MasterPass Expansion Continues with UAE Launch (March 10, 2014)
MasterCard plans to roll out its MasterPass mobile wallet platform to the United Arab Emirates later this year.
Worldwide
MasterCard, Visa Form Cross-Industry Security Group (March 10, 2014)
MasterCard and Visa announced the formation of a new cross-industry group focused on enhancing payment system security to keep pace with the expectations of consumers, retailers and financial institutions.
Sally Beauty Refutes Breach Rumors (March 10, 2014)
Sally Beauty, the specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies, is the latest retailer allegedly falling prey to hackers—or, at least, becoming the victim of rumors that credit and debit card information and other customer data has been compromised.
‘Why Stop at Bitcoin?’ Congressman Asks; ‘Let’s Ban Cash’ (March 10, 2014)
With Bitcoin and other digital currencies continuing to stir controversy, one of the main arguments of critics calling for tightly regulating such forms of tender is that the currencies’ anonymous nature makes them conducive to use in illicit activities and transactions. But as a U.S. Congressman points out in a letter to federal regulators, paper money also can be used anonymously for illicit ends—and thus, the tongue-in-cheek missive claims, regulators should turn their attention to banning cold, hard cash too.
BNY Mellon sets out global ambitions with new payments architecture
BNY Mellon says a global overhaul of its payments infrastructure will position it for “a new era” in payments and fundamentally change its relationship with customers and other financial institutions internationally.
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.
Isis Reveals Usage Stats, Dangles NYC Taxi Promo to Attract More Users (March 6, 2014)
Four months after the nationwide rollout of the Isis mobile wallet, two-thirds of Isis users have installed at least one payment card on the wallet, and those users make an average of six to seven NFC-based transactions with Isis each month.
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.
ABN Amro launches global FIX trading push
ABN Amro Clearing has launched a new global trading platform for equities and futures which it says can route clients between Asia, Europe and the US using a single FIX connection.
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.
Panel: ‘Fractured Banking System’ Presents Opportunity for New Players (March 5, 2014)
The “fractured” U.S. banking system, which shuts out many consumers and fails to provide ideal utility for others, presents a major opportunity for new players to enter the financial services market.
‘Elephants and Mice’: Partnerships between Big Banks and Startups (March 5, 2014)
Several trends in retail financial services are bringing together large financial institutions and much smaller startup companies.
Why Yahoo’s malware attack is hitting banks hard
At the end of last year, Yahoo was hit by a malware attack. It affected over two million clients, mainly in Romania, Great Britain, France, Italy and Spain, putting their personal data at risk. Upon visiting the website between 27 December and 3 January, users received advertisements, some of which were malicious and infected users’ devices without even a click.
Paybefore Reveals Top Industry Awards in Las Vegas (March 4, 2014)
Paybefore today announced the Best-in-Category winners in 20 categories for its eighth annual Paybefore Awards.
Znap puts merchants at heart of mobile commerce revolution
Mobile payment isn’t about reinventing the wheel – it’s about making merchants and customers’ lives better by establishing a relationship built on knowledge and trust, according to mobile payments platform Znap.
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.
Paybefore Recognizes Consumer Champions at APEX; Amex Serve Takes Crown (March 3, 2014)
Paybefore held a special 2014 Paybefore Awards presentation on the kickoff day of All Payments Expo (APEX) in Las Vegas today, honoring three winners in the new Consumer Champion category.
CFSI Issues Compass Guide for Small-Dollar Credit (March 3, 2014)
Millions of Americans use small-dollar credit products each year to deal with unexpected expenses, smooth income fluctuations or build credit history.
Pew Unveils GPR Model Disclosure Box to Promote Comparison Shopping (March 3, 2014)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. last week announced plans to adopt Pew’s GPR model disclosure box for its Chase Liquid GPR card, sold only at its bank branches.
InComm Lands New Partnerships in Asia, U.S. (March 3, 2014)
InComm has partnered with a major Asian online payment service provider to launch a POS-activated gift card mall platform in Southeast Asia.
Ex-HSBC CIO takes chairman role at CLS as Hartsink steps down
Ken Harvey, the erstwhile HSBC group chief technology and services officer and group chief information officer, is to become chairman of CLS Group Holdings and CLS Bank International, succeeding Gerard Hartsink who will retire in October.
“Technology tail wagging the strategy dog” in retail banking says Celent
Bitcoin, gamification and Personal Financial Management are “generating more heat than light” in debates about the future of retail banking and banks should not be distracted from other major challenges including digital channels and legacy transformation.
March 2014 Pain Point: addressing the legacy issue
While established banks struggle with their legacy systems, smaller players and new entrants are quickly adopting new technologies and reaping the benefits.
People on the Move: Tom Britz, Aurora Financial Systems Inc.
Purchase, N.Y.-based Aurora Financial Systems Inc. announced that Tom Britz has joined the firm as senior vice president and general manager of the new corporate services division.
People on the Move: Jeffrey Shanahan, CardConnect
CardConnect, a Philadelphia-based payments technology company, announced that Jeffrey Shanahan, who has served as president of the company since 2008, has been appointed CEO.
People on the Move: Amru Kotb, Cryptomathic
Cryptomathic, an e-security solutions provider with offices in Europe and North America, has appointed Amru Kotb senior vice president.
People on the Move: David Anderson, Enacomm Inc.
Enacomm Inc., a Tulsa, Okla.-based provider of voice processing infrastructure, has hired David Anderson, who will serve as vice president and chief marketing officer.
People on the Move: Andrew Patterson, Mercury Payment Systems LLC
Mercury Payment Systems LLC, Mercury Payment Systems, a Durango, Colo.-based payment processor, has appointed Andrew Patterson chief technology officer.
People on the Move: Scott Sandlin, Mozido LLC
Mozido LLC, a startup that focuses on cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, has named Scott Sandlin president and a member of the board of directors.
People on the Move: Michael Mueller and Udo Mueller, paysafecard group
Michael Mueller, co-founder and, for the last nine years, CEO of paysafecard group, has decided to leave the company board. Udo Mueller assumes the role of CEO.
People on the Move: Carl J. Williams, Planet Payment Inc.
Planet Payment Inc., a Long Beach, N.Y.-based payments processor, has appointed Carl J. Williams CEO.
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.
Paybefore Exclusive: Visa’s New Weapon for Fighting Prepaid Fraud (Feb. 27, 2014)
The fight against fraudsters who attack prepaid cards is getting some major network muscle. Visa Inc. announced it has completed technical development on the first industry-wide prepaid database to detect and prevent fraud schemes that target prepaid cards.
Swift speeds client onboarding with standards testing service
Swift has announced the availability of a cloud-based application designed to eases the client onboarding process between financial institutions and their clients. First outlined at the Sibos 2012 event in Osaka, the MyStandards Readiness Portal, is backed by some big names in the business – HSBC, Citi and Clearstream spoke at a Standards Forum session […]
MasterCard and Syniverse launch “not just another” mobile payment service
MasterCard has partnered with mobile technology specialist Syniverse under an audacious plan that aims at nothing less than “bringing mobile financial services to every single mobile user on the planet”.
New Smartphone Offers PayPal Payments with the Swipe of a Finger (Feb. 25, 2014)
Owners of the new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone soon will be able to make in-store payments via their PayPal accounts by just lifting—or rather, swiping—a finger.
Fiserv: Rising ACH and Wire-Transfer Fraud Demands Broader Defenses (Feb. 25, 2014)
Fraud associated with ACH transactions and wire transfers is on the rise, creating fresh challenges for financial institutions already grappling with higher risks from data breaches, malware and account hijacking, according to Fiserv.
BBVA Keeps It Simple; Ezetap, mCASH Rake in Funding (Feb. 25, 2014)
Spanish financial services group BBVA has announced it is acquiring Paybefore Award-winning Simple, the Portland-Ore.-based digital banking company founded in 2009, for $117 million.
Prepaid Cards Play Key Role in New Contactless Transit-Payment Systems
When upgraded public transit fare-payment systems went live recently in Chicago and Salt Lake City, contactless payment transactions soared into the millions.
