People on the Move: Don Andrews, Venable LLP
Don Andrews, a compliance and risk management attorney with experience in regulatory enforcement and the corporate suite, has joined law firm Venable LLP as a partner in the New York City office.
PayTech
CFSI, Core: Underserved Opportunity Grows to $138 Billion (Dec. 8, 2015)
Financially underserved Americans spent $138 billion in fees and interest in 2014, up 7.6 percent from the previous year, according to a new study from the Center for Financial Services Innovation and Core Innovation Capital. The survey results highlight the opportunity presented by the underbanked segment for financial services providers that can provide innovative solutions to help those consumers improve their financial security.
FTC Bans Telemarketers from Accepting Cash Reload Mechanisms (Dec. 8, 2015)
The FTC has banned telemarketers from accepting four types of payments—among them are cash reload mechanisms. The ban is supposed to help shield consumers from fraudulent telemarketers.
suretap, Enstream Testing Tap-to-Pay Service for Commuters (Dec. 8, 2015)
After adding a loyalty component to its mobile wallet last month, Canada-based suretap is working with mobile technology provider and sister company EnStream to test a program with the Société de transport de Montréal enabling commuters to pay transit fares using their mobile wallets.
CFPB Staffing, Fines up in Fiscal 2015 (Dec. 8, 2015)
The number of CFPB employees grew to 1,529 in 2015, from 1,443 the previous fiscal year, according to the agency’s financial report for the 2015 fiscal year, ended Sept. 30. The CFPB collected civil penalties totaling $183.1 million from 37 cases in 2015—a substantial increase from the $77.5 million collected in 2014.
CFPB Denies UniRush Petition for More Time to Produce Documents (Dec. 7, 2015)
The CFPB has denied UniRush’s petition to narrow the scope and extend the time the company has to produce documents for a bureau investigation following an October system outage that left some RushCard cardholders without access to their account information and, in some cases, their funds.
Study: Global E-Commerce on the Rise (Dec. 7, 2015)
As the global e-commerce market surges to $2.4 trillion by 2019, 23 percent of this total is expected to come exclusively from mobile devices, according to a recent study by Worldpay. The results for prepaid are a mixed bag, with closed-loop vouchers/cards booming and network branded card e-commerce volume expected to decline.
First Data Fixes Processing Outage in 45 Minutes (Dec. 7, 2015)
Hardware issues are to blame for a brief outage of First Data’s ability to process certain credit and debit cards Friday.
Swift expands Innotribe to emerging markets, adds Industry Challenge
Swift’s Innotribe initiative is to expand its programme to support innovation in emerging fintech ecosystems, including Africa and Latin America. It has also announced a new Industry Challenge programme under which the Innotribe team will work with Swift members to identify business areas that could benefit from collaborative solutions.
PSD II: The Ayers Rock of payments?
Complying with the European Commission’s Payment Services Directive II is like climbing the massive sandstone bulk of Ayers Rock in Australia – you think you’ve reached the top, and then you realise you still have a long way to go, according to speakers at the recent European Payments Regulation conference in London.
Holiday E-Retail Roundup: Amazon the Big Black Friday Winner, A Record Cyber Monday (Dec. 3, 2015)
The online retail numbers keep rolling in as the holiday shopping season launches into high gear, and more shoppers than ever are making purchases online.
InComm to Invest $20 Million in Georgia Despite Other Suitors (Dec. 3, 2015)
During a Dec. 2 press conference with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, InComm announced it will remain in its Atlanta headquarters and invest $20 million in facilities and equipment as well as hire an additional 275 employees in the state.
Mozido Supercharges TWallet for Indonesia’s Largest Telco (Dec. 3, 2015)
Boasting more than half of Indonesia’s 255 million people as wireless customers, mobile network operator Telkomsel Indonesia is tapping Mozido to help it entice more of its 140 million customers to use its mobile wallet.
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.
Target Reaches $39.4 Million Breach Settlement with Banks, MasterCard (Dec. 2, 2015)
Target is moving another step forward in its attempts to put its 2013 data breach behind it.
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.
Samsung Pay Adds 8 New Issuers, Including Chase (Dec. 2, 2015)
Samsung Pay has expanded its roster of supported payment cards with the addition of eight new card issuers.
Krispy Kreme’s App May Be Late to the Party, but has Grand Plans (Dec. 2, 2015)
Competition for consumers looking to get their doughnut and coffee fix, among other offerings, has heated up with this week’s announcement of Krispy Kreme’s new loyalty app.
PSR sets out guidance on card payment regulation
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator has published draft guidance on its plans for regulating new European payment card legislations that comes into force next week.
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.
Enhancing global real-time payments: tackling fraud and AML
Quick business successes can be built on the UK’s payment system that will play a key role in encouraging the efforts required to ensure that it achieves the “world class” status the industry is aiming for.
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.
Blackhawk Nabs Dutch Gifting Provider in Latest Expansion Move (Nov. 25, 2015)
Blackhawk Network continues to expand its gifting offerings and global reach with the purchase of DIDIX Gifting & Promotions, a Netherlands-based provider of leisure-themed prepaid gift and promotional cards.
Comment Deadline Reminder: Nov. 27 for N.Y. Payroll Regs
It may be Black Friday this week, but it’s also the deadline to comment on potentially harmful payroll card regulations pending in the state of New York.
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.
People on the Move: James Kim, Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr has hired James Kim, a consumer financial services litigator and regulatory attorney.
People on the Move: David Butler, Creditcall
Creditcall Ltd, an omni-channel payment gateway and EMV migration specialist, has appointed David Butler vice president of operations.
People on the Move: Rossini Zumwalt, Emergent Payments
Emergent Payments, a global payments company, announced the hiring of Rossini Zumwalt to strengthen the company in fraud prevention, and compliance and risk management of digital payments in emerging markets.
People on the Move: Keisha Whitehall Wolfe, K&L Gates
Keisha Whitehall Wolfe has joined the consumer financial services group as counsel from the office of the commissioner of financial regulation (OCFR) within Maryland’s department of labor, licensing and regulation.
People on the Move: Paul Townsend, Saxo Payments
Saxo Payments, a global transaction services provider, appointed Paul Townsend as non-executive director.
People on the Move: Gene Fredriksen, PSCU
Gene Fredriksen, PSCU’s chief information security officer (CISO), was named CISO of the Year by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF) at its 12th Annual Industry Achievement Awards Gala.
People on the Move: Elizabeth G. Chambers, The Western Union
The Western Union Co., a global payment services provider, has appointed of Elizabeth G. Chambers to the newly created role of chief strategy and product officer.
Apple Pay Seeking February Launch in China; Wirecard Debuts New NFC Wallet (Nov. 24, 2015)
Apple Pay’s long-awaited arrival in China could be just months away, with the mobile payments service slated to launch in the country by early February 2016, according to a report. Meanwhile, Germany’s Wirecard has launched a new Android-based NFC mobile wallet in four European countries.
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.
