News


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.

Rap Video Explores Origins of Money and Its Future (Sept. 2, 2014)

It’s not emerging payments’ first rap video (that distinction probably goes to Mack Maine’s “All in One Swipe” for the Young Money card), but it’s probably the funniest and, let’s say, most irreverent. (Yes, it includes rap language, so be forewarned if you choose to view it.)

Alliance Sends 20% of Monitise Workforce to IBM (Sept. 2, 2014)

U.K.-based Monitise and technology and consulting giant IBM have announced an alliance they say will improve IBM’s ability to deliver existing and future Monitise-based Mobile Money solutions to clients. The deal also will significantly increase Monitise’s ability to handle larger custom projects worldwide by combining the companies’ mobile banking, payments and e-commerce technology.

Real-time payments – realities versus myths

With the US consultation on introducing real-time payments announced earlier this year, debate on the subject ramped up considerably – but much of the debate is based on myths and misunderstandings, which means people are in danger of coming to the wrong conclusion, according to a report from Celent’s Gareth Lodge.

Data veteran Dalglish takes transformation role at SmartStream

Industry veteran Tom Dalglish has joined SmartStream Technologies as head of transformation services, managing post-trade processing and data management projects for global clients. Initially he will be responsible for managing the back-office transformation programme at an unnamed European bank.

Ingo Money: 85% of OK’d RDC Checks Available in Minutes (Aug. 28, 2014)

More than 85 percent of approved checks sent over the Ingo Money platform, accounting for more than 90 percent of the platform’s total check value, now are funded to customer accounts and available to spend within minutes, according to Ingo Inc., the Georgia-based electronic funding specialist that operates Ingo Money.

Aussie Group to Beef Up Country’s Payments System (Aug. 28, 2014)

Australian banks, retailers and other payments stakeholders have formed the Australian Payments Council to ensure the country’s payments system meets the needs of consumers and businesses by fostering development of innovative, secure and competitive payment services, according to an announcement.

NACS Merchants Challenge Fixed Cost Component, Relent on Network Routing (Aug. 25, 2014)

The merchant groups embroiled in a long-running legal battle over debit interchange fees have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case on the grounds that the Federal Reserve improperly took into account certain costs incurred by card issuers when calculating debit interchange fee limits. However, the retailers have not challenged a separate rule governing the number of unaffiliated debit card networks that must be available for debit and prepaid card transactions, which is good news for card issuers because it gives much longed-for certainty around a challenging issue.

People on the Move: Marcell L. King, Payveris

Payveris, an online and mobile payments company, has announced plans to create a merchant solutions division, which will be led by payments industry veteran Marcell L. King as president, merchant solutions.

QR Code Patent Latest Clue on Apple’s Mobile Wallet Plans

Details of Apple Inc.’s mobile wallet plans continue to trickle out, with the latest clue found in a patent filing that illustrates a QR code. Published late last month, the application describes a parental control system that would enable parents to control payment authorization on their children’s mobile devices.

Heartland Acquires mPOS Tablet Maker Leaf

Heartland Payment Systems has acquired Leaf, creator of an mPOS tablet, a deal the payments processor said demonstrates its commitment to providing resources and support for small- to medium-sized businesses.

FX industry calls for greater accountability on IBOR benchmarks

ACI, the foreign exchange industry body, has called for the adoption of a new Model Code for sell-side and buy-side firms on financial benchmarks, to harmonise codes of conduct and prevent a recurrence of the Libor and other recent rate fixing scandals.