Mobile-only bank Pepper now live
Israel’s Bank Leumi has launched its new digital banking subsidiary, Pepper.
Mobile
Wirecard’s New POS Suite Offers Merchants Power of Data
Wirecard AG has launched a new POS service that integrates self-learning technology to help retailers increase customer conversion, reduce attrition rates, predict future consumer behavior and link points of sale with e-commerce.
Top fintech stories this week – 23 June 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Danes gain easier mobile way to pay for groceries
Dankort, the national debit card of Denmark, has made shopping easier for consumers using iPhones.
Mastercard, Western Union Designing Digital Solutions for Refugees
Mastercard and Western Union have teamed up to help refugees around the world access goods, services and financial services within refugee settlements. Announced on June 20—World Refugee Day—the partnership will explore ways to use a digital model to serve the more than 65 million people around the world currently displaced from their homes due to political conflict and natural disasters.
Top Payments Consultants: Rick Oglesby, AZ Payments Group
Even when serving in senior manager and director roles with the likes of American Express and TSYS early in his career, Rick Oglesby, AZ Payments Group president, always felt he was destined to be a payments consultant. That vision came true in 2011, and you don’t have to spend too much time with him before his love of consultancy work—helping companies succeed while establishing and nurturing relationships—becomes apparent and likely is the reason why he was selected as one of the industry’s Top Payments Consultants.
Wirecard Lends Speed, Functionality to Partner VEON
Amsterdam-based mobile network operator and technology company VEON has partnered with Wirecard AG as part of a global payments and processing agreement. Wirecard, a Germany-based provider of global payments solutions, now manages third-party payments functionality and airtime top-up on VEON’s Internet platform, enabling customers to upload funds and update mobile payment accounts within seconds, according to an announcement.
Report: How Banks Can Beat the Fintech Threat
Facing disruption from fintech providers, traditional banks must embrace APIs and the open-source model to avoid losing their place at the center of consumers’ financial lives, a new report warns. Capgemini’s 2017 World Retail Banking Report polled thousands of retail banking customers around the world to gauge how the rise of fintech-based financial services has changed the game when it comes to banking.
Eight Fledgling Fintech Providers Win Capital with CFSI Awards
Eight fledgling fintech companies have won $250,000 each from the Center for Financial Services Innovation. Each FinLab winner in this third annual competition from the CFSI receives $250,000 in capital, along with resources to test, enhance and scale their products, in part via the expertise of JPMorgan Chase, a founding lab partner.
Who is the greatest fintech leader of 2017?
This year’s Banking Technology Awards are taking place on 13 December in London and once again we will be recognising individuals for leading and playing an instrumental role in devising and/or delivering the technology strategy to support the key business objectives of an organisation. The Tech Leadership Award category is open to all industry participants worldwide – those […]
Instant Payments Set to Displace Cards in Europe, Report Says
More than $809 billion is set to switch to the fledgling instant payments system in Europe by 2027, representing a significant threat to cards, according to a new report from Ovum, a London-based consultancy. Instant, or real-time, payments enable account-to-account bank transfers in seconds instead of days.
Banking Technology Awards 2017 now open for entry!
Know any innovative products, inspirational projects, skilled teams or visionary leaders that deserve a special recognistion this year? Nominate them for a Banking Technology Award!
Are Plastic Cards Headed for Extinction?
Probably not. Even so, the case for virtual prepaid accounts is growing stronger. A journey through the landscape—including a stop at a recent Apple conference—shows why.
Q&A with Andrew Buckley, Mastercard
When the self-described skeptic took over as global head of prepaid for Mastercard earlier this year, Andrew Buckley wasn’t quite convinced that the opportunities ahead were worthy of all the hype. Five months later and he’s among the converted, preaching the gospel of democratization—not just of payments but of innovation.
Mastercard, Oxford Plan Helps Banks Breathe Life into Biometrics
With increasing global smartphone penetration and a willing consumer base, financial institutions recognize the potential of biometrics to offer more convenience and security to their customers—but a lack of familiarity with the still-new technology among top banking brass remains a significant barrier to adoption, a new report from Mastercard and Oxford University found.
Walmart Pay Offers Instant Credit Access
Can a mobile payment service gain users by offering instant access to credit card accounts? Walmart is about to find out. The retail giant has launched a program that enables Walmart Pay customers to spend via their credit lines immediately upon approval instead of waiting for plastic cards to arrive.
Fiserv sets sights on mobile payments tech vendor Monitise
US tech giant Fiserv has offered to buy Monitise, a UK-based mobile payments software and solutions provider. The cash offer to acquire is at 2.90 pence per share – valuing Monitise at approximately £70 million.
The age of face-to-face conversation is pretty much over
It wouldn’t quite be June if we didn’t have rain or Cisco’s annual visual networking index (VNI) forecast. We’ve had plenty of rain, now it’s time to tuck into some stats! Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that you probably didn’t need us to tell you, but internet traffic is going to grow. The total […]
Australia Post taps i2c for digital payments push
Australia Post is partnering with processor i2c Inc. to “expand and modernize” its digital payments offerings. Under the pact, the Australian postal service will use i2c’s Agile Processing platform to roll out enhanced digital functionality for its payments products, including the Load&Go GPR Visa card, along with gift, multicurrency travel and corporate incentive cards. The i2c platform also will underpin future financial services products from Australia Post.
Philip Morris Test Promotes Blockchain Payments in Poland
Moving incentives to virtual prepaid cards is an important trend, but Philip Morris International is taking its incentives a step further with blockchain. The cigarette company and fintech firm Billon Group reportedly have completed a test replacing prepaid cards with the distributed ledger technology, enabling digital and mobile payments.
Green Dot Aids Apple’s Bid to Bite into P2P
Apple has made a bold foray into the P2P money transfer market—and Green Dot is helping the tech giant in its bid to unseat Venmo and other established players in the increasingly crowded space.
Apple squares up to rivals with Pay Cash feature
Apple has unveiled Pay Cash as it looks to fight it out with PayPal, Square and Venmo in the overcrowded peer-to-peer (P2P) payments market. In a range of updates to its mobile operating system, iOS 11, new features to the iPhone and iPad are coming this autumn. Apple Pay users will be able to make […]
GPS Captures Contactless Lightning in a Bottle
You’ve heard of wearables—now meet “drinkables.” Global Processing Services (GPS) is helping support a new energy drink marketing campaign featuring special bottles equipped with contactless chips, each preloaded with a credit for a trip on the London Underground. The campaign for the Lucozade Energy brand launched last week, with bottles distributed free at major London train stations and commuter hubs.
Payments Firm Tilt Wilts
Following Airbnb’s acquisition of crowdfunding and social payments startup Tilt in February, it is now being wound down.
Contactless Fraud Scare? Not So Fast.
Breathless reports point to a terrifying increase in U.K. contactless fraud. Dig a little deeper, however, and the story changes.
Square Launches Virtual Terminal Service in U.K.
About two months after launching in the U.K., Square has introduced its Virtual Terminal service there. The technology enables merchants to accept payments through the Square dashboard, an appealing prospect for online service providers, contractors and other smaller firms that do relatively few face-to-face transactions.
People on the Move: Ryan Farley, Judopay
Mobile payments platform provider Judopay has appointed Ryan Farley CEO.
Till left with no part in Barclaycard pocket checkout
Barclaycard has begun trialling a new payment concept that lets consumers scan and pay for their shopping using their smartphone, without the need to visit a physical checkout. Called Grab+Go, it’s the firm’s plan to turn a smartphone into a “pocket checkout”, allowing users to scan the items they want to buy as they pick […]
Top fintech stories this week – 26 May 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Travelex kills off Supercard
Supercard, a new card and mobile product launched by Travelex and Wirecard last June, is now being sunsetted.
FIS Details How Younger Consumers—and Some Older Peers—Are Driving Digital Banking
Nearly half—49 percent—of millennial consumers had paid a bill via mobile within 30 days of a survey conducted for a new report from FIS. That data point underscores the growing importance of digital financial services and payments not only for younger consumers but their older counterparts.
Comdata Adds Spend Escalator to ePayables to Save Clients Time, Money
Comdata is making it easier for clients who use the B2B payment and financial technology provider’s virtual credit cards, or ePayables, which it says will drive adoption. The company is so convinced its new Spend Escalator technology is beneficial, it has applied for a patent.
Google Casts a Wider Net for Payments
Google has a new plan to become a bigger player in payments. The search engine and web marketing giant said that it’s enabling merchants and developers to “turbocharge checkout conversion” by making it easier for consumers to use the credit cards and debit cards stored with Google.
Payments round-up: 18 May 2017
Words cut. Time saved. A round-up of key events in the payments enclave. Featuring Australian Settlements Limited, IBM, Mastercard, UnionPay International, Visa and Wirecard. Financial services provider Australian Settlements Limited (ASL) has adopted IBM Cloud for its new payments platform (NPP) implementation. ASL provides members, including building societies, credit unions and mutual banks, with settlement […]
Gaining More Value from Mobile Payments
The right technology—the systems that encourage consumer loyalty and spending—do much more than speed up checkout. An expert explains why.
Amex Study: ‘Gen Z’ Open to Brands, But Demands Seamless, Fast Experience
Consumers age 16 through 22 are open to communication from brands but have high expectations of those brands, demanding high levels of customer service and the latest in omnichannel functionality, according to a new study from American Express.
UBank’s Chatbot Helps Customers with Home Loan Applications
Bank has found another way to use the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistants. The online-only Australian bank launched RoboChat May 15 to help home buyers—and homeowners who want to refinance—complete UBank’s online home loan application more easily.
French Retailer, Bank Tag Team on Mobile Wallet
France-based retail giant Carrefour and French bank BNP Paribas have joined forces to launch Lyf Pay, a new mobile wallet that supports in-store and P2P transactions as well as loyalty cards, coupons and offers.
Vodafone Sells M-PESA Interest to South African Affiliate
Vodafone has transferred most of its ownership stake in Safaricom—the provider of Kenya’s mega-popular M-PESA mobile money transfer service—to Vodacom, Vodafone’s South African affiliate.
UniRush Starts Paying Off for Green Dot in Q1
Green Dot’s acquisition of UniRush, a deal that closed in February, is already paying off for the company. As part of its first-quarter earnings release, Green Dot said that UniRush not only added $12 million in revenue during its first month of new ownership, but contributed to 6 percent growth in the company’s overall active card base, to 5.05 million.
