IRS Says Digital Currency is Property (March 27, 2014)
The IRS has ruled that Bitcoin and other digital currencies are property, not currency, and will be treated as such for tax purposes.
Regulation
Walmart Opts Out of Interchange Case Settlement, Seeks Damages in New Lawsuit (March 27, 2014)
Walmart this week opted out of the $7.25 billion settlement Visa and MasterCard reached last fall over interchange fees and filed its own antitrust suit against Visa.
US risk spend hits new peak reports DTCC
US financial institutions are spending more on risk mitigation than ever before, according to a new study by post-trade services utility the DTCC.
NTIS Issues Interim Final Rule on Access to Death Master File (March 26, 2014)
The National Technical Information Service today has issued an interim final rule establishing a certification program for access to the Social Security Death Master File. The DMF is a tool used by many industries as a means to thwart fraud.
CFTC calls for international swaps data sharing deal
Global standards and approaches to regulation need to focus more on removing risk from the financial system rather than on compliance – but to do so international regulators will need to harmonise their efforts and embrace technology to a much greater degree.
Viewpoint: Dept. of Education Student Debit Card Report Doesn’t Make the Grade
Heading to college is all about the quest for knowledge. Part of that process is learning to use fact-based, impartial research to reach educated conclusions. Unfortunately, the March 10 Department of Education’s Inspector General’s report, “Third-Party Servicer Use of Debit Cards to Deliver Title IV Funds,” doesn’t make the grade.
Breaking News: Appeals Court Interchange Ruling a Big Win for Fed
The Federal Reserve Board has earned a major victory in its long-running legal battle with a group of merchants over its rules implementing the Durbin Amendment, including caps on interchange fees for debit card transactions.
Extraterritoriality and volumes make future uncertain for CCPs
The number of central clearing counterparties is likely to rise in the near future as new entrants put Latin America, Africa and Australia on the map for OTC derivatives clearing, but with more regulatory intervention expected and unpredictable customer flows, the new venues face an uncertain future
CFPB Seeks to Standardize Prepaid Fee Disclosures (March 20, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is developing a new fee disclosure format for prepaid cards, ahead of new rules on the topic the agency expects to propose this year.
EU Cybersecurity Directive Gets OK from European Parliament (March 20, 2014)
European Parliament has voted to adopt proposed cybersecurity rules requiring organizations to meet new security standards and share information in case of security breaches.
Viewpoint: Better Disclosures Are Good for Consumers and Industry
Legislators and companies, such as MasterCard, are introducing standards for prepaid card disclosures that help us all.
Wheels in Motion for Digital Currency Regulation in N.Y. (March 13, 2014)
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has begun accepting applications from firms looking to set up digital currency exchanges and will issue proposed regulations on digital currency in the coming months, the agency said.
Lombard Risk in global collateral management deal with Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions has formed an alliance with UK software developer Lombard Risk Management under which Lombard’s collateral management system will be integrated into Broadridge’s applications and infrastructure services.
Viewpoint: Inside the EC Payments Package and the Aggressive Timeline for Passage
The European Parliament’s ECON Committee vote on the “Payments Package” has resulted in inconsistent legislative text that differs significantly from the EC draft proposal. With an aggressive timeline for passage, including an April plenary vote, the payments industry needs to make its voice heard on the potentially harmful impacts of the proposed changes.
Visa, First Data EMV Pact Could Boost Adoption (March 6, 2014)
First Data’s plan for its STAR Network to license Visa’s common Application Identifier (AID) could help get the ball rolling for EMV adoption as other debit networks continue to weigh their own options for routing debit transactions under the Durbin Amendment, observers say.
APEX Panel: Cardholder Satisfaction Up on Gov’t Prepaid Cards; Data Analytics Key (March 6, 2014)
Government agencies using prepaid cards to deliver benefits are seeing solid user satisfaction and improving efficiencies as such programs evolve, amid an environment of pending regulatory changes and heavy scrutiny by consumer advocates, according to a panel of experts convened at the All Payments Expo (APEX) in Las Vegas this week.
House Approves Bill to Restructure CFPB (March 6, 2014)
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act (H.R. 3193), which combines six bills, approved by the House Financial Services Committee last November, that are designed to bring more accountability, oversight and transparency to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to the bill’s supporters.
APEX EMV Panel: U.S. Adoption Moving ‘At a Fast Clip’ (March 5, 2014)
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., today are hosting the fifth in a series of hearings to discuss data breaches, their effect and possible methods to prevent them, as the All Payments Expo (APEX) wraps up four days of hot-topic discussions in Las Vegas, including payments security and fraud trends.
Banks back Swift KYC Registry initiative
A group of major international banks have agreed to jointly develop and use the centralised Know Your Customer Registry announced by Swift at the start of the year.
LEI update: hidden costs prevent enthusiastic take-up
Until the world has a definitive Legal Entity Identifier, we are going to have to recognise that piecemeal adoption brings with it significant hidden costs in validating, enriching and mapping for regulatory purposes. If the total number of registered market participants is meant to include all the corporates that trade FX forwards, we are far short.
NBPCA Teams with Consumer Action for Payroll Guides to Educate, Ensure Compliance (Feb. 20, 2014)
With a growing number of U.S. employers offering their employees the option of payroll cards, the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA) has joined with consumer advocacy group Consumer Action to develop a pair of guides to help companies and employees learn about payroll cards, including how they work, options for accessing wages and how to avoid or limit fees.
Trade Reporting: over the first hurdle
The deadline for trade reporting mandated by the European Market Infrastructure Regulation is 12 February, and many institutions are working hard to meet it. In this webinar, Banking Technology and the DTCC will be discussing how the industry managed the transition and what challenges remain.
Congressional Agency Calls for Clearer Campus Card Guidelines (Feb. 18, 2014)
The Government Accountability Office is the latest government agency to scrutinize the increasingly popular campus-based debit and prepaid cards.
U.S. Reps Scheduled to Vote on CFPB Bill Tomorrow (Feb. 11, 2014)
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote tomorrow on the Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act (H.R. 3193).
Class Action Dismissed: Expiration Date Receipt Disclosure
A consumer’s class action suit reminds businesses to adhere to FACTA requirements, and prevent potential identity theft and fraud.
Estimating Libor damage past – automating index surveillance future
In the wake of scandals involving manipulation of market indices, can statistical learning theory be used to detect and fix anomalies in Libor and other market indices?
Calls for Regulatory Overhaul as Congressional Hearings Continue on Data Security (Feb. 6, 2014)
Lawmakers yesterday continued their calls to strengthen regulations protecting consumers’ financial data in the wake of recent retailer data breaches.
FTC Calls for Legislative Help to Protect Data in Senate Subcommittee Hearing (Feb. 4, 2014)
Although the consensus in yesterday’s Senate subcommittee hearing on “Safeguarding Consumers’ Financial Data” seemed to be around the shared responsibility of all stakeholders, including government, to protect financial data, the FTC specifically called for legislative action.
Senate Committee Sets Hearing on Consumer Data Security (Jan. 30, 2014)
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing next week on safeguarding consumers’ financial information in the wake of recent data breaches at several major U.S. retailers.
A regulatory trigger for risk transformation
The Basel principles for effective risk management offer a chance to transform information management that should not be missed.
BitInstant CEO Charged with Money Laundering in Silk Road Scheme (Jan. 28, 2014)
ederal prosecutors have charged the head of digital currency exchange BitInstant with conspiring to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
ISDA begins radical overhaul of ISDAFIX swap rates
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has set a date for the first stage of sweeping changes to the ISDAFIX benchmark for annual swap rates, as part of a major global push to clean up rates and make them more accountable.
“Unbanked banks” suffer from tougher KYC rules
Senior transaction banking executives have called for a political discussion to resolve the issue of emerging market access to banking services caused by the reduction of the correspondent banking services network.
Durbin/NACS Oral Arguments: Appellate Court Expresses Skepticism
A ruling from the circuit court could be issued within the next 30 to 60 days.
Mobile Solutions Can Assist Underbanked Consumers
According to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, innovative mobile banking features can help underserved consumers obtain safe, secure and convenient options that foster financial inclusion.
Retailer Group to Appeal Card Fee Settlement
In the latest development of the ongoing credit card interchange fee dispute between merchants and Visa and MasterCard, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has appealed a $5.7 billion settlement with the payment card networks.
Growth under threat from new Basel III, EMIR, Dodd-Frank regs
Regulation is driving a structural shift away from capital markets and investment banking towards transaction banking – but even this hint of opportunity could be under threat, according to senior financial services panellists speaking at the BAFT IFSA conference in London this week.
U.S. Appeals Court Panel Hears Arguments on Interchange Rate-Cap Dispute (Jan. 21, 2014)
Three judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. convened last Friday to ask questions of lawyers representing debit card issuers, the Federal Reserve and merchants, as the panel weighs the Fed’s appeal of a lawsuit vacating its rule capping debit interchange rates at 21 cents in 2011, in accordance with the Durbin Amendment in the Dodd-Frank Act.
Getting personal: banks must brace for change
Major global banks need to grasp social networks, cloud computing, user-generated content, personalisation, contextual information and gamification if they are to maintain a competitive edge and stay connected with customers. But they also need to ensure their innovations are transmitted thoroughly to all employees, according to panellists at the BAFT IFSA conference in London on Monday.
Standards: the middle way
The financial services sector may be heavily regulated, but it is poorly standardised. A British Standards Institute-led initiative to drive more adoption of voluntary standards could reap considerable benefits for the industry.
