A three-hour trading crash at Nasdaq OMX caused by a connectivity issue has once again put the spotlight on trading technology and the resilience of financial markets, which have been sorely tested in recent months and years.
German derivatives exchange Eurex has signed an agreement with Russia’s Moscow Exchange that will allow it to launch Euro-Russian Rouble and US Dollar/Russian Rouble FX futures in Q4 2013.
Aug. 22, 2013 Financial industry groups are applauding yesterday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors that it will appeal a court ruling invalidating the agency’s debit interchange and network routing rules. Though the Fed’s rules setting debit interchange fee limits under the Durbin Amendment are “far from perfect,” the court’s July 31 decision […]
Aug. 22, 2013 MICROS Systems Inc. and PayPal Inc. this week announced a strategic global collaboration that will pave the way for thousands of restaurants and other hospitality industry businesses using MICROS’s payment platforms to add PayPal as a POS and mobile app payment option. MICROS, used in more than half a million businesses around the […]
Aug. 22, 2013 Bitcoin Ventures Inc. is aiming to make it easier for consumers to obtain and make transactions with Bitcoin virtual currency. The Calgary, Alberta-based software development company and provider of Bitcoin e-commerce solutions has announced CoinTap, a prepaid card the company says streamlines “an otherwise tricky and time-consuming process” of exchanging traditional currency […]
Aug. 22, 2013 Online gift card provider GiftCard.com has announced a new affiliate program that will enable online publishers and bloggers to earn revenue for referrals to the company’s gift and incentive card Websites. Affiliate e-publishers and bloggers will have access to banner graphics and text links for both GiftCard.com and IncentiveCardLab.com to help direct […]
July 11, 2013 Another major piece of MCX’s jigsaw puzzle fell into place today with the announcement that payments technology provider FIS will provide the payments processing platform, including transaction routing and settlement, for the retail consortium’s evolving mobile commerce system. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FIS will execute mobile payments at participating retailer outlets in combination with […]
By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor Isis, the mobile wallet system backed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, Verizon and three major card networks, is gathering steam as it nears its national rollout, with a new co-branding effort with American Express Co.’s Serve payments platform providing the latest push forward. Amex earlier this month announced plans to […]
Financial industry analysts have warned that investors should be careful about how they approach automated trading, following news that a trading error at Goldman Sachs lost the firm $100 million on Tuesday.
Aug. 21, 2013 Certainty on debit interchange and network routing regulation isn’t likely any time soon. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has decided to appeal a judge’s ruling requiring the agency to rewrite those rules. During a hearing today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Fed’s lead attorney, Scott Alvarez, said the […]
A new mobile payments network called YellowPepper has launched in Colombia, marking the beginning of a massive project to bank the unbanked and sweep away the dominance of cash across the Spanish-speaking Americas.
Aug. 20, 2013 Groupon bucked the mPOS system from the outset with its unique merchant pricing strategy, and its latest move to embrace traditional payment terminals seems equally novel as mainstream acquirers like Chase Paymentech are now getting into dongles. Groupon last week said it will add traditional credit card terminals to its merchant payments […]
Aug. 20, 2013 Sixteen Australian payment service providers have added MasterCard’s MasterPass as a payment option for their electronic merchant clients. Announced at the Online Retailers and E-Commerce Expo in Sydney, the agreements brings MasterPass to thousands of online merchants, who will add a MasterPass button to their online checkout, enabling shoppers to make purchases […]
Aug. 20, 2013 A mobile payments network aims to bring financial services to Colombia’s unbanked consumers and move the country’s economy away from cash. The Miami-based network, known as YellowPepper, thus far has signed up 12 Colombian banks for its system, which includes a virtual payment card, P2P and mPOS capability, according to a report […]
Aug. 20, 2013 IntelliVoice Networks Inc., a provider of prepaid phone services, is broadening its array of offerings through a deal with Payteller LLC, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based provider of self-service kiosks offering financial services. Payteller will install its kiosks in high-traffic retail locations throughout the Midwest and in Texas, according to an announcement. Payteller […]
Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank has chosen tools from SuperDerivatives to help revamp its global FX trading operations.
Russia’s BCS Prime Brokerage has launched an ultra-low latency data line between London and Moscow which it claims is the fastest trading connection yet built between the two cities.
Zapp, a U.K.-based provider of mobile payment technology, recently announced several senior-level appointments.
WEX Inc., a South Portland, Maine-based provider of corporate payment solutions (formerly Wright Express), announced that Stephen R. Crowley has joined the company as chief information officer and senior vice president, shared services.
Visa Europe has named Nicolas Huss president and CEO.
The Members Group, a Des Moines, Iowa-based card processing and payment solutions provider, has chosen Ryan Anderson to fill the newly created position of vice president of product.
Ovation Incentives, a U.K.-based B2B incentive program provider, has appointed Rory Smith head of its U.S. office in Chicago.
MasterCard has appointed Ezediashi Ofili vice president and business leader to drive growth of its prepaid business in sub-Saharan Africa. MasterCard also appointed Marcus Mak head of merchant marketing for the company’s Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa region.
Giftango, a digital gifting solutions provider and wholly owned subsidiary of InComm, announced it now operates under the name InComm Digital Solutions.
France-based prepaid card provider Edenred recently announced two appointments to its executive committee.
Discover Financial Services has a new head of prepaid, Amit Parikh, who is responsible for overseeing prepaid sales and relationship management.
San Francisco-based BillFloat, which provides small-dollar loans to customers for electronic bill payments, recently announced that Neil Peretz has joined the company as general counsel.
Aug. 19, 2013 One of Europe’s largest private equity firms has acquired a controlling stake in U.K.-based online payment system Skrill. Funds advised by CVC Capital Partners doled out EUR 600 million (US$801 million) to nab a 75 percent stake in Skrill from Bahrain-based Investcorp. Founded in 2001 as Moneybookers, Skrill is among the world’s […]
Aug. 19, 2013 Customer relationship management (CRM) tools, which previously came with multimillion-dollar implementation costs, are becoming more affordable for companies of all sizes because of software-as-a-service (SAAS) models, according to Enacomm Inc., which last week unveiled 4Cast. The CRM application, which is now available as an SAAS release, analyzes past and current user data […]
Aug. 19, 2013 The taxicab industry is serving as a laboratory for new mobile payment technologies, with VeriFone Systems Inc.’s new cloud-based Way2ride app the latest example. VeriFone this month in New York City is launching a mobile app in 7,000 cabs enabling riders to tap to pay using any iOS or Android smartphone. Users […]
Aug. 19, 2013 San Francisco-based online payment startup Stripe has expanded its services to the U.K. The company’s platform enables merchants to accept network branded payment cards online by integrating a few lines of code on their Websites. Already active in the U.S. and Canada, Stripe’s client list includes Foursquare and Redditt. The company has […]
Half of Europe’s bank branches could be obsolete within the next seven years, according to new research by real estate advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
The UK Payments Council has set a date for the introduction of the seven-day account switching service, which will make it easier for UK customers to switch their bank.
The effects of Qatar and United Emirates’ impending upgrade by ratings agency MSCI are starting to ripple through to financial services firms, as Interactive Data Corporation beefs up its market data service to the Middle East and North Africa.
Aug. 15, 2013 Is Facebook ready to take another stab at payments—this time using mobile apps? The social media giant reportedly is about to test a new mobile payments feature that would enable users who have stored credit card information with Facebook to make purchases directly from e-commerce mobile apps using only Facebook login credentials. The […]
Aug. 15, 2013 Blackhawk Network has released a new line of travel insurance cards that will enable customers to purchase coverage with cash at Canadian Safeway grocery locations. Known as SmartAssure, the cards are being launched in partnership with issuer Jones Deslauriers Blevins Insurance Group, one of Canada’s largest insurance brokerages. Available in multiple denominations […]
Aug. 15, 2013 A mobile commerce partnership between Spanish telecom provider Telefónica and two Spanish banks has been given the green light by the European Commission (EC), paving the way forward for what the companies are calling Europe’s first full joint venture between financial institutions and telecom operators. In its ruling, the EC said there […]
Aug. 15, 2013 A new mobile app from Heartland School Solutions, a division of Princeton, N.J.-based merchant processor Heartland Payment Systems, aims to make it easier for parents to manage their children’s school related expenses, such as meals, tuition, lab fees and sporting events. The app, launched this week for Apple iOS and Android smartphones […]
As the world’s banks continue to struggle with severe regulatory change, economic turbulence and technological evolution, a new report by analyst firm Tabb Group says that financial institutions will have to provide immediate, friction-free access to content, community and execution, or face extinction.
Former Alpha ATS chief Jos Schmitt is planning a new stock exchange for Canada, to be called Aequitas Exchange, which will take on incumbent TMX Group.
