India Banking Push Spurs RuPay Growth (Sept. 16, 2014)
India’s RuPay national payments network is growing fast, bolstered by a government drive to expand banking services and move the country’s economy away from cash.
PayTech
The brave new world of mobile banking
The digital era is changing your bank rapidly. Is your mobile testing & assurance practice ready? P Venkatesh, director of the product division, and Srivatsan TT, vice president of the solutions group, at Maveric Systems discuss the issues
NBPCA, Gov’t, Consumer Groups Weigh In on Mobile Financial Services (Sept. 15, 2014)
Mobile financial services can play an important role among a large group of American consumers. That much the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, the FTC and consumer organizations, including U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Center for Digital Democracy, agree on.
Investors Line Up Ahead of Alibaba IPO (Sept. 15, 2014)
Chinese online shopping and payments giant Alibaba Group is finding no shortage of investor interest ahead of its upcoming U.S. IPO, which reportedly is already three times oversubscribed.
Reports: Weve Pulls Plug on Mobile Wallet (Sept. 15, 2014)
Weve, the mobile payments joint venture from mobile operators Vodafone UK, Telefónica UK’s O2 and EE, has abandoned plans to develop its own mobile wallet product after the U.K.’s three largest mobile telecom providers failed to agree on how to run the wallet.
Blackhawk Expands B2B Offerings with CardLab Buy (Sept. 15, 2014)
In a bid to build out its B2B incentives platform, Blackhawk Network has acquired CardLab Inc., a Dallas-based provider of customizable prepaid incentive and rewards cards.
Comerica wins Direct Express RFP
Comerica Bank, the incumbent issuer of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Direct Express prepaid debit card program to distribute benefits to Social Security recipients, will continue in that role under a new five-year agreement, according to a blog post published today on the department’s Website.
Apple’s arrival will change the payments landscape – eventually
Apple may have lined up the chief executives of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase to laud the launch of Apple Pay, but reaction from the wider industry was more muted – disappointed, even.
Will Apple Pay and Its Backers Ignite Mobile Wallets? (Sept. 11, 2014)
Numerous payments providers, financial institutions and merchants have thrown their support behind Apple Inc.’s new Apple Pay service—and if the tidal wave of early backing is any indication, the Apple and iPhone brands already may have overcome one of the most vexing issues hindering mobile wallet adoption—lack of widespread support by stakeholders in the value chain.
Visa Launches Token Service for Safer Online, Mobile Transactions (Sept. 11, 2014)
Visa Inc. has launched Visa Token Service to provide more security for e-commerce transactions, including online and mobile, by replacing payment account information with a digital account number, or token, which can be stored safely by online merchants or on mobile devices.
Amex Program to Spark Financial Inclusion Accepting Applications (Sept. 11, 2014)
Hoping to foster the next great ideas to promote financial inclusion for underserved consumers, American Express has begun accepting submissions for its Financial Innovation Lab, which provides researchers and practitioners from nonprofit organizations the opportunity to test their ideas on the American Express Serve prepaid account software platform.
MasterCard Sets Contactless Payments Deadlines for European Merchants (Sept. 11, 2014)
MasterCard has given European merchants accepting MasterCard and Maestro a deadline of no later than 2020 to update their POS systems so consumers will be able to tap to pay with their contactless cards and NFC-enabled devices at all POS terminals throughout the continent.
EU Makes Final Ruling on Cross-Border Interchange (Sept. 11, 2014)
The European Union’s Court of Justice has ruled that interchange fees charged for cross-border card payments by MasterCard were too high, bringing an end to a seven-year court battle over the fees.
Blog: Apple Pay—It’s a Matter of Trust
Apple’s big NFC move legitimizes the mobile wallet concept.
Viewpoint: With Russian Payments Landscape in Disorder and Chaos, Is a National Payment Scheme the Logical Answer?
Russia’s fragmented payments infrastructure cries out for modernization as it confronts international and domestic chaos. Could a national payments scheme unlock the giant’s potential as a huge emerging payments market?
Blog: No Pressure, Acquirers, but You’re the Key to Debit Growth in Emerging Markets
Acquirers hold the keys to driving debit growth in emerging markets. Here are five key questions acquirers intent on growing debit should be asking their merchant partners.
Barclaycard to Fold Quick Tap, Making Room for Wearables
Quick Tap, the U.K.’s first NFC-based mobile payment app, will go down as a casualty of the speed of change in mobile payments technology when it folds next month, and it likely won’t be the last.
BNY Mellon backs London to lead European race for offshore RMB
London and Singapore are fast closing the gap on Hong Kong in the race to become centres for offshore renminbi business and capitalise on Beijing’s ambition to make the RMB a global currency.
Millicom ramps up African mobile money rush in Tanzania
Telecoms company Millicom has stepped up its push to gain ground for its mobile money service in the Tanzania as competition heats up between operators in the region
Goods in transit: how lessons from retail can transform the financial data supply chain
Regulatory mandates call for the financial services industry to collaborate and rethink its data supply chain to tackle systemic risk and improve transparency. Looking at how the retail industry manages its supply chain could hold the key.
Barclays’ Harte: Alibaba and the forty fears of bank transformation
Michael Harte, chief operations and technology officer at Barclays, says the growth of Chinese online e-commerce business Alibaba is the threat that keeps him awake at night – and that major banks could be in danger of losing touch with their own customers.
Twitter Testing ‘Buy’ Button in Latest E-Commerce Play (Sept. 9, 2014)
Twitter is testing a “buy” button that merchants embed in their tweets.
New Skrill App Benefits Consumers, Retailers (Sept. 9, 2014)
Online payments and digital wallet provider Skrill USA Inc. has launched a mobile app enabling its U.S. customers to manage their digital wallets more conveniently and to send and receive payments, whether they are paying for goods and services or transacting on gaming sites.
hyperWALLET Adds Meta as Issuer (Sept. 9, 2014)
Vancouver-based payment solutions provider hyperWALLET has signed Meta Payment Systems to be its second issuing bank in the U.S.
Home Depot Confirms Breach Spans Stores in U.S., Canada (Sept. 9, 2014)
Home Depot confirmed suspicions that it is the victim of a customer data breach.
Viewpoint: Separating Fact from Fiction: Consumers Union Campus Banking Report
The NBPCA responds to the CU report on student cards.
All Aboard for Apple’s NFC Payments Launch (Sept. 8, 2014)
Apple’s new iPhone 6 to be announced tomorrow is almost certain to shake things up in the fledgling mobile wallets ecosystem, with an NFC-based mobile wallet that will debut with the support of major retailers, payments networks and banks.
Store Financial Offers Students a Safe Way Home (Sept. 8. 2014)
As another school year beings, a new prepaid card is helping ensure college students have a safe ride home after a night on the town.
Barclaycard Beefs Up Loyalty/Rewards Capabilities with Logic Group Buy (Sept. 8, 2014)
Barclaycard, the global payments business of U.K.-based Barclays, announced today it’s acquiring The Logic Group, a U.K.-based payments and loyalty company.
SBI, MasterCard Launch Multi-Currency Card for Millions of Indian Travelers (Sept. 8, 2014)
The State Bank of India and MasterCard today launched a multi-currency travel card for business professionals, tourists and students traveling abroad.
Getting ready for mobile payments
With the penetration of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets constantly growing, attention is increasingly turning to mobile marketing, mobile commerce and mobile payments. It is still the case, however, that these trends are largely played out in specialised media, and do not influence the actual behaviour of consumers. This is especially true for mobile payments, with consumers very sceptical about this concept
Google Wallet Pact Is Blackhawk’s Latest Mobile Move (Sept. 4, 2014)
Blackhawk Network has integrated its gifting platform with Google Wallet, enabling wallet users to manage and spend gift cards on their mobile devices.
Cardtronics/Allpoint Network Sign Deals in India, U.K. (Sept. 4, 2014)
Allpoint Network, an affiliate of Cardtronics Inc., and travel services company Thomas Cook of India have announced a partnership giving users of Thomas Cook India’s multicurrency Borderless Prepaid Card surcharge-free access to Allpoint’s network of more than 55,000 ATMs in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K. and Australia.
MCX Unveils Network Brand (Sept. 4, 2014)
Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the retailer-led mobile payments consortium formed in 2012, has unveiled the name of its new mobile payment network.
FIS to pay €375m for Clear2Pay payments capabilities – gets testing boost as a bonus
FIS has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Brussels-based payments specialist Clear2Pay for some €375 million, saying that the deal will bolster its global payments capabilities.
People on the Move: Jim Ellis, ABnote Custom Card Systems
ABnote Custom Card Systems, a Dallas-based provider of turnkey solutions enabling financial institutions to offer instant issuance of Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards, has appointed Jim Ellis CEO.
People on the Move: Jim Van Dyke, Javelin Strategy & Research
The CFPB has appointed Jim Van Dyke, CEO of Javelin Strategy & Research, to its 25-member Consumer Advisory Board (CAB).
People on the Move: Anil Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner, Oak Investment Partners
Private equity firm Oak Investment Partners has named Anil Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner advisors to its Oak HC/FT Fund, a health care and financial technology investment fund that closed a $500 million round of funding last June.
People on the Move: Paul Waltz, SHAZAM Network
The SHAZAM Network, a Des Moines, Iowa-based debit network, has appointed Paul Waltz president.
People on the Move: Jeff Oleson, TMG Financial Services
TMG Financial Services (TMGFS), a Des Moines, Iowa-based payments solutions provider, has hired Jeff Oleson as marketing analyst, a new position designed to aid the company’s marketing strategy and data-driven marketing capabilities.
