Payments


Younger U.K. Consumers Are Ready to Replace Cards with Phones

A survey from the Prepaid International Forum finds that nearly half of young consumers already make payments via mobile phones. Checking balances and not having to carry wallets or purses are among the main reasons for mobile’s growing popularity.

San Antonio Credit Union to Offer Loans via QCash

In the midst of regulatory pressure and an expected CFPB proposed rulemaking on small-dollar loans, QCash signs a Texas credit union to offer members what the company calls a less costly short-term lending product.

MasterCard Launches Faster EMV Technology

Faster EMV is coming to the U.S. MasterCard has launched M/Chip Fast, which “brings some of the principles successfully implemented for contactless cards and mobile wallets around the world to point-of-sale terminals,” the payments network said.

FDIC Approves New Assessment Rule for Small Banks

The FDIC board of directors has approved a rule that changes how banks with less than $10 billion in assets and have been FDIC insured for at least five years are assessed for deposit insurance.

Infographics: seizing the mPOS opportunity

Mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) is revolutionising the POS terminal industry. In two years, the market is estimated to be worth $43 billion. By 2019, 46% of all POS terminals in 2019 are expected to be mPOS. Over the next four years, the market is poised to grow by 400%. This nifty infographics – courtesy of FIME – […]

Misys unveils Misys FinCloud

Misys today is launching Misys FinCloud, a range of cloud solutions and “global cloud environment” for its clients. It is supported by “selected global and local infrastructure providers, systems integrators and solution partners”, including Rackspace and NTT Communications, Misys says. With Misys FinCloud “clients gain faster access to innovation through shorter and more predictable on-boarding […]

M&A Update: Visa Europe Deal Tweaked, MasterCard Eyeing VocaLink

Visa Inc. has amended the terms of its pending acquisition of Visa Europe, reducing a planned future payment in favor of additional cash up front. Meanwhile, MasterCard reportedly is in talks to acquire U.K. payments giant VocaLink in a potential £1 billion (US$1.45 billion) deal.

CFPB Schedules Arbitration Hearing for May 5, Proposed Rule to Come?

The CFPB has scheduled a field hearing on arbitration clauses in Albuquerque, N.M., on May 5 at 11 a.m., MDT. Experts are anticipating the hearing will be the forum for the bureau to release its proposed rule on arbitration, and industry groups are bracing for restrictions or an outright ban on arbitration clauses in financial services contracts.

Global Payments gets green light to acquire Heartland Payment Systems

US-based payment processor Global Payments is to acquire Heartland Payment Systems for $3.8 billion in cash and stock, as approved by the Heartland stockholders. About 29.7 million shares were voted in favour of the merger proposal. The vote represents approximately 99% of the total Heartland shares which voted on the merger proposal and 80% of […]

MasterCard closes in on £1bn VocaLink acquisition

MasterCard is in “exclusive” talks with VocaLink over a £1 billion-acquisition, according to Sky News. Sky News says it has learned that 13 banks, which are shareholders in VocaLink, have “approved a period of exclusivity within which MasterCard can negotiate a takeover of the company”. Out of those banks, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and […]

Top fintech stories this week – 22 April 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Corelation’s Keystone core system reaches 50 users All aboard for US-based credit unions. Citizens Bank plans core banking revamp with FIS Bank is also looking at a new mobile platform and middleware layer. Scotiabank invests millions of dollars […]

Moni goes into receivership

UK-based payments firm Moni has gone into receivership. Moni says its business and assets are being marketed for sale; and joint administrators have been appointed. If people have queries or are “owed money”, Moni is directing them to an advisory service. The firm did offer a mobile payment app for iOS and Android – similar […]

Swift Business Forum London 2016: Open banking touches a nerve

Financial institutions are still nervous about APIs and security when the word “open” is discussed, was one theme from the Swift Business Forum London 2016. More than 1,300 delegates were packed into Tobacco Dock, London for the sixth edition of the one-day event. Yesterday morning’s sessions (20 April) were a mixed bag – “blockchain is […]

Viewpoint: The Gamification of Financial Services

Gamification is not new, but new entrants are showing that injecting the right mix of fun and rewards into financial education can reap dividends for consumers and financial services providers seeking to engage their customers.

Viewpoint: Fintech: The Great Equalizer

We’re bombarded daily with reports that fintech firms are poised to eat the banks’ lunch. The drumbeat is so loud and steady, it’s hard not to fall into the trap of thinking that banks’ best days are behind them. But, I believe the proliferation of fintech solutions presents a remarkable opportunity for small and midsize financial institutions.

Spring 2016 Pay Magazine Now Available

The digital edition of the Spring 2016 issue of Pay Magazine is finally here. Whether you’re a technology provider, a financial services company or a retailer, you have to reconcile consumers’ on-demand mentality with top-notch security and compliance at every consumer touch point. In this issue, we help you do just that.

Bermuda Commercial Bank goes live with new core banking system, Temenos’ T24

Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB) has gone live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system (R13). The bank has also implemented Temenos’ business intelligence and analytics tool, Insight, and an AML solution. Sofgen, a Switzerland-based specialist IT consultancy and integration firm (now part of Tech Mahindra), carried out the implementation. The project was 18 months in the […]

Discover Expands E-Commerce Acceptance with Computop

On the heels of a strong earnings report yesterday, Discover Financial Services’ wholly owned subsidiary Diners Club International announced a deal with Bamberg, Germany-based payment service provider Computop to increase international e-commerce merchant acceptance of Discover, Diners Club and Alliance Partner cards.

NBPCA Chair Previews Hot Topics ahead of D.C. Event

The conference agenda covers the latest in prepaid legislation, regulation, compliance and business innovation, with keynote addresses from Reps. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), and IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

CFPB Report Blasts Payday Lenders over Bank Fees

In advance of the CFPB’s proposed rule on payday loans, the bureau has released a new report critical of payday lenders’ practice of debiting borrowers’ checking accounts, which often leads to overdrafts, penalty fees and account closures, while failing to actually recover payments, according to the report, which is based on data from more than 330 lenders.

U.S. House Passes Oversight Bill for Two Financial Regulators

The Financial Stability Council Reform Act would give Congress funding power over the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research, which keep track of financial risks and conduct other research.

Swift Business Forum London 2016: Blockchain – a reconciliation revolution

Blockchain is a revolution in reconciliation but not in payments, is one of the messages coming out of the Swift Business Forum London 2016. For the sixth edition of the show, more than 1,300 delegates were rammed and jammed into Tobacco Dock, London. This morning’s (20 April) sessions were dominated by warm-up speeches that praised […]

Payments UK launches new support service, signs Faster Payments as the first taker

Payments UK’s new service – Standards Collaboration Framework – offers institutions support in the implementation of industry standards. The first taker has already been onboarded. This is Faster Payments Scheme Limited (FPSL). Payments UK says the customer “will use the central, well-maintained ‘library’ to simplify how its industry stakeholders access and receive notifications about updated […]

ISO 20022 message guidelines approved and published

ISO 20022 Registration Management Group, the senior global registration body, has approved the ISO 20022 message guidelines – they have now been published. The new guidelines were developed by the ISO Real-Time Payments Group (RTPG) and facilitated by Payments UK, the representative of the country’s payments industry. Payments UK describes this development as “an important […]

Nets and JCB partner for mobile payments in Denmark

Denmark-based Nets and JCB have teamed up for Nets to use J/Speedy, JCB’s contactless technology, for Dankort payments with smartphones. Nets will launch Dankort on the mobile in autumn 2016, and JCB is also aiming to accelerate its mobile payment implementation globally using host card emulation (HCE) technology. Jeppe Juul-Andersen, SVP at Nets with the […]

Green Dot Board Battle Continues ahead of Shareholder Meeting, MoneyPak Relaunches

As Green Dot Corp. continues to fend off criticism of its performance and leadership from activist investor Harvest Capital Strategies, the company has sent a letter to shareholders in support of a trio of incumbent board members ahead of elections at Green Dot’s upcoming annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for May 23. Meanwhile, Green Dot’s popular MoneyPak product is back with new security features.

Visa Promises Quicker EMV Transactions

Visa releases a “Quick Chip for EMV” software upgrade that will enable consumers to remove their chip cards from payment terminals in two seconds or less.

MasterCard and Western Union boost Bangladesh’s mobile money transfers

MasterCard, Western Union, Bkash, a mobile financial service (MFS) provider, and BRAC Bank have launched a new, international remittance receiving service in Bangladesh. The service – via Western Union’s global network – enables Bkash’s registered customers to use their mobile phones to receive remittances from abroad directly into their accounts or collected from a Western […]

FIS and The Clearing House to debut US real-time payments system

FIS and The Clearing House (TCH) are preparing to launch a pilot for a “first-of-its-kind” real-time payments system in the US. The pilot will initially focus on the bill payment use case, using FIS technology and operating via the TCH real-time payments platform. Already under development, the pilot will go live in the first quarter […]

2016 Pay Awards in Pictures

In March we celebrated the winners of the 2016 Pay Awards at All Payments Expo in New Orleans. See photos of our Best-in-Category honorees and our Industry Achievement winner.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand chooses SIA for new RTGS system

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), the nation’s central bank, has chosen Italian payments company SIA to implement and support a new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. The new system will replace the current exchange settlement account system (ESAS). It will be delivered by SIA’s subsidiary Perago, based in South Africa. Perago is a […]