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 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.
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.
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.”
Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), a long-standing customer of Misys, is implementing the new version of the vendor’s core system for Islamic banks, FusionBanking Essence Islamic, front-to-back office.
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. Last week, […]
Barclaycard is trialling contactless donations as it says charities may be missing out on more than £80 million each year by only accepting cash donations. According to its research, four in ten (42%) Brits say they carry less cash now than they did three years ago. While, one in seven (15%) people admit to walking […]
Your organisation’s satisfaction with its virtual card provider is the single most important factor determining the return you will receive on your investment. So when you choose a supplier, set your expectations high.
Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Financial is splashing out $880 million for money transfer operator MoneyGram International. This is Ant Financial’s first acquisition of a US-listed company.
Experts from Blackhawk, Cachet, Arroweye, i2c and more explain what loyalty strategies are moving the needle with consumers and why.
Even if President Trump puts the brakes on federal regulation of the payments industry, state regulators are poised to swerve into the open lane that creates.
The technology that underpins bitcoin has received increased attention in recent months from corporate heavyweights. Here’s how blockchain can further revolutionize payments and related industries.
Payments companies hoping to gain market share in the exploding cross-border payments market must be able to meet demands for security, customer service, low costs and simplicity.
Luxembourg-based Rakuten Europe Bank, a subsidiary of Japan’s e-commerce and internet company, Rakuten, has gone live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system and Temenos Connect for digital channels.
TSYS-owned NetSpend is negotiating with the Federal Trade Commission over the agency’s allegations that the prepaid provider deceived cardholders and denied or delayed their access to funds, TSYS Chairman and CEO Troy Woods told analysts this week in a fourth-quarter earnings call. TSYS also announced that NetSpend is working on diversification, including the launch of a demand deposit account later this year.
Add Target to the retailers stepping up their mobile payments game: The retail chain plans to improve at least one of its mobile apps by enabling in-store payments through it. What that means is that consumers could use their smartphones and Target app to pay for purchases inside the chain’s stores instead of relying on Apple Pay, Android Pay or other providers’ digital payment systems.
Austria’s Erste Bank und Sparkassen can now verify new customers via video—a form of customer onboarding that is gaining popularity among financial institutions because of its relatively low cost.
Fintech start-up Railsbank has signed its first partner, Arkéa Banking Services (Credit Mutuel Arkéa’s subsidiary), to use its platform to deliver SEPA payment services and IBANs across Europe.
Discover Bank has been named one of the Best Banks of 2017 as part of the fifth annual banking survey by GOBankingRates, a personal finance Website.
Prepaid providers—along with P2P and mobile wallet providers that fall under the CFPB’s final prepaid accounts rule—might have cheered to learn that President Donald J. Trump issued a freeze on forthcoming regulations on Jan. 20. Further examination of the White House memo detailing the freeze, however, suggests that it may not delay the Oct. 1 effective date for the final rule on prepaid accounts. But, it’s implications for the CFPB and some of its other regulations are unclear.
In an attempt to take its share of the exploding cross-border payments market, which hit about $600 billion last year according to some estimates, Wirecard is launching a new mobile money remittance service in Europe, targeting consumers including unbanked migrants sending funds home.
Not content with simply getting people from points A to B anymore, carmakers recently have been diving into mobile wallets and parking and payment apps, not only through partnerships but through acquisitions. The trend seems likely to gain speed in the coming year but there remain questions about how far automotive firms can go with payments, and what constitutes the best path.
The UK’s Post Office has entered the banking market as a new industry-wide agreement with the nation’s banks comes into effect. From today (24 January), 99% of UK personal bank customers and over 75% of business customers can do their day-to-day banking at the Post Office – described as the “biggest expansion in face-to-face banking […]
As companies fight for wallet share, ClassWallet’s focus on bringing efficiency to K-12 education expense management has helped the startup launch a successful digital wallet, prepaid card and online marketplace that could be a springboard to other niche markets.
The U.K.’s Post Office, which has a long history of providing financial services, including prepaid cards, has entered the banking market in a new way with an industry-wide agreement with the nation’s banks going into effect today. From Jan. 24, 99 percent of U.K. personal bank customers and more than 75 percent of business customers can do their day-to-day banking at the Post Office—described as the “biggest expansion in face-to-face banking access in a generation.”
Deutsche Börse has developed a concept for the “riskless” transfer of commercial bank money via an infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology (DLT)/blockchain. By combining blockchain with its post-trade infrastructure, Deutsche Börse says the same as everyone else – such as it will “achieve efficiencies” and will investigate “possible new business opportunities”. Via collateralisation at […]
Western Union will pay $586 million in customer refunds and beef up its money laundering and fraud protections. after admitting to criminally violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and federal anti-fraud regulations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The settlement also involves the Federal Trade Commission and covers conduct that took place between 2004 and 2012.
A new service launched to mitigate customers’ inconvenience if their payment cards are lost or stolen might lead to greater adoption of mobile wallets and be a model for other banks. ANZ, one of the largest banks in Australia, has introduced a service that automatically uploads replacement card details as virtual cards to customers’ m-wallets, while halting activity on the missing physical cards.
UK-based Starling Bank has become the “first of the digital-only challengers” to join Faster Payments this week. It is the 13th direct participant of the Faster Payments Scheme, and Starling says its customers will be able to see where their money is flowing and when in real-time, 24/7. Joining the board of Faster Payments, Julian […]
U.K.-based Starling Bank has become the “first of the digital-only challengers” to join Faster Payments this week. The 13th direct participant of the Faster Payments Scheme, Starling says its customers will be able to see where their money is flowing and when in real-time, 24/7.
FairFX, a London-based multicurrency payments service, has acquired Q Money and its e-money licence.
Western Union has admitted turning a blind eye as criminals used its money transfer services to launder money and commit fraud. It has agreed to pay a $586 million fine to the US authorities.
London-based Persia International Bank, a joint venture of two Iranian financial services groups, Bank Mellat and Bank Tejarat, is undergoing a tech revamp.
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Philippines-based Ayannah, a provider of financial services to migrants and the unbanked, was the overall start-up winner in the Next Money Fintech Finals 2017 in Hong Kong.
A lone concern by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding Mastercard buying VocaLink appears to be nearing resolution, thus paving the way for the card network’s acquisition of the U.K. transaction processor.
Blackhawk Network’s expansion into the incentives industry continues to bear fruit. In its latest partnership, business travel site Upside will be offering its customers incentives, including gift cards from the more than 50 merchants in Blackhawk’s network.
2016 Pay Award winners FIS and Verifone are working together to make it easier (and instantaneous) for consumers to redeem loyalty points, some $16 billion of which are left on the table annually in the U.S., the companies said.
Banks and retailers aren’t the only companies getting into the digital wallet game. Daimler Financial Services, which operates under the same corporate umbrella as the Mercedes luxury car brand, plans to build an electronic payments service via its acquisition of Luxembourg-based PayCash Europe.
Daimler Financial Services is acquiring e-payments services provider PayCash Europe, based in Luxembourg. This will enable Daimler to launch its own e-payments service under the Mercedes Pay brand.
