FinCEN’s virtual currency guidance creates different AML standards for virtual currency and traditional funds, but with a slight modification the agency can “re-level” the playing field without compromising its AML policy goals.
Meredith Fuchs joins at least 45 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees who have left the bureau for the private sector since 2011.
Despite some claims from the banking industry that small banks may be at a competitive disadvantage in a post-Durbin Amendment interchange environment, a new Philadelphia Fed report suggests that banks with less than $10 billion in assets have not suffered from the Durbin Amendment, which capped debit card interchange for larger financial institutions.
Who, what, where, when of the fintech industry today – this excellent infographics pulls together plenty of useful data, from top specialists, unicorns and start-ups to geographies and M&As. Created by Savvy Beaver and Call Levels.
The CFPB has hit online payments provider Dwolla with an enforcement action over what the agency describes as misleading claims the company made about customers’ data security and the risks of using Dwolla’s online system. The action is the CFPB’s first enforcement related to a data security issue, the agency said.
A Turkish man pled guilty Tuesday in a federal court in Brooklyn to planning and leading cyber-attacks that swiped $55 million from ATMs around the world.
Can applying semantics make BCBS 239 reporting consistent and comparable across all regulatory bodies? Rupert Brown explores the options when best practice isn’t good enough… Regulatory vagaries and the punitive fines make these tense times for bank risk officers. On the one hand, regulators are asking for a whole lot of architectural work to be […]
The CFPB’s latest consumer complaint report is out, and this month the agency took a closer look at prepaid-related complaints. Even though the agency says prepaid complaints “spiked in recent months,” such complaints continue to comprise a small fraction of the issues brought to the bureau’s attention.
As the CFPB prepares to release its final rule on prepaid accounts—expected this month—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) is urging the agency to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on how the rule would affect government benefits cards and potentially increase taxpayer costs.
The recently proposed data-transfer pact between the U.S. and European Union has come under fire from critics, including privacy activists and some EU lawmakers, who claim the deal fails to adequately protect EU citizens from surveillance by American intelligence agencies.
As financial institutions across the board gear up for 2016, the year ahead poses some notably regulatory challenges. Not least among these is the impending Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from the European Commission; there will also be further progress on MiFID II. On 3 July this year, an event will take place which will mark […]
Apple will testify tomorrow before the House Judiciary Committee on encryption amid its fight with the FBI over creating software to hack an iPhone of one of the terrorists responsible for the December attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. Fellow tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter, are expected to file amicus briefs in support of Apple’s decision not to comply with a court order demanding that Apple comply with the FBI’s request.
As established banks migrate to a digital era, new entrants in the German market are threatening to seize the moment. “We see a change in society; in the way that smart phone adoption feeds back into the way we run our business,” says Andreas Vollmer, chief IT architect of Commerzbank. “It is not just about […]
Distributed ledgers have a role to play in identity verifications, but there are potential pitfalls, state Professor Michael Mainelli and Vinay Gupta. They are increasingly touted as the answer to the identity problems plaguing finance and government. They may well be part of the answer, but more important is recognising they are only tools to help […]
The Payment System Regulator (PSR), a government body created to oversee the payment systems industry in the U.K., is calling for the major banks to sell a part of their stakes in U.K.-based payments provider VocaLink, which it claims will create more fertile ground for innovation and competition.
The CFPB wants the nation’s top banks to offer consumers more lower-risk account choices. That could be good news for the prepaid card industry even as some might grumble about the agency meddling in their affairs.
With recent legislation calling for increased cooperation between companies and government agencies to combat potential cyberthreats, officials are asking financial institutions to include information such as IP and bitcoin wallet addresses in suspicious activity reports (SARs).
Following a new privacy shield agreement, which upon approval will replace an expired Safe Harbor pact between the U.S. and the EU Commission, European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli last week said he supported the agreement.
A Wendy’s customer has filed a class action complaint against the fast food chain for its alleged failure to protect consumers’ credit and debit card information.
MoneyGram agrees to pay $13 million to settle claims that criminals used its network for fraudulent transactions. The company also will increase its anti-fraud activities.
A year after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to enhance the speed, safety and efficiency of payments in the U.S., the program has made substantial progress, the Fed reports.
Retailers have long recognized the importance of customer engagement to drive sales and retain customers. But Reno, Nev.-based PaySwag is proving the power of engagement to improve results in a somewhat unexpected sector—bill payments.
Oh the irony. On the same day President Barack Obama and his administration presented plans to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity, the IRS announced an attack on its Website.
A U.K. government panel is calling for the development of an open banking standard that will enable banking data to be shared and used securely, giving consumers access to tailored financial solutions and an easier way to compare products and services.
Bitcoin continues to encounter hurdles as its supporters try to facilitate the digital currency’s mainstream acceptance. Though certain states and countries are welcoming bitcoin, or permitting it with certain provisos, Russia is considering a ban.
Electronic payment options for consumers are proliferating, and shoppers expect merchants to accept the full gamut of form factors. But for retailers—especially small and midsize enterprises (SMEs)—it can be tough to keep up. That’s where Poynt comes in.
The CFPB announced today a three-prong approach to ensure consumers are receiving a fair shake regarding checking account access. But what may surprise many in the prepaid industry is that the agency also is providing information to consumers about the prepaid option.
Cybercriminals could be ramping up their attacks on financial services providers, according to a new study. The fourth quarter of 2015 saw a tenfold increase in “bot attacks”—essentially test attacks meant to gauge the security of targeted systems—according to the report by ThreatMatrix, a San Jose, Calif., cybersecurity company.
Add another state in play regarding proposed restrictions on payroll cards. Washington state representatives introduced a bill making it unlawful for payroll card providers to charge certain fees.
When a terrorist spends cash, there is no trace, no history of where it came from, where or how it was spent. But using a prepaid card leaves a trail to follow.
The CFPB recently released its November complaint report or “snapshot” of consumer complaints it received through its Website for the three month average between September 2014 and November 2015. Although prepaid saw a jump of 215 in complaint volume, prepaid complaints still represented only 2 percent of all complaints the CFPB received during the period.
A proposed rule that would place new Customer Due Diligence requirements on financial institutions—including prepaid issuers—has taken a step forward with the release of two new documents estimating the impact and cost the proposed rule would have on regulated institutions and seeking comment from stakeholders by Jan. 25.
The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the country’s central bank, this week has revoked the license of Shanghai Chang Gou Enterprise Services, a prepaid card-issuing company, preventing it from selling prepaid cards, according to Reuters.
Two payday lenders have settled Federal Trade Commission charges over allegedly hitting customers undisclosed and inflated fees.
Closed-loop gift cards appear poised for growth for the second consecutive holiday season after 2012 and 2013 declines, thanks in part to last-minute shopping and young consumers, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group Inc.
Idaho’s Department of Agriculture is the first government department to launch the eGovExpress digital wallet developed by Olathe, Kan.-based NIC Inc., provider of official government Web portals and digital government services for more than 3,500 federal, state and local government agencies.
While the mainstay of the financial services industry was busy dealing with the global financial crisis in 2008, start-up organisations in Silicon Valley, New York, London and other major financial and technology hubs were turning their attention away from social media plays and looking to reinvent financial services.
The CFPB needs to return to its original plans on prepaid regulations and put its proposed rules on a New Year’s diet. By issuing rules focusing solely on disclosure, the CFPB could issue guidance earlier in 2016 that would help consumers, prevent access disruptions, and potentially reduce the size of the landfill needed to for the mountains of noncompliant cards and marketing materials.
The CFPB yesterday released its “Safe Student Account Toolkit,” which includes a scorecard to help colleges pick the best school-sponsored deposit or prepaid accounts for their students.
Technology is transforming trust to the point that people find themselves trusting others with whom they’ve had no experience, on eBay or Facebook, more than banks they’ve dealt with their whole lives.
