Mastercard Boosts B2B Payments via a New Hub
Mastercard has unveiled a B2B Hub to help small and midsize businesses speed up invoice and payment processes with accounts payable and payment automation tools.
Payments
Australia Post taps i2c for digital payments push
Australia Post is partnering with processor i2c Inc. to “expand and modernize” its digital payments offerings. Under the pact, the Australian postal service will use i2c’s Agile Processing platform to roll out enhanced digital functionality for its payments products, including the Load&Go GPR Visa card, along with gift, multicurrency travel and corporate incentive cards. The i2c platform also will underpin future financial services products from Australia Post.
Philip Morris Test Promotes Blockchain Payments in Poland
Moving incentives to virtual prepaid cards is an important trend, but Philip Morris International is taking its incentives a step further with blockchain. The cigarette company and fintech firm Billon Group reportedly have completed a test replacing prepaid cards with the distributed ledger technology, enabling digital and mobile payments.
Mastercard launches digital payment B2B hub for SMEs
Mastercard has unveiled its B2B Hub to help SMEs speed up invoice and payment processes with accounts payable and payment automation tools. According to the firm, a majority of all B2B payments in the US are still made via cheque with manual payment processes. The Mastercard B2B Hub, delivered through card issuers, is an automated […]
Concardis brings Alipay to Austria and Switzerland
German payment service provider Concardis is bringing Chinese mobile payment solution Alipay to Austria and Switzerland. Clothing brand Gössl will be the first merchant in Austria to let Chinese citizens pay via smartphone and the Alipay app. The roll-out in the Swiss market is planned for October this year. In Germany, Concardis says it has […]
Compliance Titans: Craig James, Neopay
Craig James, founder and CEO of compliance consultancy Neopay, views compliance like a chess match—you have to know the board better than everyone else, so nothing surprises you.
Four Australian banks sign up for Swift’s global payments innovation
Four Australian banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac are now live or planning to implement Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) initiative. According to Swift, these Australian banks represent over 80% of cross-border payments flow for Australia. The banks all say the same stuff – so […]
SunTec system fits the bill for Amex business travel
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has opted for SunTec’s Xelerate billing system for its corporate clients. According to SunTec, its platform can onboard new geographic regions and “weaves data locked in various legacy and modern billing systems” to create relevant offers for American Express GBT’s corporate clients. Michael Konstas, VP of billing strategy at […]
Commcise and RBC team up for MiFID II research payment solution
With MiFID II in mind, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has teamed with Commcise for a service that lets research funds be held in a segregated research payment account (RPA) established in the name of a buy-side client. Commcise’s technology will provide a broker-neutral, independent and un-conflicted platform to help management of the research payment […]
Fintech funding round-up: 7 June 2017
Fintech funding can be an intense blur of money, jargon and unerringly similar expansion plans. Here’s a round-up that gets to the heart of the matter. Features Plynk, IHS Markit, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Wahed. Ireland’s Plynk, a money messaging app, has revealed a Series A raise of €25 million. Led by […]
Local banking for global trading – an impossible goal?
Anders la Cour, CEO of ground-breaking payments utility Saxo Payments Banking Circle, which is underpinning the service propositions of a growing number of payments businesses, reports on the payment pain points currently faced by merchants who have ambitions to trade globally.
Turkey’s Garanti Bank wins BBVA fintech ideas challenge
Turkey-based Garanti Bank’s new mobile app has won BBVA’s “Open Talent Ideas” fintech competition. BBVA launched the competition in February, and yesterday (5 June) the ten finalists presented their idea to experts from BBVA’s senior management. The winning idea was GarantiStore, a mobile app able to identify products automatically. Through image recognition techniques or by […]
Green Dot Aids Apple’s Bid to Bite into P2P
Apple has made a bold foray into the P2P money transfer market—and Green Dot is helping the tech giant in its bid to unseat Venmo and other established players in the increasingly crowded space.
Amex Faces State Pressure over Anti-Steering Case as DOJ Backs Off
The U.S. Justice Department may have dropped its antitrust suit against American Express, but 11 states want to press on in a case that started in 2010. At issue is the company’s push to prevent Amex-accepting merchants from offering shoppers financial incentives to use other card brands.
Flywire Nabs Multi-Currency Specialist PACE
On the heels of expanding into the B2B sector earlier this year, cross-border payments specialist Flywire has acquired PACE Invoice, a multicurrency invoicing platform provider based in London. The purchase bolsters Flywire’s offerings to enable its business, education and health care clients to more easily link invoices to cross-border receivables, increasing efficiency and savings, according to the company.
Sage Sells its Payment Processing Arm to Chicago Private Equity Firm
Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR said it will buy Sage Payment Solutions, the Virginia-based merchant-services offshoot of U.K.-based Sage Group, for $260 million. Sage Group sells business software, and Sage Payment serves some 100,000 merchants.
Apple squares up to rivals with Pay Cash feature
Apple has unveiled Pay Cash as it looks to fight it out with PayPal, Square and Venmo in the overcrowded peer-to-peer (P2P) payments market. In a range of updates to its mobile operating system, iOS 11, new features to the iPhone and iPad are coming this autumn. Apple Pay users will be able to make […]
LG Electronics unleashes mobile payments in South Korea
Watch out Samsung Pay, but South Korean titan LG Electronics has unleashed its mobile payment service in the country. Called LG Pay, it will be offered first as a service that allows users to pay offline in the same way as a credit card. Its use is limited at the moment to Shinhan, KB, BC […]
CPI Touts Speed, Security of New Instant-Issuance Printer
A new instant-issuance product from CPI Card Group promises faster card processing times along with higher resolution printing. Called Precision by Card@Once, the system is designed to improve security and the customer experience.
GPS Captures Contactless Lightning in a Bottle
You’ve heard of wearables—now meet “drinkables.” Global Processing Services (GPS) is helping support a new energy drink marketing campaign featuring special bottles equipped with contactless chips, each preloaded with a credit for a trip on the London Underground. The campaign for the Lucozade Energy brand launched last week, with bottles distributed free at major London train stations and commuter hubs.
Payments firm Tilt wilts
Following Airbnb’s acquisition of crowdfunding and social payments start-up Tilt in February, it is now being wound down. Tilt (formerly Crowdtilt) was built with the aim to allow groups and communities to collect, fundraise, or pool money online. It was founded five years ago with high hopes. Its co-founder and CEO James Beshara said at […]
Payments Firm Tilt Wilts
Following Airbnb’s acquisition of crowdfunding and social payments startup Tilt in February, it is now being wound down.
GTCR to acquire Sage Payment Solutions for $260m
Private equity firm GTCR will buy Virginia-based Sage Payment Solutions (SPS) for $260 million. Chicago-based GTCR is acquiring SPS from the Sage Group, a provider of accounting, payroll and payment solutions headquartered in the UK. GTCR says it will work with SPS management to pursue organic growth and fund future acquisitions in the payment processing […]
UK payments firm Helixion is liquidated
It’s not only the end of the working week but the end of the line for Edinburgh-based payments firm Helixion. The company has gone into liquidation and intellectual property (IP) firm Metis Partners has been appointed to support the marketing and sale of its assets. On Metis’ website, it says the deadline for offers has […]
Misys scores another core banking system deal in Myanmar
Myanmar-based Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA Bank) has signed for Misys’ Fusionbanking Essence core banking platform.
Flywire acquires UK-based PACE Invoice
US payments firm Flywire has acquired PACE Invoice, a multi-currency invoicing platform provider based in London. International business law firm Addleshaw Goddard advised PACE on this transaction. With the acquisition, Flywire adds international invoicing to its cross-border payments and receivables services, enabling its business, education and healthcare clients to “more easily link invoices to cross-border […]
Is Loyalty the New Currency?
Earning top-of-wallet privileges from consumers requires deeper thinking about the what, when, where, why and how of loyalty rewards. But the most important ingredient is simplicity.
Contactless Fraud Scare? Not So Fast.
Breathless reports point to a terrifying increase in U.K. contactless fraud. Dig a little deeper, however, and the story changes.
Want to Fight Fraud? Join the Team—Literally
All payment providers and merchants grasp the dynamic nature of fraud. But fraud prevention requires more than the latest software and security protections—it requires active collaboration. Here’s why.
Android Pay arrives in Taiwan
Android Pay has now launched in Taiwan and users can add an eligible Visa or Mastercard credit card from one of its supported banks, including CTBC and First Bank. It will have the usual rivals – Apple Pay arrived in Taiwan in March this year, while Samsung Pay was launched across the island nation just […]
Letter from the Editor: Prepping for the Year’s Biggest Industry Event
I can scarcely believe we’re approaching the halfway point of 2017. But I can’t think of a better time for the year’s biggest prepaid industry event. On June 21-23, the NBPCA will host its sixth annual Power of Prepaid conference in Washington, D.C. The business of compliance—not to mention keeping up with technology trends—is keeping everyone on their toes, but it’s vital to stop and reflect with colleagues about the state of the industry and its future. It’s also critical to actually talk to those shaping the legislation and regulations that determine the rules of the road.
ING’s Yolt money app beta launches in UK
With an intended jolt and volt of energy, Yolt, a new money platform backed by ING, has launched its open beta for iOS and Android in the UK. The app has been tested in closed beta since October last year, and is now ready to invite more people to the platform. Yolt enables users to […]
Banking Technology June 2017 issue out now
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
ABN Amro and ING lead charge for Dutch ATM survival
ABN Amro, ING, Rabobank and Geldservice Nederland (GSN) have teamed up to explore a potential initiative to ensure the availability of ATMs in the Netherlands. These discussions are being conducted in consultation with the nation’s central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), and draw upon “successful initiatives” in Sweden and Finland. With the rise of digital […]
BofA Simplifies Money Management for Customers Using Third-Party Apps
Bank of America is testing a service enabling its customers who use third-party data aggregators to view their financial information in one place. BofA is testing the capability with two financial data aggregators to enable customers to securely connect data from their bank accounts to third-party money management apps.
Visa Bolsters Transaction Security
Visa is beefing up its Verified by Visa authentication service. The payments network said it’s upgrading its back-end to support 3-D Secure 2.0. The 3-D Secure messaging protocol was invented by the network more than 15 years ago and has become an industry standard for online authentication.
Square Launches Virtual Terminal Service in U.K.
About two months after launching in the U.K., Square has introduced its Virtual Terminal service there. The technology enables merchants to accept payments through the Square dashboard, an appealing prospect for online service providers, contractors and other smaller firms that do relatively few face-to-face transactions.
Analysis: commercial cards, clear lines and communication
There is no question that the commercial card sector is growing strongly. According to Research and Markets, the US commercial card market in particular is outstripping other B2B payment types. For banks and banking services providers, this presents a huge opportunity to grow revenues while improving customer experience – a vital component in customer retention and increased lifetime value.
People on the Move: Bryan Lewis and Edward Chandler, eNett International
eNett International, a Singapore-based provider of B2B travel payment solutions, has announced two new executive appointments.
People on the Move: Ryan Farley, Judopay
Mobile payments platform provider Judopay has appointed Ryan Farley CEO.
