Q&A: What’s the Big Deal about Blockchain?
Blockchain is one of the hottest trends in fintech. A payment fraud expert explains how the technology can make transactions safer and what its limits are.
Mobile
Tuxedo launches world’s first “live load” payments platform
UK payments provider Tuxedo has launched a “live load” payments technology platform, which removes the need to prepay. The vendor says it is the world’s first. The platform is based upon a single, partner-issued Visa or MasterCard, which is linked to customers’ existing payment sources via Tuxedo’s own platform. The platform is PCIDSS (Payment Card […]
Google Tests ‘Hands-Free’ Shopping Via Digital Photos
Google’s new Hands Free shopping test enables consumers to pay with smartphones but make purchases via digital photos of their faces. It represents the newest frontier for mobile payments.
Infographics: the state of fintech industry as we know it
Who, what, where, when of the fintech industry today – this excellent infographics pulls together plenty of useful data, from top specialists, unicorns and start-ups to geographies and M&As. Created by Savvy Beaver and Call Levels.
CFPB Makes First Data Security Enforcement against Dwolla
The CFPB has hit online payments provider Dwolla with an enforcement action over what the agency describes as misleading claims the company made about customers’ data security and the risks of using Dwolla’s online system. The action is the CFPB’s first enforcement related to a data security issue, the agency said.
Square Opens up Cash Drawer
Square Inc. has added a new feature to its Square Cash P2P money transfer service that enables users to store funds within their Square Cash accounts—a move that means the service can fulfill some of the functions of a mobile wallet.
Enterprise Bank Finds SMBs Hungry for Mobile Banking
When Enterprise Bank began offering a mobile banking app designed by Fiserv with small business clients in mind, the uptake was far beyond expectations. Catering to business clients via mobile has several benefits, such as increasing loyalty and profitability and attracting millennial entrepreneurs.
Apple to Testify in House Committee Hearing on Encryption
Apple will testify tomorrow before the House Judiciary Committee on encryption amid its fight with the FBI over creating software to hack an iPhone of one of the terrorists responsible for the December attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. Fellow tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter, are expected to file amicus briefs in support of Apple’s decision not to comply with a court order demanding that Apple comply with the FBI’s request.
iovation Offers Password-Less Security
As e-merchants seek to reduce friction for their Web and mobile customers, authentication specialist iovation has launched a new “password-less security” service, which the company says streamlines the user experience while maintaining robust protections.
Number26 and TransferWise partner for international money transfers
German digital bank Number26 and TransferWise, a UK-based international money transfer platform, have teamed up to provide Number26 customers with direct “in-app” access to TransferWise’s service. Number26 co-founder and CEO Valentin Stalf says the company wants banking products to be “accessible to customers with one tap, creating a fintech hub inside the Number26 app”. The […]
Retail banking: the power of the personal
In 2016, retail banks are facing up to their biggest challenge. A combination of new market disrupters, increased regulation and the continuing pace of technology change is set to transform the industry, shifting power firmly to the consumer. Natalie McLellan, director of financial services at consultancy firm Egremont, offers her insight. Many commentators argue that […]
Apple Pay Integrates with Akimbo Corporate Prepaid Cards
Apple Pay has a new foothold in corporate payroll: Payment Data Systems said that its Akimbo prepaid card program now works with the mobile wallet from the computer maker.
Chase Pay Brews up Starbucks Deal
In the battle for mobile wallet supremacy, JPMorgan Chase this week got venti-sized boost in the form of a partnership with Starbucks.
New digital bank powered by Temenos’ front-to-back office platform
EQ Bank, a new pure-play digital bank in Canada, has opened its virtual doors. It is underpinned by the front-to-back office software from Temenos. The bank is using Temenos’ T24 core banking system at the back-end and Temenos Connect for digital channels at the front-end. It is also using Insight BI for business intelligence and […]
AsiaHawala powers Iraq’s “first” mobile money service with Mahindra Comviva
AsiaHawala, Iraq’s “first” mobile money service, has chosen Mahindra Comviva’s Mobiquity Money solution as it looks to expand its reach across the country. The Iraqi company offers consumers a mobile account for a range of financial transactions – such as P2P transfer, bill payments, merchant payments, salary payments and a recharge service. With Mobiquity Money […]
Net Element enters Azerbaijan’s mobile payments market
Florida-based Net Element has launched its mobile payments platform, Digital Provider, in Azerbaijan. The venture is done via the company’s Russian subsidiary, OOO Digital Provider. The company says the new integration allows content providers and aggregators access to all “major” mobile operators in the country. It has also signed a contract with a national television […]
Ingo Money Rolls out ‘Me-to-Me’ Funding Feature
Instead of focusing on P2P, Ingo Money Inc. has its sights set on enabling what Founder and CEO Drew Edwards calls “me-to-me” payments. The company, which specializes in digitizing cash and checks through its Good Funds Network, today announced the rollout of a service within its Ingo Money App that enables consumers to cash a check with their smartphones and send the funds instantly to multiple accounts, including prepaid, PayPal, bank and private-label credit card accounts.
MWC: Mobile Money Driving Inclusion Worldwide, Says Report
There were more than 1 billion mobile money transactions worldwide in December 2015, according to a report released by the GSMA this week at the mobile association’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. In its fifth annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, the GSMA outlined the growth of mobile money, which it said is “changing the landscape of financial inclusion.”
Flywire CEO Sees Increasing Demand for Cross-Border Payments
The demand for large cross-border transactions is on the rise, and consumers making those purchases are seeking the most convenient and cost-effective transaction methods and channels. That’s according to Flywire, a 4-year-old company that got its start in the international student tuition sector and has since expanded to enable multiple types of cross-border payments.
MasterCard, Visa Debut IoT, Wearables Moves at MWC
Wearable payments technology and the Internet of Things continue to gain steam, with MasterCard and Visa announcing separate initiatives involving the technologies at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
Apple Pay Launches in China with UnionPay; Samsung Pay up Next
Apple Pay launches in China via a UnionPay deal, giving further mobile payment competition to homegrown rivals such as Alipay. Meanwhile, Samsung Pay also is set to enter the market.
CopSonic and Natixis join forces for SwipeSonic ultrasound payments
Natixis Payment Solutions has teamed up with French start-up CopSonic to create SwipeSonic, an ultrasound payment solution for online shopping transactions. CopSonic’s technology uses ultrasound to encrypt information within music and voice, or transmit data “entirely inaudibly to the human ear”. Emmanuel Ruiz, CEO of CopSonic, says: “Sound is the easiest and most effective technology […]
Barclays and BlackBerry bringing BBM to Pingit mobile payments
Barclays and BlackBerry are bringing BBM, the mobile instant messaging service, to Pingit money transfers in the UK. BBM users can now make mobile payments to each other using Barclays’ mobile payment app Pingit. Matthew Talbot, SVP, BBM at BlackBerry, says to “exchange money was a logical extension” of BBM’s functions. Once a user has […]
Apple Pay launches in China
Apple has launched its mobile payment system in China today, in partnership with state-owned bankcard association, China UnionPay. The company will face tough competition, but it received good news this week when Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said its customers would be able to use Apple Pay. In an interview with Reuters, Jennifer […]
Amazon Acquires India-Based EMVANTAGE Payments
Online marketplace giant Amazon is acquiring India-based online services provider EMVANTAGE Payments.
New Mobile Money Service Reaches Peru’s Unbanked
Peru’s new nationwide mobile money network has launched with the goal of bringing 5 million of the country’s unbanked citizens into the financial system over the next five years.
ICICI Bank launches mobile banking app competition with Visa
India’s ICICI Bank has launched an ‘ICICI Appathon’ as it looks for innovations in mobile banking apps. The bank wants participants in India to create new APIs in five different categories – retail banking, corporate banking, treasury, ‘ICICI Group’ (such as insurance and securities), and ‘Partner APIs’. The latter comprises Visa and National Payments Corporation […]
Dallas Capital Bank builds mobile and digital banking with FIS
Dallas Capital Bank, a local, independent bank is adding mobile banking, digital banking and electronic payments to its customer service functions. The firm has begun integrating its bank’s new digital services with its existing FIS backend core and payments systems. It is also adding a suite of digital banking systems, from digital account origination to […]
Grocery Shoppers with Gift Cards Prefer Online Rebates
A Blackhawk study finds that grocery shoppers with gift cards prefer larger online rebates than smaller instant discounts at checkout. The study also examines which mobile apps top shoppers’ lists.
Canada Sees Surge in Mobile, Contactless Payments
Canada’s payments system is undergoing a rapid transition, with mobile P2P, e-wallet and contactless transactions on the rise, according to a report from the Canadian Payments Association.
Innovators’ Spotlight: PaySwag
Retailers have long recognized the importance of customer engagement to drive sales and retain customers. But Reno, Nev.-based PaySwag is proving the power of engagement to improve results in a somewhat unexpected sector—bill payments.
MasterCard, SVB Select Four Startups for Accelerator Program
Four more startups have been selected for the Commerce.Innovated. program. The companies represent the fourth class chosen by MasterCard and Silicon Valley Bank as part of a program to help startups get their products and services off the ground.
Russian Lawmakers Want to Ban Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues to encounter hurdles as its supporters try to facilitate the digital currency’s mainstream acceptance. Though certain states and countries are welcoming bitcoin, or permitting it with certain provisos, Russia is considering a ban.
Visa Aims to Boost Commerce Products with Outside Developer Help
Visa wants to strengthen its commerce offerings by opening up its technology treasure chest to software developers bent on improving consumer experiences. The payment network has launched Visa Developer, an “open platform that gives application developers access to Visa’s payments technology, products and services.”
Hackers Target Gyft, Neiman Marcus Customer Data
Cybercriminals continue to target payments providers and retailers, with Gyft and Neiman Marcus among the latest firms to announce separate data breaches. The attacks highlight two major data security issues facing financial providers and retailers: third-party security and the migration of fraud to online accounts as a result of enhanced POS security brought about by the arrival of EMV.
Fifth Third Bank fingerprints iPhone banking
Fifth Third Bank is introducing Touch ID biometric capabilities to its mobile banking app for the iPhone. Touch ID allows fingerprint authentication for enabled devices, letting customers log into their Fifth Third app with their fingers or thumbs instead of a password. The Bank’s fast mobile app allows people to check balances, transfer funds and […]
Western Union Gains Access to More than 660 Million Consumers in Viber Deal (Feb. 4, 2016)
Western Union continues to extend its digital reach with access to approximately 664 million users of mobile messaging app Viber, which enables its customers to send free text messages, photos, videos and make free calls with its push-to-talk capability, among other features.
Pin4 Cardless ATM System Plans Big Expansion (Feb. 4, 2016)
Pin4, a cardless ATM withdrawal system, could expand to some 70,000 U.S. cash machines by the third quarter of 2016, up from approximately 15,000 in the first quarter of 2016, says CEO Richard Witkowski.
Innovators’ Spotlight: Poynt
Electronic payment options for consumers are proliferating, and shoppers expect merchants to accept the full gamut of form factors. But for retailers—especially small and midsize enterprises (SMEs)—it can be tough to keep up. That’s where Poynt comes in.
P2P Lending Gains Ground in U.K. (Feb. 2, 2016)
P2P lending in the U.K. is a booming business that’s doubled in size since 2014 and approximately £2.20 billion (US$3.16 billion) lent to consumers in 2015.
