Cardtronics Lands ATM Management for Fresh & Easy (Oct. 9, 2014)
ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. has been named exclusive ATM services provider for natural grocery chain Fresh & Easy.
Payments
Gearing up for the future of payments
It is essential for banks to ensure they have the right strategies and technology in place now, if they are to retain their position as market-leading payment providers in the future, writes Saket Sharma,chief information officer, treasury services, BNY Mellon.
Blog: Get Ready to Be Acquired
The M&A market for payments companies is booming, as larger companies look to acquire smaller innovators. Even if no deal is on the immediate horizon, early preparation pays off when a sale transaction is at hand.
Blog: The Future Is Financial Health
If we want to consolidate the gains we’ve made and scale the innovations we’ve seeded, we need to think big. We need to redefine financial services from the pursuit of wealth to the pursuit of health.
Viewpoint: With Expanding Use Case, GPR Poised for Growth
GPR cards are quickly moving beyond their traditional role as an alternative to checking accounts for the financially underserved, to serve broader use cases for a changing demographic.
Facebook’s P2P Plans Come to Light (Oct. 7, 2014)
Facebook looks to be planning to add a money transfer function to its Messenger app—and the social media giant reportedly already has installed the underlying code to the popular messaging service.
Dunkin’ Donuts to Add Order-Ahead Service (Oct. 7, 2014)
Dunkin’ Donuts plans to launch a new service that enables customers to order ahead and prepay for menu items via their smartphones, then visit a store location to pick up their orders.
Alibaba’s Alipay Approved to Establish Bank (Oct. 7, 2014)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has moved further into financial services now that its affiliate Alipay, an online payments platform provider, received approval to establish a privately owned bank.
Boku Acquires Rival mopay (Oct. 7, 2014)
Carrier billing specialist Boku Inc. has acquired one of its largest competitors, Germany-based mopay.
Western Union Expands Services to Walgreens, Duane Reade Stores (Oct. 6, 2014)
More than 7,500 Walgreens and Duane Reade drugstores throughout the U.S. now offer Western Union domestic and international money transfers through touchscreen kiosks that are part of the Walgreens Balance Financial platform.
Boku Provides Leading MNOs with Direct Carrier Billing in U.K.
A trio of major U.K. mobile network operators—including O2, EE and Vodafone—has partnered with carrier billing specialist Boku Inc. to enable mobile phone customers in the U.K. to charge the purchase of physical goods and services up to £30 (US$48) to their phone bills.
Square Raises $150MM, Yodlee IPO Yields $75MM
Mobile payment provider Square has landed $150 million in new venture capital in a funding round valuing the company at around $6 billion, and financial app developer Yodlee Inc. raised $75 million in its initial public offering last week.
N.J. Bill Eliminating Data Collection Requirement
New Jersey legislation (A3480) introduced last June, which would eliminate the need to collect consumer data when purchasing GPR prepaid cards, was advanced last week by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee and has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Digital Gifting’s Top 5 (Oct. 2, 2014)
Digital gifting has become a cornerstone feature for many retailers—but a few merchants are going above and beyond what have become standard features and functionality.
MasterCard Provides SafetyNet for Banks, Processors (Oct. 2, 2014)
MasterCard has launched SafetyNet, a global tool for banks and processors to mitigate the risks of cyber hacking.
Report: Mobile-Centric ‘Moneyhawks’ a Huge Potential Market for FIs (Oct. 2, 2014)
A segment of tech-savvy, mobile-minded consumers comprising more than $1 trillion in deposits could represent a major opportunity for FIs, according to a new report.
Building a transformation vision
This year marks the tenth anniversary of World Payments Report. In this extract from the report, which was launched at Sibos this week, the impact of innovation on payments is examined.
Consumers Soon Can Use Softcard to do Laundry (Oct. 1, 2014)
Softcard has extended its reach to the self-serve laundry business.
Report: Emerging Markets Driving Noncash Payment Growth (Oct. 1, 2014)
Noncash payments are estimated to have increased by 9.4 percent last year, reaching 366 billion transactions, according to a new report from Capgemini and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Data Breach Hits Sandwich Chain, Mom-and-Pop Restaurants (Oct. 1, 2014)
Large retailers and financial institutions aren’t the only victims of fraudsters on the prowl for payment card data.
Federal Reserve says faster payments “must be addressed” to meet growing customer demand
The US Federal Reserve Banks have begun planning for a faster payments system in the US, following research that found US consumers favoured such a system and would be willing to pay more for it.
PayPal, eBay Going Their Own Ways; Becoming Independent, Publicly Traded Companies (Sept. 30, 2014)
eBay Inc.’s board of directors will separate the online auction Website from subsidiary PayPal next year, making two independent, publicly traded companies.
Card Compliant Granted Patent on Escheat Management, Breakage, Revenue Recognition Platform (Sept. 30, 2014)
Technologies from Card Compliant aim to help prepaid issuers manage the regulatory and compliance challenges presented by accounting standards and escheatment requirements.
InComm Joins MCX Fold (Sept. 30, 2014)
Prepaid product and technology provider InComm has partnered with Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the retailer-led consortium that recently unveiled its new mobile payments network, CurrentC.
Cachet Financial Integrates Ingo Money Check Guarantee Services for Banks, Credit Unions (Sept. 30, 2014)
Minneapolis-based remote deposit capture specialist Cachet Financial Solutions has expanded its partnership with Ingo Money Inc.
Sepa Consultancy develops Simulator
Sepa Consultancy has launched the Intraday Liquidity Simulator, a liquidity dashboard solution that provides a timeline of events, outcomes and actions in multiple currencies.
EU Lawmakers Propose Tighter Regulations for Mobile Wallets (Sept. 29, 2014)
The Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the European Union law-making body, has recommended tightening regulations regarding customer authentication and protection of sensitive payment data related to mobile wallets, according to its recently released proposal of the revised Payment Services Directive.
Emerchants Acquires Store Financial UK Arm for $21.7 Million (Sept. 29, 2014)
Australian prepaid provider Emerchants Ltd. has made a bold move into the European market, acquiring Store Financial Services UK for AUS$24.9 million (US$21.7 million).
Bitcoin: Currency or Commodity? (Sept. 29, 2014)
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will hold a public meeting next week to discuss Bitcoin and the CFTC’s jurisdiction regarding derivatives contracts that reference the decentralized digital currency.
Changing the world
Change is a theme at this year’s Sibos. But what type of change? A cross-section of delegates discuss what they think will be the main disruptive forces in their part of the business.
Blackhawk Network Acquiring Parago for $290M (Sept. 25, 2014)
Blackhawk Network (NASDAQ: HAWK and HAWKB) today announced it’s acquiring Dallas-based consumer incentives firm Parago Inc., continuing an acquisition streak that’s advancing the prepaid and payments network’s reach into new markets within the corporate and consumer incentive space.
Green Dot Launches GoBank Checking Account Exclusively at Walmart (Sept. 25, 2014)
Green Dot Corp. (NYSE: GDOT) reinforced its position yesterday as a full-service financial products and services provider with the announcement of a nationwide rollout of GoBank, a checking account product available exclusively at U.S. Walmart stores.
Show the Industry You’re a Winner; Submit Nominations for the 2015 Paybefore Awards (Sept. 24, 2014)
It’s time to pick your categories to win in Paybefore Awards 2015.
Visa Boosts Technology Strategy with Recruitment, Tech Facility (Sept. 25, 2014)
Visa Inc. is bolstering its technology resources by creating 2,000 full-time technologist positions and opening a technology development center in India next year.
MPIW Backs Tokenization, Calls for Coordination (Sept 25, 2014)
A key payments industry group is throwing its support behind tokenization—with a few caveats as to the hurdles that remain before broad industry adoption can occur, including coordinating different tokenization models.
Clinkle a Clunker? (Sept. 25, 2014)
After three years in “stealth mode”—and $30 million in venture funding—once-hot mobile payments startup Clinkle has finally launched, but with a drastically scaled back platform.
