Worldwide


The mobile movement driving multi-channel banking

Despite the significant challenges faced by the UK’s banking sector over the last decade, there has been a dramatic evolution in the customer experience following the introduction of online, telephone and mobile banking. While the branch remains an important channel, especially for older customers, mobile technology is rapidly redefining how customers interact with their banks.

Will Apple Pay and Its Backers Ignite Mobile Wallets? (Sept. 11, 2014)

Numerous payments providers, financial institutions and merchants have thrown their support behind Apple Inc.’s new Apple Pay service—and if the tidal wave of early backing is any indication, the Apple and iPhone brands already may have overcome one of the most vexing issues hindering mobile wallet adoption—lack of widespread support by stakeholders in the value chain.

Amex Program to Spark Financial Inclusion Accepting Applications (Sept. 11, 2014)

Hoping to foster the next great ideas to promote financial inclusion for underserved consumers, American Express has begun accepting submissions for its Financial Innovation Lab, which provides researchers and practitioners from nonprofit organizations the opportunity to test their ideas on the American Express Serve prepaid account software platform.

New Skrill App Benefits Consumers, Retailers (Sept. 9, 2014)

Online payments and digital wallet provider Skrill USA Inc. has launched a mobile app enabling its U.S. customers to manage their digital wallets more conveniently and to send and receive payments, whether they are paying for goods and services or transacting on gaming sites.

All Aboard for Apple’s NFC Payments Launch (Sept. 8, 2014)

Apple’s new iPhone 6 to be announced tomorrow is almost certain to shake things up in the fledgling mobile wallets ecosystem, with an NFC-based mobile wallet that will debut with the support of major retailers, payments networks and banks.

Getting ready for mobile payments

With the penetration of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets constantly growing, attention is increasingly turning to mobile marketing, mobile commerce and mobile payments. It is still the case, however, that these trends are largely played out in specialised media, and do not influence the actual behaviour of consumers. This is especially true for mobile payments, with consumers very sceptical about this concept

Cardtronics/Allpoint Network Sign Deals in India, U.K. (Sept. 4, 2014)

Allpoint Network, an affiliate of Cardtronics Inc., and travel services company Thomas Cook of India have announced a partnership giving users of Thomas Cook India’s multicurrency Borderless Prepaid Card surcharge-free access to Allpoint’s network of more than 55,000 ATMs in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K. and Australia.

People on the Move: Jeff Oleson, TMG Financial Services

TMG Financial Services (TMGFS), a Des Moines, Iowa-based payments solutions provider, has hired Jeff Oleson as marketing analyst, a new position designed to aid the company’s marketing strategy and data-driven marketing capabilities.

Isis Becomes Softcard (Sept. 3, 2014)

Isis Wallet is now Softcard. The NFC-based mobile payment initiative backed by AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, was snakebit earlier this year when a jihadist militant group adopted the name Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and the acronym ISIS.

FIS to Buy Clear2Pay for €375 Million (Sept. 3, 2014)

Payment technology supplier FIS will acquire Brussels-based payments processing technologies and services provider Clear2Pay, a company with a strong client base of top financial institutions in Western Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

Money laundering moving to RMB as US cracks down

Money launderers will increasingly move away from the US dollar to the renminbi as US authorities continue to crack down on international banks’ AML systems. The shift will have consequences for London’s aspirations to become a global centre for RMB clearing and settlement.

As global commerce expands, so does payments complexity: How should banks respond?

The increased globalisation of business has opened up new challenges – and opportunities – for companies and the banks that serve them. Corporate treasurers and finance professionals face complexities in the payments arena that range from inconsistencies in local payment processing to new regulations, emerging payment clearing systems and the need to manage geopolitical risk in an ever-expanding array of countries. To address these challenges for their clients, and for themselves, global banks need to invest and innovate to make sure they have the solutions to meet business needs today and in the future.