MasterPass Expansion Continues with UAE Launch (March 10, 2014)
MasterCard plans to roll out its MasterPass mobile wallet platform to the United Arab Emirates later this year.
Payments
MasterCard, Visa Form Cross-Industry Security Group (March 10, 2014)
MasterCard and Visa announced the formation of a new cross-industry group focused on enhancing payment system security to keep pace with the expectations of consumers, retailers and financial institutions.
Sally Beauty Refutes Breach Rumors (March 10, 2014)
Sally Beauty, the specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies, is the latest retailer allegedly falling prey to hackers—or, at least, becoming the victim of rumors that credit and debit card information and other customer data has been compromised.
‘Why Stop at Bitcoin?’ Congressman Asks; ‘Let’s Ban Cash’ (March 10, 2014)
With Bitcoin and other digital currencies continuing to stir controversy, one of the main arguments of critics calling for tightly regulating such forms of tender is that the currencies’ anonymous nature makes them conducive to use in illicit activities and transactions. But as a U.S. Congressman points out in a letter to federal regulators, paper money also can be used anonymously for illicit ends—and thus, the tongue-in-cheek missive claims, regulators should turn their attention to banning cold, hard cash too.
BNY Mellon sets out global ambitions with new payments architecture
BNY Mellon says a global overhaul of its payments infrastructure will position it for “a new era” in payments and fundamentally change its relationship with customers and other financial institutions internationally.
Visa, First Data EMV Pact Could Boost Adoption (March 6, 2014)
First Data’s plan for its STAR Network to license Visa’s common Application Identifier (AID) could help get the ball rolling for EMV adoption as other debit networks continue to weigh their own options for routing debit transactions under the Durbin Amendment, observers say.
APEX Panel: Cardholder Satisfaction Up on Gov’t Prepaid Cards; Data Analytics Key (March 6, 2014)
Government agencies using prepaid cards to deliver benefits are seeing solid user satisfaction and improving efficiencies as such programs evolve, amid an environment of pending regulatory changes and heavy scrutiny by consumer advocates, according to a panel of experts convened at the All Payments Expo (APEX) in Las Vegas this week.
Isis Reveals Usage Stats, Dangles NYC Taxi Promo to Attract More Users (March 6, 2014)
Four months after the nationwide rollout of the Isis mobile wallet, two-thirds of Isis users have installed at least one payment card on the wallet, and those users make an average of six to seven NFC-based transactions with Isis each month.
House Approves Bill to Restructure CFPB (March 6, 2014)
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act (H.R. 3193), which combines six bills, approved by the House Financial Services Committee last November, that are designed to bring more accountability, oversight and transparency to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to the bill’s supporters.
APEX EMV Panel: U.S. Adoption Moving ‘At a Fast Clip’ (March 5, 2014)
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., today are hosting the fifth in a series of hearings to discuss data breaches, their effect and possible methods to prevent them, as the All Payments Expo (APEX) wraps up four days of hot-topic discussions in Las Vegas, including payments security and fraud trends.
Panel: ‘Fractured Banking System’ Presents Opportunity for New Players (March 5, 2014)
The “fractured” U.S. banking system, which shuts out many consumers and fails to provide ideal utility for others, presents a major opportunity for new players to enter the financial services market.
‘Elephants and Mice’: Partnerships between Big Banks and Startups (March 5, 2014)
Several trends in retail financial services are bringing together large financial institutions and much smaller startup companies.
Paybefore Reveals Top Industry Awards in Las Vegas (March 4, 2014)
Paybefore today announced the Best-in-Category winners in 20 categories for its eighth annual Paybefore Awards.
Znap puts merchants at heart of mobile commerce revolution
Mobile payment isn’t about reinventing the wheel – it’s about making merchants and customers’ lives better by establishing a relationship built on knowledge and trust, according to mobile payments platform Znap.
Paybefore Recognizes Consumer Champions at APEX; Amex Serve Takes Crown (March 3, 2014)
Paybefore held a special 2014 Paybefore Awards presentation on the kickoff day of All Payments Expo (APEX) in Las Vegas today, honoring three winners in the new Consumer Champion category.
CFSI Issues Compass Guide for Small-Dollar Credit (March 3, 2014)
Millions of Americans use small-dollar credit products each year to deal with unexpected expenses, smooth income fluctuations or build credit history.
Pew Unveils GPR Model Disclosure Box to Promote Comparison Shopping (March 3, 2014)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. last week announced plans to adopt Pew’s GPR model disclosure box for its Chase Liquid GPR card, sold only at its bank branches.
InComm Lands New Partnerships in Asia, U.S. (March 3, 2014)
InComm has partnered with a major Asian online payment service provider to launch a POS-activated gift card mall platform in Southeast Asia.
Paybefore Exclusive: Visa’s New Weapon for Fighting Prepaid Fraud (Feb. 27, 2014)
The fight against fraudsters who attack prepaid cards is getting some major network muscle. Visa Inc. announced it has completed technical development on the first industry-wide prepaid database to detect and prevent fraud schemes that target prepaid cards.
MasterCard and Syniverse launch “not just another” mobile payment service
MasterCard has partnered with mobile technology specialist Syniverse under an audacious plan that aims at nothing less than “bringing mobile financial services to every single mobile user on the planet”.
New Smartphone Offers PayPal Payments with the Swipe of a Finger (Feb. 25, 2014)
Owners of the new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone soon will be able to make in-store payments via their PayPal accounts by just lifting—or rather, swiping—a finger.
Fiserv: Rising ACH and Wire-Transfer Fraud Demands Broader Defenses (Feb. 25, 2014)
Fraud associated with ACH transactions and wire transfers is on the rise, creating fresh challenges for financial institutions already grappling with higher risks from data breaches, malware and account hijacking, according to Fiserv.
BBVA Keeps It Simple; Ezetap, mCASH Rake in Funding (Feb. 25, 2014)
Spanish financial services group BBVA has announced it is acquiring Paybefore Award-winning Simple, the Portland-Ore.-based digital banking company founded in 2009, for $117 million.
Prepaid Cards Play Key Role in New Contactless Transit-Payment Systems
When upgraded public transit fare-payment systems went live recently in Chicago and Salt Lake City, contactless payment transactions soared into the millions.
MasterCard Acquires M-Payments Partner C-SAM, Launches In-App Payments (Feb. 24, 2014)
MasterCard has entered into an agreement to acquire Chicago-based mobile payment technology provider C-SAM.
Nevada Gaming Commission OKs Prepaid for Slot Machines (Feb. 24, 2014)
The Nevada Gaming Commission has approved the use of prepaid cards for wagering on slot machines in the state.
Amazon Coins Expand to All Android Devices (Feb. 24, 2014)
Amazon has announced that customers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany now can use the e-retail giant’s Amazon Coins in-app currency on all Android-based smartphones and tablets.
Raincoats, taxis and the future of banking
What do taxis, the weather, mobile wallets and raincoats have in common? They are all potential variables in determining a person’s daily spend – and they provide a great opportunity for banks to use data to save customers money, according to Aman Narain, global head of digital banking Singapore at Standard Chartered.
Google Nabs Audio Authentication Startup (Feb. 20, 2014)
Google has acquired Israeli startup SlickLogin, which has developed technology that uses high-frequency sound waves to authenticate user identity when logging into Websites.
NBPCA Teams with Consumer Action for Payroll Guides to Educate, Ensure Compliance (Feb. 20, 2014)
With a growing number of U.S. employers offering their employees the option of payroll cards, the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA) has joined with consumer advocacy group Consumer Action to develop a pair of guides to help companies and employees learn about payroll cards, including how they work, options for accessing wages and how to avoid or limit fees.
European Parliament Committee Endorses Proposed Payments Rules; Plenary Vote Set for April (Feb. 21, 2014)
The European Parliament’s ECON Committee today voted to endorse proposed amendments to the European Union’s “Payments Package” legislation, which includes the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and the regulation on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions (MIF Regulation).
Blog: Tackling Financial Literacy Is a Team Effort
Wherever you sit in the industry, you can help the end users of prepaid products (or future users) by supporting basic financial education. The key is to make it fun.
Blog: From Atoms to Bits: The Digital Age of Money
As we move to digitize everything, the transition to digital wallets hasn’t been an easy feat. O2 recently announced it would discontinue its mobile wallet and despite efforts by industry heavyweights, mass adoption of a digital/mobile wallet still is proving elusive.
Visa and MasterCard Green-Light HCE, Giving Banks and Merchants New NFC Options (Feb. 19, 2014)
Visa and MasterCard today announced plans to support Host Card Emulation, which enables storage of card credentials in the cloud, rather than using the secure element embedded in handsets, a move observers say could reignite prospects for NFC.
Orange Cash Expands to Spain (Feb. 19, 2014)
Mobile network operator Orange is launching its Paybefore Award-winning Orange Cash prepaid MasterCard in Spain.
Executive Profile: One on One with Mark Putman, First Data
As a startup veteran with five companies under his belt, Mark Putman never foresaw his future as an executive for a large company. Today, he oversees the prepaid business at First Data Corp., one of the world’s largest payments processors, as senior vice president of prepaid solutions.
Innovators’ Spotlight: Planet Payment
A global multicurrency processor is breaking down borders to make global shopping a local experience.
Earthport launches payments route to Mexico and Colombia
Cross-border payments company Earthport has launched two new routes into Mexico and Colombia, as part of a drive to open up Latin America for faster, more efficient and transparent payments.
U.S. Bancorp, Monitise Unveil Digital Watermark-Based Mobile Shopping Platform (Feb. 18, 2014)
U.S. Bancorp and U.K.-based Monitise plc have partnered to launch a white-label mobile commerce platform dubbed Peri.
Congressional Agency Calls for Clearer Campus Card Guidelines (Feb. 18, 2014)
The Government Accountability Office is the latest government agency to scrutinize the increasingly popular campus-based debit and prepaid cards.
