Payments


Fintech funding round-up: 6 October 2016

When time is tight, the reading can be light. A round-up of key events in fintech funding. US-based Payoneer has completed the first closing of a growth equity financing. Proceeds from the $180 million financing will be used to “accelerate global growth”. This year, the firm opened new offices in India, Japan and the Philippines, […]

Misys to float on London Stock Exchange

Misys plans to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange in early November 2016. As Banking Technology reported in August, Misys – currently residing in the hands of US-based Vista Equity Partners – was understood to be gearing up for this IPO with a £5.5 billion float and appointed investment […]

Bank of Lithuania and Revolut team up for payments

Bank of Lithuania, the country’s central bank and regulator, has signed a memorandum of understanding with UK-based payments and fintech start-up Revolut. Revolut intends to set up a financial institution in Lithuania and obtain a banking licence. Bank of Lithuania will provide Revolut with access to its managed payment systems enabling cross-border payments in euro. […]

Kohl’s Launches Mobile Payments Tied to Private Label Card

Kohl’s on Oct. 5 launched a mobile payment option that “integrates the Kohl’s Charge private label credit card into the popular Kohl’s mobile app,” the retail chain said. Called Kohl’s Pay, the service enables some 25 million U.S. holders of that private label card to pay for in-store purchases directly from mobile devices.

Swift smart modules seek stronger security

Swift has published a series of eLearning modules as it ramps up its cybersecurity defences in the face of hacking threats. The SwiftSmart modules will help its customers operate their Swift environment “securely and in-line with best practice”. The move is also a “critical part” of its Customer Security Programme launched in May 2016. That […]

CFPB Includes Mobile Wallets in Final Prepaid Rule

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Oct. 5 released its final rule on prepaid accounts, and the agency’s requirements, which go into effect Oct. 1, 2017, go well beyond plastic.

Mastercard Brings Selfie Payments to Europe

Say cheese! Or at least hold still. Mastercard is rolling out its pay-by-selfie service in a dozen European countries. The move follows a similar pilot in North America.

HSBC hits $100bn mobile payments mark for corporates

There’s glee and a spending spree for HSBC as over $100 billion in mobile payments have been made by its corporate customers. The bank says the $100 billion sum was authorised globally through the HSBCnet mobile corporate banking platform since its launch in 2011. The total transaction value of mobile payments has more than doubled […]

CFPB Issues Final Prepaid Rules; Expanded Definition Worries Industry

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Oct. 5 released its final rule on prepaid accounts, a move that sharply expands the definition of prepaid—to the distinct displeasure of prepaid industry players. The new rules, which take effect Oct. 1, 2017, are quite similar to what CFPB had initially proposed, with provisions tweaked in the final rule, rather than major additions or deletions.

Standard Chartered customers taken for an Uber ride

This time we have a genuine Uber moment in fintech. Standard Chartered and Uber are partnering to offer the bank’s credit cardholders cashbacks on Uber rides. This is the “first ever multi-market partnership” for both of them. The deal is for six markets – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and the United Arab Emirates – […]

Merchant Lawsuit over Fraud Liability Shift Moves Forward

A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit alleging payment networks colluded over fraud liability can go forward, denying the networks’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Filed in March 2016 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by two Florida retailers, the lawsuit accuses American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa of engaging in “a conspiracy” when shifting liability for transaction fraud to merchants that failed to upgrade their POS systems to accept EMV chip technology by Oct. 1, 2015.

LG Expands Payment Options for ‘Smart TVs’

LG Electronics and Paymentwall said Oct. 4 that they will expand the online payment options available through LG’s webOS “smart” TVs. The program “will give consumers easier access to paid apps, movies, games and much more through LG’s intuitive webOS Smart TV platform,” LG said. The effort involves some 140 payment options in 200 countries.

Eurogiro, TransferTo Partner to Expand Mobile Money

Members of global payments network Eurogiro are now able to transfer funds to mobile money and bank accounts through a partnership with B2B mobile payment network TransferTo, the companies announced Oct. 3. Through TransferTo’s payments network, Eurogiro’s network members can expand their service offerings by providing mobile payments and, for example, accept remittances at a post office in one country and transfer the funds to a recipient’s mobile wallet in another country.

MasterCard brings biometric payments to Europe

It’s a European roll-out as MasterCard has launched Identity Check Mobile, a new payment technology app that uses biometrics to verify a cardholder’s identity. The technology is now being introduced across 12 markets in Europe – including the UK, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden, following a […]

Apple Pay launches in Russia

Apple Pay has launched in Russia with partners Sberbank and MasterCard. Russia is the tenth country where Apple Pay has been made available, following the US, UK, Canada, France, China and others. Alexander Torbakhov, deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, says: “Apple Pay is driving the popularisation of contactless payments in Russia and […]

Western Union launches mobile payments app in Canada

Western Union has unveiled its mobile platform in Canada for domestic and cross-border money transfers, available for iOS and Android. The new app allows users “instant, anytime, anywhere” access to Western Union’s physical and digital money transfer infrastructure. So people can send money face-to-face or online. “Whether on a smart phone or at a store […]

Arizon moves financial messaging to Bottomline’s cloud solution

Arizon Sourcing has migrated its financial messaging traffic to Bottomline Technologies’ cloud-based solution GTExchange, hosted in Switzerland. Arizon, a joint venture between Raiffeisen Group and Avaloq, says the cloud offers cost transparency and cost reduction. On top of this, the Bottomline Swiss Service Bureau will support all of Arizon’s domestic (SIC) and cross-border (Swift) transactions. […]

Austin Public Transit Not Onboard with EMV

In perhaps one of the most dramatic instances of resistance to EMV since the technology began rolling out more than a year ago, Austin, Texas, public transit plans to stop accepting payment card purchases at vending machines at its nine commuter rail stations, rather than upgrade to EMV-compatible machines.

Meta Beefs Up its Presence in Tax Refund Space

Meta Financial Group, the parent of MetaBank and Meta Payment Systems, said Oct. 3 it will buy EPS Financial LLC, which sells tax-related financial transaction products, for $42.5 million. The half stock, half cash deal will close in the fourth quarter, Meta Financial said.

CFPB/Amex Study Indicates How to Motivate Consumers to Save

In a study conducted by the CFPB, with assistance from American Express, researchers found that offering a monetary incentive was most effective in motivating consumers to set money aside in savings accounts. The research results from the study, “Tools for Saving: Using Prepaid Accounts to Set Aside Funds,” also indicate that having a savings option reduced consumers’ use of payday loan services.

U.S. Reps Urge CFPB to Rethink Short-Term Lending Rules

A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers has asked the CFPB to reconsider some of the agency’s proposed restrictions on short-term lenders, arguing that such loans provide much-needed access to credit for those who have few other alternatives.

SCOTUS to Hear Credit Card Surcharge Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 29 agreed to hear arguments from a group of New York merchants who want the right to impose surcharges on purchases made with credit cards. The outcome of the case could have an effect on laws in 10 states that restrict such surcharges.

Green Dot’s Secured Credit Card to Help Credit-Challenged Consumers

To help consumers build a credit history or improve their existing credit scores, Green Dot Corp. launched Sept. 29 the Green Dot Platinum Visa Secured Credit Card. Being a secured credit card, the credit line is backed by the cardholder’s security deposit held with Green Dot Bank.

Global Card Base Grows Nearly 6 Percent, Nilson Says

Of the total card base, global brand general purpose cards accounted for about 60.79 percent at the end of 2015. Domestic general purpose cards accounted for 5.53 percent, while private label cards accounted for 33.69 percent, Nilson said.

Ericsson rolls out mobile remittance in emerging markets

Ericsson has joined forces with HomeSend, a joint venture between Mastercard, eServGlobal and Bics that focuses on mobile money remittances in emerging markets. Ericsson’s digital wallet, Ericsson Wallet Platform, is now HomeSend Certified. The product has access to HomeSend’s network of money transfer operators, cash agents and banks in more than 200 countries. Peter Heuman, […]

Sibos 2016: collaboration will energise ISO 20022

To drive ISO 20022 adoption, the industry is calling for collaboration and for those with the ‘right stuff’ to lead the way. A panel yesterday, ISO 20022 market practice developments, gave a global view of the status of ISO 20022 in the payments and securities markets. Gerard Smith, director collateral services at LCH.Clearnet, said the […]

Financial technology: gathering speed

Financial regulators globally are putting pressure on financial institutions to move to real-time solutions in both retail and wholesale banking. Advances in technology and a desire by regulators to reduce risks in the financial system are driving the trend. Discussions about real time technology and solutions span the banking world at this year’s Sibos. While […]

Sibos 2016: rethinking systems for a real time world

Open application programming interface (API) banking and immediate payments are a perfect storm for new banking, according to FIS. Established payment systems do not work in the way most consumers and businesses expect in a digital, mobile, real time world. Consumers expect instant gratification; digital money should act more like physical cash in terms of […]

CLS to develop payment netting service

CLS Group has started building a payment netting service, using existing message protocols and distributed ledger technology (DLT), which will be open to all FX market participants – not just CLS members –and will also enable CLS members to net some FX trades that are currently settled outside the CLS settlement service.

SEPA: lighting the blue touch paper

The single euro payments area is up and running and has proved to be a catalyst for change in the payments industry. We look at the story so far.

Digitising the transaction banking world

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, transaction banking was considered a reliable source of income for global banking groups. But nearly a decade on, multiple factors are putting pressure on transaction banks’ revenues. This year’s World Payments Report suggests banks increase their investments in digital solutions to offer more compelling propositions to their corporate treasury clients.

Christmas in New York: New State Law Restricts Gift Card Fees, Lengthens Expiration Date

t’s been a bad month for the payments industry in the state of New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law Sept. 26 imposing restrictions on gift cards and gift certificates sold in the state. The new law comes just weeks after the New York Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule regulating the use of payroll cards. The gift card law goes into effect Dec. 25, 2016, as that is 90 days from the governor’s signing.

American Express Wins Appeal in Anti-Steering Case

American Express scored a major legal victory on Sept. 26 when a federal appeals court ruled that Amex had the right to restrict retailers. Specifically, Amex had wanted to prevent Amex-accepting merchants from offering shoppers financial incentives to use other card brands. In its ruling, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit New York tossed out a lower court’s decision that said language barring such “steering” in American Express’ contracts with its merchant clients violated anti-trust laws.