Worldwide


Starbucks Sells Square Card Readers to Boost Small Business (Jan. 4, 2013)

Jan. 4, 2013 Customers now can purchase a Square mobile payment card reader along with their venti Caffè lattes and blueberry scones at all of Starbucks’ 7,000 company-operated stores in the United States. Square enables anyone with an iPhone, iPad or Android device to accept credit and debit cards with its card reader that plugs […]

Tagit, Smartlink Offer Smartphone-Based Banking in Vietnam (Jan. 4, 2013)

Jan. 4, 2013 In a bid to capitalize on the rapid growth of smartphone use in Vietnam, Singapore-based mobile banking provider Tagit is partnering with mobile switch operator Smartlink to launch a new platform that will enable Vietnamese banks to launch cost-effective smartphone-based financial services, the companies said. By partnering with Smartlink, Tagit gains access […]

mPowa Eyes Global Expansion (Jan. 4, 2013)

Jan. 4, 2013 Mobile payment provider mPowa is starting the new year in expansion mode, as the U.K.-based company unveils plans to enter new markets, including new cities in the U.S. and India. mPowa, which offers merchants a card reader that plugs into a mobile device for payment card acceptance, is competing with Square—the market […]

NYC Startup Banks on Virtual ‘Kurrenci’ (Jan. 4, 2013)

Jan. 4, 2013 New York City-based startup Kurrenci has developed a virtual currency it says will help online retailers earn and retain customers by using a unique discounting method. Kurrenci’s platform is based on the company’s eponymous virtual currency, which can be purchased or earned online by users, and then exchanged for goods at participating online […]

Celoxica debuts HFT futures trading tools

UK technology company Celoxica has launched a new futures trading platform, which it says will make automated trading strategies even faster and more efficient.

Unbundling tops banking reform recommendations

Global investment banks need to stop focusing on easy opportunities and start innovating, according to a new report by US business consultancy AlixPartners – even if that means unbundling services and embracing smaller financial institutions as allies.

Justin Bieber to Promote New BillMyParents Prepaid Card (Jan. 2, 2013)

Jan. 2, 2013 Bieber Fever is spreading beyond music and fragrances to prepaid cards. Pop star Justin Bieber soon will be promoting a MasterCard-branded prepaid card offered by BillMyParents Inc. The San Diego-based provider of payment solutions targeted to teens, young adults and their parents, announced late last year that Bieber will act as “brand […]

FIs Continue Daily Deals Push as Chase Nabs Startup for $35 Million (Jan. 2, 2013)

Jan. 2, 2013 JP Morgan Chase & Co. will pay $35 million to acquire San Francisco-based daily deals startup Bloomspot Inc. in a bid to bolster the local merchant discounts the bank can offer its Chase credit card customers. Bloomspot, which competes with daily Web deals titan Groupon Inc. as well as other city-specific deals […]

The Hottest Payments Topics of 2012 (January 2013)

January 2013   By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor If anyone thought last year couldn’t compare with the events of 2011, they quickly were proved wrong as 2012 turned out to be every bit as transformational. In the U.S. market, we saw a fledgling federal watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), go from crawling […]

MasterCard signs 10 PSPs for PayPass Online

Ten UK payment service providers have committed to MasterCard’s PayPass Online by MasterCard, part of PayPass Wallet Services, allowing them to accept electronic payments across multiple channels.

Man Group goes live with Swift’s global ETC messaging service

Alternative investment management firm Man Group has gone live with Swift’s Global Electronic Trade Confirmation messaging service, and successfully confirmed its first trades with Morgan Stanley using the Cor Financial Salerio post-trade management service.

Payza Launches New Remittance Service in Bangladesh (Dec. 20, 2012)

Dec. 20, 2012 A new money transfer service from online payment platform Payza will enable Bangladeshis living in the U.S. to quickly and easily send money to relatives and friends back home. With its new SimplySendBD service, Payza aims to capture a piece of the $14 billion annual Bangladeshi remittance market—and establish a successful template […]

BMO Seals Deal with Monitise to Enhance Mobile Banking, Payments Services (Dec. 20, 2012)

December 20, 2012 Canada’s mobile payments offerings continue to multiply. BMO Bank of Montreal is poised to boost its mobile banking and payments offerings through a strategic alliance with London-based Monitise plc to develop a range of new smartphone applications, mobile Web offerings and text-notification services for online and mobile banking. The deal builds on […]

SumUp Mobile POS Device Available in 10 European Markets (Dec. 20, 2012)

Dec. 20, 2012 In a highly competitive European market, SumUp, a London-based provider of mobile POS card readers, has expanded its reach to 10 markets with recent product launches in Belgium, France and Portugal. SumUp enables merchants to accept debit and credit card payments using their smartphones and tablets as a POS device. SumUp is capable […]

NY opening for Consult Hyperion

Electronic transaction specialist Consult Hyperion has opened a New York office. Lanny Byers and Howard Hall will serve as co-managing directors, reporting to chief executive Neil McEvoy.

Investment in innovation is still key

Despite conflicting priorities and the sluggish economic climate, 2012 saw banks increase their investment in innovation. In fact, a survey conducted in the latter half of the year showed that 76% of banks have increased their investment in innovation from the previous year, writes Mohit Joshi of Infosys. The global study of 300 bankers also […]

Letter from the Editor: Happy Holidays from Paybefore (December 2012)

December 2012   It’s been an exciting year for prepaid and emerging payments. We’ve seen intriguing, unexpected partnerships (Starbucks and Square, PayPal and Discover), a steady stream of new mobile entrants attracting investors and, in the past few months, prepaid card launches in the Middle East, Russia and Africa. We expect 2013 to bring even […]

Brokers face grim prospects for 2013

Brokers are being forced to consider novel approaches to doing business – including outsourcing of areas that have been previously seen as core – as they struggle to work out viable economic models for their products and services.

Russian Bank Looks to Grow via Prepaid Cards (Dec. 18, 2012)

Dec. 18, 2012 In a bid to serve a growing market demand and increase its customer base, Russia’s Svyaznoy Bank will issue its first large-scale prepaid card, the bank announced this week. The card will be available in versions branded by MasterCard and Visa, with Gemalto providing deployment and other card services. Svyaznoy already is […]

VeriFone Inks NFC, Mobile Marketing Deal in China (Dec. 18, 2012)

Dec. 18, 2012 On the heels of announcing it would cease marketing its mobile POS system directly to merchants, electronic payments service provider VeriFone Systems Inc. has signed a deal to provide NFC payments and mobile marketing in the city of Shen Yang, China. Under the new partnership with China Mobile and Bank of China, […]

FDIC Report: Mobile Payments Could Threaten Banks’ Security, Market Share (Dec. 18, 2012)

Dec. 18, 2012 Mobile payments could present serious security and competitive threats to financial institutions and other established payments industry players, according to a new FDIC report. In the latest edition of its semi-annual publication “Supervisory Insights,” a team of senior FDIC researchers explained that if consumers adopt mobile payments widely, nonbank players with little […]

The ART of risk management

Since the 2007 global financial crisis there has been a lot of debate on potential changes across the banking services industry and the potential consequences. Recent market surveys suggest that surprisingly little progress has been made in risk and compliance management and some lack of clarity as to what to do next. Reacting to regulatory change is one thing, but the real goal is to build clarity and confidence that banks are doing the right thing in the right way at the right time

SIX expands Nordic post-trade with £20m purchase of Oslo Clearing

Swiss market operator SIX is to expand its post-trade infrastructure in Scandinavia with the acquisition of Oslo Clearing, a subsidiary of the Oslo Børs, for NOK180 million (£19.8 million).

The unit is authorised to act as a central counterparty in Norway and currently clears derivatives and securities lending products. It will become will be part of SIX Securities Services.

VeriFone Exits Direct-to-Merchant Mobile POS in ‘Maturing’ Niche (Dec. 17, 2012)

Dec. 17, 2012 VeriFone Systems Inc.’s decision to withdraw from marketing its mobile POS device directly to merchants is the first sign of retrenchment and likely consolidation in what has been a fast-growing niche. The San Jose-based company last week said from now on it will sell its Sail smartphone attachment for mobile card payments […]

MasterCard Launches Prepaid Travel Card in Middle East (Dec. 17, 2012)

Dec. 17, 2012 MasterCard Worldwide is targeting upscale consumers based in the Middle East who travel frequently to different global regions with its new MasterCard Platinum Prepaid Travel Card launched this week in Bahrain. The card, issued by Al Baraka Islamic Bank and Nonoo Exchange Company, both based in Bahrain, enables customers to load up […]

InComm, Dollar General to Offer Xbox Points, Memberships at POS (Dec. 17, 2012)

Dec. 17, 2012 Prepaid distribution and technology provider InComm has inked a deal with Dollar General to enable the retailer’s customers to more easily purchase points and memberships for Xbox LIVE in stores via InComm’s recently launched Digital Delivery Application (DDA). The new system eliminates the need for customers to purchase and redeem physical prepaid […]

CPI Designs Gift Cards for Portuguese Supermarket (Dec. 17, 2012)

Dec. 17, 2012 Colorado-based card producer CPI Card Group was selected by Portuguese retail firm Sonae to design and manufacture gift cards available at Sonae’s Continente supermarket locations throughout the country. The cards will be sold at special free-standing displays rather than at points of sale—one of the first gift card lines in Portugal to […]

Imago Digital Wallet Bridges the Technology Gap (Dec. 17, 2012)

Dec. 17, 2012 QSecure Inc., a Los Altos, Calif.-based developer of dynamic payment card technology, has announced its digital wallet, Imago, which consists of a smartphone app to manage payment, gift and loyalty cards, and the powered ImagoCard that holds the data of those cards and can be swiped at the point of sale like […]