Digital wallet providers have an easier route to issuer integration with the new MasterCard Digital Enablement Express service, but one analyst suggests it may be more difficult for providers—outside of Apple Pay—to collect issuer fees.
In another indication of blockchain technology’s potential for payments, a group of major industry players have made a $30 million equity investment in blockchain startup Chain Inc.
Paybefore Award-winning Simple, the Portland, Ore.-based branchless bank founded in 2009, this week said it’s eliminating all consumer fees and will rely exclusive on earning interest and interchange for its revenues.
The UK payment services market has been under the spotlight in recent months with the introduction of a new Payment Systems Regulator created with the intention, amongst other things, of opening up the industry to new and emerging payment service providers.
The Payment Systems Regulator, the new economic regulator for UK payment systems, today confirms the line-up of the Payments Strategy Forum it has set up to set the strategy for innovation in payment systems where the industry needs to work together.
Barclays has launched a cloud-based contingency payment service for corporates, which the bank says will help corporates to make payments even if they are unable to use their primary channel, for example during an internet outage. The deal comes as financial institutions and corporates increase their focus on risk mitigation.
GPR cards with savings features could help lower-income cardholders set money aside for unexpected costs and learn better overall financial habits, a new Boston Fed report suggests.
Consolidation in the payments industry continues as MetaBank expands its presence in the tax services space with the completion of its acquisition of Fort Knox Financial Services Corp., and Finicity Corp. continues its fintech investment by buying payment processor and program manager Aurora Financial Systems Inc.
Global smart card production has doubled in the last 36 months, in part, because of the U.S. migration to EMV this year. And instead of displacing physical cards, new mobile wallets—including Apple Pay—are contributing to higher overall card production rates, according to Europe’s Smart Payment Association (SPA).
Most U.S. merchants won’t be ready to process chip cards by the Oct. 1 EMV liability shift, but the somewhat alarming numbers don’t tell the whole story, according to card processing industry veteran Ian Drysdale, executive vice president of sales and business development, North America, for U.S. Bank’s Elavon. EMV already accounts for as many as 20 percent of transactions for some merchants, and momentum is shifting fast.
Retailers globally may be facing pressure to adopt new payment technologies, as shoppers demand simpler and more innovative ways to pay, according to MasterCard’s first Retail Social Listening Study. The first-of-its-kind study taps into what consumers are saying on social media about payments and popular retail sectors.
Card-linked offers could help marketers, retailers and issuers as consumers seek more efficient ways to redeem loyalty points and coupons—especially among the coveted millennial demographic—a recent study says.
Figures from Link, the UK’s cash machine network, show that the number of ATMs in the UK reached 70,180 in July, passing 70,000 for the first time. ATM figures from July, show that the total amount withdrawn from cash machines in July 2015 was £11.3 billion, up 4% compared with July 2014.
When I joined the company in 2007, Google was just a search engine and Apple had nothing to do with payments. It was a time many prepaid executives have compared to throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks—not everything did.
Business expense prepaid cards can fill in the gaps when credit, cash or other business payments aren’t ideal. Tapping this relatively young vertical market will require product features that make life easier for employers and employees.
The creation of domestic mobile payment schemes by retail banks is good news for their customers domestically, but potentially threatens mobile payments at an international level.
As the SEPA deadline has come and gone, what will be built upon its advances towards digitisation and standardisation?
Australia’s central bank may begin regulating American Express cards in the country, putting at risk the generous rewards points cardholders earn on so-called “companion cards”— credit card accounts linked to two different credit card networks, thus enabling cardholders to earn the benefits of whichever one they choose to use at the point of purchase.
New Delhi’s Urban Development Ministry this week announced it’s reached an agreement for a consortium of agencies to begin developing an interoperable payment card with a prepaid feature for POS purchases and public transportation that eventually could be used with different transit systems across India.
Flipkart, one of India’s largest e-commerce companies, has acquired a majority stake in payment services platform FX Mart Pvt. Ltd. for Rs. 45.4 crores (roughly US$6.9 million).
PayPal more or less invented P2P payments with its core service enabling individuals to pay one another via email through various funding sources. Now it’s introduced a URL-based approach.
Samsung Pay is off to a brisk start in Korea after its launch there Aug. 20, about five weeks ahead of the mobile payment service’s pending debut in the U.S. on Sept. 28, but it’s nowhere near Apple Pay levels, which hit 1 million registered cards in the first 72 hours.
A former Secret Service agent involved in the investigation against the Silk Road online marketplace has pleaded guilty in federal court to pilfering nearly a million dollars’ worth of bitcoin during the investigation.
More than £2.5 billion was spent in the UK using contactless cards in the first half of 2015 and this is likely to increase even more as the upper limit for contactless payments increases from £20 to £30 from today.
Fiserv Inc., a global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced that it has received a vendor award for outstanding performance of anti-money laundering (AML) solutions by Aite Group as part of its “2015 Global AML Vendor Evaluation.”
U.S. lawmakers keep trying to influence how the U.S. Department of Education handles a proposed rule on campus cards that deliver financial aid dollars. And, the DOE continues to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Dangling $5,000 in free Apple Pay transaction processing for merchants, North American Bancard will launch a new EMV-ready m-POS card reader next month at the Apple Store, while MCX says CurrentC is on the verge of a public pilot in Ohio that will include redemption of national manufacturer coupons.
Fuel savings are considered the most valuable reward by consumers enrolled in loyalty programs, beating out coupons, airline miles and even cash back, a new survey reveals.
Another company has entered the field of players vying to acquire Worldpay Ltd.
The UK payments industry and regulators should focus on four main priorities to ensure the country has a ‘world class’ payments framework, according to Payments UK.
Digital gifting continues to make inroads, with more than half of consumers surveyed by Blackhawk Network reporting the purchase of an e-gift over the previous year.
Paybefore Award-winning Wirecard, an independent global provider of outsourcing and white-label solutions for electronic payments, reportedly has thrown its hat into the ring to acquire Worldpay Ltd. for £6 billion (US$9.4 billion).
A U.S. appeals court this week determined that the FTC has authority to regulate corporate cybersecurity and can pursue a lawsuit against hotel operator Wyndham Worldwide Corp. for allegedly failing to properly safeguard consumers’ information.
Amid the threat of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime and heightened scrutiny by regulators, a new report urges retail and financial services CEOs and board members to take an active, involved role in improving their firms’ safeguards.
Digitally enabled supplier finance networks and alternative lenders now pose a significant threat to every part of the commercial lending business, with 84% of banks seeing pressure on the pricing of loan products as a challenge.
Surcharges vs. discounts.
Changing terms of an agreement.
Three-party agreements causes problems.
Rights of gift card holders.
Redeeming for dollars.
