Reports: EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Heads Toward Approval
That would provide some long-awaited certainty to financial service providers and tech companies like Google and Facebook that handle consumers’ personal information.
Features
Senators Want Answers on Prepaid Outages
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are demanding answers from Green Dot, MasterCard and Walmart about a May outage that left Green Dot-issued Walmart MoneyCard customers without access to certain prepaid services. The senators also asked MasterCard to distinguish the circumstances between the Green Dot outage and the one RushCard experienced October 2015 when it switched to MasterCard’s processing platform.
Supreme Court to Hear ATM Fee Case
First filed in 2011 by a consortium of consumers, independent ATM operators and the National ATM Council, the suit alleges that payment networks’ ATM fee policies suppressed competition by barring ATM operators from offering discounts to users who transact via networks other than MasterCard or Visa.
Amazon Payments Becomes Third Digital Wallet Accepted by Feds
In fiscal year 2015, 98 percent of the $3.98 trillion remitted to the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Services came through electronic payments.
Infographics: bitcoin and blockchain ecosystem – the map
This great infographics, created by BTC Media, maps out the bitcoin and blockchain ecosystem of 2016 – it is a crowded metropolis! Click on the image to enlarge. Source: BTC Media, LLC
U.K. Votes to Exit EU; Payments Industry Faces Uncertainty
The people have decided and the U.K. is splitting from the European Union, raising serious concerns for the payments industry. Among those concerns is how passporting will work when the U.K. is no longer part of the EU since the majority of European e-money issuers have licenses in the U.K. that they passport elsewhere. Fifty-two percent of voters opted to bow out, or “Brexit,” as it’s commonly called.
Payments Industry Braces for ‘Brexit’ Results
As voters head to polling places today to decide whether the U.K. should split from the European Union, the referendum is top of mind for members of the payments industry around the world. Several issues for the industry would be in flux should the U.K. decide to bow out, or “Brexit,” as it’s commonly called.
Canadian Prepaid-Sizing Study Shows Bright Future for Open-Loop
Canada’s open-loop prepaid market saw CAD$3.1 billion (US$2.4 billion) in total card loads in 2015, according to a new market-sizing report offering insights into the country’s fast-growing prepaid industry.
Infographics: the evolution of credit
This nifty infographics, courtesy of MBNA, is a whistle-stop tour of credit wonder and woe over the last 4,000 years – from ancient Babylon to modern Britain – and what people had to do to get a little credit.
Infographics: the Euro 2016 guide to e-commerce – England vs Slovakia
Today, 20 June, sees the England-Slovakia game of the 2016 UEFA European Championship in France. In the spirit of that football tournament, PPRO has created an e-commerce guide to these two countries. Click here to see all the countries: Euro 2016
Okla. Delays Hwy Patrol Plan to Use Card Readers; FinCEN May Have other Ideas
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin says state law enforcement will delay using devices that read the magnetic stripes on payment cards, following outcries from lawmakers and consumer groups about privacy and legal concerns. But mention of a supplemental proposed rulemaking suggests FinCEN may be looking to revisit card readers at the border.
Class Action Takes Aim at CPI
CPI Card Group has been targeted in a new class action lawsuit over claims the card manufacturing and fulfillment specialist failed to disclose important information to shareholders in the run-up to its IPO last year.
N.Y. DOL Revises Payroll Card Proposed Rule; Fee Restrictions Remain
For more than a year, payroll card providers have had to deal with the specter of a final rule on payroll card regulations from the New York Department of Labor. The wait is now over, sort of. Rather than issue a final rule, the N.Y. DOL today issued a second revision to its proposal, but the industry is still concerned about its implications.
House Amendment Could Stymie CFPB Payday Rulemaking
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations recently approved its Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, and its passage (30-17) most definitely represents a thorn in the side of the CFPB because it delays the bureau’s regulations for payday loans.
The regulatory fintech sandboxes: are they really useful?
This truly has been the time of regulators announcing fintech sandboxes – what better thing to write about on my first fintech column here, than the ways regulators and fintechs can work together! There were three announcements in the past couple of weeks around regulatory sandboxes – the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced […]
CFPB Spends Big to Reach Consumers Online
The CFPB wants to make more consumers aware of its watchdog mission and is spending big to ensure that: $15.3 million so far in fiscal 2016, making the federal agency among the biggest government advertisers, according to reports and an online database.
N.Y. DOL Payroll Rule Expected this Week
It’s been more than a year since the New York Department of Labor first proposed payroll card regulations, but the agency is expected to follow up with a new payroll card rulemaking in the New York State Register this week. What’s uncertain is whether the regulations will be final or if the state will be following up its controversial proposal with a revised proposed rulemaking for which it will accept additional comments.
Accelerators: bridging the gap in fintech
Since 2015 the fintech market has changed dramatically but even bigger changes are yet to come in 2016 affecting financial services big time, believes Francisco Lorca, MD of a London-based fintech accelerator programme, Startupbootcamp. Tech is coming for banking as more fintech start-ups are springing up. There still huge gap between the collaboration of these two but […]
Point of view: how UK banks can deliver better service to customers
The banks know they need to do better for their millions of UK customers, but the pressing question is how? One answer is to form partnerships with some of the fintech companies that are now gathering momentum as powerful players in the market. Can these potential competitors be the banks new best friends? Jurgen Hutter, […]
Infographics: Flavors of Fast – the world of immediate payments
FIS has published its third annual report, Flavors of Fast, which shows via infographics the growth in the number of real-time payment initatives and usage volumes. Warren Gardiner, VP strategy enterprise payments, FIS, says: “Context is everything: speed without context is just faster; creating context without open data mining is merely an improvement. Speed, context […]
Dodd-Frank Faces New Challenge from House Republicans
A less powerful CFPB and looser caps on card interchange fees: Those are among the potential features of a bill that Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) plans to introduce later this month that would overturn major provisions of the Dodd-Frank act.
A Class-Action Suit Targets Chase Debit Card Program for Prisoners
Chase faces a class-action suit filed in federal court this week that alleges the bank’s debit card program for prisoners locks them in a cycle of fees upon their release.
Infographics: FATCA and CRS – how ready are you?
As we enter a new era in global tax reporting with increasing regulations around tax transparency, Banking Technology and Thomson Reuters have gathered industry views from across the globe to piece together a full picture on the financial market’s readiness for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and continued approach to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance […]
Cybercriminals Take Bite out of O’Charley’s
National restaurant chain O’Charley’s announced it suffered a security breach that may have exposed diners’ payment card information during a three-week period starting in mid-March.
Real-time payments in the US: right said Fed
Will everyone really benefit from the real-time payments coming to the US? Can the US regulator mandate the banking sector to adopt it? And what are the chances of this new faster payments system becoming ubiquitous? Banking Technology digs deeper, past the hype. It’s a pretty safe bet that the roll-out of faster payments in […]
Financial Sector Pushes Hard for Data Security Bills; Retailers Want PCI Probe
Members of the financial services industry have launched a media campaign in support of a bill they say would provide better protection of consumer data, bring retailer accountability for data breaches in line with the financial sector and supersede myriad state laws pertaining to breach-notification regulations.
Congress Wants a Closer Look at Bangladesh Bank Theft
The theft earlier this year of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank account at the New York Federal Reserve has caught the attention of more Congressional investigators. The chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Lamar Smith (R-Texas), has given New York Federal Reserve officials until June 14 to turn over documents related to the incident.
Digital currency & payments: heads together on the blockchain
It’s difficult to avoid writing about distributed ledger technologies, so we won’t. Last month Australian Craig Wright claimed to be the elusive inventor of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Displaying uncharacteristic scepticism, many mainstream media outlets doubted his claims. Whether it’s true or not, the story attracted great interest. Distributed ledger, blockchain (some argue the two are […]
Viewpoint: Regulatory Uncertainty Continues with Delays in Final Prepaid Accounts Rule
Recent media reports that prepaid cards have “hidden fees” simply because card packaging doesn’t follow the format contained in the CFPB’s proposed prepaid accounts rule are misleading and misinformed. Of course, the industry is waiting for the final rule before making standardized disclosure changes.
Can Blockchain Save the U.S. Postal Service?
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), striving to overcome inefficiencies and profitability that’s historically been much more often in the red than in the black, is exploring the use of blockchain technology to improve current services, provide new services and improve operations.
Infographics: the seven deadly sins of quantitative data analysts
Greed, gluttony, anger, envy and more. The seven deadly sins of quantitative data analysts put into a nifty graphics, courtesy of Quandl.
Kmart Settles Data Breach Class Action with Banks
A settlement agreement has been reached from a 2014 data breach between Kmart and several banks.
Judge Grants Final OK to Target Breach Settlement
The 2013 Target data breach settlement has been finalized.
CFPB’s Final Prepaid Rule Delayed Again
The prepaid industry will be playing the waiting game a while longer. The CFPB’s final rule for prepaid accounts has been pushed back to a summer release, according to the agency’s latest rulemaking agenda.
Viewpoint: Smartphones Disrupt Traditional Patterns for Female Shoppers
Results of two national Blackhawk Engagement Solutions surveys show that female shoppers are connected, very well-informed and are prepared to make a thoughtful, considered purchase anytime and anywhere—all of which has some implications for the payments industry.
Sen. Durbin Wants Answers on EMV Terminal Certification Delays
More than seven months after last October’s EMV liability shift in the U.S., customers “are forced to continue using fraud-prone magnetic stripe technology” because chip-reading payment terminals remain idle, charged U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Edith Ramirez.
Infographics: the efficient treasury
Banking Technology and Misys conducted a survey to find out about the changing role of the banks’ treasury and the degree of support received from current systems. The results are in our infographics – great contents that is easy on the eye and easy to digest.
Fear of missing out vs fear of failure: how to resolve the conflict
The fear of missing out (FOMO) forever clashes with the fear of failure (FOF) when it comes to innovating in banks. Lee Cameron, CEO of Monitise, explores the FOMO versus FOF conflict and how to resolve it. FOMO is commonly cited as being characteristic of the Instagram-driven millennial generation, but how does this relate to […]
Vendor spotlight: the difference engine
Amidst the mass of humanity at Money 20/20 Europe in Copenhagen, Olivier Sery, general manager Iberia for TAS Group, took a few moments of his time to discuss the company’s software solutions for electronic money and payment systems; and its future plans. “We’ve done the investment, but now is the time to grow our footprint.” […]
CFPB Releases Proposed Rule on Arbitration Clauses
The CFPB today released a proposed rule that would place restrictions on arbitration clauses in financial services contracts.
