New Gift, Loyalty App Latest Sign of Amazon’s Offline Ambitions (July 22, 2014)
Amazon has launched a new mobile wallet app for managing and redeeming gift and loyalty cards.
Payments
N.Y. Proposes Rules for Digital Currency Businesses (July 22, 2014)
New York State’s Department of Financial Services is seeking public comment on a recently proposed “BitLicense” regulatory framework for digital currency businesses in the state.
RBI Accepting Comments on Bank Licensing Guidelines (July 22, 2014)
The Reserve Bank of India recently issued draft guidelines for companies seeking bank licenses in two niche banking categories: payments banks and small banks.
Snapchat Eyeing Payments, Patent Filings Indicate (July 22, 2014)
Mobile photo sharing and messaging app Snapchat might be seeking to move into payments.
Google Wallet Adds Gift Card Management, Free Debit Card P2P (July 21, 2014)
As Google Wallet continues to experiment, the latest evolution adds a new gift card management function and removes fees on debit card-based P2P money transfers made via the wallet.
ACI Worldwide to Acquire ReD for $205 million (July 21, 2014)
Payment systems provider ACI Worldwide announced today it will acquire U.K.-based fraud prevention solutions provider Retail Decisions (ReD) in an all-cash purchase of $205 million.
Social Media, Shopping Convergence Continues with Twitter, Facebook Moves (July 21, 2014)
The boundary between social media and commerce continues to blur, with a pair of announcements from two major tech companies accelerating the convergence of shopping and socializing online.
Green Dot MoneyPak PIN Product Out of Market by Q1 2015 (July 17, 2014)
Green Dot Corp., a Pasadena, Calif.-based provider of prepaid debit card products and reloading services, is discontinuing the MoneyPak PIN method of reloading cards, moving fully to the card swipe reload process, according to a written statement provided yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
CFPB Proposal: Include Consumer Narrative in Complaint Database (July 17, 2014)
The CFPB wants to expand its Consumer Complaint Database to enable consumers to provide a narrative with their complaints about financial services.
Visa Launches 1-Click Shopping Service for e-Commerce (July 17, 2014)
The battle for space at the online checkout counter continues as Visa Inc. unveils a new service to enable e-merchants to add a one-click purchase button to shopping Websites and apps.
Merchants Get another Extension in Debit Interchange Case (July 17, 2014)
The merchant plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors have been granted another extension to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
HCE and NFC: threat or opportunity?
Mobile NFC services continued to expand in 2013 but the big question is, will this be amplified or disrupted by the introduction of host-based card emulation (HCE) into mainstream operating systems?
UK bank customers weigh up pros and cons of account switching
Current account holders in the UK are switching between banks more often than before – but with some customers struggling to see the difference between banks, more needs to be done to make switching worthwhile.
Dan Henry Leaving NetSpend; Chuck Harris Assumes the Reins (July 15, 2014)
Chuck Harris has been named senior executive vice president of TSYS, and he will take over the reins of TSYS-owned GPR and payroll card provider NetSpend, effective July 31, as CEO Dan Henry is leaving the company after serving in the executive role since 2008.
New Braintree SDK Features PayPal Integration (July 15, 2014)
eBay Inc.’s Braintree payments unit has unveiled a new software development kit (SDK), marking Braintree’s first major upgrade since being acquired by eBay in an $800 million deal last year.
China Post to Launch Mobile Payment Services (July 15, 2014)
Chinese postal network China Post will make a major investment toward building a mobile and online payment service.
SpendTrend: Consumer Spending Still Rising; Strong Prepaid Growth (July 15, 2014)
Consumer spending eased off a bit in June, but remained on an overall path of growth, according to data from First Data Corp.’s latest SpendTrend report.
SIA sees 270% processing improvement with Red Hat roll-out
Milan-based payment processing specialist SIA says that a migration of its systems to the Red Hat Linux environment has led to a 270% reduction in processing times.
Offers, P2P Could Be Keys to Driving Mobile Wallet Use (July 14, 2014)
Forty percent of mobile wallet users are using mobile as their primary form of payment—and mobile-specific offers and rewards could be the key to converting the remainder, a new report suggests.
Canadian Gov’t Gauges Interest in Prepaid for Federal Benefits (July 14, 2014)
With the Canadian government planning to phase out paper checks by 2016 for federal benefits recipients, half of Canadians who are unwilling to use direct deposit would be willing to try receiving their benefits on a reloadable prepaid card, according to a public opinion report released earlier this year and commissioned by the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
cadooz Signs 25-Country Deal with Spotify (July 14, 2014)
cadooz GmbH, a provider of vouchers, rewards and incentives, announced a deal to distribute gift cards and voucher codes for Spotify, the digital music streaming service, to business customers in 25 European countries.
iZettle, Cover Land Fundings (July 14, 2014)
Swedish mPOS provider iZettle has added €5 million (US$6.8 million) to its coffers, after the latest investment in the company’s Series C round of funding.
Viewpoint: Is BLE the Next Important Innovation in Mobile Technology?
BLE is getting a lot of buzz because of its potential to complement other technologies like NFC for marketing and consumer engagement, but certain questions remain about its purpose and future.
Blog: Innovation is Coming: A New Small-Dollar Credit Offering from Canada
Canada’s Vancity Credit Union could be an inspiration for U.S. lenders as it explores new territory, working with the CFSI to devise an affordable small-dollar loan product with an unsecured credit line suitable for underbanked consumers.
First Data Bets on Gambling Growth with PayLucky Solutions (July 9, 2014)
First Data is going all in to the booming gambling and casino industry with a suite of payment features to streamline the flow of money for U.S.-based online and offline gambling operations from casinos to racetracks, lotteries and poker.
Report: More than Half of U.S. Consumers Don’t Know about Mobile Gift Cards (July 9, 2014)
Gift cards are popular with U.S. consumers, but there’s still room for growth, as many consumers are uninformed about or uncomfortable with mobile gift cards and e-codes, according to research by the Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA), a trade association of closed-loop gift card retailers.
i2c Sets up Singapore Location to Meet Growing Asia-Pacific Demand (July 9, 2014)
i2c Inc. has opened a Singapore office to address the growing market for prepaid products and mobile financial services in the Asia Pacific region.
Sear shows up at Skrill after Weve departure
David Sear, the former chief executive of the Weve mobile network e-commerce joint venture, has been appointed as group chief commercial officer at Skrill Group.
Companies on the Move: StoreFinancial, PX Prepaid & Payments Awards
Paybefore Award-winning processor and program manager StoreFinancial has announced that the Dell Advantage ePromotional card was awarded for “Best Prepaid & Payments Innovation” at the Third Annual PX Prepaid & Payments Awards.
PayPal Adds Next-Day Settlement for Funds-Transfers in Pilot Program (July 8, 2014)
PayPal is slashing the time needed for businesses to receive PayPal funds in their bank accounts.
Isis Will Rebrand Rather Than Share Name with Militant Group (July 8, 2014)
Isis, the NFC-based mobile payment initiative backed by AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, announced it will rebrand its mobile wallet to distance the company from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a jihadist militant group that often goes by the acronym ISIS.
Monitise’s New Business Model Changes 2014 Earnings Forecast (July 8, 2014)
Calling it a transition year, U.K.-based Monitise announced today its full year revenue for 2014 will fall short of expected growth because of a change to its business model.
Branches could blossom as transactions move to digital channels
Banks are continuing to spend money on branches, but they are dramatically changing their role to become centres for sale-oriented advice rather than service-oriented transactions, driven by the rapid growth of digital banking.
New IRS Rule Limits Direct-Deposited Tax Refunds to 3 (July 7, 2014)
The IRS has announced new procedures, effective January 2015, limiting the number of tax refunds electronically deposited into a financial account or prepaid card account to three, in an effort to combat fraud and identity theft.
Brazil: Fraudsters Redirected Nearly $4 Billion from Boleto Payments (July 7, 2014)
A Brazilian fraud ring has absconded with US$3.75 billion in two years using malware to penetrate Boleto payments from individual consumers and companies, and redirecting those payments to fraudulent accounts, according to a report by security solutions provider RSA Research Group.
European Banking Authority: Say ‘No’ to Bitcoin–for Now (July 7, 2014)
The European Banking Authority is urging EU financial institutions to avoid buying, holding or selling digital currencies, like Bitcoin, until regulations for the decentralized currencies are in place.
Russia Changes Course on Law Requiring Visa and MasterCard to Pay Huge Security Deposit (July 3, 2014)
Visa and MasterCard may be able to dodge paying massive security deposits to continue operating in Russia, under new legislation that took effect July 1.
Payza Lands in U.S. (July 3, 2014)
Payza announced this week that its online payment processing and eWallet services now are available to U.S. residents and businesses.
paysafecard Launches in Ready-for-Growth Latin American Countries (July 3, 2014)
Paybefore Award-winning online voucher provider paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG has expanded this week into Peru and Uruguay, two Latin American countries the company says are ripe for prepaid online payments growth.
Global Fraud Shakes Consumer Confidence; U.S. Ranks Third in Overall Fraud (July 3, 2014)
One in four consumers worldwide has been a victim of card fraud in the last five years, and consumer confidence is wavering, according to a new global fraud study from ACI Worldwide and Aite Group.
