MasterCard and Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) have announced a global partnership to promote small business growth in developing countries. The partnership, agreed yesterday at Sibos, provides international issuers in developing markets with new tools to help to improve credit underwriting for unbanked small businesses.
Clever use of data about customers can be the key to success as customers move from cash to cards, according to Oliver Huwes, chief executive at Russian bank Tinkoff Credit Systems.
Experts are saying millions of people will abandon their old banks and switch to a new provider, following the introduction of new rules on 16 September designed to make it easier to change banks. But estimates vary widely, from single digits to tens of millions.
Sept. 16, 2013 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the latest to weigh in on payroll cards by issuing a bulletin to companies reminding them that employers cannot require their employees to receive wages on a payroll card. “Employees must have options when it comes to how they receive their wages,” CFPB Director Richard […]
Capital One Financial Corp. this week ends its trial run with the Isis Mobile Wallet, raising questions about what combination of payment cards Isis will have when the wallet officially launches later this year.
Sept. 16, 2013 i2c Inc. today announced the completion of a direct integration of its platform with MasterCard’s domestic switch in Mexico, where the cloud-based payments processor sees significant growth opportunities. Redwood City, Calif.-based i2c completed all requirements for certification with MasterCard’s Mexico Domestic Switch service, which i2c says will help accelerate implementations of prepaid, credit […]
Sept. 16, 2013 Western Union has made a pair of major inroads into the Chinese banking channel. Through a deal struck last week with Shanghai-based payment card network UnionPay, the money transfer giant now can reach 95 percent of all personal bank accounts in China. The pact enables Western Union customers in 23 countries to […]
Users of Barclays Pingit U.K. mobile money transfer app have two new ways to make online purchases, with a pair of features being launched this week.
Global non-cash payments volumes continue to rise unabated, according to World Payments Report 2013 (WPR 2013), which was launched today. Non-cash transactions grew by 8.8 per cent during 2011 (the latest year for which full data is available) and are predicted to top 333 billion for 2012.
Clear2Pay Supplement Sibos 2013
Mobile payments specialist Zapp is expecting to sign up five of the six major UK banks within the next few weeks, following a deal with acquirer WorldPay, announced this week. However, the platform still has a long way to go to catch-up with rival Barclay’s Pingit, which has a significant head-start, having launched in February 2012.
Prepaid accounted for the strongest growth rate in gross dollar volume (GDV) for all payment card types during the first half of this year for MasterCard Worldwide, as prepaid card use cases expanded worldwide, the network told investors yesterday.
Sept. 12, 2013 Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), presented the agency’s semi-annual report to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services during an often contentious hearing this morning. Literally seconds after welcoming Cordray to this morning’s hearing, Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) assailed the agency for the relatively unchecked power […]
Sept. 12, 2013 The Federal Reserve is seeking payments industry input on a set of new policy proposals to modernize and improve the nation’s payments system in the wake of rapid changes in technology and consumer expectations. Earlier this week, the agency released its Payment System Improvement – Public Consultation Paper, the purpose of which […]
Sprint’s Boost Mobile Wallet users now have a way to turn checks into instant funds with a new service dubbed Quick Check, which uses remote deposit capture to deposit checks into customers’ wallet accounts.
Mary Monahan, Javelin Strategy & Research
Microsoft’s canny purchase of Nokia for the bargain price of $7.2 billion reopens the rumors that Stephen Elop’s move to Nokia was a Trojan horse, intended to open the doors to the announcement last week.
By John Dancu, IDology Fraud? Oh no … couldn’t happen to me! Is that how you or your organization approaches potential fraud? Well … if it is, it might be time to take a closer look. In our recent “Fraud Report,” which polled senior executives from our customer base of financial service providers and companies […]
PayPal could give mobile commerce a big boost with the introduction of PayPal Beacon, a service it’s piloting this fall that will enable customers who opt in to pay “hands-free” with their PayPal mobile apps at participating merchants.
Two major mass transit contactless payment initiatives are speeding forward this week, with the debut of Chicago’s Ventra system and the announcement of a smartphone-based payment feature for Hong Kong’s transit network.
Sept. 10, 2013 The money keeps pouring in as two mobile payments players, Check and Paydiant, are the latest to report recent infusions of capital. Wellesley, Mass.-based Paydiant announced today that it has closed a $15 million round of funding from North Bridge Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners and Stage 1 Ventures, among others. The new […]
Japanese banking group Sumitomo Mistui will launch a new NFC payment service that will be available through all three of the country’s mobile network operators and more than 30 NFC-enabled smartphone models.
PayPal is making a splash with a redesign of its mobile app that pulls together several of the company’s latest initiatives into a digital wallet emphasizing consumer benefits, including instant discounts and the ability to pay at the POS.
Vodafone and Visa are teaming up to launch an NFC-based mobile payment pilot in New Zealand.
Sept. 9, 2013 Financial institutions and Bitcoin companies met last week with several British government agencies, asking them to consider regulating the virtual currency so they can be used to promote commercial growth and encourage financial innovation. Representatives from Bitcoin companies and smaller FIs told officials that “big banks are blocking the creation of business […]
Delta Air Lines has equipped more than 19,000 of its flight attendants with Nokia Lumina mobile devices with mobile POS capability for the airline’s new in-flight purchase program.
Retail banking competition is likely to heat up over the next decade, with millions more people switching accounts every year, according to new research published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. But current levels are still far behind those found in other industries such as electricity and gas utilities, the study found.
To drive customer education and engagement, financial services providers are applying the concepts of gaming—and it turns out a little fun can drive serious results.
With only one in five UK consumers using their mobile to make payments, new research suggests that the technology is being held back by consumer fears over security, lengthy sign-up processes and problems making payments outside of individual schemes.
The payment industry has never seen so much change or opportunity. It continues to be reshaped by shifts in the economic landscape, new technologies and customer needs and this is set to continue.
Visa Europe and its majority-owned mobile money specialist Monitise have signed a deal with IBM in a major mobile banking and mobile payment collaboration targeting Europe’s banks.
The scoop on the hottest jobs in prepaid. Plus, how to attract (and keep) the best talent.
Prepaid card market growth slowed from 2011 to 2012 as a then-softening economy and compliance complexities finally caught up to the industry.
Sept. 4, 2013 Green Dot Corp. is seeking $90 million in damages from Sallie Mae in a lawsuit claiming the student loan giant misled Green Dot about the prospects for a prepaid card the two companies announced last year to help colleges disburse student financial aid refunds that Sallie Mae pulled the plug on. In a […]
Sept. 4, 2013 PayPal Inc. is opening for business in Russia, now that the San Jose, Calif., payment giant has overcome the regulatory barriers to fully operating in the country. According to a report in the Moscow Times, PayPal will begin enabling account holders to transfer funds to Russian banks in rubles starting on Sept […]
Australia-based mobile payment processor Mint Wireless has announced the launch of a new platform the company says will simplify the integration of card payments across multiple mobile devices and platforms.
Isis says it’s bolstering its market position before its national rollout with a handful of payment terminal manufacturers and software providers that are integrating Isis SmartTap capabilities into a range of POS systems, including integrated POS terminals and vending machines.
Blue Label Telecoms today announced a partnership with MasterCard that will expand electronic payment terminals to 22,000 small traders and rural shops in South Africa.
Payments processor PreCash is combining a mobile app with its bill payment technology to help consumers pay bills with cash, which the company hopes will translate to a broader financial services relationship with PreCash.
What consumers want from mobile wallets is a question not easily answered, nor is it clear whether any of the mobile wallets developed so far will hit the jackpot in creating a consumer experience compelling enough to change entrenched habits.
