Payments


Faster Payments Task Force Sets Ambitious Goal for 2020

The Fed’s Faster Payments Task Force isn’t kidding when it says it wants every U.S. consumer and business to be able to accept faster payments by 2020. It’s an ambitious plan, no doubt. But with the release of its final report on July 21, detailing 16 proposed faster payment solutions and outlining possible approaches, the task force is making a serious call to action.

Earnings Roundup: Amex, BofA, Blackhawk, Visa

It was a busy week for second- and fiscal third-quarter earnings reports, with American Express, Bank of America and Visa all beating Wall Street expectations, and Blackhawk Network, which also beat analyst predictions, talking international growth, double-digit digital gift card sales and new partner Target set to roll out in Q3.

Mastercard triumphs against £14bn collective action lawsuit

Mastercard can breathe a sigh of relief as the £14 billion lawsuit – a collective action over card charges that were passed on to shoppers – has been stopped by the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal. As reported last year, Mastercard faced the massive lawsuit. The claim was headed by ex-financial services ombudsman Walter Merricks, who […]

Investment firm Permira buys into Klarna’s banking ambitions

Investment firm Permira will acquire a 10% equity stake in Swedish payments and banking firm Klarna. As part of the deal, Permira will buy shares from existing shareholders General Atlantic, DST Global and Niklas Adalberth, upon receipt of approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen). Once the transfer is complete, General Atlantic and DST […]

Ingenico Buys Bambora for €1.5 Billion

In payments, the big guys just keep getting bigger and more diversified. Ingenico Group on July 20 announced its €1.5 billion (US$1.74 billion) purchase of Sweden-based payments company Bambora from Nordic Capital.

MileagePlus Go Visa Prepaid Card Set to Soar?

Less than two months following the initial announcement from partners Netspend, a TSYS Company, and United Airlines, the prepaid industry’s first air miles rewards card is now available online. Paybefore readers believe more prepaid providers will follow suit with air miles rewards of their own.

Mobile wallet round-up: 20 July 2017

It’s been a busy week for mobile wallet partnerships – and this round-up can help. Features Apple Pay, ANZ, CaixaBank, Starling and Samsung Pay. Banking Technology’s sister publication Paybefore reports. Australia and New Zealand-based banking group, ANZ, is rolling out Samsung Pay to customers in Australia. The bank says it’s the only major Australian bank […]

Meta taps Melissa for KYC and AML initiatives

Melissa Global Intelligence, a provider of global contact data quality and identity-verification solutions, announced that its technology is fueling know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives for Meta Payment Systems, one of the largest prepaid card issuers in the US. Meta relies on Melissa to provide “a 360-degree view” of the customer, including […]

Mastercard buys in to AI with Brighterion

Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion, a software company specialising in artificial intelligence (AI), reports Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore. This acquisition follows Mastercard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security”. Brighterion’s portfolio of AI and machine learning technologies provide real-time […]

Compliance Titans: Jim Schafer, FIS

An early interest in credit cards hooked Jim Schafer on payments. Since then, his work has taken him across the globe in roles as diverse as programming and human resources. But it’s his current role as senior compliance director of FIS Payments that has led him to be named one of Paybefore’s Compliance Titans.

UK bans surcharging, load fees could be at risk

The UK’s HM Treasury is banning surcharges on credit and debit card payments. For prepaid card providers, the new rules put significant fee income related to card-loading at risk, according to Polymath Consulting. Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore reports that the HM Treasury is putting an end to “rip-off” fees related to paying with a […]

Payments firm Episode Six expands to Tokyo

Payments software technology provider, Episode Six, is opening an office in Tokyo to meet “the growing demand” for fintech solutions in Asia. The company also announced that payments and finance industry veteran, Oko Okamoto, will oversee Episode Six’s new Tokyo office as general manager. Episode Six, which launched in 2016, offers payments software platform technology […]

Bank of England opens up RTGS service to fintech competition

The Bank of England (BoE) is opening up access to settlement accounts in its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system with the goal to promote fintech innovation and competition. The bank says it’s extending access to non-bank payment service providers (PSPs), offering direct access to the UK’s sterling payment systems. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), […]

U.K. Bans Surcharging, Load Fees Could Be at Risk

The U.K.’s HM Treasury is banning surcharges on credit and debit card payments. For prepaid card providers, the new rules put significant fee income related to card-loading at risk, according to Polymath Consulting.

Mastercard Buys in to AI with Brighterion

Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion Inc., a software company specializing in artificial intelligence. This acquisition follows Masterdard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security.”

M-Wallet Roundup: Apple Pay, ANZ, CaixaBank, Starling, Samsung

It’s been a busy week for mobile wallet partnerships. Several companies announced deals to offer mobile wallets to their customers in the U.K., Australia and Europe. Challenger bank Starling says it’s the first in the U.K. to offer in-app provisioning.

Urban FT buys iParse to speed up mobile app onboarding for FIs

Mobile banking technology provider Urban FT has completed its acquisition of US software firm iParse, which, CEO Richard Steggall tells Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore, will help the company provide a “mobile plug-in” for financial institutions. Steggall says the quicker, cheaper option compared with core processing integration will open up feature-rich mobile banking apps to […]

Fintech funding round-up: 18 July 2017

You’ve come to the right section for cash injection. Today’s fintech funding round-up features Contego, Privitar, Form3 and Barclays. Maven Capital Partners, a UK private equity house, has led the £3.5 million investment in Contego Fraud Solutions to support its growth plans. Maven is putting in £1.8 million, NVM Private Equity is investing £1.5 million, […]

PayPal teams with Samsung Pay

The partnerships keep coming for PayPal. Following recent news that the company is partnering with Apple for payments on iTunes and in the App Store, among other places, the company is now expanding its partnership with Samsung to enable PayPal as a payment method in any channel Samsung Pay is accepted, according to the PayPal blog. Banking […]

Worldline buys Digital River World Payments

France-based payments technology provider Worldline is expanding its global footprint with a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Digital River World Payments (DRWP), an online global payment service provider from Digital River Inc. Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore reports that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter […]

PayPal Teams with Samsung Pay

The partnerships keep coming for PayPal. Following recent news that the company is partnering with Apple for payments on iTunes and in the App Store, the company announced July 17 that it’s expanding its partnership with Samsung to enable PayPal as a payment method in any channel Samsung Pay is accepted.

Jenius digital bank gets clever with Finastra

Jenius digital bank, part of Indonesia’s Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN), has chosen Finastra’s (formerly Misys) FusionBanking Essence Digital platform. Peterjan van Nieuwenhuizen, head of digital banking at BTPN, says it has “built a system that enables our customers to complete basic banking processes without going to the branch”; and with an “expanding middle class […]

Find Innovation in a Sandbox, Not in a Lab

For financial institutions lacking the deep pockets of the biggest competitors, investing their limited resources to develop disruptive payments solutions isn’t a viable option. Stated simply, you can never outspend the big guys. What you really need is a more effective weapon to level the playing field.

Congressman Calls for Hearing on Amazon’s Whole Foods Bid

On this heels of its record-breaking Prime Day, during which sales were up more than 60 percent over last year, Amazon is facing antitrust concerns from the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (R.I.) is calling for a hearing on the e-commerce giant’s $13.7 billion bid to acquire brick-and-mortar specialty grocery chain Whole Foods.

mVisa Takes on M-PESA with Free Domestic Mobile Money Transfers

Move over M-PESA, customers of a Visa-led bank partnership in Kenya will be able to send money to each other domestically without paying transaction fees using mVisa, and the payments network has added additional in-store merchant acceptance for the QR-code-based payment method.

Congressional Republicans Look to Dismantle CFPB’s Arbitration Rule

It didn’t take long for Congressional Republicans to pounce on the CFPB’s final rule on arbitration agreements, which the agency released on July 10. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling said he would support use of the Congressional Review Act to dismantle the rule, while Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) already has drafted a CRA resolution and is working with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (Idaho) to introduce it “soon.”

EML Goes Global with Next-Gen Mall Cards, Gaming Payouts

More than a year into the merger with Australia-based EMerchants Limited, former Store Financial CEO Eric Mettemeyer, who now leads EML’s North America division, spoke with Paybefore about the company’s global efforts to expand beyond single-load gift and the greenfield in payout cards, gaming and more.

New partnership turns PayPal into Apple App Store payment option

One small step for consumer choice in e-commerce. One giant leap in PayPal’s quest to be the payment option of choice for shoppers online, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). This week the company announced a partnership with Apple to allow shoppers pay for their purchases at the App Store using PayPal. The feature will be available for users […]

Top fintech stories this week – 14 July 2017

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Aktia Bank finally live with Temenos T24 core banking system “Some system repairs will be carried out during the following weeks.” HSBC and Barclays pilot banking without borders Testing use of a citizen’s national digital identity. ANZ, Westpac […]

Vote for the Best Challenger Banks

Vote for the challenger banks (licensed or not) that should make Paybefore’s top 5 Best Challenger Banks list. Share your opinions through Aug. 1. The top 5 vote-getters will be profiled on Paybefore.com. 

Apple Deal Puts PayPal One Step Closer to Ubiquity

One small step for consumer choice in e-commerce, one giant leap in PayPal’s quest for ubiquity. The company announced a partnership with Apple to enable shoppers to pay for their purchases in the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music and iBooks using PayPal.

Amex Taps Virtual Cards for Business Travel Expenses

American Express is the latest payments company to recognize the benefits of enabling virtual account numbers for business travel. The addition of virtual account numbers enables businesses to set usage dates and pre-authorize spending limits at the time of booking, helping reduce fraud and encourage compliance with company travel policies, Amex said.

Altice puts squeeze on Orange with bank move

In a copycat move that will come as a blow to Orange, rival Altice plans to launch its own online bank by early 2019 in the countries in its network footprint, according to a report from Reuters that cites a source close to the matter. Light Reading (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that the launch of […]

Debit cards knock off cash as No. 1 payment method in UK

Cash is no longer king in the UK, according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) annual Payments Survey, which found that debit card transactions accounted for almost 43% of all retail transactions in 2016, overtaking cash, which accounted for 42% of all retail transactions, for the first time. Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore reports that […]