Same-store spending on credit, debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks, gained 4.1 percent in April over last year, and prepaid spending showed the highest dollar-volume increase at 6.9 percent compared with credit (4.3 percent) and signature and PIN debit (4.5 and 4.1, respectively). Check volume fell 2.7 percent.
Paybefore Award-winning processor and program manager StoreFinancial is adding two payments veterans to its management team and focusing on growing its corporate payments business after a material equity investment from a Kansas City-area private investor group.
Square, no stranger to experimentation, this week surprised observers by pulling its Square Wallet from the Apple and Google stores three years after its launch and introducing an order-ahead app for cafes and restaurants.
Apple Inc. is joining the push to accommodate EMV cards in its stores with its EasyPay m-POS, which uses a special iPhone case made by VeriFone that employees may use for customer checkout.
The U.S. may be one of the world’s last markets to migrate to EMV, but the cool new EMV tools available for issuers could be the silver lining to waiting so long.
Facebook has already conquered the social media sphere—and now there are signs the company is seeking to capitalize on its global ubiquity and massive user base to make a splash as a money transfer service, recently partnering with financial service providers on transfer initiatives around the globe.
Nathalie Reinelt has joined Aite Group as an analyst on the retail banking team.
Better ATM Services, a Mesa, Ariz.-based ATM technology provider, has announced changes to its leadership team.
The Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit institution founded to promote bitcoin use, has appointed Mark Woods affiliate director, and Kevin Beardsley director of membership.
First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments processor, has appointed Christopher Foskett head of global, strategic and national accounts.
i2c Inc., a provider of payment processing and emerging commerce solutions, announced that Scott Salmon has joined the company as general manager, international, to lead i2c’s continued growth in Asia-Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Leaf, creator of a m-POS tablet, has appointed Sarah McCrary CEO.
Mozido LLC, a startup that focuses on cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, has hired Dan O’Malley as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Minneapolis-based retailer Target Corp. has hired Bob DeRodes as executive vice president and chief information officer.
TSYS, a Columbus, Ga.-based processor, has announced the retirement of James B. Lipham as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer effective June 30, 2014, and the TSYS board of directors appointment of Paul M. Todd to take over the role.
YapStone, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based provider of Web and mobile payment solutions, has appointed Kelly Kay president and chief operating officer.
As contactless and mobile payment methods continue to grow, building societies and other financial institutions need to avoid being complacent about new technology, according to senior delegates speaking at the BSA annual conference in Manchester this week.
The work corporates are doing to streamline cash management processes should not end with SEPA implementation, says. Indeed, the principles and ideas underpinning SEPA can inform progress even in the most challenging markets.
With the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region among MasterCard’s strongest prepaid growth markets, the payment network is launching a new prepaid card program in Japan that has the potential to reach 34 million customers.
The spring and summer months boost gift card sales as consumers plan to buy them for a variety of occasions, including Mother’s Day on Sunday.
While the logjam over EMV debit routing may finally be breaking up, it remains unlikely that EMV will reach the mainstream ahead of the liability shifts the payment networks plan to implement in October 2015.
Suggesting that investments in digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, might carry with them a higher risk of fraud and a harder time recovering losses in the event of fraud or theft, the SEC yesterday issued an investor alert regarding the decentralized P2P currency.
Although this lawsuit involves lending practices, the industry would be wise to pay close attention because of its UDAAP implications, which are applicable to all entities the CFPB regulates.
Amazon blazed a fresh trail into social media this week with the debut of its new Twitter shopping feature enabling users to add items to their Amazon shopping carts directly from Twitter feeds.
Rules issued last December by Canada’s Department of Finance affecting open- and closed-loop prepaid cards went into effect May 1.
San Diego-headquartered Quippi is taking the fees out of remittances by offering gift cards that can be purchased online or in-store in the U.S. and redeemed by recipients in Mexico.
Nobody questions whether big data has a role to play in the payments industry, but many providers are grappling with how to capture and analyze the right data to improve their businesses.
Four out of five organisations are leaving themselves open to payment fraud because of a lack of standardised payment workflows, according to a study by financial technology vendor SunGard.
Digital gift cards are getting a boost in Canada as Blackhawk Network and Rogers Communications have opened Blackhawk’s digital gift card platform to users of the Rogers suretap mobile wallet app.
A group of the biggest financial institutions in the U.K. have banded together to launch a new P2P mobile payments system that by year-end will be accessible to 9 out of 10 bank account holders in the U.K.
Neither the costs of shepherding a card into stores nor increased competition has deterred new entrants from launching GPR prepaid cards. Providers are coming into the market with astute hooks that play to their strengths to attract and retain cardholders.
In one of the highest-profile tech hire in recent years, Barclays has poached Commonwealth Bank’s Michael Harte as chief operations and technology officer, filling the gap left by the surprise departure of Shaygan Kheradpir last autumn.
Apple entering the payments space has been a tantalizing prospect for many for a while now. It’s certainly something that would easily upset the status quo of the payments market, and I don’t believe Apple is aiming for the low-hanging fruit.
Management of metrics—such as average handle time, first call resolution, etc.—certainly results in cost saving. But exclusive focus on these metrics results in a huge missed opportunity to improve customer loyalty, increase sales and build brand identity.
What we know and what we can do before the final Plenary European Parliament vote on the Payments Package.
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank could be looking to get out ahead of Square’s eventual arrival Down Under.
A decree by the French government approving electronic corporate meal vouchers could open up a major opportunity for corporate prepaid card providers that can help employers move from paper to plastic.
The European Central Bank isn’t waiting for the Aug. 1 SEPA compliance deadline for direct debits and credit transfers to turn its attention to card transactions.
Confusion and concern over security is cited over and over again as the biggest barrier to widespread consumer uptake of mobile payments. And no wonder – confidence in the protection of sensitive cardholder data lies at the heart of trust in this technology. An EMV card as a physical asset is cryptographically secure. How can we emulate this security with something that is virtual?
The State of Delaware has thrown its weight behind a civil lawsuit claiming nearly two dozen well-known retailers avoided escheating unused gift card balances to the state by forming special entity corporations based outside the state.
