Ohio Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Add Congressional Oversight to CFPB (Feb. 17, 2015)
Lawmakers last week reintroduced a bill to add congressional oversight for the CFPB, which currently operates independently.
Payments
Cyberattack Hits 100 Banks, up to $1 Billion Stolen (Feb. 17, 2015)
Hackers may have made off with as much as $1 billion in a series of attacks on more than 100 banks and financial institutions in 30 nations.
Blockbuster Move: Green Dot Buys AccountNow, AchieveCard (Feb. 12, 2015)
Green Dot has acquired AccountNow and AchieveCard to expand its active cardholder base and distribution outside traditional retail, the company tells Paybefore.
Industry Veteran Creates CFPB NPRM Word Cloud
Wondering what the CFPB’s NPRM emphasizes?
Aite: 60% of U.S. POS Locations to Be EMV-Compliant by Year-End (Feb. 12, 2015)
About 60 percent of U.S. POS locations will accept EMV chip transactions by yearend, according to a recent Aite Group survey. The results suggest the push to upgrade terminals in advance of the October 2015 liability shift is “accelerating,” but serious gaps in awareness and planning still exist, especially among small and midsize merchants.
ICICI Bank Launches ‘Pockets’ Digital Wallet Targeting Youth (Feb. 12, 2015)
India’s second-largest bank ICICI Bank this week launched “Pockets,” a mobile wallet targeting younger consumers powered by a Visa prepaid card, enabling smartphone users to send and request funds, shop online and pay bills, whether or not they are an ICICI bank customer.
Companies on the Move: Meta Payment Systems Client Spotlight Awards
Meta Payment Systems, a division of MetaBank, has announced the recipients of its 2014 Client Spotlight Awards, honoring high-performing prepaid clients for the 2014 calendar year.
Mozido Leaps into China with PayEase Acquisition (Feb. 10, 2015)
Mozido today announced it’s acquiring PayEase Corp., a Beijing-based payments gateway and processor with direct connections to 23 Chinese banks.
PayPal and Shell Enable Payment at the Pump Via Smartphone (Feb. 10, 2015)
PayPal and Shell are partnering to enable motorists in the U.K. to pay for gasoline at the pump via a smartphone app.
Amazon Adds Gift Cards to E-Commerce Portal (Feb. 10, 2015)
Amazon India’s Junglee e-commerce portal is now selling gift cards, the retail giant’s latest move in India, a market the company has described as a focal point for growth.
Payments Council picks Swift for SEPA Only services
The UK’s Payments Council has selected Swift to build the country’s new central infrastructure platform in preparation for the next phase of SEPA regulation in 2016, through the provision of an automated central infrastructure platform for collection and maintenance of UK-specific SEPA routing data.
U.K. Contactless Payments Triple; Amex Rolls out Contactless EMV Cards in U.S. (Feb. 9, 2015)
Contactless payments surged in popularity in the U.K. within the past year, with contactless card spending volume tripling to £2.32 billion (US$3.53 billion) from £653.4 million in 2013, while total contactless transactions rose more than 200 percent to 319.2 million in 2014 from 100.4 million a year earlier, the UK Cards Association announced last week.
Fed Exec Floats Idea for Government-Backed Virtual Currency (Feb. 9, 2015)
As bitcoin and other virtual currencies remain subject to heavy scrutiny—and proposed regulation—by various government agencies, a senior Federal Reserve researcher is raising the possibility of the government creating a virtual currency of its own.
House Passes Bipartisan Bill Curbing CFPB Budget; Veto Expected
he House of Representatives on Feb. 4 passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) that she says would require greater transparency in government and would cap the CFPB budget for FY2016 at $550 million, $36 million below its expected funding.
Gov. Christie Signs ZIP Code Repeal Bill (Feb. 6, 2015)
N.J. Governor Chris Christie (R) signed into law a bill that eliminates the collection of consumer ZIP code information for gift cards purchased at the POS, putting an end to a protracted legal battle over unclaimed property rules in the state.
Fraud fears holding back consumer acceptance of mobile payments
Fear of fraud is the main factor slowing the adoption of smartphone-based payments among UK consumers, though a third believes that credit and debit card payments will no longer be the preferred method of payment in 2020.
Capgemini and First Data forge payments development alliance
Technology consultancy Capgemini has formed a global alliance with First Data to develop payment software based on First Data’s VisionPlus and AccessPlus solutions. The pair say that they expect to begin delivering new solutions in the second quarter of this year.
Blog: Tackling Fraud with Data
Merchants appear to be more apt and capable of leveraging their own data today than the preceding several years. And, they are finding that using this data is more effective in combating fraud than traditional validation services.
Analyst: Apple Pay’s Success Likely to Spark M-Payments with Android, HCE (Feb. 4, 2015)
Apple Pay is a huge catalyst, not only for Apple but also for Android and host card emulation (HCE), First Annapolis’ Lee Manfred said during a keynote at the Smart Card Alliance Payments Summit. He urged issuers and merchants to view Apple Pay as a tool to build their own customized mobile strategies.
MasterCard Opens India Tech Hub, Largest outside U.S. (Feb. 4, 2015)
MasterCard continued its expansion in India today, with the official opening of the payment network’s new Technology Hub in the city of Pune.
U.S. EMV Card Shipments up 500% over Last Year, Association Reports (Feb. 4, 2015)
The U.S. migration to EMV is well underway in advance of the October 2015 EMV network liability shift, with EMV card manufacturers shipping 185 million EMV cards last year, up more than 500 percent from 30 million in 2013, the Europe-based cross-industry Smart Payment Association announced today.
Green Dot Gets Serious about Credit (Feb. 4, 2015)
Green Dot is considering expanding the financial services it provides to include what Chairman and CEO Steve Streit describes as “modern credit,” with an eye toward using transactional data for underwriting.
Value of cryptocurrency transactions ‘to half this year’
The value of all cryptocurrency transactions will more than half this year, falling from $71 billion in 2014 to just over $30 billion. The decline was attributable to the combined impact of exchange collapses, Bitcoin theft and regulatory concerns.
Visa Exec: EMV Migration on ‘Critical Path’ (Feb. 3, 2015)
The U.S. payments card industry is on a “critical path” to EMV card migration over the next eight months but several challenges remain, Kimberly Lawrence, Visa’s senior vice president, global corporate initiatives, said today during the kickoff presentation at the Smart Card Alliance’s Payments Summit in Salt Lake City.
Prepaid Loads Nearly Double with Ingo’s MDC (Feb. 3, 2015)
A new report from Ingo Money offers evidence to support what many industry observers have long maintained: Offering cardholders robust reload capability is key to driving loads and retention.
NYAG Widens Access to Bank Accounts, But Still Plenty of Room for Prepaid (Feb. 3, 2015)
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wants to increase access to traditional banking services by getting banks to change their account-opening criteria. But broader access to checking and savings accounts doesn’t mean consumers won’t continue to seek out alternatives, including prepaid cards, which may have more features and fewer fees, according to industry observers.
YellowPepper Raises $19 Million for Mobile Wallet in Latin America (Feb. 3, 2015)
Miami-based YellowPepper has closed a $19 million round of Series C funding to expand its mobile wallet in Latin America, where mobile money services are growing by 53 percent.
Al-Mawarid Bank ramps up online and mobile services
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.
Green Dot: GoBank Deposits, Spending Surged in Q4 (Feb. 2, 2015)
Bolstered by a nationwide rollout in U.S. Walmart stores, Green Dot Corp.’s GoBank mobile bank account showed strong gains during Q4 2014, with monthly deposits up 600 percent and total debit card spend growing nearly tenfold, according to Green Dot’s latest earnings report.
Google Extends P2P to U.K. via Google Wallet (Feb. 2, 2015)
Google this month extended its Gmail-based money transfer feature to the U.K., marking the search giant’s first P2P foray outside the U.S. If successful, the move could help Google expand awareness of Google Wallet internationally before Apple Pay makes its expected move into the U.K. and other global markets, observers say. Apple Inc. CEO Tim […]
CFPB Considers Comment Period Extension for Prepaid, but More Time Seems Unlikely
In a Jan. 27 letter to U.S. Rep. Sean P. Duffy (R-Wis.) and several other members of Congress, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said the agency would give the lawmakers’ request for a 60-day extension to the comment period for its prepaid NPRM “serious consideration.” But the rest of the letter suggests that the agency feels 130 days since the proposal went up on its Website will be adequate for stakeholders to comment.
FDIC Backs off Operation Choke Point (Jan. 29, 2015)
Critics of the DOJ’s controversial Operation Choke Point, which encourages financial institutions to scrutinize clients that operate certain types of businesses, such as payday lenders and firearms sales, may welcome the latest news from the FDIC.
Apple: iPhone Quarterly Sales Results Shatter Expectations (Jan. 29, 2015)
The blazing sales rate of Apple Inc.’s new iPhones during the final quarter of 2014 shattered the company’s own expectations, and Apple Pay’s rollout was “extremely positive,” helping drive historic revenues, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook told analysts this week.
Chinese E-Commerce Acquirer to Offer MasterPass (Jan. 29, 2015)
China-based e-commerce retailers have a new way to accept online payments.
Blog: Hot Topics at ‘The Big Show’ 2015
Coming off a strong holiday season, retailers have their sights set on data security and the shopping experience. First Data’s Jerry McNerney talks about how the payments industry can help.
Blog: Building the Next Generation of Payroll Cards
In 2014, payroll cards took a beating in the general press, fueling the fire in some state legislatures to impose onerous restrictions and potentially category-killer requirements. Now, CFSI, working in consultation with industry participants and consumer advocates, has created best practices for what it calls “high-quality payroll card products” that promote choice, safety, affordability, transparency and convenience (and discourage outliers).
Company on the Move: PULSE, New Logo and Acceptance Mark
Debit/ATM network PULSE has unveiled a new corporate logo and acceptance mark.
Companies on the Move: Mercury Payment Systems, International Service Excellence Award, Service All-Star Award
Mercury Payment Systems, a Vantiv company that provides payments technology and services for small and midsize businesses, has received two awards for its customer service.
Polish mobile payments platform prepares for launch with six banks
A new bank-run mobile payment service is set to launch in Poland next month, following collaborative efforts between six Polish banks. The new service will allow customers to make payments in stores and online, withdraw cash and send P2P transfers, all using their mobile phone.
FDIC Advises Banks to Contact Examiners on Brokered Deposits
Prepaid issuers aren’t the only ones confused by the potential implications of the FDIC’s recent FAQs on brokered deposits. The agency offered some clarifications to ABA staff but recommends issuers reach out to their examiners with specific questions.
