Meta Out from Under Consent Order (Aug. 8, 2014)
MetaBank has been released from its Consent Order by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to an announcement by the bank’s parent company, Meta Financial Group.
Analysis
FTC: Apps Must Provide More Consumer Info before Download (Aug. 7, 2014)
Many mobile apps used for shopping don’t provide consumers with enough information before they download them to their smartphones, according to the FTC.
New Payroll Law in Illinois Effective Jan. 1, 2015 (Aug. 7, 2014)
Paybefore typically confines discussions about state legislative and regulatory activity to the State Tracker section of Pay Gov. But after we published Pay Gov yesterday, Illinois passed a law that explicitly allows payroll cards in the state, subject to certain conditions.
SEPA Standards Take Effect in Europe (Aug. 7, 2014)
Cross-border payments in the Eurozone have reached a milestone, with Aug. 1 marking the migration deadline for all credit and direct debit transfers to comply with Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) requirements.
Viewpoint: Why HCE is an Acronym You Need to Know
HCE moves payments credentials to the cloud, which could radically speed up mobile payments development. Analyst Sarah Grotta believes HCE also offers compelling leadership opportunities for prepaid card issuers.
Viewpoint: Jack Ma and the Discovery of Billions
Alibaba Group’s $7.5 billion empire lurks like a crocodile waiting to strike its next opportunity. What does the Chinese giant’s appetite mean for the worldwide payments industry?
CFPB: Small-Dollar Overdrafts Are Big Problems for Some (Aug. 5, 2014)
Debit card-initiated overdrafts are leading to disproportionate charges for cardholders, with fees often larger than the overdraft amount, according to a new report by the CFPB.
Diebold: on the comeback trail
After a decade of being the ATM maker you’ve never heard of, Diebold is returning to Europe and a year into his tenure as president and chief executive at the firm, Andy Mattes thinks that the company’s profile is about to change.
Merchants Cautioned on New POS Malware Threat (Aug. 4, 2014)
Federal officials are warning retailers about a new form of malware that hackers could use to access POS systems and steal consumer data.
Entering the Banking Technology Awards – guidelines from the editor
Entries for the Banking Technology Awards 2014 have been open for a while now, but as we move into the last few weeks, this is always a time when we are flooded with questions about the process. By way of response, here are some guidelines based on my experience chairing the judging panel over the past 11 years.
Six reasons why cloud computing will transform the way banks serve clients – and the five hurdles to overcome
The European Commission wants to bring down the barriers to cloud computing in a move that promises to revolutionise the way transaction banks can serve clients.
Financial institutions and Cybercrime: It’s only just begun
A recent bout of high profile cyber-attacks on financial institutions across the UK, US and Canada has put the spotlight back on the importance of data security and the need to be diligent when it comes to cybersecurity within the banking industry
Viewpoint: N.Y.’s Proposed Virtual Currency Licensing Regulations: The Right Direction but Still a Bumpy Road
Leading payments lawyer Judie Rinearson calls N.Y.’s proposed “BitLicense” rules comprehensive, but are they so comprehensive they’ll chill virtual currency businesses in the state? Give us your opinion in Pay Poll.
Blog: Convergence is the Real Non-Payment Payment Story
Analyst Rick Oglesby posits that what’s happening outside of payments will actually have a bigger impact than what’s happening inside payments. Crazy or on point? Read and decide.
Why we should put a mobile wallet in every pocket
The mobile wallet is having a transformative effect on people’s lives in developing countries, bringing safer, faster, easier financial services to the people who need it most
Banks’ cyber resilience requires ongoing review against escalating threats
The news last month (June) that the Luuuk malware had snared its first victim, an unnamed European bank, has again highlighted the magnitude of the challenge facing the banking sector. While the reported theft of €500,000 during the course of a week certainly does not break any records, the discovery of what is believed to be a variant of the feared Zeus malware, is just the latest in a line of increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks
CFPB Proposal: Include Consumer Narrative in Complaint Database (July 17, 2014)
The CFPB wants to expand its Consumer Complaint Database to enable consumers to provide a narrative with their complaints about financial services.
Merchants Get another Extension in Debit Interchange Case (July 17, 2014)
The merchant plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors have been granted another extension to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
HCE and NFC: threat or opportunity?
Mobile NFC services continued to expand in 2013 but the big question is, will this be amplified or disrupted by the introduction of host-based card emulation (HCE) into mainstream operating systems?
Canadian Gov’t Gauges Interest in Prepaid for Federal Benefits (July 14, 2014)
With the Canadian government planning to phase out paper checks by 2016 for federal benefits recipients, half of Canadians who are unwilling to use direct deposit would be willing to try receiving their benefits on a reloadable prepaid card, according to a public opinion report released earlier this year and commissioned by the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
New legs for legacy systems
Unlike manufacturing companies, which run their operations on a single predominant ERP system supported by a few auxiliary solutions, banks have added layer upon layer of technology, ending up with an unmanageable snarl of systems and applications. Just to put things in perspective, it is estimated that on average global banks have more than 5,000 applications.
Know thine algo: how to define it, prove it, tame it. Part 1
Regulators across the globe appear divided on the question of whether tighter control of algorithmic trading is necessary: the Australians are pretty laid back about it, the Germans are ahead of the game, while political debate rages in the US …
Viewpoint: Is BLE the Next Important Innovation in Mobile Technology?
BLE is getting a lot of buzz because of its potential to complement other technologies like NFC for marketing and consumer engagement, but certain questions remain about its purpose and future.
Blog: Innovation is Coming: A New Small-Dollar Credit Offering from Canada
Canada’s Vancity Credit Union could be an inspiration for U.S. lenders as it explores new territory, working with the CFSI to devise an affordable small-dollar loan product with an unsecured credit line suitable for underbanked consumers.
Back-office legacy still holding back banks
Setting up a bank in the UK is costly, time-consuming, heavily regulated and not easy. As a result, the dynamic, start-up culture that drives innovation in many other sectors is less prevalent within banking and financial services.
The Rise of the Cyborg Financial Officer
The rise of new technologies is drastically redefining both the responsibilities of chief financial officers and the way they work, providing the ability tomake better organisational decisions with faster, accurate and more reliable data.
T2S: Doing nothing is not an option
As the implementation of T2S approaches, there is still a gap between the readiness levels of different types of market participant, new Celent research finds. But a ‘wait and see’ approach can only take some firms so far, argues Isabelle Olivier, head of clearing and settlement EMEA at Swift
Dispelling the myths surrounding voice biometrics
With passwords continuing to attract widespread derision from consumers it seems that businesses are starting to listen to their customers and in recent weeks voice biometrics has been hitting the headlines, as the technology is set to replace the bane of so many people’s lives.
The future of digital banking: sustenance or disruption?
Banks should not be blind-sided by sustaining innovation: a large part of their digital initiatives look at delivering existing services cheaper, faster and (sometimes) better – but true disruption occurs when addressing customer needs better, faster and maybe, cheaper.
CLS: Supreme Court ruling removes threat to financial infrastructure
In a landmark ruling, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the intermediated settlement of financial exchanges is an abstract idea and therefore not patent-eligible. David Puth, chief executive of CLS, which won the case in question. discusses the implications of the ruling.
Supreme Court Rules in NLRB Case (June 26, 2014)
The Supreme Court ruled today to throw out President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as unconstitutional. CFPB Director Richard Cordray was appointed the same day but has since been confirmed by the Senate, suggesting the ruling will have little or no effect on the CFPB.
Viewpoint: Riding the Rails to Bridge the Rewards-Redemption Gap
With the advancement of smartphone technology and social media, we’re witnessing a cascade of innovation around loyalty and incentive products. But driving steady deal redemptions requires smooth connections to payment network rails.
Viewpoint: Optimizing the Prepaid Experience with Robust Mobile Offerings
Growth in prepaid GPR and payroll cards today exceeds that of all other noncash forms of payment, but stickiness remains a problem for issuers and program managers. Adding mobile access and other financial tools to the mix—such as check deposits with instant good funds and expedited bill pay–makes prepaid a compelling proposition for consumers and providers alike.
Payments as a Working Capital Tool
A lesson learned from the global financial crises was how critical free cash flow can be for corporates, their customers, and their suppliers. As businesses seek to unlock cash flow from day-to-day operations, savvy treasurers have discovered vendor payments as a means to extend payment terms while improving vendor health, writes Chris Bozek, Managing Director, Head of Global Trade and Supply Chain Products Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Merchants Get More Time to Petition Supreme Court in Debit Interchange Case (June 24, 2014)
A consortium of merchant groups has been given more time to decide if it will try to take a long-running lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Canada Lays Framework for Digital Currency with New Regs (June 24, 2014)
While digital currency has received a frosty reception from many national governments, it has been greeted a bit more warmly in Canada.
Piecing together the data scientist puzzle
Depending on who you speak to, the definition of a data scientist seems to mean different things to different people. Some see it as a glorified number crunching role, others believe the position requires someone more inquisitive to spot and respond to key trends.
Cordray Goes Before House Committee, Says Overdraft Will Be Part of Prepaid Rules (June 19, 2014)
CFPB Director Richard Cordray headed to the House yesterday to present his bureau’s semi-annual report to the House Financial Services Committee, headed by Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Latest FDIC Consent Order Also Focuses on BSA (June 19, 2014)
The FDIC has issued another consent order for a company with significant prepaid business and again the focus is on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance.
T+2: Settlement Time
In April, US post-trade utility the DTCC called for the US settlement cycle to be moved to T+2, to bring it into line with what’s happening in the rest of the world, which is converging on T+2 settlement cycles – at different speeds.
