PayTech


UK debit cards to overtake cash payments by 2021

Debit cards are on track to topple cash in 2021, when they will take over as the UK’s most frequently used payment method, according to trade association Payments UK. In its report, “UK Payment Markets 2016”, which looks at current and future payment behaviour in the UK, it reveals over 72,000 payments were made every […]

Third time unlucky for Swift as Ecuador bank hacked

Ecuadorian bank Banco del Austro has become the third victim of hacking through the Swift system, with cybercriminals stealing around $9 million. This latest revelation follows a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh; and Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) stopping an attempted wire fraud involving the use of “fraudulent” Swift messages. The Ecuador attack has […]

SAP gains breakthrough core banking system deal in the US

Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T), one of the largest financial services groups in the US, is taking a “leap of faith” with a new core banking system from SAP. Speaking at SAP’s annual Sapphire conference in Orlando, Will Shupe, BB&T’s executive vice-president responsible for IT and operations, said the bank opted for a gradual renovation […]

Wirecard totally wired for Q1 2016 profit and revenue

Financial services and technology company Wirecard has reported consolidated revenues of €210.5 million in the first quarter of 2016, a rise of 32% on €159.4 million in Q1 2015. For the period ending 31 March 2016, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 34.6% to €62 million. For the same period last […]

Temenos Community Forum 2016: Kerv’s ring rules them all at Innovation Jam

UK-based start-up Kerv and its payments ring won the Innovation Jam at the Temenos Community Forum (TCF) 2016, held at the Palau De Congressos, in Barcelona from 17-19 May. About 1,200 delegates were at the event and part 1 of our review looked at Temenos’ ambitions in the US. The event enables customers, potential customers, […]

Green Dot Responds to ‘Outage’ Claims

Despite reports in American Banker and the Los Angeles Times claiming that Walmart MoneyCards issued by Green Dot Bank were being declined at ATMs and points of sale starting Monday, May 16, Green Dot says the problem from a processor conversion was related to accessing balance information online and via IVR.

Top fintech stories this week – 20 May 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Android Pay now in the UK; Australia and Singapore are next Coming to a country near you… possibly. Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank stops attempted fraud through Swift system Stop! In the name of the law. Sydney Stock Exchange […]

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: Prepaid—A Business-to-Consumer Payments Solution for Millennials

Consumers are ahead in digital payment adoption compared with businesses, and—despite significant prepaid program success in the B2C market—paper checks still dominate. Aside from the obvious benefits of cutting expenses and removing inefficiency, prepaid cards offer businesses an opportunity to leverage payments to drive customer loyalty and engagement.

VPBank revamps omnichannel banking with SAP; plans new digital bank

Vietnam’s mid-tier banking player, Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank), has implemented a new digital solution, SAP’s Omnichannel Digital Platform. Omnichannel Digital Platform stems from the Sybase 360 product that came SAP’s way with the acquisition of Sybase in 2010. The new solution was deployed in one year at VPBank, with online and mobile components for retail […]

Bangkok Bank enhances mobile banking ops with Fiserv’s Mobiliti Edge

Bangkok Bank has launched new mobile banking functionality, based on Fiserv’s Mobiliti Edge mobile banking and payments platform. The bank’s mobile solution is known as Bualuang mBanking. It enables Bangkok Bank’s customers to access financial services via a mobile phone, tablet or the Apple Watch. Fiserv and Bangkok Bank have been working together for a […]

Philippines credit union groups sign for Temenos’ software

Two Philippines-based credit union networks, National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) and Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives (PFCCO) will build a common banking and payments platform based on Temenos’ software. The new platform will underpin the service known as the ACCU Payment Platform (APP). ACCU stands for “Asian Confederation of Credit Unions” – both NATCCO and […]

Word from the Streit: Green Dot CEO Talks to Paybefore

In the midst of a contentious proxy fight leading up to the May 23 shareholders’ meeting, Green Dot Chairman and CEO Steve Streit spoke with Paybefore about Harvest Capital’s concerns, how he sees Green Dot’s position in the market and when he’d show himself the door.

Shoptalk: Payments Change Breeds Excitement, Confusion

With excitement often comes confusion, and that was true Tuesday at the Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas, where executives offered an optimistic view of the future of commerce and payments, albeit a vision that carried more than a bit of uncertainty.

Shoptalk: New Ways to Pay, Attract Millennials

At Shoptalk in Las Vegas this week, young companies showcased their contributions to the evolution of commerce and experts discussed how retailers and payments providers can attract the coveted millennial shopper.

Fitbit Nabs Wearables Tech, Staff from Coin

Fitbit Inc. is acquiring the wearable payments platform of startup Coin, with an eye on developing contactless payment features for future Fitbit fitness bands. The deal includes “key personnel and intellectual property” related to Coin’s wearables business, but does not include Coin’s core product—an electronic smart card that can be loaded with multiple payment, gift or loyalty cards, Fitbit said.

SEC Chair Tabs Cybercrime as Biggest Threat to Financial System

SEC head Mary Jo White called cybercrime the biggest threat to the world’s financial markets. Speaking at the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit in Washington, D.C., this week, White said that some major financial exchanges, dark pools and clearing houses lack defenses that are up to the challenge presented by today’s increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals.

Android Pay now in the UK; Australia and Singapore are next

Android Pay is now available in the UK, and more countries are on the way. Banking Technology first reported on this initiative in March this year. UK consumers can now pay for goods and services with their Android smartphones. Retailers like Boots, Waitrose and Starbucks are already onboard, and so is Transport for London (underground, […]

MCX Delays CurrentC, Shifts Focus to FI Partnerships

Retailer consortium MCX said it will postpone the rollout of its CurrentC mobile payments service and shift its focus to partnering with financial institutions. Results from its pilot in Columbus, Ohio, led to the strategy move as well as the decision to cut about 30 jobs.

PayNearMe Scores Deal with Dallas Transit

PayNearMe is enabling Dallas commuters to pay transit fares in cash at nearly 800 retail locations through a partnership with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Fares can be loaded onto the existing DART GoPass app or the new DART GoPass card, the transit agency’s first reloadable NFC-enabled transit card designed and distributed by PayNearMe and Blackhawk Network.

Shoptalk: Payments Execs Focus More on Check-In than Checkout

Can you imagine a world where check-in matters more than checkout when it comes to payments? Some of world’s leading payment experts can, and their ideas, presented this week at the Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas, foreshadow how consumers might buy products in the coming years.

Green Dot Agrees to Split CEO, Chairman Role amid Proxy Fight

A week from its 2016 annual shareholder meeting, Green Dot has announced plans to split up the role of chairman and CEO. The move comes in the midst of Green Dot’s proxy battle over board seats, propelled by Harvest Capital, which owns 9.3 percent of Green Dot common stock and has proposed three nominees to the board.

Walmart Pay Rolls out in Texas, Arkansas

Five months after unveiling its own in-store mobile payment service, Walmart has begun rolling out Walmart Pay in Texas and the retail giant’s home state of Arkansas. Available through the Walmart smartphone app for iOS and Android, Walmart Pay can be loaded with any major credit, debit or prepaid card or a Walmart gift card.

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.

Vietnam’s TienPhongBank stops attempted fraud through Swift system

Vietnam’s TienPhongBank (TPBank) says it has stopped an attempted wire fraud that involved the use of “fraudulent” Swift messages. The bank said in a statement late on Sunday (15 May), in response to inquiries from Reuters, that in Q4 2015 it “identified suspicious requests through fraudulent” Swift messages to transfer more than €1 million in […]

VocaLink signs ATM deal with UnionPay

VocaLink, the payment systems provider, has signed a five-year deal with China’s UnionPay International, which will enable UnionPay cardholders to access ATMs in the UK and continental Europe. Under the deal, VocaLink will provide ATM transaction processing and UnionPay sponsored access. VocaLink says on average, the value of UnionPay card withdrawals from UK ATMs are […]

Swift warns of second new malware threat

Swift has warned its customers about a newly identified malware found at a “commercial bank”, which it has declined to identify. This latest development follows yesterday’s (12 May) news where Swift rejected the allegations made by Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials about the first cyber fraud scandal in February. Details […]

Barclays swerves Android Pay with smartphone NFC payments

Banking giant Barclays has announced the launch of its own mobile contactless on Android, and confirmed it will not be joining Android Pay, reports Tim Skinner at Telecoms.com. The bank has been one of the UK’s more innovative financial institutions harnessing mobile payments, and specifically the integration of payment technology into wearable or alternative devices. […]

Blackhawk: Mobile Wallets Gain as Cash and Check Usage Falls

A Blackhawk Network study finds that more consumers (44 percent) are buying gift cards for themselves, most consumers are familiar with digital gift cards and other innovative payment methods are catching steam, while checks and even cash are declining.

Walmart Sues Visa over Debit Verification Rules

Walmart has filed a lawsuit against Visa Inc. over claims that the payment network is forcing Walmart to offer customers the option to verify EMV debit card purchases via signature—a method the retail giant says is more prone to fraud than PIN verification.

Banking Technology May 2016 issue out now

The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.