Study: more than half of US cards are EMV, but acceptance issues linger
As the issuance of EMV cards continues to grow, consumers are using their chip cards to buy sporting goods and pay for parking, according to new data from CardFlight.
Cards
Cards lead cashless payments growth – just ahead of ATM cash withdrawals
Cashless payments are growing around the world as more people have access to bank accounts, but only at a slightly faster rate than ATM withdrawals, indicating that cash still has a strong hold.
PSR sets out guidance on card payment regulation
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator has published draft guidance on its plans for regulating new European payment card legislations that comes into force next week.
Banks warned: digitise or die …
Retail banks often claim that customer service is their primary focus, but 75% of banks believe they haven’t concentrated efforts on improving it. Instead, annual reports focus on the financial results. Whether these two stories can become one remains to be seen, according to a new whitepaper by bank technology vendor Misys.
Mastercard and Cardlytics partner to expand bank connections to card-linked offers
Mastercard and Cardlytics have formed a new partnership that will streamline the process for banks implementing Cardlytics’ card-linked marketing offers, and ensure that consumers can access offers online and via mobile devices.
ATM cash usage continues to grow in UK
Figures from Link, the UK’s cash machine network, show that the number of ATMs in the UK reached 70,180 in July, passing 70,000 for the first time. ATM figures from July, show that the total amount withdrawn from cash machines in July 2015 was £11.3 billion, up 4% compared with July 2014.
Contactless payments set to boom as limit rises to £30
More than £2.5 billion was spent in the UK using contactless cards in the first half of 2015 and this is likely to increase even more as the upper limit for contactless payments increases from £20 to £30 from today.
Commercial lending and supply chain finance under pressure from non-bank players
Digitally enabled supplier finance networks and alternative lenders now pose a significant threat to every part of the commercial lending business, with 84% of banks seeing pressure on the pricing of loan products as a challenge.
MasterCard and Samsung prepare Samsung Pay Europe launch
Samsung is set to launch its upcoming payments service Samsung Pay in Europe within months, following a deal with MasterCard which will see Samsung Pay rolled out across the region through MasterCard’s Digital Enablement Service.
Commerzbank continues card processing contract with Worldline
Commerzbank has extended its existing credit card processing contract with Worldline for a further seven years. Since 1998 Wordline has provided the bank with an end-to-end processing service that includes complete processing of all the bank’s issued Visa and MasterCard cards.
Visa Europe sees contactless payments top 1 billion in past year
Visa Europe says that uptake of contactless payments in Europe continues to climb with more than one billion transactions made in the last year. Visa cardholders spent €1.6 billion in March 2015 alone – a three-fold increase over the same period in 2014.
Apple Pay comes to UK next month
Apple Pay will be available in the UK from next month, with eight of the UK’s most established banks and the major credit and debit card networks supporting it – along with Transport for London.
Payments revolution? Forget Apple – watch Africa
As the global payments industry transforms itself to take advantage of new technologies, some services offer the prospect of real change, but others are simply hype. Telling the difference will be the key to success in the next five years …
Misys adds Islamic banking capabilities to platform
Banking technology vendor Misys has launched an Islamic banking platform called Misys FusionBanking Essence Islamic, as part of a plan to capitalise on the 17% annual growth in Islamic banking worldwide.
UK card transactions top 1 billion per month as debit card use soars
UK consumers are spending more on their payment cards than ever before, with over a billion transactions in February, according to newly-released figures provided by the UK Cards Association.
US lags on EMV card adoption as October deadline looms
EMV card usage is increasing almost everywhere in the world as a billion new EMV cards enter circulation – but the US continues to lag behind, despite the fact that liability shifts to the retailer from 15 October this year.
Bringing the channels together
Can the right combination of self-service device management, cash management and end-to-end transaction monitoring enable banks to embrace enterprise-wide performance awareness, and take a holistic approach to managing their multi-channel banking environments?
Digital Disruption: Customer-Driven Innovation in Retail Banking
http://d36omcu95vpmg5.cloudfront.net/webinars/2015/Misys_May2015.mp4 Digital innovation is disrupting the retail banking industry worldwide. Many perceive the trailblazers to be the hot start-ups – creative, legacy-free, pioneering the latest digital and analytics technologies. But established ‘traditional’ banks have the opportunity to reinvent or reinvigorate their brands in the digital world – with an already captive audience and decades […]
New regulator plans lasting changes to the structure of the UK payments industry
The UK’s new Payment Systems Regulator looks set to shake up the way the industry is structured, with reviews of the ownership of the infrastructure and of the way that indirect access is managed through sponsoring banks.
Türk Ekonomi Bankası to deploy HCE for contactless payments
Türk Ekonomi Bankası is to launch a mobile contactless payment application using Visa Europe’s host card emulation functionality to provide secure contactless payments.
Yoma Bank Myanmar revamps core banking system
Myanmar’s Yoma Bank is to install a new core banking system provided by vendor Misys, as part of a major transformation project at the privately-owned bank. Yoma especially wanted to be in a position to benefit from the growth of mobile technology in the country.
Misys adds Apple Watch banking appahead of April launch
Misys has launched a banking app prototype for the upcoming Apple Watch, which is due to launch in April, that allows users to make transactions by speaking at their watch.
Al-Mawarid Bank ramps up online and mobile services
Lebanese commercial bank Al-Mawarid has begun a bank transformation project focused on mobile and online banking using the FusionBanking Essence Digital software from Misys.
Bitcoin exchange Netagio brings in debit and credit cards, seeks to legitimise cryptocurrency
Bitcoin market Netagio has launched credit and debit card payment options, as part of a push to make it easier to buy and sell Bitcoin with pounds, euros and US dollars. The exchange, which was founded in 2013, is seeking to popularise the alternative currency and improve its controversial public image.
US shifts to EMV as Obama and Apple weigh in
The US is finally adopting EMV after an eventful 12 months in which barriers have been overcome. Merchant reluctance is diminishing, good progress is being made, and the ‘EMV train’ is now picking up speed, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
Monitise deepens ties with partners to raise £49 million
Monitise plans to raise £49.2 million through extensions of its relationships with Santander, Telefónica and MasterCard. The money raised will be used to ‘support the development and accelerated roll-out of its global platform capabilities’.
Biometric alternatives to the fore at Money20/20
Biometric identity verification mechanisms were prominent among the raft of new product announcements at the Money20/20 event in Las Vegas, which opened this week.
MasterCard partners for fingerprint-reading contactless card launch in 2015
Following a live pilot with Norway’s Sparebanken, MasterCard has confirmed a partnership with Zwipe to launch a contactless payment card featuring an integrated fingerprint sensor.
RBS poaches King from MasterCard for new payments role
RBS has confirmed that it has hired Marion King, formerly president of UK and Ireland at MasterCard, in the newly created role of director of payments in the New Year.
Should banks consider domestic payments schemes?
Domestic card schemes have traditionally partnered with MasterCard and/or Visa in an arrangement that leaves the domestic player handling the local transactions and their international partner facilitating and controlling the international business. Should banks work with both or just partner with one of the international schemes?
Card use extending to smaller purchases as contactless catches on
Growth in the volume of debit and credit card purchases in the UK continues to outstrip the growth in value as consumers use their cards more frequently for lower value payments. A threefold increase in contactless payments was a factor in the trend.
Money20/20 lays down 36-hour FinTech developers’ challenge in Las Vegas
FinTech developers, designers and entrepreneurs are being challenged to a 36-hour development tournament in the days leading up to this year’s of the Money20/20 event in Las Vegas in November.
US mobile payment firm LoopPay wins Visa funding
Mobile payments provider LoopPay has secured funding from global payments firm Visa as it pioneers a technology that capitalises on the installed base of magnetic stripe-reader point-of-sale systems rather than NFC, which is the current favourite in mobile payment circles.
London Underground goes contactless as EE unveils NFC plans
London Underground, DLR and Overground trains are to accept contactless payments, following an announcement from Transport for London. The decision comes as mobile operator EE sets out plans to support NFC payments on London Underground, the UK’s biggest building society begins issuing contactless cards to its customers, and Apple explores cooperation with Visa on a potential new mobile wallet.
Sear shows up at Skrill after Weve departure
David Sear, the former chief executive of the Weve mobile network e-commerce joint venture, has been appointed as group chief commercial officer at Skrill Group.
Online transactions to touch $5 trillion in four years’ time
The annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will nearly double over the next four years, reaching $4.7 trillion by 2019, up from just over $2.5 trillion this year, with contactless payments primarily driven by card purchases rather than mobile.
Card costs still too high say retailers
Despite falling costs, banks are continuing to charge “unjustifiable” fees that rip off retailers and consumers as they move away from cash towards debit cards and other forms of payment, according to the British Retail Consortium’s Payments Survey for 2013.
Small financial institutions must face the mobile challenge
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.
Mobile payment security will depend on using the ‘smart’ in smartphone
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?
Integrating the digital future
Balázs Vinnai, now with Misys, talks about changing banking and payments technology needs.
