Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is among merchants worried they will miss the October 2015 U.S. EMV liability-shift deadline, in part because the debit networks have not yet determined which technology path they will take to route chip-based debit transactions under the Durbin Amendment network non-exclusivity rules.
Polish clearing house KPDW CCP has deployed technology from Nasdaq OMX to help it meet the European Commission’s new EMIR rules on OTC derivatives. Under EMIR, the majority of OTC derivatives will have to be centrally cleared via central counterparties. The rules are intended to reduce systemic risks in financial markets by removing the possibility […]
The Taiwan Futures Exchange is to list futures and options on German derivatives exchange Eurex, following an agreement between the two bourses to make it easier for international investors to access each other’s markets round the clock.
Swedbank has become the first live user of Bloomberg PolarLake’s managed service model for enterprise data management.
Euroclear Bank has begun clearing and settlement for Russian ruble-denominated OFZ government bonds – a market worth US$100 billion, according to figures provided by Baring Asset Management.
A new FX platform built by inter-dealer broker Tradition and backed by 11 major global banks aims to remove the competitive advantage of low-latency trading in FX.
Feb. 7, 2013 Consumers are responding positively to merchant offers in the Isis Mobile Wallet test, according to early data since the pilot launched in late October in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas, according to Jim Stapleton, Isis chief sales officer. “What we are seeing is once they leave the store, about two-thirds [of consumers […]
Feb. 7, 2013 The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), which has been at the forefront of U.S. transit system mobile payment development since introducing an open-loop, contactless payment system for city buses and trains in Salt Lake City beginning in 2009, this fall plans to add a contactless, closed-loop prepaid card to its consumer payment options. […]
Feb. 7, 2013 Do GPR cards pose significant money laundering threats? That’s the question the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta explores in recently published paper. Among the paper’s findings is that, as GPR prepaid cards have grown in popularity and come under increased scrutiny by regulators, significant regulatory measures […]
Feb. 7, 2013 Online retail giant Amazon is looking to beef up its app offerings, and to help with the goal, the company is turning to virtual currency. Set to be released in May, Amazon Coins can be used to buy apps from the Amazon Appstore and to make in-app purchases via Amazon’s Kindle Fire […]
Feb. 7, 2013 Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has launched a new Visa-branded prepaid card, adding a third prepaid product to the bank’s offerings. The card’s release was timed to coincide with the country’s National & Liberation Day. “The national celebrations are an important aspect of Kuwait’s society, and Kuwait International Bank is taking part in […]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched a treasury management reporting tool, CashPro Accelerate, in Asia Pacific.
Next month, the European Commission’s EMIR regulation on the central clearing and reporting of OTC derivatives is due to take effect in Germany. Investment managers Insight Investment and OFI Asset Management have begun clearing OTC derivatives on Eurex via its new service, EurexOTC Clear.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is seeking to attract long-term investors who have become disillusioned with equity markets. Its new trading system, Instinct Natural, is a crossing network that is clearly geared towards customers that want to trade in blocks. But market participants have expressed concerns about its potential to meet the needs of long-term investors.
February 2013 By Adam Perrotta, Assistant Editor Recent months have seen the release of a spate of payment products targeted for use by Brazilians, whose country is rapidly emerging as a hotbed of financial services development. More than half of the country’s population of more than 200 million is underbanked, according to a MasterCard […]
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi is strengthening the resilience of its internal technology as it seeks to embrace mobile and expand its coverage beyond the United Arab Emirates.
Weve, the advertising and commerce joint venture between mobile network operators Vodafone, O2 and EE, has hired payments industry veteran David Sear as its permanent chief executive.
Singapore’s Cleartrade Exchange has appointed Mark Langley as its new Asia business development director as it seeks to expand its presence in commodity futures.
February 2013 By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor The retailer-led mobile payment venture Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) has disclosed little about the shape of its developing payment platform since it formed six months ago, but the few details emerging so far are fueling fresh waves of industry buzz. At a panel during the National […]
Feb. 5, 2013 Visa Inc. has taken two more steps forward in the U.S. transition toward EMV by setting new deadlines and liability shift dates for third-party ATM acquirers and announcing that it would provide some of its proprietary EMV chip technology to debit card issuers free of charge to facilitate chip adoption industry-wide and to […]
Feb. 5, 2013 U.K.-based mobile payments provider mPowa has inked a white-label deal with Portugal Telecom Group that will enable the carrier to offer small businesses a card reader-based mobile payments service. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but TechCrunch reports it was a multimillion-dollar pact with a seven-year term. The partnership opens […]
Feb. 5, 2013 Experian, an information services company and major credit bureau, has announced it will provide Cardplatforms LLC with its international authentication services to help the prepaid card services provider roll out prepaid cards worldwide. Cardplatforms will incorporate its prepaid card issuance network with Experian’s verification services, Prove-ID and AutoDoc-ID, to launch a payroll […]
Feb. 5, 2013 International not-for-profit trade association Prepaid International Forum (PIF) is launching a regional chapter for the Middle East. Executives from PIF’s regional Chapter Patron, TSYS, have been working with the association’s central body to coordinate the chapter launch, which will include an inaugural meeting on Feb. 18 in Dubai. Invited organizations will consider […]
Feb. 5, 2012 As of Feb. 1, Urban Trust Bank (UTB), a federally chartered community bank, is no longer offering overdraft protection on its Visa Prepaid Debit Cards. The decision comes after a “careful and thorough evaluation of the prepaid cards’ features in an effort to streamline the cards’ offerings and to best serve the […]
Indian exchange MCX Stock Exchange has set a date to begin trading in equity derivatives, in a move that opens up a new front in the competition between India’s dominant BSE and NSE exchanges.
As Asian markets continue to lure international investors, participants on Japan’s new Exchange will now be able to get market access and algorithmic trading tools from data and analytics company S&P Capital IQ, which has chosen to locate itself at KVH’s datacentre in Tokyo.
Further evidence that bank IT spending is growing again comes from industry analysts at Ovum, which is predicting overall growth of 3.4% among retail banks, reaching $118.6 billion in 2013, as they focus on “customer satisfaction and revenue growth”.
Feb. 4, 2013 Prepaid issuer and program manager Green Dot Corp. said its revenue jumped 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the previous year, with the growth largely due to upswings in card activation and consumer spending. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company took in $137.3 million in last year’s final three months, […]
Feb. 4, 2013 Facebook is expanding its brick-and-mortar gifting program with the launch of its own branded gift card. The Facebook Card began rolling out last week, the social network said in a blog post, with availability “gradually” expanding to more U.S. users. The preloaded card can be purchased within the Gift Cards & Digital […]
Feb. 4, 2013 New Jersey lawmakers in late January passed a bill designed to drive the state’s payroll system away from paper within 18 months by requiring all state employees to receive compensation by direct deposit beginning July 1, 2014. The bill, which passed the New Jersey Assembly by a vote of 74-0, also enables […]
Feb. 4, 2013 U.K.-based program manager Prepaid Financial Services Ltd. (PFS) and Deutsche Card Services (DeuCS), a Frankfurt-based acquirer and subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, have signed a strategic partnership to develop and deliver prepaid card solutions across Europe for corporate clients. PFS will provide the technology and support to enable DeuCS to offer new payment […]
Feb. 4, 2013 Senate Republicans have made it clear their opposition to the re-nomination of CFPB Director Richard Cordray, or any nominee, will not wane until their concerns about the agency are addressed. In a letter to President Barack Obama written by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and signed by 43 Republican […]
Feb. 4, 2013 U.K. mobile wallet venture Weve this week announced it has completed the integration of Vodafone, its third mobile network operator, into its mobile advertising and commerce platform and a total of 15 million consumers, or 25 percent of the U.K. population, have opted in to the service. Weve, a joint venture of […]
The imposition of an £8 million fine against defunct Canadian day trading firm Swift Trade earlier this week illustrates the potential for abusive strategies that distort markets – and the need for a new approach from regulators, according to Matthew Coupe, director of regulation and market structure at NICE Actimize.
New research from Experian shows that “only 65% of euro transactions have fully accurate destination routing data and 12% of electronic payments made to and from businesses in euros currently contain data errors”.
February 2013 VocaLink, a London-based international payment provider, recently announced three senior hires. Nick Millar joins as strategy and customer insight director, Jim Wadsworth as product development director and Phil Harrison as commercial director, alternative payments. They report to Paul Stoddart, managing director of strategy and business development. Millar joins VocaLink from Visa Europe, where […]
February 2013 Visa Inc. recently announced that the company’s board of directors has elected Robert W. Matschullat as Visa’s nonexecutive, independent chair. The appointment is effective April 1, following the retirement of executive chair Joseph W. Saunders. Matschullat has been a Visa director since October 2007. He has served as chairman and interim CEO of […]
February 2013 SelectCore Ltd., a Toronto-based prepaid solutions provider, recently announced a strategic restructuring of its executive management team to better position the company to fully capitalize on new contracts and significant growth opportunities that are expected to develop in the near term. Kevin Taylor, director of the corporation, assumes the role of CEO. Keith […]
February 2013 Prosper, a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer financing platform to invest and borrow money, has appointed Stephan Vermut CEO and member of the board of directors. The former founder and managing partner of Merlin Securities, Vermut also has more than 25 years of experience in financial services with Wells Fargo, where he led the bank’s […]
February 2013 Payza, an online payment platform, has promoted Mohammad Hashemi to the newly created position of vice president of strategy. He will be responsible for implementing Payza’s overall business strategy and global expansion by spearheading its partner acquisition efforts. As Payza’s director of product strategy, Hashemi managed the life cycle of the company’s products, […]
