europe’s host card emulation functionality to provide secure contactless payments.
Myanmar’s Yoma Bank is to install a new core banking system provided by vendor Misys, as part of a major transformation project at the privately-owned bank. Yoma especially wanted to be in a position to benefit from the growth of mobile technology in the country.
Misys has launched a banking app prototype for the upcoming Apple Watch, which is due to launch in April, that allows users to make transactions by speaking at their watch.
Lebanese commercial bank Al-Mawarid has begun a bank transformation project focused on mobile and online banking using the FusionBanking Essence Digital software from Misys.
Bitcoin market Netagio has launched credit and debit card payment options, as part of a push to make it easier to buy and sell Bitcoin with pounds, euros and US dollars. The exchange, which was founded in 2013, is seeking to popularise the alternative currency and improve its controversial public image.
The US is finally adopting EMV after an eventful 12 months in which barriers have been overcome. Merchant reluctance is diminishing, good progress is being made, and the ‘EMV train’ is now picking up speed, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
Monitise plans to raise £49.2 million through extensions of its relationships with Santander, Telefónica and MasterCard. The money raised will be used to ‘support the development and accelerated roll-out of its global platform capabilities’.
Biometric identity verification mechanisms were prominent among the raft of new product announcements at the Money20/20 event in Las Vegas, which opened this week.
Following a live pilot with Norway’s Sparebanken, MasterCard has confirmed a partnership with Zwipe to launch a contactless payment card featuring an integrated fingerprint sensor.
RBS has confirmed that it has hired Marion King, formerly president of UK and Ireland at MasterCard, in the newly created role of director of payments in the New Year.
Domestic card schemes have traditionally partnered with MasterCard and/or Visa in an arrangement that leaves the domestic player handling the local transactions and their international partner facilitating and controlling the international business. Should banks work with both or just partner with one of the international schemes?
Growth in the volume of debit and credit card purchases in the UK continues to outstrip the growth in value as consumers use their cards more frequently for lower value payments. A threefold increase in contactless payments was a factor in the trend.
FinTech developers, designers and entrepreneurs are being challenged to a 36-hour development tournament in the days leading up to this year’s of the Money20/20 event in Las Vegas in November.
Mobile payments provider LoopPay has secured funding from global payments firm Visa as it pioneers a technology that capitalises on the installed base of magnetic stripe-reader point-of-sale systems rather than NFC, which is the current favourite in mobile payment circles.
London Underground, DLR and Overground trains are to accept contactless payments, following an announcement from Transport for London. The decision comes as mobile operator EE sets out plans to support NFC payments on London Underground, the UK’s biggest building society begins issuing contactless cards to its customers, and Apple explores cooperation with Visa on a potential new mobile wallet.
David Sear, the former chief executive of the Weve mobile network e-commerce joint venture, has been appointed as group chief commercial officer at Skrill Group.
The annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will nearly double over the next four years, reaching $4.7 trillion by 2019, up from just over $2.5 trillion this year, with contactless payments primarily driven by card purchases rather than mobile.
Despite falling costs, banks are continuing to charge “unjustifiable” fees that rip off retailers and consumers as they move away from cash towards debit cards and other forms of payment, according to the British Retail Consortium’s Payments Survey for 2013.
As contactless and mobile payment methods continue to grow, building societies and other financial institutions need to avoid being complacent about new technology, according to senior delegates speaking at the BSA annual conference in Manchester this week.
Confusion and concern over security is cited over and over again as the biggest barrier to widespread consumer uptake of mobile payments. And no wonder – confidence in the protection of sensitive cardholder data lies at the heart of trust in this technology. An EMV card as a physical asset is cryptographically secure. How can we emulate this security with something that is virtual?
Balázs Vinnai, now with Misys, talks about changing banking and payments technology needs.
When the US Federal Reserve Banks asked for comments on improving the US payments system, the tech industry and merchants said “let’s go” while the incumbents said “whoa, not so fast” …
MasterCard has partnered with mobile technology specialist Syniverse under an audacious plan that aims at nothing less than “bringing mobile financial services to every single mobile user on the planet”.
Orange and Visa Europe have launched a new mobile wallet service called Orange cash in the French cities of Caen and Strasbourg, making Orange the first mobile network operator in France to offer mobile contactless payments to its customers.
The acquisition of digital banking specialist IND Group will give Misys access to parts of its rivals’ customer base that it intends to exploit as it develops its offerings in the digital banking channel, while the closer integration of the IND capabilities will also shore up Misys’ defences against encroachment of its own ageing user base.
MasterCard has acquired Turkish payments provider Provus in a deal that the firm says will increase its processing presence in a “high growth” payments market.
MasterCard has teamed up with mobile payment solutions provider eServGlobal and Belgacom’s carrier services unit BICS to extend the capabilities of their international mobile remittance platform HomeSend. The three firms have set up a joint venture which uses the HomeSend platform, in which MasterCard will have a controlling share.
Bank of Beirut has gone live on Misys Sophis Value platform, which the bank says will help it increase its STP rate, manage trade repository and cross-asset collateral and margin, and better interact with Lebanon’s other banks.
The group of banks holding a controlling interest in SIA, the Italian payments processor and systems developer, have reduced their ownership in a sale to a consortium of investment funds led by Fondo Strategico Italiano.
RBS has confirmed that it is to launch V.me by Visa, the digital wallet built by Visa Europe. The decision follows a pilot programme, and will mean that RBS follows in the footsteps of Nationwide Building Society, which has just become the first UK high street brand to roll out the wallet to its customers.
For centuries, Turkey has stood at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. While the country is leading the way in mobile banking, its infrastructure reflects a culture where minarets mix with mobile masts and ATMs compete for space with ancient monuments.
With the rise in mobile payments and wallets, cash is dead and so is the ATM business, right? Not according to the ATM manufacturers, who are all being remarkably sanguine.
The number of contactless payment cards being used globally next year is set to reach 249 million, according to a new report by Juniper Research.
As Ts are crossed and Is are dotted by financial institutions and corporates preparing for the Single Euro Payments Area some recent announcements point to the glittering world of opportunity beyond mundane SEPA compliance.
Bulgaria’s DSK Bank has launched a mobile savings application called DSK Gameo, which is designed to encourage customers to save by making banking more fun, while helping the bank better understand its user-base.
French operator group Orange has formed a strategic partnership with payment provider Visa to accelerate awareness and everyday usage of contactless payment technology in France. The operator has also launched a mobile prepayment solution called Orange Cash in the country.
MasterCard has formed a deal with electronic payments processing company Emerging Markets Payments to sponsor issuers in Egypt and other African markets, in a move intended to help small issuers reach the region’s unbanked population.
Cooperative Bank of Kenya has implemented Misys BankFusion, a core banking platform which the bank says has helped it increase its transaction processing by double and end of day processing by 40%.
Amex, home of that object of envy, the Black Card, is expanding in an unexpected direction – to provide services to the unbanked and underbanked.
