July 29, 2013 Two-thirds of companies in a variety of sectors reported suspected fraud attempts in the last 12 months, according to a report by IDology Inc., an Atlanta-based identity-verification company. More than one-third of respondents reported that these suspected attempts have increased in the last year, according to the survey’s findings, while 50 percent […]
Orange and oil and gas group Total have forged a partnership in Africa and the Middle East, providing access to Orange Money services at all Total service stations in the regions, spanning a total of 13 countries to date.
July 25, 2013 The European Commission (EC) has proposed new regulations curbing interchange fees, including a 0.3 percent cap on credit card fees and a 0.2 percent cap on debit card fees. The caps would also apply to prepaid cards. Interchange fees in the European economic region currently range from 0.1 percent to 2.5 percent […]
July 25, 2013 London-based prepaid voucher provider Ukash has taken the next step in enabling users to turn its virtual vouchers back into cash, striking a deal with ATM operator Bank Machine under which voucher holders can withdraw cash at ATMs. With the new “Ukash Out” function, voucher holders need only to enter a numeric […]
July 25, 2013 U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) this week announced legislation that would prevent “predatory” overdraft practices by banks, such as reordering consumers’ debit card transactions to increase the likelihood that they will overdraw their accounts and incur fees. “Banks should play by the rules instead of purposefully ‘reordering’ their consumers’ debit card transactions […]
For the lucrative and important teen demographic especially, shopping doesn’t start at the mall or even in a magazine. It starts at the virtual corner of Instagram and Vine.
July 23, 2013 U.S. open-loop prepaid revenue will reach $4.5 billion this year, up 18.4 percent from $3.8 billion in 2012 as growth rates on prepaid load volume, transactions and revenue continue to exceed 15 percent annual growth, according to new data from First Annapolis Consulting. Increasing consumer adoption of GPR products, which accounted for […]
July 23, 2013 A new smartphone-based prepaid wallet launching in the U.K. will enable iPhone and Android users to pay for in-store purchases via tap using NFC technology. First launched in the U.S. last August, the Paybefore Award-winning moneto digital wallet is a joint venture between Kalixa Group, DeviceFidelity and MasterCard. The wallet is powered […]
July 23, 2013 Bank of America Merrill Lynch continues its push to expand the reach and capabilities of its Global Transaction Services (GTS) with the unveiling this week of a new dashboard tool for its commercial card clients around the world. Dashboard Analytics, a module on the bank’s global reporting and account management system, harnesses […]
July 23, 2013 Kimberly Pisinski, a Connecticut-based attorney, yesterday filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia claiming that the federal agency engaged in “abusive practices, including attempts to regulate the practice of law, attempts to collect attorney-client protected material and overreaching demands […]
July 23, 2013 A new prepaid MasterCard is coming to Slovenia, now that Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) has unveiled what it calls the nation’s first domestically issued prepaid card bearing the MasterCard brand. The SmartPayCard Prepaid MasterCard is available in two versions: SmartPayCard Simple, a non-reloadable virtual prepaid card, which can be loaded up to […]
July 22, 2013 Discover cardholders in the U.S. now have free access to cash at 43,000 more ATMs, thanks to a partnership that brings the Discover and Diners Club brands into the Allpoint Network, part of the largest independent ATM provider in the country. The deal enables Discover to provide its cardholders with expanded cash […]
July 22, 2013 With its latest move making it easier for customers to pay using the Square Inc. mobile app, U.S. Bank left no doubt it plans to support multiple digital wallet providers. The Minneapolis bank last week announced that its customers may link a credit, debit or prepaid card to the Square app within […]
July 22, 2013 ICICI Bank customers soon will be able to pay bills, make purchases and reload prepaid airtime from their mobile phones. India’s largest private commercial financial institution today announced a deal with Movida, the joint venture between Visa Inc. and Monitise, which enables consumers to use Movida’s mobile payments technology regardless of phone […]
July 22, 2013 Two distribution deals in the last week promise to increase prepaid card availability for consumers. InComm announced it will be distributing gift cards for Cabela’s through its retail distribution network of 225,000 locations, while rival Blackhawk Network will be rolling out its Gift Card Mall in U.S. Home Depot locations this year. […]
Despite security concerns, contactless payments technology continues to be rolled out globally. Visa International recently estimated that the volumes of contactless transactions it will process during 2013 will quadruple. MasterCard’s figures show that since 2012 there has been a 50% increase in the number of contactless cards it has issued.
July 18, 2013 The shift to omnichannel retail continues as InComm this week rolled out a pair of services to enable the prepaid provider’s client companies to expand their digital product offerings in stores and on the Web. InComm’s new in-store digital sales program opens the door for merchants to offer products such as downloadable music, […]
July 18, 2013 European consumers are most comfortable turning to their banks when it comes to mobile shopping, according to a new report. The study, commissioned by Monitise and conducted by the Future Foundation in May 2013, polled a sample of 1,500 smartphone users in the U.K., Germany and Spain. Fifty percent of German smartphone […]
July 18, 2013 Responding to growing demand for digital gift cards, CardCash.com has revamped its system for handling electronic gift card sales, including beefing up bulwarks against fraud, the company said. Brick, N.J.-based CardCash.com, launched in 2008, specializes in reselling unused consumer gift cards via the secondary market. In June CashCard introduced an “e-code” sale […]
July 17, 2013 The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) amid growing acrimony along party lines over several of President Barack Obama’s nominations. The vote was 66-34. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) late last week filed cloture motions to force votes on seven nominees in […]
July 2013 Virtual Piggy Inc., a Hermosa Beach, Calif.-based provider of e-commerce solutions enabling children to manage and spend money within a parent-controlled environment, has appointed Ivo Weevers creative director, mobile design, to lead and manage the mobile consumer experience team. He has 15 years of experience creating highly successful mobile, Web, device and desktop […]
July 2013 The Members Group (TMG), a Des Moines, Iowa-based card processing and payment solutions provider, announced that CEO Shazia Manus has been appointed to serve a one-year term on the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) Payments Policy Subcommittee. The CUNA Payments Policy Subcommittee monitors, reviews and makes recommendations to the organization’s Governmental Affairs Committee […]
July 2013 National Gift Card Corp. (NGC)—an Elgin, Ill.-based marketer and supplier of gift cards for use in loyalty, incentive and rewards programs—has appointed Eric Thiegs senior vice president, business development. He is a 15-year veteran of the partnership marketing, member benefits, loyalty and rewards arenas, and he will be responsible for leading the company’s […]
The surge in new mPOS tools and e-commerce options for micro and small businesses represents a significant growth opportunity to a diverse array of payments industry players. By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor Local dog-sitters, dry cleaners and doughnut shops could become as important as gold nuggets to payments industry providers that recognize their potential […]
Despite what you’ve been seeing in the mainstream media recently, many prepaid card providers have not only lowered fees in the last few years but many are educating cardholders about how to avoid fees altogether.
July 2013 ecoCard, a U.K.-based global payment solutions provider, has been rebranded ecoPayz to reflect the scope of its diverse range of payment solutions, according to the company. “Over the last few years we have significantly grown and extended our range of payment solutions to incorporate a range of virtual payment mechanisms, not just physical cards, so […]
July 2013 DFC Global Corp., a Berwyn, Pa.-based financial services company serving primarily unbanked and underbanked consumers, has promoted Norman Miller president and chief operating officer. He has served as the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2007. Previously, Miller was employed by ARAMARK Inc., where he was group president of sports […]
July 2013 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently has added several members to senior positions within the bureau. Sartaj Alag is returning to the CFPB and will serve as chief operating officer. In his previous role at the bureau, Alag was in charge of starting up and managing the Office of Consumer Response. Previously, […]
July 2013 Bank of America Merrill Lynch has named Jennifer Boussuge head of global transaction services (GTS) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She has been with the company for more than 19 years, during which time she has held a number of leadership roles, most recently as head of global sales for GTS. […]
The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) continues to honor innovators in card manufacturing through its Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence, and many prepaid programs were recognized as finalists and winners this year. The awards were presented last month during the association’s Annual Card Manufacturing and Personalization EXPO in Washington, D.C. “The graphics on many […]
By Loraine DeBonis, Editor-in-Chief On the final day of the NBPCA’s Power of Prepaid conference in Washington, D.C., last month, experts shared results from two recent studies that shed light on how U.S. consumers conduct their financial lives and where prepaid providers can fill a need. While the first shows encouraging signs about prepaid adoption […]
By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor True to the pioneering spirit of the University of Oklahoma’s moniker, the Sooners (a nickname for settlers during the land rush of the late 1800s), OU is traversing a path seemingly untrodden by other colleges and universities. OU’s Office of the Bursar recently launched the OU Gift Card, enabling friends […]
July 16, 2013 Shanghai-based payment card network UnionPay continues to expand its NFC-based mobile payment offerings, launching a new smartphone app for contactless payments last week. Dubbed simply Wallet, the app enables users to link card accounts from eight participating Chinese banks to NFC-enabled smartphones from China Mobile and make purchases at POS terminals via […]
July 16, 2013 Cloud-based payment processor i2c Inc. has signed a deal to provide prepaid card processing services to Heartland Payment Systems. The collaboration will kick off with i2c taking over processing duties for Heartland’s National Restaurant Association (NRA) Edge payroll card program, which enables restaurant employees to load their paychecks and outside funds onto […]
July 16, 2013 Consumers in Brazil soon will be able to purchase Ukash vouchers in Brazilian currency at participating Petrobas and other independent stores across the country, and spend those vouchers at 3,500 e-commerce and digital entertainment Websites. Ukash, a London-based prepaid voucher provider and Paybefore Award winner, yesterday announced an agreement with Now Prepay Servicos […]
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) again is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to prohibit overdraft on prepaid products and limit the ways in which credit and prepaid may be associated.
July 15, 2013 In a protracted battle over several of President Barack Obama’s nominations, including his appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last week filed cloture motions to force votes on seven nominees in an effort to bypass what he called “blatant […]
July 15, 2013 China’s central bank has granted new third-party payment licenses to 27 companies, including the first-ever foreign-funded payment service providers to receive licenses—Edenred China and Sodexo Pass China (Shanghai). Since the Peoples Bank of China (PBC) began issuing the licenses in May 2011, a total of 250 nonbank institutions have been granted the […]
July 15, 2013 A group of 16 U.S. Senators are calling on government regulators to investigate the fees and practices association with payroll cards. In a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Labor, the Senators said that all fees attached to prepaid cards must be clearly disclosed to employees who have […]
July 15, 2013 TIO Networks Corp., a Vancouver, B.C.-based expedited payments service provider, announced on Friday it will acquire Globex Financial Services Inc. and its Global Express Money Orders business. TIO expects to close on the deal for the Silver Spring, Md.-based bill payment services provider later this year. TIO plans to cross-sell its mobile […]
