Bento Goes Outside the Box with SMB Prepaid Solution (April 15, 2015)
A new startup headed by longtime payments veteran Farhan Ahmad is seeing big opportunity in small businesses.
Payments
i2c Gets Face-to-Face in Europe with U.K. Office
i2c Inc. is bolstering its European business by putting “people on the ground” and opening a London office.
5 Signs Microsoft Will Launch Payments Service (April 14, 2015)
More signs point to the fact that Microsoft is preparing to brand its own payments service, but the tech giant’s approach could be much different than that of mobile wallet rivals Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Inc.’s Android Pay, some observers suggest.
Blackhawk GoWallet Makes Checking Balances, Redeeming Gift Cards a Snap (April 14, 2015)
With Blackhawk Network’s GoWallet mobile app, consumers now are able to determine gift card balances by taking photos of their cards.
Ingo’s Hot Streak Continues with $13.5 Million Funding Round (April 14, 2015)
Fresh off a major acquisition and a 2015 Paybefore Award for Breakout Company of the Year, Ingo Money’s big year continued with this week’s closing of a $13.5 million funding round. Baltimore-based private equity firm Camden Partners co-led the round with venture capital firm MissionOG.
Paybefore Unveils European Awards Winners
Paybefore announces the winners in its fourth annual Paybefore Awards Europe competition, honoring the best programs and companies operating in prepaid and emerging payments across Europe. Winners represent companies entering the European market from the U.S., Asia, South Africa, Germany, Gibraltar, Italy and the U.K.
PayPal and eBay Forge Agreement to Go Forth as Friendly Competitors after Split (April 13, 2015)
PayPal will expand its competitive reach when it flies solo after its planned spinoff from parent eBay later this year. The deal guarantees certain protections and continuity for both companies, but it also underscores the heightened stakes in the e-commerce and digital payments industries.
Amex ‘Facing’ the Future of M-Payments with Biometrics Plan (April 13, 2015)
Biometrics continue to make inroads into payments, with American Express testing new technology that uses facial recognition to authenticate mobile transactions.
The Time is ‘Now’ for Funds Transfers Say BBVA Compass, Dwolla (April 13, 2015)
The momentum around faster payments continues to build with BBVA Compass becoming the largest financial institution to use the Dwolla platform, which eliminates the customary two- to five-day wait associated with ACH transfers.
Blog: There Aren’t Enough Startups
Forget the hand-wringing over a possible crash in Silicon Valley from a tech startup bubble-burst. What we need are more startups to feed deep-pocketed corporations starved for innovation.
Blog: Nothing More Social
Looking ahead for Facebook, the particular opportunities with cross-border workers’ remittances are enormous … Who’s more interested in pictures of loved ones than the remote worker who is supporting her family? Who’s more interested in ‘status updates’?”
N.Y. AG’s Problematic Payroll Card Act Gets Sponsors from Both Sides of Aisle (April 8, 2015)
Both political parties again are backing problematic payroll card legislation from New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that could squeeze margins and force some providers to pull programs from the state.
Pressure Intensifies in U.S. EMV Migration (April 8, 2015)
As preparations for the U.S. EMV migration go into high gear, some payments industry participants are questioning whether merchants have enough time to make POS terminals chip-compliant by October 2015, when a liability shift goes into effect.
Survey Finds Prepaid Programs Have Fewer Fees (April 8, 2015)
GPR prepaid cards have fewer fees and providers are disclosing clearly the fees they do have, helping cardholders avoid paying additional costs to use their cards, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com.
India: MobiKwik Raises $25 Million; PIF India Renews Focus on Financial Inclusion (April 8, 2015)
With a fresh infusion of cash, Indian payment startup MobiKwik plans to invest in data analytics, brand building and growing its network of mobile wallet users and merchants, according to reports.
Survey: GPR Cards Popular with Millennials; Security Benefit Big among All Consumers (April 7, 2015)
New data suggest prepaid issuers would do well to target millennials and tout the security benefits of their cards, according to a new survey by TD Bank, the Cherry Hill, N.J.-based subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank.
First Payroll, Now GPR: Brink’s and NetSpend Announce Rollout (April 7, 2015)
The Brink’s Co., a brand known for security and armored cash transport, is expanding its financial services product suite with a new GPR card.
PCI SSC Issues Guidance to Meet Demand for Tokenization Products (April 7, 2015)
The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has developed “Tokenization Product Security Guidelines” because of the rising demand for tokenization products.
Digital Goods Regs Take Effect in Italy, NFC Laws On the Way? (April 7, 2015)
New regulations went into effect in Italy last week that require mobile payments providers and merchants involved in the sale of digital goods to notify customers that their personal data are being collected and what that data are being used for.
New payment systems regulator will open up payments systems to non-traditional players
Last week saw the launch of the Payment Systems Regulator, the first time the UK gets a regulatory body overseeing the £75 trillion a year payments systems. Its brief is clear: to open up the UK payments infrastructure, which is currently controlled by the high street banks, make it more accessible to challenger banks and fairer for consumers. The regulator has been given strong powers by the government and has already made it clear it will fine the banks if they do not step up to the mark.
PayPal Closes Paydiant Deal, Expanding NFC Options (April 6, 2015)
PayPal has moved significantly closer to its goal of making its digital wallet “ubiquitous” for consumers paying online, via mobile devices and at the POS.
Credit-Scoring Pilot Offers a New Look at 15 Million Consumers (April 6, 2015)
The quest to use alternative data to score thin- or no-file consumers continues with a new program being led by FICO, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Equifax.
U.S. Leads Europe in E-Commerce, Quicker to Adopt Mobile (April 6, 2015)
The U.S. continues to lead e-commerce sales with expected revenue of $349.2 billion in 2015—compared with a combined $254 billion in projected sales in eight European countries, according to a report.
Federal Investigators Allegedly Get Greedy, Face Charges in Silk Road Case (April 6, 2015)
Two agents involved with the investigation of Silk Road, a Website that backed bitcoin transactions and was shut down by the FBI, face federal charges of money laundering and wire fraud, among other alleged crimes.
Petition: Exclude Bitcoin Startups, Supporting Companies from BitLicense Regs (April 2, 2015)
A coalition of bitcoin entrepreneurs and advocates are backing a petition that would exclude companies supporting the bitcoin infrastructure, as well as smaller startups, from the scope of New York’s BitLicense proposed regulations.
Fiserv: Billers Need to Catch Up with Customers’ Mobile Ways
Customer usage of mobile bill pay has grown substantially over the past year, but many billers aren’t keeping up with how their customers want to pay, according to the “Third Annual Biller Mobile Bill Pay Benchmark Study,” commissioned by Fiserv Inc., a global provider of financial services technology solutions.
Sen. Menendez Indicted on Corruption Charges (April 2, 2015)
After several weeks of speculation, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted yesterday on federal corruption charges over allegations he accepted bribes from a donor in exchange for political favors.
Collaborating to fast-track the benefits of a real–time ecosystem
Immediate payments have been available for some time now. The UK led the way with the launch of the Faster Payments Service in 2008 and other countries have followed, including Sweden, Singapore and Mexico. Real-time technology is fundamental to any mobile payments initiative and immediacy is the new norm of the digital age. Other countries can learn from the UK experience to avoid pitfalls and realise the benefits sooner.
Cross-border payments: the final mile in the developing world
There are two major trends in the cross-border payments world: an explosive growth in the number of payments between developed and developing countries, and the fact that governments, regulators and commercial actors increasingly favour payments being executed in local currency and discourage the use of US dollars to settle local.
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.
Pan-European Instant Payment Forum kicks off in Frankfurt
The inaugural meeting of the Open Forum on Pan-European Instant Payments drew 77 representatives from 55 payment service providers, technology providers and other stakeholders to Frankfurt this week to kick off discussions about requirements and collaboration on infrastructure services to support instant payments at a pan- European level.
Is ‘Microsoft Pay’ in the Works? (March 31, 2015)
Mobile wallet rivals for Apple Pay, including Samsung Pay and Google Inc.’s rumored Android Pay, may face another giant tech competitor. Microsoft Corp.’s latest moves suggest it may brand its own mobile payments service, too.
MasterCard Contactless Users in Asia-Pacific Increase 49 Percent (March 31, 2015)
Consumers in Asia-Pacific are taking to contactless payments in a big way, with the number of unique contactless users in 2014 up by 49 percent, compared with the previous year, according to MasterCard.
Weiner Joins Ubiquity Board (March 31, 2015)
Ubiquity Global Services has announced that payments veteran Jonathan Weiner has joined its board of directors. Weiner is founder and co-chairman of Money20/20 and former global head of payments business development at Google.
Vodafone Wallet Opening to Credit, Debit Cards (March 31, 2015)
Users of Vodafone’s mobile wallet soon will be able to make NFC in-store purchases via a linked bank-issued Visa credit or debit card after the telecom operator struck new deals with Visa and Carta Worldwide.
M&A Update: D+H Buys Fundtech; Net Element Acquires PayOnline (March 31, 2015)
Following last week’s Optimal Payments purchase of Skrill for $1.2 billion, another $1 billion-plus will change hands in two more acquisitions that will have global implications for the payments companies involved.
Google to Ride into Email Bill Payment with ‘Pony Express’? (March 30, 2015)
Google is working on developing a Gmail-based bill payment service called Pony Express, which could roll out as early as the fourth quarter.
First Data Study Shows Keys to Success for In-Store Gift Cards (March 30, 2015)
As retailers prepare for the year’s second-largest shopping season—Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations—First Data research from the 2014 holiday season can help retailers drive gift card sales.
Breakout Company Ingo Money Closes Fuze Buy (March 30, 2015)
Ingo Money’s purchase of Fuze Network Inc.—a payments technology provider enabling loads to more than 1 billion payment cards at thousands of retail networks—closed last month.
Fed Study: Mobile Banking, Deposit Use Growing Among Consumers (March 30, 2015)
More than half (51 percent) of mobile banking users in the U.S. had deposited a check using their mobile phones last year, up from 38 percent in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest study, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2015.”
