Innovators’ Spotlight: Cachet Financial Solutions
RDC specialist’s busy year includes an IPO and a fast-growing prepaid platform.
Worldwide
People on the Move: Bowen ‘Bo’ Ranney, Ballard Spahr
Bowen ‘Bo’ Ranney has joined Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group in New York City. He will help clients prepare for CFPB exams and assist them during the exam process or when they’re being investigated by the CFPB. Ranney previously was examiner-in-charge at the CFPB, where he worked in compliance and enforcement. He has been […]
Companies on the Move: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, EMEA Finance awards
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been honored by EMEA Finance magazine in its 2014 Treasury Services Awards, winning the award for Best Treasury Services in Europe, recognizing the bank’s proactive and consultative client approach, product enhancements and focus on thought leadership.
People on the Move: Barry McCarthy, Andrew Gelb, Sanjiv Das and Adam Rosman, First Data Corp.
First Data has announced a series of appointments to its senior leadership team.
People on the Move: Gerald Sachs, Paul Hastings LLP
Global law firm Paul Hastings LLP announced that Gerald Sachs has joined the firm’s global banking and payments systems practices in Washington, D.C., as of counsel.
People on the Move: Walter Tauchner, paysafecard
Online payment voucher provider paysafecard has appointed Walter Tauchner vice president of partner management.
People on the Move: Saskia Rietbroek, SightSpan Inc. Advisory Board
Mooresville, N.C.-based SightSpan Inc., which advises organizations on risk-management and AML programs, announced that Saskia Rietbroek has joined its advisory board.
Meta Financial Group Enters Insurance Premium Financing with AFS Purchase (Oct. 15, 2014)
Meta Financial Group has announced the purchase of AFS/IBEX Financial Services Inc. Under terms of the deal, Meta Financial’s bank subsidiary, MetaBank, will acquire the $80 million loan portfolio, related assets and workforce of Dallas-based AFS.
Cardtronics Pilots In-Store Discounts for ATM Users (Oct. 15, 2014)
ATM operator Cardtronics has hit on a new way to keep its cash-dispensing machines relevant in the digital age: harness them for in-store marketing and promotions via customers’ smartphones.
Global P2P Push Continues with Trio of New Services (Oct. 15, 2014)
P2P money transfer continues to gain momentum with a trio of new services announced this week in three countries, all of which use a different medium to facilitate transfer.
Pressure Mounts against Operation Choke Point (Oct. 15, 2014)
DOJ’s Operation Choke Point, which encourages financial institutions to scrutinize clients that process payments for certain types of businesses, continues to draw criticism from lawmakers and industry advocates, who argue that the policy is harmful to legitimate, legal businesses.
6 Payments Visionaries: Hamed Shahbazi, CEO, TIO Networks
When Hamed Shahbazi graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1997, many people were still calling the Internet a “fad.” But the Vancouver native knew better.
Corporates look for new funding options to release trapped capital
Corporate treasurers are increasingly looking beyond traditional of finance to a wider range of alternative funding options that support their working capital requirements, including supply chain finance, trade receivable securitisation and factoring.
Finance made social
The social contract between the banking system and society is fundamentally broken. We deserve a financial system that we can all be proud of, one that is fairer and more sustainable than the current iteration.
Reports: Apple Pay to Launch this Week with Siri Voice-Command Option (Oct. 14, 2014)
Apple Pay may go live as early as Saturday, and it’s likely to include an option for users to initiate a payment via voice command with Apple’s Siri feature, according to a number of reports.
Visa Europe, edo to Launch Card-Linked Offers in Europe (Oct. 14, 2014)
Visa Europe today announced an exclusive partnership with edo Interactive to bring targeted card-linked offers to Visa debit and credit cardholders in Europe.
Wave Crest Targets European SMEs with New Prepaid Platform (Oct. 14, 2014)
With B2B prepaid programs on the rise globally as corporations look to streamline and control expenses, Wave Crest Group Ltd. is rolling out a new B2B prepaid platform for European businesses.
Latest Data Breaches Hit FIs, Retailers (Oct. 14, 2014)
Data breaches continue to hit some of the U.S.’s largest corporations, with a spate of financial institutions and retailers announcing incidents over the past two weeks.
HM Treasury Requests Comment on ‘Payment System’ Designation (Oct. 14, 2014)
Major credit and debit card providers in the U.K. are among the main “payment systems” the government is proposing to bring under the purview of the new Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), beginning next April.
Money laundering: rapid development is creating new risks
The internet has opened the door to purchase almost anything from any part of the world through electronic payments. As globalisation continues to flourish – especially in the banking industry – it’s now possible to transfer money across different countries with ease and speed. While this has increased the opportunity for businesses to extend their reach globally, it also creates an appealing opportunity for criminals.
CFPB Examines Screening Process for Consumer DDAs (Oct. 9, 2014)
The CFPB is gathering information about the methods banks and credit unions use to screen consumers before approving or denying them a checking account.
LSC Picks Cachet for Prepaid Mobile Support (Oct. 9, 2014)
League Service Corp. (LSC), a national credit union service organization, has tapped Cachet Financial Solutions to power its prepaid mobile application, which currently is offered by 900 credit unions.
Cardtronics Lands ATM Management for Fresh & Easy (Oct. 9, 2014)
ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. has been named exclusive ATM services provider for natural grocery chain Fresh & Easy.
Starting over: Lloyds Banking Group’s transaction banking ambitions
While a great deal of attention has been given to Lloyds Banking Group’s retail operations as its various elements are split up, less has been given to its activities in transaction banking, where it is “one year into a three-year journey” to transform itself and its customer offerings to create“the best global transaction bank in this region”.
Gearing up for the future of payments
It is essential for banks to ensure they have the right strategies and technology in place now, if they are to retain their position as market-leading payment providers in the future, writes Saket Sharma,chief information officer, treasury services, BNY Mellon.
Blog: Get Ready to Be Acquired
The M&A market for payments companies is booming, as larger companies look to acquire smaller innovators. Even if no deal is on the immediate horizon, early preparation pays off when a sale transaction is at hand.
Blog: The Future Is Financial Health
If we want to consolidate the gains we’ve made and scale the innovations we’ve seeded, we need to think big. We need to redefine financial services from the pursuit of wealth to the pursuit of health.
Viewpoint: With Expanding Use Case, GPR Poised for Growth
GPR cards are quickly moving beyond their traditional role as an alternative to checking accounts for the financially underserved, to serve broader use cases for a changing demographic.
Financial institutions ramp up IT innovation
Banks and other financial institutions are finally spending more on growing new products in areas such as mobile and data analytics rather than maintaining legacy systems, according to a new report by Capgemini.
Facebook’s P2P Plans Come to Light (Oct. 7, 2014)
Facebook looks to be planning to add a money transfer function to its Messenger app—and the social media giant reportedly already has installed the underlying code to the popular messaging service.
Dunkin’ Donuts to Add Order-Ahead Service (Oct. 7, 2014)
Dunkin’ Donuts plans to launch a new service that enables customers to order ahead and prepay for menu items via their smartphones, then visit a store location to pick up their orders.
Alibaba’s Alipay Approved to Establish Bank (Oct. 7, 2014)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has moved further into financial services now that its affiliate Alipay, an online payments platform provider, received approval to establish a privately owned bank.
Boku Acquires Rival mopay (Oct. 7, 2014)
Carrier billing specialist Boku Inc. has acquired one of its largest competitors, Germany-based mopay.
Regulatory overload and the role of the data scientist
In the ongoing discussion about the need to use data to increase business value, it is imperative to substantiate the argument with practical, real-world use cases. Otherwise, the debate becomes just another line of marketing waffle around big data – an area already suffering from too much hype.
Western Union Expands Services to Walgreens, Duane Reade Stores (Oct. 6, 2014)
More than 7,500 Walgreens and Duane Reade drugstores throughout the U.S. now offer Western Union domestic and international money transfers through touchscreen kiosks that are part of the Walgreens Balance Financial platform.
Boku Provides Leading MNOs with Direct Carrier Billing in U.K.
A trio of major U.K. mobile network operators—including O2, EE and Vodafone—has partnered with carrier billing specialist Boku Inc. to enable mobile phone customers in the U.K. to charge the purchase of physical goods and services up to £30 (US$48) to their phone bills.
Square Raises $150MM, Yodlee IPO Yields $75MM
Mobile payment provider Square has landed $150 million in new venture capital in a funding round valuing the company at around $6 billion, and financial app developer Yodlee Inc. raised $75 million in its initial public offering last week.
N.J. Bill Eliminating Data Collection Requirement
New Jersey legislation (A3480) introduced last June, which would eliminate the need to collect consumer data when purchasing GPR prepaid cards, was advanced last week by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee and has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Digital Gifting’s Top 5 (Oct. 2, 2014)
Digital gifting has become a cornerstone feature for many retailers—but a few merchants are going above and beyond what have become standard features and functionality.
MasterCard Provides SafetyNet for Banks, Processors (Oct. 2, 2014)
MasterCard has launched SafetyNet, a global tool for banks and processors to mitigate the risks of cyber hacking.
