The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is worried that Mastercard’s billion-dollar deal to acquire VocaLink could hinder competition, and the CMA is giving the two companies until Jan. 11 to address a concern or face an “in-depth investigation,” according to the authority.
The financial services arm of car manufacturer Volkswagen Group has bought parking payments firm PayByPhone, a deal that underscores the appeal of mobile payments and bolsters the automotive company’s presence in the parking transactions space.
India-based Paytm is growing up fast. The online commerce platform, which launched its mobile wallet in 2014, has received permission from the Reserve Bank of India to operate a digital bank. The move comes as digital transaction rates in India—where the country’s popular 500 (US$7) and 1,000 (US$15) rupee notes were recently taken out of circulation—have increased as much as 1,000 percent since early November.
Look back at some of the top-read feature articles on all matters fintech published by Banking Technology in 2016.
Prepaid cards accounted for 9.9 billion transactions and $270 billion in spending volume in the U.S. in 2015—an increase of $600 million since 2012—but prepaid growth is slowing as the products become more mainstream, according to a study from the Federal Reserve.
China has made it loud and clear it intends to position itself as a global fintech leader. A group of state and privately held companies launched a $1.44 billion investment fund called the Asia FinTech Merger and Acquisition Fund of Funds (Asia FinTech FoF). The fund will focus on fintech mergers and acquisitions, and “nurture” initiatives in the fintech industry, according to a Dec. 28 announcement by Credit China FinTech Holdings Ltd., which led the investment.
Complaints about prepaid products dropped 59 percent from September through November in 2016 compared with the same period the previous year, according to the latest CFPB Monthly Complaint Report. That drop, to 183 complaints on average per month, represents the largest percentage decrease in complaints among all the products tracked by the federal agency, and comes as the CFPB in its new report focuses on debt collection.
To kick off 2017, we asked industry leaders to tell us what happened in 2016 that will most affect their businesses and where they will be investing in 2017 and why.
ICICI Bank goes for Twitter, while HDFC Bank banks on Facebook Messenger.
SIX Payment Services says it has completed the enterprise-wide upgrade of payment terminals of Swiss Post four months ahead of schedule. The new “smart” payment terminals – Ingenico’s iSC250 – are “particularly good” and “among the most innovative ones on the market”, SIX says.
A Ukrainian fintech start-up, Attic Lab, has signed a deal with a local bank, Alpari Bank, to implement blockchain-based banking system SmartMoney.
Look back at some of the major payments projects in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
Look back at some of the major digital bank initiatives across the globe in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
Look back at some of the most interesting and thought-provoking opinion pieces on all matters fintech published by Banking Technology in 2016.
It felt like there was a blockchain story every day in 2016, but we look back at some of the bigger stories with Banking Technology’s top ten! Microsoft and AMIS launch Asia’s first blockchain consortium Microsoft says it is also in “collaboration” with banks such as Ubon Financial, Cathay Financial Holdings and MegaBank to further […]
Look back at some of the major fintech events in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten! Sibos 2016: markets still in “Dante’s circles of hell” It’s the big one. And this is just one snippet from our extensive coverage of Sibos in Geneva. We also produced videos, published Daily News at Sibos, had fun with […]
From a technology perspective, the family home has decided to rush headlong into the 21st century. When our home was built we thought we were being extremely progressive in having a Panasonic “4 lines, 10 extensions, PBX” installed with separate lines for my wife and myself and then a line for business and yes, one dedicated line for the fax machine. Cool… but fast forward a decade and a half and with the home up for sale, we were politely advised to take out all those handsets and close the door on the PBX.
North American banking and payments tech vendor DH Corporation (D+H) has set up a committee to review its possible sale, it is understood.
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! The last weekly news round-up of 2016. Happy holidays from everyone at Banking Technology!
A proposed plan by the European Commission (EC) to combat terrorism financing would require customs declarations for prepaid cards sent in postal parcels or freight shipments into or out of the EU. Currently, cards sent or shipped across EU borders are not covered by the standard customs declaration requirement. Coming in the wake of a truck attack in Berlin that left 12 people dead and dozens wounded, the proposal is part of the EC’s action plan against terrorist financing, an initiative unveiled in February 2016, designed to help EU nations cut off the supply of funding for terrorist activity.
Growth brings the fierce attention of competitors, a lesson that India-based online commerce platform Paytm is learning. U.S.-based PayPal reportedly has filed a copyright suit against the firm, alleging that the blue color scheme of its logo, along with the fact that “pay” is the first word of the company’s name, is deceptive, according to eMarketer.
Varo Money announced it’s developing a chat bot for its mobile app. The San Francisco-based mobile-only banking startup, which is offering private-label banking services via The Bancorp, expects to launch “Val” early next year. “She” is part of a steady stream of chat bots that have been announced in 2016 by banks, merchants, tech companies and handset makers to improve customer loyalty, reduce costs and boost revenue, among other benefits.
Cross-border payments network and banking consortium PayCommerce has opened new offices in Dubai and Ontario, Canada.
Our pick of banking tech and fintech case studies – published by Banking Technology in 2016.
In the face of approximately 67 million unbanked or underbanked U.S. adults, and 90 percent of households saving less than 2 percent of their disposable incomes, according to the Center for Financial Services Innovation and the Fed, respectively, Walmart and Green Dot are helping prepaid cardholders shore up their finances through a prize-based savings program.
Over the next two years, closed-loop prepaid loads are on the way up, store returns on the way down—and most other prepaid numbers could go either way depending on a host of factors. Those were among the main takeaways from Mercator Advisory Group’s 13th Annual U.S. Prepaid Cards Market Forecasts, 2016–2019. The report examines load, growth and market dynamics in the U.S. across all prepaid segments.
Tapping into two expanding markets, BNP Paribas said Dec. 21 it had completed its first cross-border B2B payments between corporate clients using blockchain, the technology that underlies bitcoin transactions. The move comes as other major financial institutions seek to invest in blockchain and there’s a rush of providers trying to displace checks in the corporate payments space, particularly for cross-border payments.
Hungary’s central bank and regulator, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), is bringing a new instant payments system to the country. It will require “state-of-the-art IT and communication solutions in payments”.
Mobile banking app Varo Money is brining to market a chatbot and “money coach”, Val. Val is powered by Kasisto’s KAI Banking bot and “delivers insights into spending, savings, borrowing and helps people set goals as well as offer updates and encouragement about their progress”.
BNP Paribas has processed “several live payments” using blockchain technology for two of its corporate clients, Amcor and Panini Group.
With so many payment options available, it’s vital for merchants to have reliable technology and networks in place to ensure that transactions run properly and declines are kept to a minimum. But what are the most important steps for increasing the quality of acceptance across card types and brands? Discover Global Network offers some answers.
After a year that saw activist stockholders call for more accountability and a shakeup in company leadership, Green Dot Corp. has unveiled a plan to make each member of its board of directors subject to annual re-election. The initiative calls for a change to the company’s certificate of incorporation to declassify all board seats. Currently, the board consists of three classes, with members of each class elected for three-year terms on a staggered basis, such that the terms of each class expire in successive years, according to the company.
Wirecard is using prepaid as a bridge to online payments for its boon mobile app.
Fraud and fintech partnerships; big data and blockchain—all are among the hottest topics in payments—and will continue to be major forces shaping the industry in 2017, according to a new report from Vantiv Inc. The first installment of the payment processor and technology solutions provider’s Trends to Watch in 2017—focused on financial institutions—tabbed those four areas as especially important points of emphasis for banks in the New Year.
While digital payments providers have enjoyed significant boosts in transaction volume—some as much as triple-digits—since the government banned two popular currency notes, the uptick in digital payments also has led to online traffic jams and fraud, according to several news outlets.
Credit card firm MBNA is to be taken over by Lloyds. The firm’s current owner, Bank of America, has agreed to sell it for £1.9 billion. The deal is expected to close in H1 2017.
Money transfer firms WorldRemit and Xpress Money have partnered to unveil a remittance service to Pakistan. Through Xpress Money’s agent partner network, WorldRemit customers will be able to make instant money transfers to be collected at over 9,500 cash pick-up locations all over the country – including major banks, Al Habib Bank, Bank Alfalah, Bank […]
Mastercard and Visa have joined forces in a bid to help fast-track the adoption of tokenization for mobile and online payments—and, eventually, payments via connected devices within the Internet of Things (IoT). A new partnership between the rival networks enables tokenized Mastercard payment credentials to be provisioned into Visa Checkout, and, in turn, tokenized Visa credentials to be provisioned into Masterpass.
MetaBank has finalised its purchase of a tax refund loan company.
A plethora of mobile wallets and payment apps are expected to flood the market in the next two years, and the sheer number of choices are likely to “confuse” many consumers, who ultimately might look to their financial institutions to be their mobile wallet provider, according to a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research.
