Payments


The rise of the blockchains: alternative models emerge

If the global payments industry were to be designed from scratch, nobody would design the system which we have today. Yet distributed ledger technology has the potential to bring about dramatic change– if it can overcome the unanswered questions over to what extent the industry should collaborate or compete and whether there will be one model or many different ones, according to speakers and delegates at the European Payments Regulation conference in London on Wednesday.

Webinar: Coping with Consumer Complaints and CFPB Expectations (Dec. 2, 2015)

Deciphering how the CFPB handles consumer complaints—and ultimately decides to take action against a company—can be difficult. During a recent Webinar, Tristram Wolf, a Ballard Spahr associate and former CFPB attorney policy writer and investigator, joined colleagues in offering an inside look at the complaint process and tips for staying out of the CFPB’s crosshairs.

House Committee Applauds Mobile Payments Innovation (Dec. 2, 2015)

In a Congressional hearing yesterday, lawmakers examined the role mobile payments technologies are playing in disrupting traditional payments, paying particular attention to how mobile has increased payments security and enabled small businesses and underbanked consumers to access electronic payments.

U.K. Licenses Second Digital Bank (Dec. 1, 2015)

A new digital banking startup has received a U.K. banking license, adding another challenger to the growing ranks of financial services providers seeking to contest the dominance of established banks. Tandem Bank is just the second digital-only bank to earn a license from the Bank of England, following Atom Bank, which was licensed in June.

M-Payments’ Next Mission

The pressure to build scale rises with new competitors—Android Pay, Samsung Pay and CurrentC—joining Apple Pay in the emerging m-payments fray. Will consumers climb aboard? How they’re using m-payments so far, may tell the tale.

Gift Cards, E-Commerce Drive Holiday Shopping

U.S. shoppers flocked to physical and online stores during the Thanksgiving weekend, with more than 151 million Americans shopping in-store and/or online, based on data from the National Retail Federation. The shopping frenzy is expected to continue, with Cyber Monday deals projected to drive 121 million U.S. consumers to shop online. Average spending per shopper was $299.60, and gift cards were especially popular, comprising a whopping 76.6 percent ($229.56) of that average total.

Visa Highlights Security Efforts during Peak Shopping Season (Nov. 30, 2015)

As consumers take to their computers and mobile devices in the hopes of getting great deals today and throughout the holidays, shoppers could fall prey to identity thieves and other scams. To thwart such crimes online and in stores, Visa has kicked off an educational campaign for issuers, merchants and consumers about the network’s security efforts.

ERPB Approves Instant Payments Plan (Nov. 29, 2015)

Instant payments are a step closer to becoming a reality in Europe, now that the European Payments Council (EPC) has submitted and received approval on its proposal for the design of a pan-European instant credit transfer framework.

Banks warned: digitise or die …

Retail banks often claim that customer service is their primary focus, but 75% of banks believe they haven’t concentrated efforts on improving it. Instead, annual reports focus on the financial results. Whether these two stories can become one remains to be seen, according to a new whitepaper by bank technology vendor Misys.

No cloud please, we’re bankers

Despite predictions over the last few years that banks were just a heartbeat away from adopting cloud technology, only 1% of banks are actually running core processing in the cloud today, according to a new report by Temenos.

San Francisco Suit Seeks Billions from Amex over Anti-Steering Rules (Nov. 25, 2015)

Following a federal court’s ruling earlier this year that American Express violated anti-trust laws by prohibiting merchants from encouraging customers to use alternate payment methods, San Francisco’s City Attorney has filed a lawsuit against the payments network, seeking billions in penalties and damages as part of a statewide consumer action.

In Wake of Paris Attacks, France Eyes Stricter Prepaid Rules (Nov. 24, 2015)

French officials are calling for tighter regulation of prepaid products in the European Union, claiming that prepaid cards were in preparation for the terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month. The proposal to tighten prepaid regulation is part of a broader initiative to combat terrorist financing.

Philly Fed Study Measures Consumers’ Reaction to Breach

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia finds, not surprisingly, that consumers affected by a data breach are much more likely to opt for fraud protection, while those consumers who are unaffected or only hear news about breaches are less likely to use fraud prevention services.

Shift, Coinbase Debut Bitcoin Visa Card (Nov. 23, 2015)

Bitcoin may be a step closer to going mainstream now that Coinbase is partnering with Shift Payments to launch a Visa-branded bitcoin debit card that lets users spend the funds in their bitcoin wallets anywhere Visa is accepted.

Diebold Acquiring Wincor Nixdorf for $1.8 Billion (Nov. 23, 2015)

The payments world is contracting a bit more as U.S. ATM manufacturer Diebold is getting significantly larger, announcing its plan to acquire German-based Wincor Nixdorf for approximately $1.8 billion, or €1.7 billion, creating the largest global ATM supplier.

Apple Pay, MasterCard Offer Free Transit Fares in London (Nov. 23, 2015)

Five months after Apple Pay’s arrival in the U.K., the contactless payments service is working with London’s transit authority and MasterCard to drive Apple Pay usage for mass transit by offering free rides on Mondays, starting today and running through Dec. 14. Meanwhile, Visa Europe is doing its part to promote Apple Pay in the U.K. with a two-month advertising campaign touting its integration with the payments service.

CFPB Pushes Back Prepaid Final Rule Release

The CFPB announced in a Nov. 20 blog post that it has updated its regulatory agenda, including the schedule for its final rule on prepaid accounts, which now is expected to be released in March 2016. Several lawmakers have expressed concern over the CFPB’s broad proposed rulemaking on prepaid, noting that consumers, including those that rely on overdraft and government benefits, may be harmed if the rules go too far.

Viewpoint: Digital vs. Plastic: Death Match or Perfect Marriage?

In 5 years plastic cards will be dead! A bold prediction for sure and likely one you’ve heard in any of a dozen payment mixers you’ve attended over the last year. But for our restaurant brands, we see a more nuanced picture that requires us to execute a simple, perhaps obvious, formula.

Norwegian mobile payment service Valyou closes down

The Norwegian Valyou mobile payment service started by DnB and Telenor will be closed at the end of this month as a result of slower than expected activation of NFC enabled POS terminals and a much lower than expected end user uptake.

SIA sets sights on German P2P mobile payments market

Italian payments company SIA is expanding its P2P service Jiffy into Germany, together with IT firm GFT Technologies. The move is part of SIA’s plan to roll out real time money transfer via mobile phone to 400 million European current account holders.