Account misuse drives rise in UK fraud levels
Bank account fraud in the UK increased 48% in the first four months of this year, with a 57% rise in the number of identity frauds compared to the same period last year.
News
EMV Preparation Continues with PULSE Deal, New EMV Industry Services (May 15, 2014)
More pieces of the U.S. EMV quilt were stitched together this week with announcements from PULSE, MasterCard, FIserv and CPI Card Group.
Isis Touts 600,000 Monthly Account Activations, as Pace Doubles (May 15, 2014)
Incentives may be working for Isis, which says consumers activated an average of 20,000 mobile wallets per day over the past 30 days. But activations don’t necessarily equal continued usage.
CARTES: For Mobile Wallets, Survival Means Adaptation (May 15, 2014)
“Winners” will be those platforms that are flexible enough to accommodate the breakneck pace of technological advancement.
RBI Pulls Back on Biometric POS Mandate, Launches Prepaid Cashout Pilot (May 15, 2014)
The central bank has pulled back on a mandate requiring new POS and ATM terminals to include biometric authentication. However, it’s also enabling prepaid providers, for the first time, to offer cashout at biometric terminals.
CARTES Keynote: PayPal’s Gauthier on Omnichannel Opportunity (May 14, 2014)
It’s never been more important for merchants to find out what matters to consumers and figure out how to fulfill those needs, Patrick Gauthier, PayPal’s head of emerging services, told attendees at CARTES Secure Connexions America yesterday.
Vantiv Swallows Mercury Payment Systems in $1.65 Billion Deal (May 14, 2014)
Mercury Payment Systems Inc.’s IPO plans came to a screeching halt when Vantiv Inc. on May 12 announced a deal to acquire Mercury for $1.65 billion.
First Data: Spending Gains Momentum in April; Prepaid Dollar Volume Rises 6.9 Percent (May 13, 3014)
Same-store spending on credit, debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks, gained 4.1 percent in April over last year, and prepaid spending showed the highest dollar-volume increase at 6.9 percent compared with credit (4.3 percent) and signature and PIN debit (4.5 and 4.1, respectively). Check volume fell 2.7 percent.
StoreFinancial Lands Strategic Investment to Bring in Payments Veterans
Paybefore Award-winning processor and program manager StoreFinancial is adding two payments veterans to its management team and focusing on growing its corporate payments business after a material equity investment from a Kansas City-area private investor group.
Square Wallet Out, Square Order In as m-POS Pioneer Tweaks Strategy (May 13, 2014)
Square, no stranger to experimentation, this week surprised observers by pulling its Square Wallet from the Apple and Google stores three years after its launch and introducing an order-ahead app for cafes and restaurants.
Apple Adds EMV Features to its In-Store m-POS System (May 13, 2014)
Apple Inc. is joining the push to accommodate EMV cards in its stores with its EasyPay m-POS, which uses a special iPhone case made by VeriFone that employees may use for customer checkout.
FIS Taps Cloud for EMV Instant-Issue Service (May 12, 2014)
The U.S. may be one of the world’s last markets to migrate to EMV, but the cool new EMV tools available for issuers could be the silver lining to waiting so long.
In Money Transfer Push, Facebook Finds Plenty of Friends (May 12, 2014)
Facebook has already conquered the social media sphere—and now there are signs the company is seeking to capitalize on its global ubiquity and massive user base to make a splash as a money transfer service, recently partnering with financial service providers on transfer initiatives around the globe.
People on the Move: Nathalie Reinelt, Aite Group
Nathalie Reinelt has joined Aite Group as an analyst on the retail banking team.
People on the Move: Howard Green, Mark Olson and Dan Perez, Better ATM Services
Better ATM Services, a Mesa, Ariz.-based ATM technology provider, has announced changes to its leadership team.
People on the Move: Mark Woods and Kevin Beardsley, The Bitcoin Foundation
The Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit institution founded to promote bitcoin use, has appointed Mark Woods affiliate director, and Kevin Beardsley director of membership.
People on the Move: Christopher Foskett, First Data Corp.
First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments processor, has appointed Christopher Foskett head of global, strategic and national accounts.
People on the Move: Scott Salmon, i2c Inc.
i2c Inc., a provider of payment processing and emerging commerce solutions, announced that Scott Salmon has joined the company as general manager, international, to lead i2c’s continued growth in Asia-Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa.
People on the Move: Sarah McCrary, Leaf
Leaf, creator of a m-POS tablet, has appointed Sarah McCrary CEO.
People on the Move: Dan O’Malley, Mozido LLC
Mozido LLC, a startup that focuses on cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, has hired Dan O’Malley as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
People on the Move: Bob DeRodes, Target Corp.
Minneapolis-based retailer Target Corp. has hired Bob DeRodes as executive vice president and chief information officer.
People on the Move: James Lipham and Paul Todd, TSYS
TSYS, a Columbus, Ga.-based processor, has announced the retirement of James B. Lipham as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer effective June 30, 2014, and the TSYS board of directors appointment of Paul M. Todd to take over the role.
People on the Move: Kelly Kay, YapStone
YapStone, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based provider of Web and mobile payment solutions, has appointed Kelly Kay president and chief operating officer.
Small financial institutions must face the mobile challenge
As contactless and mobile payment methods continue to grow, building societies and other financial institutions need to avoid being complacent about new technology, according to senior delegates speaking at the BSA annual conference in Manchester this week.
MasterCard Continues APMEA Prepaid Push with Japan Pact (May 8, 2014)
With the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region among MasterCard’s strongest prepaid growth markets, the payment network is launching a new prepaid card program in Japan that has the potential to reach 34 million customers.
Retailers Could See Higher Gift Cards Sales with Spring and Summer Festivities (May 8, 2014)
The spring and summer months boost gift card sales as consumers plan to buy them for a variety of occasions, including Mother’s Day on Sunday.
Report: Despite Debit Routing Thaw, EMV Ubiquity in U.S. Is Four Years out (May 8, 2014)
While the logjam over EMV debit routing may finally be breaking up, it remains unlikely that EMV will reach the mainstream ahead of the liability shifts the payment networks plan to implement in October 2015.
SEC Issues Bitcoin Warning (May 8, 2014)
Suggesting that investments in digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, might carry with them a higher risk of fraud and a harder time recovering losses in the event of fraud or theft, the SEC yesterday issued an investor alert regarding the decentralized P2P currency.
ITT Pushes Back on CFPB Claims and Why You Should Care
Although this lawsuit involves lending practices, the industry would be wise to pay close attention because of its UDAAP implications, which are applicable to all entities the CFPB regulates.
Amazon Partnership with Twitter Is Next Step in Streamlined Shopping (May 6, 2014)
Amazon blazed a fresh trail into social media this week with the debut of its new Twitter shopping feature enabling users to add items to their Amazon shopping carts directly from Twitter feeds.
Canadian Prepaid Card Regs Go into Effect (May 6, 2014)
Rules issued last December by Canada’s Department of Finance affecting open- and closed-loop prepaid cards went into effect May 1.
Startup Taps Gift Cards for Fee-Free Remittances (May 6, 2014)
San Diego-headquartered Quippi is taking the fees out of remittances by offering gift cards that can be purchased online or in-store in the U.S. and redeemed by recipients in Mexico.
British Firm Exports Big Data Solutions to Fight Fraud, Improve Customer Service (May 6, 2014)
Nobody questions whether big data has a role to play in the payments industry, but many providers are grappling with how to capture and analyze the right data to improve their businesses.
Corporates taking too much payment risk warns SunGard
Four out of five organisations are leaving themselves open to payment fraud because of a lack of standardised payment workflows, according to a study by financial technology vendor SunGard.
Blackhawk Opens Digital Gift Platform to suretap Users (May 5, 2014)
Digital gift cards are getting a boost in Canada as Blackhawk Network and Rogers Communications have opened Blackhawk’s digital gift card platform to users of the Rogers suretap mobile wallet app.
U.K. Banks Debut P2P Payments Service (May 5, 2014)
A group of the biggest financial institutions in the U.K. have banded together to launch a new P2P mobile payments system that by year-end will be accessible to 9 out of 10 bank account holders in the U.K.
GPR at Retail: Details Count
Neither the costs of shepherding a card into stores nor increased competition has deterred new entrants from launching GPR prepaid cards. Providers are coming into the market with astute hooks that play to their strengths to attract and retain cardholders.
Barclays takes Harte from Commonwealth
In one of the highest-profile tech hire in recent years, Barclays has poached Commonwealth Bank’s Michael Harte as chief operations and technology officer, filling the gap left by the surprise departure of Shaygan Kheradpir last autumn.
With Square Knocking, Australian Bank Enters m-POS Market (Apr. 30, 2014)
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank could be looking to get out ahead of Square’s eventual arrival Down Under.
Edenred Digs into Paperless Meal Voucher Opportunity in France (Apr. 30, 2014)
A decree by the French government approving electronic corporate meal vouchers could open up a major opportunity for corporate prepaid card providers that can help employers move from paper to plastic.
