Samsung, one of the world’s largest electronics companies, this week gave its latest boost to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) by showing off Web-connected TVs and other products.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched an automated US dollar cross-border cash pooling services for corporations operating in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. ZF TRW, a division of ZF Friedrichshafen, manufacturers of automobile safety systems, has implemented the working capital solution and is serving as the pilot client.
Prepaid product and transaction services company InComm has expanded its European footprint with yesterday’s acquisition of TibiDono, a Salzburg, Austria-based marketing and gift card distribution company.
MasterCard wants consumers to use its cards and payment network to buy goods through their refrigerators and fitness devices, going by announcements made this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Two payday lenders have settled Federal Trade Commission charges over allegedly hitting customers undisclosed and inflated fees.
To kick off the New Year, we asked payments industry thought leaders to tell us what happened in 2015 that will most influence payments in 2016 and to discuss their hottest priorities for the next 12 months. Responses run the gamut from a combined Visa/Visa Europe to compliance, wearables and the impact of Chase Pay.
Orange’s new partnership with Groupama enables the French telco to offer banking services with the launch of Orange Bank while beefing up Groupama’s online banking business. The partnership also could lead to Orange acquiring a 65 percent stake in Groupama Banque.
Prepaid could have a new competitor in the U.K. with several banks there opening their doors to consumers who weren’t previously eligible for accounts due to poor credit histories. The so-called “basic accounts” are being offered as of Jan. 1, by nine major banks, after an agreement in late 2014 between the U.K. government and the country’s banking industry that was part of a larger push by British authorities to expand financial access for the underbanked.
Latin American consumers will have more access to mobile payments through a deal between ABnote and MeaWallet. The move comes as more consumers in the region turn to mobile devices to access the Web.
The 2015 holiday shopping season ended on a high note with a post-Christmas shopping surge fueled by a friendly calendar and shoppers looking to redeem gift cards in stores and online. Sales figures were higher than many observers expected after a somewhat sluggish start to the season—especially in the brick-and-mortar sector, which saw store visits plummet as consumers opted to do their holiday shopping on the Web.
Will the recently launched Mike Tyson Digital Wallet for bitcoin users be crowned the champ when other celebrity-endorsed payments products have failed to take hold? Bitcoin Direct is banking on Tyson’s endorsement of its digital wallet to become as synonymous as former boxing champ George Foreman and his grill.
Hot on the heels of its December Walmart Pay launch, retail giant Walmart is taking additional steps to speed up payments for shoppers. MasterCard announced today that Walmart will accept MasterPass in 2016 across its domestic online properties. The partnership suggests that even as retailers launch proprietary ways to pay, giving consumers more payment options will win out over exclusivity.
With tech giants investing in P2P payments—and millennials driving usage—a promising niche may finally be ready for the mainstream.
Millennials continue to show high interest in GPR prepaid cards and other alternative financial services—but they’re not turning their backs on banks, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Payment Cards Center.
Closed-loop gift cards appear poised for growth for the second consecutive holiday season after 2012 and 2013 declines, thanks in part to last-minute shopping and young consumers, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group Inc.
Idaho’s Department of Agriculture is the first government department to launch the eGovExpress digital wallet developed by Olathe, Kan.-based NIC Inc., provider of official government Web portals and digital government services for more than 3,500 federal, state and local government agencies.
PayPal’s One Touch, a fledgling mobile payments tool that enables quick purchases, has attracted 10 million users since its April launch, just as other mobile payment programs strive for dominance.
Rumors are beginning to swirl around Target developing its own m-wallet, but like Walmart, the retailer says it’s still committed to MCX’s CurrentC.
Global spending on cybersecurity will top $75 billion worldwide this year, 4.7 percent higher than 2014—and by 2020, the global cybersecurity market is projected to be worth $170 billion. The surge in spending is being driven by companies seeking to fortify their systems against the ever-evolving threat of data breaches and other cyberattacks. Government security initiatives and new legislation also have contributed to the upswing.
US payments body Nacha has set out to dispel myths about the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard with a new white paper published as part of an education programme as the US looks to convert its ACH network to the standard.
Chinese consumers soon will have a sizable selection of m-wallets to choose from as the country is becoming awash with big players in the m-wallet space. Both, Apple and Samsung Electronics, late last week announced deals with China UnionPay. Meanwhile, the road continues to be rocky for Apple in Australia, where banks have agreed to work with Android Pay, but not Apple Pay.
Up to 10 startups will join the FIS fintech accelerator, giving those fledging companies a chance to learn more about the industry from seasoned professionals.
As the issuance of EMV cards continues to grow, consumers are using their chip cards to buy sporting goods and pay for parking, according to new data from CardFlight.
There’s no questioning the popularity and appeal of gift cards—especially during this time of the year. Giving recipients the ability to treat themselves to something they really want or need has become prized among gift buyers. What’s even more exciting is how the concept of gift cards continues to evolve as new brands and card types launch.
The CFPB needs to return to its original plans on prepaid regulations and put its proposed rules on a New Year’s diet. By issuing rules focusing solely on disclosure, the CFPB could issue guidance earlier in 2016 that would help consumers, prevent access disruptions, and potentially reduce the size of the landfill needed to for the mountains of noncompliant cards and marketing materials.
The CFPB yesterday released its “Safe Student Account Toolkit,” which includes a scorecard to help colleges pick the best school-sponsored deposit or prepaid accounts for their students.
In a deal that will bring together two major players in the merchant acquirer processing business, Global Payments Inc. has reached an agreement to purchase Heartland Payment Systems Inc. for $4.3 billion.
Global Processing Services (GPS) has a new testing ground for its payments solutions, now that the Dubai-based processor has licensed the T3 test platform from Iliad Solutions Ltd. to provide functional and load testing capabilities for GPS’s prepaid and debit products.
A new transaction tool for one of the country’s largest e-commerce platform providers will enable more online merchants to accept installment payments from shoppers with credit cards.
InComm is tapping into consumer preferences by connecting eBay shoppers with its gift card partners through a proprietary storefront exclusively on the e-commerce site.
Users of the popular Dunkin’ Donuts payment and loyalty app now can use Apple Pay to purchase, gift or reload virtual Dunkin’ Donuts Cards to fuel the retailer’s mobile app. The integration began on Dec. 7, in time for the holiday gifting season and adds another use case for Apple Pay.
China-based payments giant UnionPay has launched QuickPass, a mobile payments service with more than 20 bank partners and acceptance at more than 10,000 retail locations. That deep roster of launch partners could help state-run UnionPay compete with privatelyheld players in the Chinese m-payments sector, most notably Alibaba and Tencent.
London-based B2B fintech company Currency Cloud recently released a trend report revealing the need for faster, less expensive and less complicated ways to make cross-border business payments. With $18 million in funding fueling its U.S. expansion, Currency Cloud says it’s taking on those cross-border pain points.
Cashless payments are growing around the world as more people have access to bank accounts, but only at a slightly faster rate than ATM withdrawals, indicating that cash still has a strong hold.
Six out of 10 chief financial officers from mid-market and large corporate firms in the UK say they would like to see the same flexible payments technology in their business’ finances as they enjoy in their personal finances, according to a survey by HSBC.
Joby Orlowsky is a die-hard Cubs fan—is there any other kind?—but the Chicago native’s optimism extends well beyond baseball. After nearly 20 years at Discover, Orlowsky is animated when he talks about the future of payments and Discover’s place in it. And unlike some, he’s not spooked about a potential fintech bubble.
The Bancorp Inc. has named John Chrystal as interim CEO of the company and president of subsidiary The Bancorp Bank. A member of the Bancorp board of directors, Chrystal will replace Frank Mastrangelo, who will continue to serve the company in the newly created role of technologist in residence.
Big box retailer Walmart has joined the plethora of m-wallets on the market with its launch of Walmart Pay, but the retail giant says it’s committed to MCX’s CurrentC. And, even though the move could be a boon for Walmart, analysts say it doesn’t really go head-to-head with Apple Pay and other wallets usable at multiple retailers.
A new partnership between Germany’s Wirecard Group and Alipay will enable Chinese travelers to make POS payments in Europe using the Alipay mobile wallet. The initiative will give European brands and retailers access to the $165 billion Chinese tourism market—and Alipay’s more than 400 million active users.
The US and eurozone countries both look set to have live real-time payment infrastructures by the end of 2017, both using the ISO 20022 for real-time messaging standard.
