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.
PayTech
Bottomline unveils universal aggregator for payments
Bottomline Technologies has launched its Universal Aggregator for payments and the accreditation of its “Faster Payment” processing capability. Bottomline Universal Aggregator has been designed to give banks, corporates, governments and non-financial banking institutions an “easy plug-in” to an array of payment clearing and settlement systems around the world. The “first-of-its-kind” service provides a single interface […]
Hackers use access to Swift network to steal $10m from Ukraine bank
Hackers have used the Swift network to steal $10 million from an unnamed Ukrainian bank, according to an independent IT monitoring organisation that spoke to the Kyiv Post. This latest incident is part of a spate of thefts when the banks’ access to the Swift network was used to execute them. Recently, investigators said they […]
Android Pay arrives in Singapore
Android Pay has launched in Singapore, making it the first country in Asia to get the system. Pali Bhat, senior director of product management at Google, says Singapore was chosen as the third market worldwide after the US and UK due to the number of mobile phone users and highly developed infrastructure. Android Pay will […]
Wirecard Stakes Claim in North America with Citi Prepaid Buy
Wirecard AG has been making numerous deals and acquisitions over the past several months to expand its global footprint, but today’s news that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Citi Prepaid Services puts it firmly on the map in North America.
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.
MasterCard, Microsoft Collaborate on E-Commerce Payments
The companies say they will make accepting online payments easier for the more than 20,000 business customers who use Microsoft Dynamics software in 13 markets.
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.
Kroger Latest Merchant to Challenge Visa Debit Verification Rules
Grocery giant Kroger Co. has filed a lawsuit against Visa Inc. over the payment network’s rules for verifying EMV debit card transactions. First reported by the Wall Street Journal, the suit is based on similar issues as those in a legal challenge by Walmart, which sued Visa in May.
Android Pay, QuickPass Expand to New Markets
This week marks a couple of “firsts” for two mobile wallets. Android Pay has launched in its first Asian country, and UnionPay International’s QuickPass mobile wallet took its first step outside of China.
Vodafone Expands Wallets and Transfer Services with MasterCard and PayPal
Vodafone has expanded its global money wallet and money transfer services via programs involving PayPal and MasterCard.
QikServe Updates Mobile-Ordering Technology for Hotels
QikServe, which sells mobile ordering and payment services, has released QikServe5, which the company said caters to the hospitality sector. Mobile ordering, particularly order-ahead features, have been more prevalent in the QSR industry thus far.
Swift’s global payments initiative gets boost from 73 banks
Swift has revealed 73 banks worldwide have now joined its global payments initiative for cross-border payments. The latest to join are Alfa-Bank, Axis Bank, Banco de Crédito del Peru, Banco do Brasil, Bangkok Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Banque Européenne d’investissement, CaixaBank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Credit Agricole, CTBC Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Fifth […]
Wells Fargo to launch real-time P2P payments in US
Wells Fargo will launch real-time person-to-person (P2P) transactions in the US – for more than 17 million mobile customers. Beginning 1 August, the service will allow Wells Fargo’s customers to send funds in real-time at “no cost” to any customer of a bank that participates in the real-time service, which operates on Early Warning’s clearXchange […]
Post-Brexit: PIF Calls for U.K. Officials to Protect Businesses; Petition Calls for New Vote
Shortly after the narrowly decided vote for the U.K. to leave the EU (or Brexit) was announced, a trade association is urging the U.K. government to protect U.K.-based financial services providers and a petition calling for a second referendum has nearly 4 million signatures.
Amex to Reach Cardholders through Facebook Messenger
A new partnership with Facebook will enable American Express to interact with cardholders via Facebook Messenger. Unveiled at the Cannes-Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, the initiative features an American Express messenger “bot” that sends cardholders real-time purchase notifications and information about card benefits and services related to those purchases.
Jacobs Named Green Dot Chairman
Green Dot Corp. has announced the appointment of William I Jacobs as chairman of the board of directors, effective June 23, 2016. Jacobs takes the helm following the company’s May decision to split the roles of chairman and CEO—both of which had been held by Steve Streit—after a lengthy proxy battle with shareholder Harvest Capital Strategies.
Canada to Germany Ripple bank transfer breakthrough for banking industry
Canada’s ATB Financial sent €666.67 to ReiseBank in Germany using Ripple technology, with the transaction completing in eight seconds. The participants say this is the world’s first bank transfer using blockchain. SAP, which provides ATB with its core banking software, and Accenture (SAP’s partner and system integrator at ATB) were also involved in the project. […]
Fiserv launches real-time alerts solution for bank customers, Notifi
Fiserv has launched Notifi, a platform for the delivery of real-time alerts for retail and SME bank customers. Home Federal Bank and C&F Bank are among the first takers. The solution consolidates information from across a financial institution’s systems – including core account processing, online banking and mobile banking, lending software, debit and credit cards […]
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.
Microsoft’s New Wallet Faces Stiff Competition, But a Potential Boost from LinkedIn
Microsoft’s mobile wallet launch this week seems like small ball at first glance but could pay off as more consumers turn to smartphone payments, and the software giant moves forward with a big acquisition.
Wirecard and Verifone join forces to grow payments business in Asia
The five-year agreement combines Wirecard software and Verifone devices, with Indonesia as the first target market. The strategic alliance will see the Indonesian subsidiary of Wirecard, PT Prima Vista Solusi, collaborating with the local operations of Verifone. Steve Aliferis, president of Verifone Asia Pacific, says that the company is now establishing “a local team and […]
People on the Move: Jason Bohrer, CPI Card Group
Card fulfillment and manufacturing specialist CPI Card Group has announced the appointment of Jason Bohrer as senior vice president of operations.
People on the Move: Sherlina Chew, Damien Kopp, GoSwiff International
Global financial solutions provider GoSwiff International has appointed Sherlina Chew and Damien Kopp to leadership positions.
People on the Move: Eric Choi, Cause Mobile Wallet
Cause Mobile Wallet, a mobile wallet that creates sustainable funding for charitable causes, has announced the appointment of Eric Choi as president.
People on the Move: Sachin Dhawan, Blackhawk Network
Blackhawk Network has appointed Sachin Dhawan as senior vice president, chief technology officer.
People on the Move: Stephen Diamond, Lisa Fugate, i2c Inc.
Global payments processor and commerce solutions provider i2c Inc. has made personnel additions to its global client engagement team and its product marketing and management leadership.
Company on the Move: Discover, Utah Best of State Award
For the second year in a row, Discover has been selected as a top company in Utah by the Best of State award program.
People on the Move: Butch Hildebrand, National Merchants Association
The National Merchants Association, a global merchant advocacy group and services provider, has appointed Butch Hildebrand to the role of director of sales.
People on the Move: Eugene Licker, Ballard Spahr LLP
Eugene Licker, a well-known litigator who focuses on consumer finance cases, securities litigation and enforcement, and white-collar defense, has joined Ballard Spahr LLP’s New York office as of counsel in the firm’s litigation department.
People on the Move: Stephen Stout, FT Partners
Payments and fintech investment firm FT Partners has hired Stephen Stout as managing director in the firm’s New York office.
Company on the Move: Next Money, Tampa Bay Chapter
Fintech collaboration platform Next Money is celebrating the launch of its Tampa Bay chapter with its first meet-up on Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m. at the Tampa Bay WaVE Venture Center.
SIA and UBI Banca trial person-to-business Jiffy mobile payments
Jiffy – the instant mobile payments service developed by SIA – is coming to Italian stores. The person-to-business (P2B) project is piloted in Milan and Bergamo, allowing customers to pay via app at participating retail outlets authorised by UBI Banca. SIA says that “other major Italian banks have expressed interest in offering P2B the service […]
MintChip digital cash platform live in Canada; US and UK to follow
Toronto-based start-up, nanoPay, which acquired the assets of the digital currency business of the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM), MintChip, in early 2016, launches new digital cash. The first commercial application of MintChip is in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood, where consumers shopping or dining at participating merchants can use MintChip to pay for goods and services. […]
Virgin Money UK in new banking software search
Virgin Money UK, a financial services brainchild of Richard Branson, is understood to be looking for new core and digital channels banking software. Virgin Money’s underlying technology in the UK stems from a number of acquisitions, including a small outsource firm, Intelligent Managed Services (IMS), in 2010, and a larger, well-established bank, Northern Rock, in 2012 (the […]
Report: A Boon for Banking, Payment Apps as Mobile Attachment Grows
Americans are more reliant than ever on mobile devices to manage their finances, presenting a major opportunity for providers of emerging payments services like mobile wallets and P2P, according to a new study from Bank of America. The bank’s third annual Trends in Consumer Mobility Report collected and analyzed data from more than 1,300 U.S. adults over the age of 18 who have a bank account and own a smartphone.
Chase Expands Mobile P2P Payments
Chase has expanded its P2P QuickPay service, so its customers can send and receive money in real time with one another as well as customers of Bank of America and U.S. Bank. Later this month, customers with smartphones can use the Chase mobile app to enroll in QuickPay and add payment recipients from their contact lists.
