Western Union expands account-to-account transfer network in Europe
Western Union has expanded its account-to-account money transfer service to cover Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
News
Faisal Bank gets to grips with Islamic risks
As demand for Islamic banking services continues to rise, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt has overhauled its risk management to better handle the unique needs of ethical banking.
Report: With Data Breaches on Rise, Issuers Should Up Protections (Aug. 26, 2014)
As payment card data security breaches become more common, financial institutions must step up to protect customer data, a new report says.
CFPB Finalizes Remittance Transfer Rule; Extends Temporary Exception (Aug. 26, 2014)
The CFPB has finalized its remittance transfer rule requiring remittance transfer providers to disclose certain third-party fees and any exchange rates applicable to the transfer.
Domestic Routing Mandate Could Hinder CNP Transactions in India (Aug. 26, 2014)
India’s central bank now requires all card-not-present transactions for purchases within the country to be routed through a bank in India, with funds settled only in Indian currency.
CPI Card Group to Acquire EFT Source (Aug. 26, 2014)
Littleton, Colo.-based card producer CPI Card Group is acquiring EFT Source, a provider of card programs and personalization services for the financial payments industry.
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.
CBA Takes Umbrage with CFPB’s ‘Vague Allegations’ (Aug. 25, 2014)
The Consumer Bankers Association is taking umbrage over what it says are vague allegations by the CFPB’s private education loan ombudsman regarding agreements colleges and universities have with financial institutions to provide financial products to students.
More Time to Comment on N.Y.’s Bitlicense Proposal (Aug. 25, 2014)
In the wake of a flood of interest in a regulatory framework for digital currency companies proposed by New York State’s Department of Financial Services, the DFS has doubled the length of the comment period to 90 days.
Westpac makes digital banking push through IBM private cloud
Australian bank Westpac has signed up IBM to assist a major digital banking push in New Zealand. The bank plans to use IBM’s private cloud technology to build mobile services and social media presence.
Standard Chartered NY forced to suspend clearing following AML concerns
Standard Chartered Bank’s New York business has been ordered to suspend US dollar clearing services to retail clients of the bank in Hong Kong, following an investigation by the New York State Department which determined its transaction monitoring system does not meet anti-money laundering requirements.
PayPal, Braintree Rolling Out ‘One Touch’ Mobile Payment Service (Aug. 20, 2014)
PayPal and Braintree, which is part of PayPal’s business unit, are rolling out the One Touch mobile payment solution, which will enable consumers to make purchases on their mobile devices from PayPal merchants with one touch of the screen, rather than entering user IDs, passwords and payment card information.
Merchants Petition Supreme Court in Debit Interchange Case (Aug. 20, 2014)
A group of merchant associations this week petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a March decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
M-Pesa Slashes Fees as Possible Rival Emerges (Aug. 20, 2014)
Users of Kenya’s popular M-Pesa P2P payments platform can send funds at lower costs now that telecom provider Safaricom has slashed transaction fees for most transfers by more than two-thirds.
People on the Move: Jon Round and Terry Murray, CARD.com
CARD.com, a mobile-focused financial product provider, has hired Jon Round as chief operating officer and Terry Murray as head of prepaid operations.
People on the Move: Jamie Topolski, Fiserv Inc.
Fiserv Inc., a Brookfield, Wis.-based financial services technology provider, has named Jamie Topolski director of alternative payment strategies, output solutions.
People on the Move: Martha Weaver, Gift Card Network
The Gift Card Network, a gift card-specific marketing and collaboration platform, has named Martha Weaver director.
People on the Move: Maurice Cleaves, The Payments Council
The Payments Council, a U.K.-based payments industry association has appointed Maurice Cleaves interim CEO, effective Nov. 3, 2014.
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.
DHgate Becomes First Chinese Merchant to Deploy MasterPass (Aug. 19, 2014)
Beijing-based e-commerce platform DHgate is integrating MasterCard’s MasterPass online payment service to simplify online purchasing for customers.
Global Payout to Acquire M-Payments Provider Focused on Underserved (Aug. 19, 2014)
Global Payout Inc., an electronic payment and prepaid solutions provider, today announced plans to acquire Maxie Mobile LLC, a global mobile payments provider focused on the underserved.
SumUp Nets New Funding for mPOS Expansion (Aug. 19, 2014)
European mPOS provider SumUp has landed a new investment of more than $10 million to expand operations, including propelling adoption of its recently launched chip and PIN card reader.
Brazil overhauls derivatives market
Brazil’s BM&F Bovespa exchange has begun a major new project to bring all of its four clearing houses onto a single technology platform. Billed as the “world’s largest clearing project”, the Brazilian derivatives market – one of the world’s largest – has been moved first.
Deutsche Bank steals RBS’ Marcar, ramps up US presence
Deutsche Bank has poached Scott Marcar, previously at RBS, to head up its IT infrastructure as the bank prepares to ramp up competition against its rivals.
UK banks in danger of falling behind warns study
UK banks may lose out to nimbler competitors if they don’t modernise their systems and update their infrastructure, according to a new report by research house TechMarketView.
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.
PCI Council: Merchants Should Scrutinize Vendors’ Data Security
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council has issued new guidance to help merchants ensure that third-party providers have implemented sufficient security measures to protect shoppers’ payment card data.
FIS Providing Services for Univision MasterCard Prepaid Card
Spanish-language media company Univision has chosen payment technology supplier FIS to provide end-to-end prepaid services for the Paybefore Award-winning Univision MasterCard Prepaid Card.
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.
FIX may yet be the Alpha and Omega of post-trade messaging
Capital markets participants may be able to achieve significant cost savings by making greater use of the FIX Protocol, according to a new study by post-trade specialists Alpha Omega Financial Systems.
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.
FX industry calls for greater accountability on IBOR benchmarks
ACI, the foreign exchange industry body, has called for the adoption of a new Model Code for sell-side and buy-side firms on financial benchmarks, to harmonise codes of conduct and prevent a recurrence of the Libor and other recent rate fixing scandals.
FleetCor Acquires Comdata for $3.45 Billion (Aug. 15, 2014)
Corporate payments provider Comdata Inc. has been acquired for $3.45 billion by FleetCor Technologies Inc., a global provider of fuel cards and other workforce payments.
A Sad Goodbye to Terry Maher, One of the Industry’s Good Guys
On Aug. 12, we lost a dear colleague, friend and frequent contributor to Paybefore.
Smart Card Alliance: HCE Unlocks NFC Potential, Poses Hacker Risks (Aug. 14, 2014)
Host card emulation (HCE) unlocks the potential for NFC to expand mobile payments by making them more convenient and consumer-friendly, but developers must proceed with caution because of various security risks HCE poses, according to a new white paper from the Smart Card Alliance.
575 Million EMV Cards by End of 2015, Says Group (Aug. 14, 2014)
More than 575 million payment cards in the U.S. will be equipped with EMV chip security technology by the end of 2015, according to the latest projections from an industry group managing EMV implementation.
Consumers in 190 Countries Can Use Payza to Buy Bitcoin (Aug. 14, 2014)
Payza, an online payment processing and e-wallet services provider, announced that customers in 190 countries can now buy bitcoins from their Payza account and then transfer the digital currency into their Bitcoin wallets.
Indian E-Gifting Platform Adds Pair of Leading Retailers (Aug. 14, 2014)
Electronic gifting is growing in India, where retailers have adopted e-gifting to drive sales and increase brand awareness.
Hong Kong gets set for China Connect
Firms in Hong Kong are ramping up system roll-outs in anticipation of the forthcoming Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, scheduled to go live in mid-October.
But the proposed link will face a number of problems,
