Next Bank Madrid reveals Spain’s strongest startups
Next Bank Madrid has chosen the finalists for a competition that seeks to find the best financial services startup companies from the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world.
Mobile
Unlocking the mobile wallet
Speakers at the Digital Services Conference hosted by Informa in London on Tuesday expressed frustration at the lack of progress made by mobile wallets in the UK and called for more innovative solutions to bypass the impasse.
Industry Views: Card Manufacturers Talk EMV (June 2013)
Although the network EMV liability shift is about two years out, card manufacturers already are consulting with their U.S. issuing clients to help them make decisions now about how they will approach the transition to EMV. First and foremost is the decision on when to begin, then which cards in their portfolio should have priority. […]
Apple Airdrops More Clues about Its Payments Aspirations (June 2013)
By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor Reading between the lines of announcements from Apple Inc. to anticipate the technology titan’s next moves not only keeps analysts busy and consumers guessing, it has spawned entire Websites devoted to scrutinizing everything the company says and does. This isn’t to imply Apple doesn’t excel at effective self-promotion, but the company […]
2013 Paybefore Awards Europe: Outstanding Mobile Wallet or App (June 2013)
The in-market mobile wallet or mobile application that (1) provides end users with value-added features and/or enhances payment capabilities, user decision-making or loyalty, and (2) provides retailers with a strong value proposition. Best in Category: O2 Wallet Open to customers of any bank or MNO who want to shop, send money, compare prices and receive […]
Taiwan Continues to Develop M-Payments with Far EasTone Pilot (June 18, 2013)
June 18, 2013 Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., one of Taiwan’s largest telcos, is launching a mobile payments pilot in cooperation with Far Eastern International Bank and MasterCard. The program, scheduled to begin during the second half of 2013, will use near field communication (NFC) technology and be limited to mobile payments under NT$3,000 (US$100.37), according […]
Innotribe names New York contenders for Sibos showdown
Innotribe, the Swift-backed initiative to enable collaborative innovation in financial services, has announced the names of the five contenders from the US leg of its annual Startup Challenge to compete at Sibos 2013 in Dubai in September.
Blog: With iOS 7 and AirDrop, Apple Moves to Kill NFC, Dominate Mobile Commerce
If you believe that Apple will support near field communications (NFC) on its next iPhone, it’s time to give up on that hope.
MoneyGram forges deal with Lebara Mobile for international money transfers
MoneyGram has forged a deal with European mobile telecom operator Lebara Mobile.
Stopping Tax Refund Fraud in Its Tracks (June 2013)
Strong customer authentication and account monitoring are keys to preventing tax refund/benefits fraud on prepaid cards. By Loraine DeBonis, Editor-in-Chief As identity theft increases in the digital age, fraud perpetrated with stolen identities has risen dramatically. And, tax refunds have become a target for fraudsters. Tax-related identity theft jumped more than 650 percent between 2008 and […]
Apple Grows Payments Patent War Chest (June 10, 2013)
Just days before Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which runs all this week in San Francisco, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Apple another patent that could be a signal of what the tech giant is planning for mobile payments. The patent relates to a “method and system for managing credits […]
Temenos: moving beyond the core
The extent to which a targeted series of acquisitions over the past few years have moved Temenos from being simply a core banking system vendor to a fully-fledged financial technology specialist became clear at its recent annual user event, this year held in Abu Dhabi.
2013 Paybefore Awards: Breakout Company of the Year (June 2013)
The organization that stood out from the crowd in 2012 to make a positive, game-changing difference in the prepaid/emerging payments environment in a geographic region or globally. Best in Category: Rêv Worldwide Launched low-cost mobile card reader targeting 400 million SMEs in 12 countries, along with Brazil’s first GPR card and Mexico’s first mobile banking/prepaid […]
PayPal and Its Quest for Ubiquity (June 2013)
E-commerce is still PayPal’s bread and butter, but the company is making serious strides at brick-and-mortar stores.
Companies to Watch: Meyers Printing Companies (June 2013)
In business more than 60 years, Minneapolis firm demonstrates the wisdom of smart growth and leveraging core competency to become a leader in innovative card printing.
Pressure on financial innovation shown by drop in patent applications
Innovation in financial services is currently at a seven-year low, reflecting a period of cost-cutting and scaling back in the face of new financial regulation – but innovative new technologies such as mobile may provide a solution, according to law firm RPC.
The Intersection of Corporate Governance and Compliance: Helping Your Directors Fulfill Their Responsibilities
An Interview with John Walsh, CEO, SightSpan Serving on a corporate board is a great honor and a great responsibility, especially for those involved in financial services organizations. Gone are the days when directors were management’s rubberstamp. And particularly since the global financial crisis of 2008, significantly more is expected of non-management corporate directors. Today’s […]
Heartland Digs into School Lunch Payments with Mobile App (June 4, 2013)
Heartland School Solutions, a division of Princeton, N.J.-based payments processor Heartland Payment Systems, has unveiled a new mobile app that enables parents of school-aged children to manage their kids’ lunch expenses via smartphone or tablet.
payleven Signals International Expansion Ambitions with Apple, Wirecard Connections (June 4, 2013)
As competition heats up in the mobile merchant acceptance arena, payleven hopes to improve its odds of gaining international market share with a deal to sell its chip-and-PIN readers in Apple Inc. stores across Europe plus a new strategic alliance it’s formed with Germany-based Wirecard AG.
UK mobile banking “at tipping point” says VocaLink
One in four customers in the UK is now using mobile banking services– and bank-driven systems are leading the way, according to new research by mobile payments specialist VocaLink.
Taking the pain out of paying in Spain
Spanish banks La Caixa and Santander have partnered with telecoms firm Telefónica to create a joint venture offering mobile payment services and a digital wallet designed to relegate conventional payment methods to the history books.
Telefónica Joins with Spanish FIs for New Mobile JV (May 30, 2013)
May 30, 2013 Spain-based telecom giant Telefónica has joined with Spanish financial services providers CaixaBank and Santander to form a new company to develop “business opportunities based on the latest mobile and communication technologies.” According to the involved companies, the alliance is Europe’s first full joint venture between financial institutions and telecom operators for the […]
Mobey Forum: Most FIs Likely to Go It Alone on Digital Wallets (May 30, 2013)
May 30, 2013 Banks and other financial institutions looking to enter into the mobile wallet arena are likely to find a market rife with competition, mostly in the form of own-branded products that deliver proprietary services only. That was among the findings in a new white paper by Mobey Forum’s Business Workgroup, the fourth in […]
Money via email: will Google bring the breakthrough?
The idea of sending money via email is not entirely new. This month, however, a new financial player entered this arena: Google announced that it will integrate Google Wallet into Gmail.
Boost Mobile’s Wallet Packs One-Two Punch (May 23, 2013)
May 23, 2013 Sprint’s Boost Mobile is taking a page out of O2’s playbook in the U.K.—launching a mobile wallet for online transactions with a companion prepaid Visa card for use at brick-and-mortar locations. One of the first telcos in the U.S. to launch its own wallet—AT&T Mobility, Verizon and T-Mobile have joined together on […]
Square Ventures Overseas: First Stop, Japan (May 23, 2013)
Mobile payments platform Square has ventured into its first market outside North America, becoming publicly available in Japan, the company announced today. “I am honored to introduce Square to a country with a rich history of design, innovation and tradition. Square shares the same values and attention to detail in our products,” said Jack Dorsey, […]
GiftCards.com Bolsters Mobile Offerings with Giftly Acquisition (May 23, 2013)
May 23, 2013 GiftCards.com, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Wolfe LLC, is deepening its digital offerings with the acquisition this week of Giftly, a mobile app-based digital gift card service. Giftly, a San Francisco-based startup launched in 2011, enables consumers to purchase digital gift cards that may be designated for specific purchases at any U.S. merchant […]
Blog: User Experience Flaws Bog Down Top Retail Apps (May 2013)
By Joseph DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger In every technology shift, users are confronted with interfaces that were designed for the previous generation. For example, early PCs rendered graphics of Rolodexes, clocks and other analog desk accoutrements. In this tradition, users of today’s smartphones often are presented with a shopping experience that was designed for the […]
Blog: Mobile Payments: A Solution Looking for a Problem? (May 2013)
By Ginger Schmeltzer, Fiserv For years we’ve been debating why mobile payments haven’t taken off faster. Debaters point out issues with the number of players in the value chain, business model challenges, competing technologies, lack of a compelling value proposition, security concerns and more. All of these points are valid: Business models are all over […]
Remittances: a window to the future?
The $400 billion global remittances market is moving from cash to account-based transfer, but costs, regulations and new competitors are still the key issues.
Tearing up the financial services value chain
Traditional finance is not as we once knew it. The internet has completely disrupted the financial services value chain. The banks are struggling to keep up with advancing technology. Understanding mobile, cloud computing, social media, big data and how to utilise each capability are key challenges for the banks to overcome.
LevelUp to Integrate M-Payment, Loyalty Solution into NCR POS Systems (May 21, 2013)
LevelUp, a promotion-based mobile payment and loyalty network from Boston-based SCVNGR, has reached an agreement with NCR Corp. to integrate its mobile payment and loyalty solution into NCR’s restaurant POS systems, giving restaurants another way to accept mobile payments and market to their customers.
Project Catalyst: A Collaborative Approach to Consumer Protection? (May 2013)
CFPB Invites ‘Innovative’ Companies to Share Consumer Data, Ideas to Help Shape Policies By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since its formation in 2011 has generated great interest and, at times, controversy over its mission and leadership in its role of creating and enforcing federal financial services regulations. While […]
Identity and mobile figure large at payments and cards event
The themes of security, identity and mobility ran strongly through the Cards and Payments Middle East conference in Dubai this week – and not just because the event itself is sandwiched between related and interlinked events focusing on Mobile and Identity.
