PayTech


Alliance Sends 20% of Monitise Workforce to IBM (Sept. 2, 2014)

U.K.-based Monitise and technology and consulting giant IBM have announced an alliance they say will improve IBM’s ability to deliver existing and future Monitise-based Mobile Money solutions to clients. The deal also will significantly increase Monitise’s ability to handle larger custom projects worldwide by combining the companies’ mobile banking, payments and e-commerce technology.

Real-time payments – realities versus myths

With the US consultation on introducing real-time payments announced earlier this year, debate on the subject ramped up considerably – but much of the debate is based on myths and misunderstandings, which means people are in danger of coming to the wrong conclusion, according to a report from Celent’s Gareth Lodge.

Swift’s Chris Church: making plans for Sibos

As delegates finalise their plans to attend Sibos in Boston this month, Chris Church, chief executive Americas and global head of securities at Swift, discusses what they can expect

Ingo Money: 85% of OK’d RDC Checks Available in Minutes (Aug. 28, 2014)

More than 85 percent of approved checks sent over the Ingo Money platform, accounting for more than 90 percent of the platform’s total check value, now are funded to customer accounts and available to spend within minutes, according to Ingo Inc., the Georgia-based electronic funding specialist that operates Ingo Money.

Aussie Group to Beef Up Country’s Payments System (Aug. 28, 2014)

Australian banks, retailers and other payments stakeholders have formed the Australian Payments Council to ensure the country’s payments system meets the needs of consumers and businesses by fostering development of innovative, secure and competitive payment services, according to an announcement.

Europe surging ahead in RMB internationalisation

Europe now represents 10% of total Renminbi payments in value worldwide and is leading adoption beyond Asian countries, with four European countries in the top 10, excluding China and Hong Kong, according to Swift. Overall, the RMB strengthened its position as the seventh most used global payments currency and accounted for 1.57% of global payments.

NACS Merchants Challenge Fixed Cost Component, Relent on Network Routing (Aug. 25, 2014)

The merchant groups embroiled in a long-running legal battle over debit interchange fees have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case on the grounds that the Federal Reserve improperly took into account certain costs incurred by card issuers when calculating debit interchange fee limits. However, the retailers have not challenged a separate rule governing the number of unaffiliated debit card networks that must be available for debit and prepaid card transactions, which is good news for card issuers because it gives much longed-for certainty around a challenging issue.

Should banks consider domestic payments schemes?

Domestic card schemes have traditionally partnered with MasterCard and/or Visa in an arrangement that leaves the domestic player handling the local transactions and their international partner facilitating and controlling the international business. Should banks work with both or just partner with one of the international schemes?

Viewpoint: The Case for Gift Card Exchange

Gift card exchanges play a key role in connecting motivated shoppers with retailers and driving incremental sales, according to survey data from Blackhawk Network. Consumers say they’d like to see more retail locations add gift card exchanges.

Blog: Emerging Trends in Prepaid Card Fraud

Fraudsters are ingenious at finding cracks in the bulwark against prepaid card fraud, but industry cooperation can blunt their effect with strategic practices that are surprisingly easy to implement.

Unlocking the potential of Africa

From Senegal to the Seychelles, and Botswana to Uganda, new demands and new opportunities are emerging in Africa, but there are still challenges

People on the Move: Marcell L. King, Payveris

Payveris, an online and mobile payments company, has announced plans to create a merchant solutions division, which will be led by payments industry veteran Marcell L. King as president, merchant solutions.

QR Code Patent Latest Clue on Apple’s Mobile Wallet Plans

Details of Apple Inc.’s mobile wallet plans continue to trickle out, with the latest clue found in a patent filing that illustrates a QR code. Published late last month, the application describes a parental control system that would enable parents to control payment authorization on their children’s mobile devices.

Heartland Acquires mPOS Tablet Maker Leaf

Heartland Payment Systems has acquired Leaf, creator of an mPOS tablet, a deal the payments processor said demonstrates its commitment to providing resources and support for small- to medium-sized businesses.

BBVA names Next Bank Europe startup finalists

Spanish bank BBVA has named the 20 finalists for the European leg of its financial services startup challenge, BBVA Open Talent, which will feed into the Next Bank Europe conference in Barcelona next month.