Even as security experts lobby for tighter authentication, a study demonstrates that passwords still command the loyalty of consumers. A payments expert discusses why biometrics and other methods lag behind the warhorse of digital protection.
Payments compete for attention with “RegTech” while an overall lull in disruption suggests that fintech could be in the eye of a storm.
If Margo Hirsch Strahlberg, prepaid compliance risk management specialist at U.S. Bank, isn’t managing responsibilities at home or work, she tries to steal time away to hit the gym. “I’ve incorporated more weight lifting into my routine,” she says. “My goal is to dead-lift a few copies of the CFPB’s prepaid accounts rule.”
It’s vacation season, and employers have a new tool to encourage employees to take much-needed time off and come back more productive. 401Play is offering what it calls a vacation savings account program with a companion Capital Prepaid Services’ BlazePays Visa Prepaid Card to help employees save for vacation.
Hoping to build on last year’s success, the Center for Financial Services Innovation is encouraging participants in next month’s FinHealthMatters Day to craft videos, write blogs and plan events that highlight the need for better financial health for U.S. consumers. FinHealthMatters Day is June 27.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) held its third annual Law Enforcement Awards ceremony on May 9 at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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.
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.
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 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.
This free white paper provides a structured framework for measuring performance of commercial card programmes across multiple industry sectors, suggests a range of norms for card penetration and usage, and describes the key data points for measurement. It also describes the actions that card issuers could take to maximise value from the programmes they have running: retaining business that is already fruitful, and nurturing business which could be more abundantly fruitful.
Misys is getting in on the artificial intelligence (AI) act, with the launch of Misys FusionCapital Detect – a component for its trading solution which uses machine learning to spot booking errors, anomalies and unusual activity. The firm says FusionCapital Detect behaves as a personal assistant for trade validation teams, red flagging probable mistakes that […]
The CFPB’s final rule on prepaid accounts has survived a bid to repeal it via the Congressional Review Act (CRA), with lawmakers failing to bring the matter up for vote by the May 11 deadline. But despite the CRA efforts having fizzled, reforming the rule is still on the table.
P2P payments are proving a big hit with younger consumers.
Brad Fauss is joining Wirecard North America as general counsel and vice president, compliance and governmental affairs. In his new role, he is responsible for managing the legal, compliance and governmental affairs functions for the North American business. Wirecard, a payments and commerce leader headquartered in Munich, finalized its acquisition of Citi Prepaid Services in March 2017, as part of its global expansion strategy.
Brand power is serious business, according to a new Blackhawk Network study that found consumers trust their favorite brand almost as much as they trust their own families. What’s more, retailers can harness that brand loyalty to help with a bevy of challenges, including driving foot traffic, acquiring new customers and bolstering loyalty among shoppers.
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.
Current, a startup comprised of a small team of New York-based fintech entrepreneurs, has launched a prepaid card program and mobile app for kids and parents that goes beyond dispensing allowances
What President Trump’s record on regulatory reform means for payments and financial services so far, and what comes next.
Say goodbye to long reads with this brief round-up of the latest buys in the fintech world. Features KPMG, Matchi, Ancoa, Cinnober, Valitor, International Payment Services and AltaPay. KPMG has acquired Matchi, a matchmaking platform that connects financial institutions with fintech companies. The pair have worked together since 2015, so the deal “cements” their relationship. […]
The U.S. purchase volume of credit, debit and prepaid cards increased 7 percent in 2016 compared with last year, according to The Nilson Report. That purchase volume hit $5.648 trillion last year, with the volume from American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards increasing 8 percent year over over to reach a combined $3.059 trillion—the first time that figure has topped $3 trillion.
The Alipay online payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group is moving further into North America through an agreement with payments technology provider First Data. Alipay is considered the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform, with more than 450 million global active users.
A former MoneyGram compliance head will pay a $250,000 fine and be barred from performing a compliance function for a money transmitter for the next three years after agreeing to a settlement over alleged AML and fraud prevention failures that took place at the company under his watch.
Alipay is teaming up with First Data in North America as it looks to take a bite out of Apple’s market share. As Banking Technology previously reported, Alipay has been gaining plenty of traction around the globe – with HelloPay Group in Asia merging with Ant Financial (which runs Alipay); and inking deals with European […]
WorldFirst has unveiled World Account, an international payments platform for SMEs and online sellers. The company states the account offers international banking functionality on one platform. It says “many businesses waste time and money” trying to open up bank accounts in new currencies. These accounts are also often held in the UK resulting in “additional […]
Square Inc. has begun rolling out a physical plastic card for use with the company’s Square Cash P2P money transfer service—a move that could help differentiate the service from its P2P competitors by making it easier for users to instantly spend funds they receive via transfer.
Score one for London. Even as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union through Brexit, the British capital and banking and investment center stands as the global hub of fintech, according to Paybefore readers.
U.K. challenger bank Starling is staying busy with the launch of its real-time mobile offering, Starling Payment Services. The new division of the bank will offer sponsorship access to the U.K.’s major payment schemes, enabling other banks, payment service providers and fintech companies to use real-time payments from the summer.
A group of fintech companies and associations are asking for changes to the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) due to fears it will force them to become technologically dependent on banks. The coalition of 60 European Union (EU) based entities have signed a seven-page manifesto seeking the European Commission (EC) to make changes to the […]
Facing increased competition from financial services upstarts and tech firms, banks are doubling down on application programming interfaces (APIs) as a competitive tool, a new report shows. Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that an Aite Group study canvassed product and digital channel managers at Asia-Pacific, European and North American banks, and found that those […]
The clock is winding down for Congressional lawmakers to repeal the CFPB’s final prepaid accounts rule under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Under that law, Congress has until May 9—60 legislative days after the law was published in the Federal Register—to repeal the prepaid rule by simple majority vote in the Senate. But with lawmakers currently in the midst of negotiations over a revised health care bill and Democratic opposition to the rollback likely to be strong, proponents of a repeal could run out of time.
With 27 percent of U.S. households unbanked or underbanked, according to the most recent FDIC report on the subject, PayNearMe continues in its efforts to make it easier for such consumers, as well as those who prefer not to use plastic or checks, to pay bills using cash.
In spirited voting, the payments industry has chosen the top five consultants who help their businesses thrive by providing perspective, research and strategic planning. Surprisingly, write-in candidates played a key role in shaping the top five list—one of them received nearly 6,500 votes.
In an increasingly globalised economy, payments have struggled to keep up and pressure is mounting on the traditional correspondent banking model.
The New York Department of Labor has fired the latest salvo in the battle over the use of payroll cards in the state. The agency has filed an appeal that could jeopardize the outcome of a petition granted to Global Cash Card to revoke the N.Y. DOL payroll card regulations, which were due to go into effect March 7, 2017. At stake are rules that are considered so burdensome by the prepaid industry that—if restored—could force some payroll card providers out of New York.
Facing increased competition from financial services upstarts and tech firms, banks are doubling down on application programming interfaces (APIs) as a competitive tool, a new report shows.
Chipotle has suffered a breach of its payment card processing system, and is reportedly analyzing transactions that took place between March 24 and April 18 for more evidence of the intrusion.
No need to pace yourself. Here’s a quick blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Infosys Finacle, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Adel and Blockpool. Infosys Finacle and the Commercial Bank of Qatar have completed a pilot on the “first ever” cloud-based blockchain network to process international remittances. The bank, along with its subsidiary Alternatifbank (ABank) in Turkey, […]
The payroll card industry received high marks for its standards and its ability to “stretch beyond the basics,” according to a new report from the Center for Financial Services Innovation. But CFSI’s first-ever “Payroll Industry Scorecard” gave the industry an average mark for its ability to provide additional services that “improve customers’ lives.”
Less than two months after announcing a major joint venture in the gifting vertical, FLEETCOR Technologies has made a big move into the red-hot cross-border payments sector, reaching an agreement to acquire international B2B payments specialist Cambridge Global Payments for $675 million.
