People on the Move: Carl J. Williams, Planet Payment Inc.
Planet Payment Inc., a Long Beach, N.Y.-based payments processor, has appointed Carl J. Williams president.
PayTech
People on the Move: Saleh I. Al-Furaih, Prepaid International Forum Middle East
International nonprofit trade association Prepaid International Forum (PIF) announced that Dr. Saleh I. Al-Furaih, head of consumer asset business at Al Rajhi Bank, has been appointed chairman of PIF’s Middle East chapter.
People on the Move: Chris Harvey, The Members Group
The Members Group, a Des Moines, Iowa-based card processing and payment solutions provider, announced that Chris Harvey, executive assistant to the TMG CEO, has been named vice president of the Des Moines, Iowa, chapter of the Executive Women International board of directors.
People on the Move: Andrew Mathieson, TSYS
TSYS, a Columbus, Ga.-based processor, has announced the promotion of Andrew Mathieson to group executive of relationship management.
People on the Move: Sébastien Motte, Virtual Piggy Inc.
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 Sébastien Motte to lead business development in the gaming sector for the company.
People on the Move: Rajat Taneja, Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. has appointed Rajat Taneja executive vice president of technology.
People on the Move: Tim Armandpour, Colleen Lindow and Christopher McLaughlin-Brooks, YapStone
YapStone, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based provider of Web and mobile payment solutions, recently announced several high-level appointments.
PayPal President Plans Consumer Marketing Push; Gives Nod to Bitcoin, Frowns on NFC (Dec. 10, 2013)
PayPal is bullish on Bitcoin, negative on NFC and ready to begin a major marketing push of the company’s buildup of mobile payment technology at the POS, according to David Marcus, PayPal president.
Payments Startup Clinkle Sheds Quarter of Staff (Dec. 10, 2013)
Clinkle Corp., the darling of investors and the media in recent months, appears to have hit some potholes on the road to launching a payment app that reportedly enables users to transfer funds between individuals and groups, and emphasizes social media.
Be Kiind: Digital Gift Card Senders Only Pay if Card is Redeemed (Dec. 10, 2013)
Digital gift card provider Kiind has found a way to make hay from the fact that about 10 percent of gift cards go unredeemed.
Fortumo Takes Mobile Billing to 4th-Largest Consumer Market (Dec. 10, 2013)
Mobile carrier billing company Fortumo today is launching mobile operator billing in Indonesia, the fourth-largest country in the world by population.
Most U.K./U.S. Consumers in the Dark about NFC, Surveys Suggest (Dec. 9, 2013)
Surveys suggest that U.S. and U.K. consumers don’t know much about NFC and don’t care.
ExxonMobil, Rite Aid Join MCX as 50-Plus Merchants Sign On (Dec. 9, 2013)
The retailer-led mobile payment consortium Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) today announced ExxonMobil has joined its ranks, along with Rite Aid Corp., supermarket chain Giant Eagle and the convenience store chain Kum & Go.
Surveys Say: Consumers Want Small-Dollar Loans (Dec. 9, 2013)
Last week was a busy one for the payday loan industry. On Tuesday, New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) sent subpoenas to 16 online “lead generation” firms suspected of deceptive or misleading marketing of illegal, online payday loans in New York. On Wednesday, two new reports were released examining small-dollar lending.
Brisk Holiday Sales in U.S. and Canada (Dec. 9, 2013)
Year-over-year retail sales have been brisk between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in the U.S. and Canada, according to payment processors First Data Corp. and Moneris Solutions Corp.
Fed Issues Guidance on Managing Outsourcing Risk (Dec. 9, 2013)
The Federal Reserve has issued guidance on managing outsourcing risk to assist financial institutions with understanding and managing the risks associated with outsourcing bank activity to a service provider.
Locks on the door “aren’t enough” to fight financial crime says Fiserv
Financial crime specialist Fiserv has just launched its Financial Crime Risk Management platform, which aims to help financial institutions to ward off financial crime and slash their risk.
Breaking News: CFPB Postpones Prepaid Rules until May 2014 (Dec. 6, 2013)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau won’t issue its proposed rules for GPR prepaid cards until May of 2014, according to the agency’s updated rulemaking agenda.
Chase Says Cardholder Data May Have Been Exposed to Hackers (Dec. 5, 2013)
JP Morgan Chase & Co. has notified 465,000 holders of prepaid cards issued by the bank that some of their personal data may have been exposed to hackers after its systems were breached last summer.
PayPal Inks Acceptance Deal with M-POS Provider PayAnywhere (Dec. 5, 2013)
Mobile POS provider PayAnywhere has struck a deal to enable its merchant clients to accept payments via PayPal’s payment card.
Chinese Officials Ban FI Use of Bitcoin (Dec. 5, 2013)
Chinese officials today have banned financial institutions in the country from using Bitcoin as currency, asserting that bitcoins are merely virtual goods that have no status as legal tender.
Survey: Holiday Gifting Going Digital (Dec. 5, 2013)
Nearly 90 percent of consumers likely will purchase at least one gift card from a Website or mobile app this season, according to a study of consumer shopping trends conducted by InComm, a prepaid product and transaction services provider.
SVS Launches Data Center in China (Dec. 5, 2013)
Global gift card provider Stored Value Solutions (SVS) is strengthening its position in China with the launch of a new data center in Shanghai.
Better ATM Services Expands Footprint through Reseller Network (Dec. 5, 2013)
Visa prepaid gift cards and Discover multimerchant gift cards will be available in more ATMs in the Southwest this holiday through a reseller agreement between Better ATM Services and Express Teller Services announced yesterday.
BBVA Asset Management picks Markit for EDM platform
BBVA Asset Management has chosen an enterprise data management platform from Markit, which will act as hub for its securities, portfolio, fund, issuer and position data in several countries, including Spain and Mexico.
Blog: Grande 140-Character Payments
If ever there was a prize for solving a first world problem, creating the ability to buy a coffee for a friend or acquaintance by sending a tweet would be Nobel- worthy. But if the goal is to keep Starbucks in the conversation around the office (and sell more coffee), this should work.
Blog: Thinking Mobile First
Consumer expectations of mobile banking and prepaid are escalating rapidly, and the industry needs to respond aggressively, and think differently. As consumers demand more from their financial services providers, putting the mobile channel first in your strategy is key.
Blackhawk Expands EMEA Network with Latest Acquisition (Dec. 3, 2013)
Blackhawk Network has acquired Germany-based gift card distribution network Retailo AG, a deal which adds more than 40,000 new locations to Blackhawk’s total EMEA retail distribution network.
New Canadian Prepaid Regs to Take Effect in May (Dec. 3, 2013)
Starting May 1, 2014, prepaid cards will be subject to new regulations in Canada, including a ban on expiration dates and account maintenance fees during the first year a card is in use, among other measures.
Report: Prepaid Debit Usage Varies More by Age than Income (Dec. 3, 2013)
Though the common perception is that prepaid debit cards are designed for, and popular with, low-income consumers, demand for the product spans the income spectrum, according to a report by Aite Group LLC.
Gyft Offers Bonus for Purchases Made with Bitcoins; ATM Tops $1 Million in Volume (Dec. 3, 2013)
Consumers who purchased gift cards from Gyft.com on Thanksgiving and Black Friday received a discount on future purchases if they paid with Bitcoin. Gyft Inc., a San Francisco-based mobile gift card company, last week announced that 4 percent of purchases made with Bitcoin would be converted to Gyft Points that customers could use toward gift […]
Oberthur and mBank target emerging markets with mobile wallet
Digital security firm Oberthur Technologies has partnered with mobile services specialists mBank in a project aimed at bringing “branchless” banking services to people in emerging markets.
NCR makes “fundamental” changes to financial services business
NCR is “fundamentally and permanently changing” financial services its financial services business with a £1.6 billion acquisition of Digital Insight, a Californian on-line and mobile banking solutions provider. It has also bought UK-based fraud prevention company Alaric.
NRF: Weekend Shopping Tops 2012; More Cyber Shoppers Go Mobile (Dec. 2, 2013)
Shoppers and retailers continued to blur the line between Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday as consumer traffic on the holiday grew 27 percent, to nearly 45 million shoppers from 35 million a year ago, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
V.me Moves Forward in Europe (Dec. 2, 2013)
Visa’s entry into the digital wallet space is now live in a quartet of European countries.
PayPal Makes It Easier to Spend with Prepaid Cards; Tests M-Payments in Berlin (Dec. 2, 2013)
PayPal has made it easier for consumers with network branded prepaid gift cards to redeem them while shopping online.
Bank Muscat Insurance Covers Nearly $40 Million in Global ATM Heist (Dec. 2, 2013)
Oman’s Bank Muscat said it will recover nearly $40 million the bank lost in a global bank heist involving prepaid cards earlier this year, now that the bank’s insurers have agreed to foot the bill for the loss.
Insights on the Bitcoin Brouhaha
On Nov. 27, the bitcoin was trading at a record $1,000. While some applaud its decentralized nature, others, including regulators, have become wary of its potential effects. We asked two analysts to square off with Viewpoints on the pros and cons of the volatile virtual currency.
Viewpoint: Bitcoin Challenges Us All to Keep Innovating
Bitcoin (and the tsunami that has ensued) has been characterized as the next stage in the revolution of payments—more precisely, of money.
Viewpoint: Why Bitcoin Is Going Gangbusters and Why It Matters
If Bitcoin manages to become wildly successful, it’s likely that several similar currencies will appear alongside it. The focus of hackers all across the globe will then surely turn to these anonymous stores of virtual value rather than to traditional account-based payments.
