Payments

APEX Europe Wraps Up in Marbella, Spain (May 22, 2014)

Following sessions on Tuesday that featured a keynote presentation by Guido Mangiagalli, Visa Europe’s head of prepaid/core payments; a deep dive into PSD2 and MIF regulations for prepaid, mobile and payments providers by TrustEu Affairs’ Monica Monaco; and a merchant panel addressing interchange and regulation from their side of the table, APEX Europe wrapped up yesterday with panels and individual speakers addressing the opportunities in emerging payments.

CARTES: Gazing into the Payments Crystal Ball

Don’t get bogged down by existing technological limitations—they will inevitably fade with the march of innovation—and the future will be beyond what you can imagine.

Viewpoint: What I’ve Learned about Prepaid and Velcro Pants

Year one as the head of prepaid for Discover has led to some interesting lessons, including the importance of thinking beyond practical boundaries to create unique, workable solutions.

Blog: I Want My EMV

EMV chip card technology that helps block counterfeit card fraud at the POS is coming to the U.S., and last week I was one of the first on my block to experience it.

Viewpoint: 4AMLD and Its Impact on the Prepaid Industry in Europe

If proposed changes to simplified due diligence go through as drafted, it will drive out a whole section of the prepaid market from Europe.

Paybefore Reveals Best-in-Category Winners for European Awards in Spain

Paybefore today celebrated the winners in its 2014 Paybefore Awards Europe competition and revealed those selected as Best in Category at the All Payments Expo Europe in Marbella, Spain.

At APEX Europe: Mobile’s the Thing (May 19, 2014)

At the launch of the All Payments Expo Europe today in Marbella, Spain, speakers invariably turned to the topic of mobile, with strong emphasis on (and statistics to support) meeting the needs of merchants participating in mobile payments services and the consumers who use them.

MasterCard Bulks up Processing Muscle in India with ElectraCard Services Acquisition (May 19, 2014)

A little more than a month after announcing 40 percent prepaid growth in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard is buying Pune, India-based prepaid processor ElectraCard Services Private Ltd.

Google Play Adds PayPal in Bid to Boost Sales (May 19, 2014)

While Google and PayPal are competitors in the mobile wallet space, the companies are cooperating on an initiative to enable Google Play purchases to be paid for with PayPal in 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada and Germany.

Apple Set to Take Bite out of Payments? (May 19, 2014)

Apple’s recent deal with China’s UnionPay on a pair of contactless payment initiatives may be a sign that the tech giant is ready to make a major move into NFC payments, including equipping the next generation of the iPhone with NFC technology.

Pay Magazine – Spring 2014

The Genius Issue: Ideas, Technology, People Remaking Reload Networks; 2014 Paybefore Awards: Innovation in 20+ Categories; What Keeps Regulators Awake at Night

CFPB’s Online Privacy Disclosure Option Promises Big Saving but May Fall Short for Prepaid Providers (May 15, 2014)

GPR and payroll providers may be eager to take advantage of what the CFPB estimates will be $17 million in annual saving across the financial services industry. The proposed rule, however, may not be a real option for prepaid providers.

EMV Preparation Continues with PULSE Deal, New EMV Industry Services (May 15, 2014)

More pieces of the U.S. EMV quilt were stitched together this week with announcements from PULSE, MasterCard, FIserv and CPI Card Group.

Isis Touts 600,000 Monthly Account Activations, as Pace Doubles (May 15, 2014)

Incentives may be working for Isis, which says consumers activated an average of 20,000 mobile wallets per day over the past 30 days. But activations don’t necessarily equal continued usage.

CARTES: For Mobile Wallets, Survival Means Adaptation (May 15, 2014)

“Winners” will be those platforms that are flexible enough to accommodate the breakneck pace of technological advancement.

RBI Pulls Back on Biometric POS Mandate, Launches Prepaid Cashout Pilot (May 15, 2014)

The central bank has pulled back on a mandate requiring new POS and ATM terminals to include biometric authentication. However, it’s also enabling prepaid providers, for the first time, to offer cashout at biometric terminals.

CARTES Keynote: PayPal’s Gauthier on Omnichannel Opportunity (May 14, 2014)

It’s never been more important for merchants to find out what matters to consumers and figure out how to fulfill those needs, Patrick Gauthier, PayPal’s head of emerging services, told attendees at CARTES Secure Connexions America yesterday.

Vantiv Swallows Mercury Payment Systems in $1.65 Billion Deal (May 14, 2014)

Mercury Payment Systems Inc.’s IPO plans came to a screeching halt when Vantiv Inc. on May 12 announced a deal to acquire Mercury for $1.65 billion.

First Data: Spending Gains Momentum in April; Prepaid Dollar Volume Rises 6.9 Percent (May 13, 3014)

Same-store spending on credit, debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks, gained 4.1 percent in April over last year, and prepaid spending showed the highest dollar-volume increase at 6.9 percent compared with credit (4.3 percent) and signature and PIN debit (4.5 and 4.1, respectively). Check volume fell 2.7 percent.

StoreFinancial Lands Strategic Investment to Bring in Payments Veterans

Paybefore Award-winning processor and program manager StoreFinancial is adding two payments veterans to its management team and focusing on growing its corporate payments business after a material equity investment from a Kansas City-area private investor group.

Square Wallet Out, Square Order In as m-POS Pioneer Tweaks Strategy (May 13, 2014)

Square, no stranger to experimentation, this week surprised observers by pulling its Square Wallet from the Apple and Google stores three years after its launch and introducing an order-ahead app for cafes and restaurants.

Apple Adds EMV Features to its In-Store m-POS System (May 13, 2014)

Apple Inc. is joining the push to accommodate EMV cards in its stores with its EasyPay m-POS, which uses a special iPhone case made by VeriFone that employees may use for customer checkout.

FIS Taps Cloud for EMV Instant-Issue Service (May 12, 2014)

The U.S. may be one of the world’s last markets to migrate to EMV, but the cool new EMV tools available for issuers could be the silver lining to waiting so long.

In Money Transfer Push, Facebook Finds Plenty of Friends (May 12, 2014)

Facebook has already conquered the social media sphere—and now there are signs the company is seeking to capitalize on its global ubiquity and massive user base to make a splash as a money transfer service, recently partnering with financial service providers on transfer initiatives around the globe.

Small financial institutions must face the mobile challenge

As contactless and mobile payment methods continue to grow, building societies and other financial institutions need to avoid being complacent about new technology, according to senior delegates speaking at the BSA annual conference in Manchester this week.

The value of SEPA beyond the SEPA-zone

The work corporates are doing to streamline cash management processes should not end with SEPA implementation, says. Indeed, the principles and ideas underpinning SEPA can inform progress even in the most challenging markets.

MasterCard Continues APMEA Prepaid Push with Japan Pact (May 8, 2014)

With the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region among MasterCard’s strongest prepaid growth markets, the payment network is launching a new prepaid card program in Japan that has the potential to reach 34 million customers.

Retailers Could See Higher Gift Cards Sales with Spring and Summer Festivities (May 8, 2014)

The spring and summer months boost gift card sales as consumers plan to buy them for a variety of occasions, including Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Report: Despite Debit Routing Thaw, EMV Ubiquity in U.S. Is Four Years out (May 8, 2014)

While the logjam over EMV debit routing may finally be breaking up, it remains unlikely that EMV will reach the mainstream ahead of the liability shifts the payment networks plan to implement in October 2015.

SEC Issues Bitcoin Warning (May 8, 2014)

Suggesting that investments in digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, might carry with them a higher risk of fraud and a harder time recovering losses in the event of fraud or theft, the SEC yesterday issued an investor alert regarding the decentralized P2P currency.

ITT Pushes Back on CFPB Claims and Why You Should Care

Although this lawsuit involves lending practices, the industry would be wise to pay close attention because of its UDAAP implications, which are applicable to all entities the CFPB regulates.

Amazon Partnership with Twitter Is Next Step in Streamlined Shopping (May 6, 2014)

Amazon blazed a fresh trail into social media this week with the debut of its new Twitter shopping feature enabling users to add items to their Amazon shopping carts directly from Twitter feeds.

Canadian Prepaid Card Regs Go into Effect (May 6, 2014)

Rules issued last December by Canada’s Department of Finance affecting open- and closed-loop prepaid cards went into effect May 1.

Startup Taps Gift Cards for Fee-Free Remittances (May 6, 2014)

San Diego-headquartered Quippi is taking the fees out of remittances by offering gift cards that can be purchased online or in-store in the U.S. and redeemed by recipients in Mexico.

British Firm Exports Big Data Solutions to Fight Fraud, Improve Customer Service (May 6, 2014)

Nobody questions whether big data has a role to play in the payments industry, but many providers are grappling with how to capture and analyze the right data to improve their businesses.

Corporates taking too much payment risk warns SunGard

Four out of five organisations are leaving themselves open to payment fraud because of a lack of standardised payment workflows, according to a study by financial technology vendor SunGard.

Blackhawk Opens Digital Gift Platform to suretap Users (May 5, 2014)

Digital gift cards are getting a boost in Canada as Blackhawk Network and Rogers Communications have opened Blackhawk’s digital gift card platform to users of the Rogers suretap mobile wallet app.

U.K. Banks Debut P2P Payments Service (May 5, 2014)

A group of the biggest financial institutions in the U.K. have banded together to launch a new P2P mobile payments system that by year-end will be accessible to 9 out of 10 bank account holders in the U.K.

GPR at Retail: Details Count

Neither the costs of shepherding a card into stores nor increased competition has deterred new entrants from launching GPR prepaid cards. Providers are coming into the market with astute hooks that play to their strengths to attract and retain cardholders.

Blog: Apple Is ‘Serious’ about Moving into Payments

Apple entering the payments space has been a tantalizing prospect for many for a while now. It’s certainly something that would easily upset the status quo of the payments market, and I don’t believe Apple is aiming for the low-hanging fruit.

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