Mobile


Viewpoint: A Tale of Two Gen Ys that Desire Prepaid Cards (February 2013)(2)

February 2013   By Aleia Van Dyke, Javelin Strategy & Research The slow economic recovery from the Great Recession has forced young Americans to confront a dismal financial reality marked by unprecedented student loan debt and soaring unemployment. But the financial industry cannot afford to ignore Gen Y, the generation of consumers born from 1979 […]

Viewpoint: A Tale of Two Gen Ys that Desire Prepaid Cards (February 2013)

By Aleia Van Dyke, Javelin Strategy & Research The slow economic recovery from the Great Recession has forced young Americans to confront a dismal financial reality marked by unprecedented student loan debt and soaring unemployment. But the financial industry cannot afford to ignore Gen Y, the generation of consumers born from 1979 to 1999. By […]

Inside Eurograbber: the £30m mobile banking heist

In the history of bank robberies, the £30 million stolen by the Eurograbber attack in 2012 ranks as one of the all-time biggest, globally. And when you consider that this sum was stolen from more than 30,000 accounts across 30 banks in four European countries, using malware that affected both PCs and bank customers’ mobile […]

Viewpoint: A Tale of Two Gen Ys that Desire Prepaid Cards (February 2013)

By Aleia Van Dyke, Javelin Strategy & Research The slow economic recovery from the Great Recession has forced young Americans to confront a dismal financial reality marked by unprecedented student loan debt and soaring unemployment. But the financial industry cannot afford to ignore Gen Y, the generation of consumers born from 1979 to 1999. By […]

iZettle Launches Chip-and-PIN Mobile Card Reader, Resolving Visa Europe Impasse (Feb. 20, 2013)

Feb. 20, 2013 Sweden-based mobile payments player iZettle this week announced the launch of a new smartphone-based card reader for small-business merchants that uses chip-and-PIN technology and Bluetooth to accept all major card brands, resolving iZettle’s six-month impasse with Visa Europe over a security issue. iZettle in 2011 began offering its card reader to merchants […]

Australia Supermarket Chain Launches NFC Pilot (Feb. 20, 2013)

Feb. 20, 2013 Australian supermarket giant Wesfarmers Ltd.’s Coles is conducting a small pilot of a MasterCard mobile wallet that enables customers to pay using NFC-equipped phones through an app that automatically links to the store’s loyalty program. The three-month pilot, conducted in partnership with GE Capital Australia, Vodafone and Gemalto, involves 60 Coles supermarket […]

Gifting App Developer Launches Gift Card Scanning Feature (Feb. 20, 2013)

Feb. 20, 2013 As more companies work to combine the power of social media with the popularity of gift cards, Melville, N.Y.-based GroupGifting.com has added a card scanning feature to its eGifter Web and mobile social gifting app. The scanning feature enables consumers to add plastic gift cards to their digital wallets in the eGifter app […]

Prepaid Financial Services’ Narrow Focus Becomes a Global View (February 2013)

February 2013   By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor  What started in late 2008 as a reseller operation, consisting of two people in an office offering payroll and corporate cards to small and midsize firms, London-based Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) has evolved into a program manager, e-money issuer, acquirer and provider of turnkey, white-label solutions. PFS […]

People on the Move: Steering Committee, Smart Card Alliance Payments Council (February 2013)

February 2013 Smart Card Alliance Payments Council has announced its committee members for 2013-2014. The council is managed by a steering committee composed of financial payments industry and smart chip technology vendors. Steering committee officers include: Jack Jania, Gemalto, and Oliver Manahan, MasterCard, co-chairs; Troy Bernard, Discover Financial Services, vice chair; and Deborah Baxley, Capgemini, secretary. […]

Citi Targets Latin America with M-Payment Service for Small Business Buyers, Suppliers (Feb. 19, 2013)

Feb. 19, 2013 Citigroup Inc. plans to expand a mobile payments service it has developed for its small-business customers to replace large cash payments in underbanked regions into Latin America. Citi recently launched a pilot of Mobile Collect in the Dominican Republic, targeting approximately 80,000 cash-based grocery stores and other small businesses and their suppliers. […]

Buck Touts ‘Dongle-Free’ Mobile Invoicing Service (Feb. 19, 2013)

Feb. 19, 2013 Buck Corp. is introducing a new mobile invoice service for small businesses that it touts as “dongle-free,” enabling businesses to send electronic invoices to any mobile phone and receive credit card payment without swiping a card. Buck Mobile Invoice is free to businesses using it, but participants must already have a merchant […]

Finovate Europe sees arrival of the Old Guard

For an event that is based around the idea of introducing new players and new concepts to the financial technology world, this year’s Finovate Europe was heavy on familiar faces and some increasingly familiar concepts.

Visa, MasterCard Proposed Debit EMV Network-Routing Options Fail to ‘Fully Satisfy’ Debit Industry Group (Feb. 14, 2013)

Feb. 14, 2013 Pressure is mounting for U.S. debit networks to find a suitable technology for routing chip-based debit transactions under the Durbin Amendment network non-exclusivity rules, but a unified plan is not yet within sight, industry executives say after a new round of meetings this week to digest last week’s developments. MasterCard Inc. and […]

Visa Launches Mobile Money Program for Developing Nations (Feb. 14, 2013)

Feb. 14, 2013 A new “plug-and-play” mobile money platform from Visa Inc. is aimed at enabling financial institutions and mobile network operators in developing nations around the world to offer mobile financial services. The program—built on technology Visa acquired via its 2011 purchase of mobile financial services provider Fundamo—enables the payment network to host and […]

Mobile malware headache looms for security managers

A 400% increase in malware for mobile devices masks a security scene where many of the threats are much as they have been for several years – but where the volume of attacks means that firms should think in terms of when they will be attacked rather than if they will be.

PermataBank pilots BlackBerry Messenger Payments with Monitise

Indonesia-based  PermataBank has developed the first mobile payments service for the BlackBerry Messenger service.  The bank has teamed up with UK mobile banking solutions provider Monitise to roll out a commercial pilot of BBM Money in the country ahead of a full launch. BlackBerry users will have the option to access a Mobile Money account from their […]

NFC-Based Navigation System Set for Tokyo Shopping District (Feb. 12, 2013)

Feb. 12, 2013 Shoppers are getting some help navigating Tokyo’s Ginza district from nearly 300 NFC-based location tags the city’s government has placed throughout the upscale retail hub. The system works with an Android app, available for download from the Google Play store, which enables users to search for and select a destination within Ginza, […]

InComm Partner Alliance Looks to Digital/Big Data Future (Feb. 12, 2013)

Feb. 12, 2013 In the opening sessions of InComm’s annual Partner Alliance yesterday, CEO Brooks Smith and futurist Mike Walsh offered glimpses of their visions of the future. With a corporate acquisition strategy based on delivering new technologies to retailers, Smith focused his comments on a future filled with more choices—for retailers and their customers. […]

MoneyGram Launches Mobile Service (Feb, 12, 2013)

Feb. 12, 2013 Money transfer provider MoneyGram has launched a mobile version of its online transfer service, which enables users to send cash via smartphones using a mobile-optimized version of moneygram.com. The service is part of Dallas-based MoneyGram’s efforts to tap into what the company claims is a $50 billion cross-border remittance industry—much of which […]

TAS, Payair to Launch Mobile Commerce Platform (Feb. 11, 2013)

Feb. 11, 2013 Italian software provider TAS Group and Payair South Europe S.A., a Swedish mobile commerce company, have agreed to launch a mobile commerce platform that incorporates Payair’s commerce platform and a customization solution supplied by TAS. The platform will support large-scale retailers that require advanced automation of their purchase and payment processes, according […]

InComm to Supply Utah Transit Authority with Prepaid Contactless Card (Feb. 7. 2013)

Feb. 7, 2013 The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), which has been at the forefront of U.S. transit system mobile payment development since introducing an open-loop, contactless payment system for city buses and trains in Salt Lake City beginning in 2009, this fall plans to add a contactless, closed-loop prepaid card to its consumer payment options. […]

Atlanta Fed Paper Examines Money Laundering Risks for GPR Cards (Feb. 7, 2013)

Feb. 7, 2013 Do GPR cards pose significant money laundering threats? That’s the question the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta explores in recently published paper. Among the paper’s findings is that, as GPR prepaid cards have grown in popularity and come under increased scrutiny by regulators, significant regulatory measures […]

MCX Reveals Plans for Barcode-/Cloud-Based Approach (February 2013)

February 2013   By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor The retailer-led mobile payment venture Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) has disclosed little about the shape of its developing payment platform since it formed six months ago, but the few details emerging so far are fueling fresh waves of industry buzz. At a panel during the National […]

mPowa Strikes Deal with Portugal Telecom (Feb. 5, 2013)

Feb. 5, 2013 U.K.-based mobile payments provider mPowa has inked a white-label deal with Portugal Telecom Group that will enable the carrier to offer small businesses a card reader-based mobile payments service. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but TechCrunch reports it was a multimillion-dollar pact with a seven-year term. The partnership opens […]

Mobile to dominate rise in retail bank IT spending

Further evidence that bank IT spending is growing again comes from industry analysts at Ovum, which is predicting overall growth of 3.4% among retail banks, reaching $118.6 billion in 2013, as they focus on “customer satisfaction and revenue growth”.

CFPB Launches Inquiry on Campus Financial Products; Comments Due March 18 (Jan. 31, 2013)

Jan. 31, 2013 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it has begun an inquiry into “the impact of financial products marketed to students through colleges and universities” to determine whether these products are “in the best interest” of students. Such products include student ID cards that double as debit cards and cards used […]

Banish Missed Trade Misery …

A study shows that 62% of City traders “admit to missing key investment or sell opportunities because they didn’t keep track of time zone differences”.

Merchant Group: Retailers Unlikely to Introduce Credit Card Surcharging (Jan. 30, 2013)

Jan. 30, 2013 Merchants across the U.S. are holding off on introducing a surcharge for Visa and MasterCard credit card transactions despite getting the green light to do so this week under the terms of a proposed settlement in the merchants’ antitrust case reached last November. The settlement, subject to final approval in a hearing […]

SALT Technology Raises $2 Million in Funding (Jan. 30, 2013)

Jan. 30, 2013 SALT Technology Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of a cloud-based mobile payments platform, has raised $2 million in financing from private investors with backgrounds in the mobile, financial and payments technology sectors. The company, which also has offices in London and Toronto, said it will use the new funding to accelerate the development […]

Ingenico Eyes E-Commerce with Ogone Buy (Jan. 29, 2013)

Jan. 29, 2013 In a move POS terminal maker Ingenico said is part of its bid to become a “one-stop-shop” for multichannel payment solutions, the Paris-based company has entered a deal to acquire payment processor Ogone Partners for EUR360 million (US$485 million). Ingenico will incorporate Ogone’s 42,000-merchant online payments platform into its existing POS and […]

FreedomPay Launches ‘Vibe’ Mobile Wallet for Restaurants (Jan. 29, 2013)

Jan. 29, 2013 Adding to a growing array of mobile payments options for merchants, FreedomPay is entering the fray with “Vibe,” a mobile wallet initially targeting restaurant operators interested in creating targeted consumer promotions on the fly, based on specials, weather and in-store traffic conditions. The Radnor, Pa.-based payment processor says its cloud-based mobile wallet […]

Riding the payments roller-coaster

UK banks are still in “a difficult place” as they face economic uncertainty, increased cost and competitive pressures, complex regulations and rapid technological changes – but the changes that are happening in the payments industry offer scope for them to reclaim the initiative and deploy innovative solutions.

Paybefore Announces Winners, Opens Voting for Best in Category (Jan. 28, 2013)

Jan. 28, 2013 Paybefore today announced winners for the 2013 Paybefore Awards—the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the worldwide prepaid and emerging payments industry. And for the first time in the seven-year history of the awards, Paybefore is allowing visitors to Paybefore.com (subscribers and nonsubscribers) to cast their votes for Best in Category through Feb. […]

2103 Paybefore Awards Category 20: Breakout Prepaid Company of the Year

The organization that stood out from the crowd in 2012 to make a positive, game-changing difference in the prepaid/emerging payments environment in a geographic region or globally. May be a new or established organization. Company Name: American Express American Express is a global financial services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences […]