PSD2 and the future of payments
Banks need to do more than just comply with the upcoming revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2). To survive, banks will need to embrace these changes.
Payments
Revolut rolls out Rita the chatbot greeter
UK-based payments start-up Revolut has unveiled its “human-like” chatbot, Rita, to answer customer queries. Rita – which stands for “Revolut’s Intelligent Troubleshooting Assistant” – is accessible via the mobile app’s messenger support service. Customers can open the app, send Rita a message and get an instant reply. During the pilot scheme, Rita resolved 20% of […]
Prepaid Gains More Love from Canadians, but Bank Execs Might Have Worries
Reloadable prepaid cards are a hit with Canadian consumers, with 95 percent of them saying they are satisfied with the products in 2016. That represents an increase of 22 percentage points from 2015, and stands as the highest satisfaction rate for all payment tools, according to the second annual survey from the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization.
Temenos cuts jobs in US; eyes D+H payments business
Banking software vendor Temenos is understood to have laid off a number of staff across its operations in the US, including at the Trinovus and Akcelerant subsidiaries. It is also understood to be eyeing the payments business of DH Corporation, Global Transaction Banking Solution (GTBS, formerly Fundtech).
PayPal’s New Pal Is its First Payments Bot
PayPal has a new pal—namely its first bot that enables Slack users to move and manage their money in a conversational and casual style. The PayPal bot is available to 5 million Slack users in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.
PayPal’s new pal is its first payments bot
PayPal has a new pal – namely its first bot that lets users move and manage their money in a conversational and casual style. It is built on the Slack messaging platform, which has five million daily active users and lets teams centralise conversations. With the bot, people can send money between PayPal accounts without […]
WorldRemit brings instant money transfers to CIS markets
Digital money transfer service WorldRemit is now available in Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, expanding its partnership with the Russian “Contact” payment system. The development follows WorldRemit’s recent service launch across Russia in collaboration with Contact. The firm’s users can now send money to be collected as cash pick up at more than 3,000 locations […]
Amazon Hits another High Note with Payments
In yet another sign that simplifying checkout for consumers is key to driving e-commerce payments, Amazon on Feb. 7 said that more than 33 million consumers have used its Amazon Payments service since its launch in 2013—and that the volume of payments “nearly doubled” in 2016 compared with the previous year. But don’t count on the e-commerce giant to be content with online payments alone.
Payments start-up Fire fires up
Fire Financial Services – now trading as Fire – has launched and is targeting the UK and Irish markets with a digital account. Colm Lyon, founder and CEO at Fire, says: “It has taken some time for us to reach this day – several years of trying and getting it wrong.” Now the business has […]
Modern payments and banking APIs
Modern banking is not limited to banks anymore. It’s not only about online or mobile banking, it’s about all the things you would do in your banking system, but now you can do in apps or other solutions provided by third parties, not banks. Payments are one of such functionalities.
Consumer Groups Cry Foul as House Joins Senate Push for Prepaid Rule Repeal
The CFPB’s final prepaid rule is turning out to be unpopular with the current U.S. Congress: A U.S. representative has followed the lead of a Senate colleague and filed a joint resolution to repeal the rule, which has attracted criticism from industry groups since the agency released it last year. But consumer groups, who lobbied for the rules, are attacking the effort, arguing that it would put consumers at risk.
Appeals Court Denies Efforts to Defend CFPB in PHH Case
Efforts by three different parties to defend the CFPB were thwarted Feb. 2 when a federal appeals court denied the motions to submit briefs on behalf of the CFPB in PHH Corp., et al.v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Monday mindset: 6 February 2017
Fintech zeitgeist! Welcome to the third in a new series of brief reports. Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week we welcome the views of guest writer Soumik Roy on India’s latest budget and its implications for e-payments and digital economy.
Klarna acquires BillPay
Sweden-based payments provider Klarna has acquired a fellow payments company in Germany, BillPay. The deal is understood to be worth £60 million.
Ziraat Bank London to replace legacy core banking tech with Misys Fusionbanking
Turkey’s banking group, Ziraat, is to modernise core banking software at its London branch, Banking Technology understands. The new solution will be supplied by Misys.
Banking Technology February 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.
First mobile credit card, PayLife 0100, launched in Austria
SIX Payment Services brings to market PayLife 0100, Austria’s first mobile credit card.
The European Banking Authority favours arbitrary box-ticking over data innovation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently proposed new rules that would require payment card operators to enforce additional security measures, such as passwords or security tokens, for all online transactions over €10, aimed at fraud prevention. This is a clumsy solution to a problem that is already being addressed by far more sophisticated means, argues Nick Wallace, senior policy analyst at Centre for Data Innovation, and policymakers should reject the EBA’s proposal.
Can Sen. Perdue Undo CFPB Prepaid Accounts Rule?
For those disappointed that President Trump’s regulatory relief executive orders wouldn’t extend to prepaid providers—and others covered under the CFPB’s final prepaid accounts rule—Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) may be coming to the rescue. On Feb. 1, Sen. Perdue, along with six co-sponsors, introduced joint resolution 19 that provides “congressional disapproval” for the rule, and which says that “such rule shall have no force or effect.”
CFPB Orders UniRush, Mastercard to Pay $13 Million over RushCard Outage
The CFPB is “putting the prepaid industry on notice that companies will face the consequences if consumers are denied access to their money or to the services they pay for and on which they have the right to depend.” In its first enforcement action against prepaid providers, the bureau on Feb. 1 announced that UniRush and Mastercard will pay a combined $13 million for a 2015 service disruption that left cardholders without access to their funds.
Barclaycard Teams with VocaLink for Mobile Payments
Barclaycard is partnering with VocaLink to enable its merchants to accept mobile payments through the Pay by Bank app. The app, created by VocaLink’s payment innovation team Zapp, will enable shoppers to pay for goods and services on a mobile device, without the need to enter credit or debit card details, according to Paybefore sister publication Banking Technology.
India Developing Insurance Framework for M-Wallets
Amid India’s recent boom in m-wallet transaction volume following a government discontinuation of two popular currency notes, the government now is considering developing an insurance framework for mobile wallet and electronic transactions. Government officials from the IT Ministry already have begun discussions with m-wallet providers and insurance companies on how to insure money in the wallet apps, according to The Financial Express.
Anglo-American alliance aims to advance payments
British and American governments, businesses, and others have formed P20 – a group of “influential leaders” and the “first” Transatlantic payments initiative of its kind. Its inaugural meeting is to be held in autumn 2017 in London, where 20 people in the payments industry, and US/UK government officials and regulators will meet. It will rotate […]
India Post Payments Bank launches pilot services
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has launched and is rolling out pilot services in Raipur and Ranchi. IPPB is the third payments bank to be authorised in India, and follows on the heels of Paytm (launched last year) and Airtel (opened for business this year). IPPB’s chief executive officer, A P Singh, says: “The idea […]
Barclaycard teams with VocaLink for mobile payments
Barclaycard is partnering with VocaLink to enable its merchants to accept mobile payments through Pay by Bank app. Pay by Bank app, created by VocaLink’s payment innovation team Zapp, will allow shoppers to pay for goods and services on a mobile device, without the need to enter credit or debit card details. Rajiv Garodia, managing […]
2017: the year fintech shifts its focus to Africa
Africa is becoming a very interesting fintech innovation hub (in particular South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt). As much as 80% of the continent is unbanked, opening the door to a breadth of opportunities for fintech companies to seize market share.
Isbank launches first P2P money transfer service in Turkey
Turkey’s largest bank Isbank has launched a new P2P money transfer service, called “social account”, available for the “first time” in the republic. The launch quickly follows on from the release of its new app, IsCep, to allow “for the first time” banking and stock exchange transactions through one application with real-time data. With the […]
NBAD first Middle East bank to go live on Ripple’s blockchain
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) is the first Middle East bank to introduce real-time cross-border payments on Ripple’s blockchain network. Ripple says its tech fits within NBAD’s existing infrastructure and offers an end-to-end payment flow providing “transaction immutability and payment integrity”. Vineet Varma, managing director and head of global transaction banking, NBAD, says […]
People on the Move: Kathy Moe, FDIC San Francisco
The FDIC has appointed 30-year veteran Kathy Moe regional director for the San Francisco region.
Mastercard victorious in UK interchange lawsuit
Mastercard can put a notch in the win column after a High Court judge ruled in the payment card network’s favor regarding a lawsuit brought on by retailers disputing cross-border interchange fees on debit and credit cards.
Swift brings Innotribe start-up challenge to Russia and CIS countries
Swift Innotribe has partnered with the Russian National Swift Member and User Group (Rosswift) comprising the Bank of Russia, the National Settlement Depository, Sberbank, and Alfa-Bank, to launch its first start-up challenge in the region.
Green Dot buys UniRush, gains a major payroll card foothold
It’s official: Green Dot will spend at least $167 million to buy UniRush.
Mastercard Victorious in U.K. Interchange Lawsuit
Mastercard can put a notch in the win column after a High Court judge ruled in the payment card network’s favor regarding a lawsuit brought on by retailers disputing cross-border interchange fees on debit and credit cards.
U.K. Slaps Deutsche Bank with $200 Million Penalty over Money Laundering Case
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority has fined Deutsche Bank £163 million (US$204.7 million) for failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering controls between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2015, according to Paybefore sister publication Banking Technology.
Trend Watch 2017: Payments Year in Review
Paybefore’s first-ever payments year-in-review report, sponsored by The Bancorp, is available now. Offering an in-depth look at key trends and the Top 10 payments stories from 2016 that will continue to shape the industry in 2017 and beyond, this must-have resource examines everything influencing the industry from the CFPB and Uber to Brexit and Trump and much more.
Mastercard growing faster than Visa in Americas
Mastercard saw faster growth than Visa in the Americas in 2015 but, with 43%, Visa still has significantly the largest market share, according to research by Retail Banking Research (RBR). According to RBR’s Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2021 study, the number of Mastercard cards grew by 6% in the Americas in 2015, […]
Report: Green Dot Wants to Buy UniRush
Green Dot reportedly wants to buy competitor UniRush—a deal that would unite two of the biggest companies in the GPR space and give Green Dot a “foothold” in the payroll card business. The deal, if it comes to fruition, could suggest that the industry, which has been contracting through consolidation for the past several years, isn’t done yet.
Ant Financial Makes Giant Leap into Remittance Biz with MoneyGram Buy
Ant Financial Services Group, the online and mobile financial services affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has just become a competitive juggernaut in the remittance business with the acquisition of MoneyGram, the second-largest provider of money transfer services based in the U.S. The transaction of approximately $880 million for all of MoneyGram’s common and preferred shares announced Jan. 26, not only helps MoneyGram compete with Western Union, it helps the combined company compete with startups that have been trying to shake up the market for years.
Cleo Chatbot Comes to Facebook Messenger
The rise of the chat bots continues as Cleo, a virtual money assistant described by its creators as the “Siri of personal finance,” has launched on Facebook Messenger for users in the U.K. Developed by the London-based fintech startup of the same name, Cleo is an artificial-intelligence-powered chat bot the companies say will help users manage their finances.
Fed Highlights Progress toward Faster, Safer Payments
A 2-year-old Federal Reserve plan to improve the speed, efficiency and security of the U.S. payments system has made significant strides toward those goals, but there’s more work to do, according to the Fed’s latest progress report on the initiative. First announced in a January 2015 document titled Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System, the plan includes several strategies to enhance the U.S. payment system to “meet the changing demands of American consumers and businesses.”
