TD Bank Reaches Breach Settlement with Nine States (Oct. 20, 2014)
TD Bank has reached a settlement over a 2012 data breach that compromised customers’ personal information.
Payments
Apple Pay’s Rollout a Test for Merchants Weighing NFC, Other Options
As Apple Pay goes live today, millions of merchants will be measuring consumer and marketplace reaction at the POS, as they contemplate their own mobile payments strategies, including accepting NFC-based payments.
Pres. Obama Mandates Chip-and-PIN for Gov’t Payments Cards (Oct. 17, 2014)
President Obama hours ago signed an executive order making chip-and-PIN card technology the standard for the federal government.
RBS poaches King from MasterCard for new payments role
RBS has confirmed that it has hired Marion King, formerly president of UK and Ireland at MasterCard, in the newly created role of director of payments in the New Year.
Apple CEO: Apple Pay to Launch Monday with 500-Plus Banks’ Support (Oct. 16, 2014)
Apple Inc. will officially launch its NFC-based Apple Pay service on Monday, CEO Tim Cook said today during an event to unveil new devices at the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
PayPal’s Q3 M-Payments Volume Up 72 Percent; Square Denies Buyout Rumors (Oct. 16, 2014)
eBay Inc. subsidiary PayPal continued its growth streak during the third quarter, as the unit’s mobile payment volume surged 72 percent and 4.4 million new users came aboard during the period ended Sept. 30.
Prepaid Spending up Amid Slight September Slowdown (Oct. 14, 2014)
Prepaid was a bright spot for spending dollar volume growth in September at 5.7 percent compared with an overall drop in same-store spending growth, which came in at a 3.1 percent increase year-over-year compared to a 3.9 percent year-over-year jump in August.
Walmart to Spend up to $1.5 Billion on E-Commerce (Oct. 16, 2014)
Merchants continue reshaping their strategies to meet the demand for online shopping, and the latest to do so in a significant way is Walmart.
Pay Magazine – Fall 2014
The Future of Payments: Connecting Today to Tomorrow; HCE: Breathing Life into NFC?; 6 Visionaries Who Are Changing Payments; Rockin’ E-Money on Gibraltar; Exclusive Interviews: Frew, Hanson and Roche; Special Section: Kaboom! Where Mobile Meets Loyalty; 2014 Paybefore Awards Europe: 13 Top Winners
Innovators’ Spotlight: Cachet Financial Solutions
RDC specialist’s busy year includes an IPO and a fast-growing prepaid platform.
Meta Financial Group Enters Insurance Premium Financing with AFS Purchase (Oct. 15, 2014)
Meta Financial Group has announced the purchase of AFS/IBEX Financial Services Inc. Under terms of the deal, Meta Financial’s bank subsidiary, MetaBank, will acquire the $80 million loan portfolio, related assets and workforce of Dallas-based AFS.
Cardtronics Pilots In-Store Discounts for ATM Users (Oct. 15, 2014)
ATM operator Cardtronics has hit on a new way to keep its cash-dispensing machines relevant in the digital age: harness them for in-store marketing and promotions via customers’ smartphones.
Global P2P Push Continues with Trio of New Services (Oct. 15, 2014)
P2P money transfer continues to gain momentum with a trio of new services announced this week in three countries, all of which use a different medium to facilitate transfer.
Pressure Mounts against Operation Choke Point (Oct. 15, 2014)
DOJ’s Operation Choke Point, which encourages financial institutions to scrutinize clients that process payments for certain types of businesses, continues to draw criticism from lawmakers and industry advocates, who argue that the policy is harmful to legitimate, legal businesses.
Reports: Apple Pay to Launch this Week with Siri Voice-Command Option (Oct. 14, 2014)
Apple Pay may go live as early as Saturday, and it’s likely to include an option for users to initiate a payment via voice command with Apple’s Siri feature, according to a number of reports.
Visa Europe, edo to Launch Card-Linked Offers in Europe (Oct. 14, 2014)
Visa Europe today announced an exclusive partnership with edo Interactive to bring targeted card-linked offers to Visa debit and credit cardholders in Europe.
Wave Crest Targets European SMEs with New Prepaid Platform (Oct. 14, 2014)
With B2B prepaid programs on the rise globally as corporations look to streamline and control expenses, Wave Crest Group Ltd. is rolling out a new B2B prepaid platform for European businesses.
Latest Data Breaches Hit FIs, Retailers (Oct. 14, 2014)
Data breaches continue to hit some of the U.S.’s largest corporations, with a spate of financial institutions and retailers announcing incidents over the past two weeks.
HM Treasury Requests Comment on ‘Payment System’ Designation (Oct. 14, 2014)
Major credit and debit card providers in the U.K. are among the main “payment systems” the government is proposing to bring under the purview of the new Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), beginning next April.
CFPB Examines Screening Process for Consumer DDAs (Oct. 9, 2014)
The CFPB is gathering information about the methods banks and credit unions use to screen consumers before approving or denying them a checking account.
LSC Picks Cachet for Prepaid Mobile Support (Oct. 9, 2014)
League Service Corp. (LSC), a national credit union service organization, has tapped Cachet Financial Solutions to power its prepaid mobile application, which currently is offered by 900 credit unions.
Cardtronics Lands ATM Management for Fresh & Easy (Oct. 9, 2014)
ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. has been named exclusive ATM services provider for natural grocery chain Fresh & Easy.
Gearing up for the future of payments
It is essential for banks to ensure they have the right strategies and technology in place now, if they are to retain their position as market-leading payment providers in the future, writes Saket Sharma,chief information officer, treasury services, BNY Mellon.
Blog: Get Ready to Be Acquired
The M&A market for payments companies is booming, as larger companies look to acquire smaller innovators. Even if no deal is on the immediate horizon, early preparation pays off when a sale transaction is at hand.
Blog: The Future Is Financial Health
If we want to consolidate the gains we’ve made and scale the innovations we’ve seeded, we need to think big. We need to redefine financial services from the pursuit of wealth to the pursuit of health.
Viewpoint: With Expanding Use Case, GPR Poised for Growth
GPR cards are quickly moving beyond their traditional role as an alternative to checking accounts for the financially underserved, to serve broader use cases for a changing demographic.
Facebook’s P2P Plans Come to Light (Oct. 7, 2014)
Facebook looks to be planning to add a money transfer function to its Messenger app—and the social media giant reportedly already has installed the underlying code to the popular messaging service.
Dunkin’ Donuts to Add Order-Ahead Service (Oct. 7, 2014)
Dunkin’ Donuts plans to launch a new service that enables customers to order ahead and prepay for menu items via their smartphones, then visit a store location to pick up their orders.
Alibaba’s Alipay Approved to Establish Bank (Oct. 7, 2014)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has moved further into financial services now that its affiliate Alipay, an online payments platform provider, received approval to establish a privately owned bank.
Boku Acquires Rival mopay (Oct. 7, 2014)
Carrier billing specialist Boku Inc. has acquired one of its largest competitors, Germany-based mopay.
Western Union Expands Services to Walgreens, Duane Reade Stores (Oct. 6, 2014)
More than 7,500 Walgreens and Duane Reade drugstores throughout the U.S. now offer Western Union domestic and international money transfers through touchscreen kiosks that are part of the Walgreens Balance Financial platform.
Boku Provides Leading MNOs with Direct Carrier Billing in U.K.
A trio of major U.K. mobile network operators—including O2, EE and Vodafone—has partnered with carrier billing specialist Boku Inc. to enable mobile phone customers in the U.K. to charge the purchase of physical goods and services up to £30 (US$48) to their phone bills.
Square Raises $150MM, Yodlee IPO Yields $75MM
Mobile payment provider Square has landed $150 million in new venture capital in a funding round valuing the company at around $6 billion, and financial app developer Yodlee Inc. raised $75 million in its initial public offering last week.
N.J. Bill Eliminating Data Collection Requirement
New Jersey legislation (A3480) introduced last June, which would eliminate the need to collect consumer data when purchasing GPR prepaid cards, was advanced last week by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee and has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Digital Gifting’s Top 5 (Oct. 2, 2014)
Digital gifting has become a cornerstone feature for many retailers—but a few merchants are going above and beyond what have become standard features and functionality.
MasterCard Provides SafetyNet for Banks, Processors (Oct. 2, 2014)
MasterCard has launched SafetyNet, a global tool for banks and processors to mitigate the risks of cyber hacking.
Report: Mobile-Centric ‘Moneyhawks’ a Huge Potential Market for FIs (Oct. 2, 2014)
A segment of tech-savvy, mobile-minded consumers comprising more than $1 trillion in deposits could represent a major opportunity for FIs, according to a new report.
Building a transformation vision
This year marks the tenth anniversary of World Payments Report. In this extract from the report, which was launched at Sibos this week, the impact of innovation on payments is examined.
Consumers Soon Can Use Softcard to do Laundry (Oct. 1, 2014)
Softcard has extended its reach to the self-serve laundry business.
