Companies on the Move: Meta Financial Group, Top 200 Community Banks and Thrifts List
Meta Financial Group Inc., holding company of MetaBank, has been included in the annual “Top 200 Community Banks and Thrifts” list in American Banker Magazine.
Payments
Online transactions to touch $5 trillion in four years’ time
The annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will nearly double over the next four years, reaching $4.7 trillion by 2019, up from just over $2.5 trillion this year, with contactless payments primarily driven by card purchases rather than mobile.
SIMalliance: HCE Will Expedite NFC Rollout (June 23, 2014)
Host card emulation (HCE) technology has gained an unlikely supporter. SIMalliance, which had been critical of HCE’s role in bringing NFC-based mobile payments into the mainstream, said today that HCE likely will expedite SIM-based NFC payment deployments.
MasterCard to ‘Power’ TruCash’s New Canadian Reload Network (June 23, 2014)
MasterCard is continuing to expand the reach of its rePower reload network, partnering with DCR Strategies Inc./TruCash to enable reloads in Canada.
N.J. Bill Would Eliminate Gift Card Data Collection Requirements (June 23, 2014)
NJ S 2235 was introduced in the State Senate, offering hope that New Jersey’s attempt to grab unclaimed funds that otherwise may be owed to another state finally might be put to rest.
Report: D.C. to Get Moving on NFC Transit Pilot (June 23, 2014)
Mass transit continues to be among the most promising areas for NFC payments, with Washington, D.C., reportedly planning to put the technology in motion next year.
Blackhawk Network Serves up Grocery Customers to Amex (June 19, 2014)
Earlier this month American Express announced several new budgeting capabilities it’s adding to Serve, along with expanded retail distribution in Safeway and other retailers through a new partnership with Blackhawk Network.
Allpoint to Offer ATM Account Deposits, But Prepaid Reloads Remain Elusive (June 19, 2014)
Cardtronics plans to add a new deposit function to more than 2,500 ATMs in the company’s Allpoint Network.
Cordray Goes Before House Committee, Says Overdraft Will Be Part of Prepaid Rules (June 19, 2014)
CFPB Director Richard Cordray headed to the House yesterday to present his bureau’s semi-annual report to the House Financial Services Committee, headed by Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Latest FDIC Consent Order Also Focuses on BSA (June 19, 2014)
The FDIC has issued another consent order for a company with significant prepaid business and again the focus is on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance.
Conference Coverage: Industry Leaders Outline Ways to Keep Prepaid Going Up
The prepaid card continues to be the fastest-growing form of electronic payment, but to maintain that position in a world where emerging payments are gaining ground every day, the industry must keep innovating.
WEX Makes $532 Million Health Care Spending Play (June 17, 2014)
Payments M&A activity continues as corporate payments provider WEX Inc. announced a major move into the health care payments sector, entering a definitive agreement to acquire Evolution1 for $532.5 million.
Magic, Orman Cards Exit the Market (June 17, 2014)
After splashy debuts two years ago, two celebrity-backed prepaid cards quietly are exiting the market this summer.
CFPB Launches Mobile Banking Inquiry, Requests Information (June 17, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is turning its attention to mobile financial services and is seeking information from the industry and consumers.
Will N.Y. Bill Run Payroll Cards Out of Town? (June 16, 2014)
New York State lawmakers, along with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, came out with guns blazing last week—their target: payroll cards.
Rep. Stivers: Don’t Let Regulation Stifle Innovation (June 16, 2014)
Congressman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) stressed the importance of the prepaid card industry continuing its work of getting to know federal rulemakers and explaining to them the value the industry’s products provide to consumers, businesses and state and local governments.
HCE Continues to Gain Ground as PPS, Proxama Ink Deal (June 16, 2014)
More mobile wallet providers are pinning their hopes on host card emulation technology to facilitate NFC payments.
New Site Could Be Springboard to Alibaba’s U.S. E-Commerce Ambitions (June 16, 2014)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s new U.S. retail portal eventually could present a challenge for some of the biggest names in the online shopping sector, including Amazon and eBay.
The Bancorp Steps up BSA Compliance Efforts, Following FDIC Consent Order (June 13, 2014)
The Bancorp Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp Inc., this week revealed in an 8K filing with the SEC that it’s stepping up its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance efforts in accordance with an FDIC consent order that went into effect June 5.
EBA report sets scene for collaboration on supply chain finance
The Euro Banking Association has published results of research and assessment work on supply chain finance topics and alternative electronic payments, including recommendations on managing financial industry collaboration and partnerships.
Blog: The Overdraft Problem Is Really a Credit Problem
Rather than spending time debating which option is worse for consumers—overdraft or payday loans—or focusing solely on reining in overdraft, we ought to shift our energies to creating new credit products that meet consumers’ needs transparently and affordably.
Blog: Fight Fraud without Alienating Customers Using Mobile, Knowledge-Based Authentication
While asking a customer for multiple pieces of information and presenting him with various questions satisfies federal guidelines and other legal compliance, it can throw a major wrench in the prepaid card activation model. Out-of-wallet authentication must be accomplished in real time—and that means mobile.
Cordray: Proposed Rules for Prepaid Cards Due by ‘End of Summer’ (June 11, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has bumped plans to release its proposed rule on prepaid cards to “the end of the summer,” according to Richard Cordray, the agency’s director.
U.K. Retailers’ Banking Push Continues with Tesco Current Account (June 11, 2014)
As U.K. retailers move further into providing personal banking services, supermarket giant Tesco has launched its first-ever current account.
Amazon Expands One-Click Payments to Subscriptions (June 10, 2014)
Less than a year after Amazon launched a one-click checkout feature for outside Web merchants, the online retail giant has unveiled a similar service for recurring and subscription-based payments.
American Express Goes Mobile in Uber Deal (June 10, 2014)
Uber, the global service that connects drivers with riders, has integrated American Express’ membership reward points into its iOS app, giving consumers another way to use their mobile devices to pay with American Express.
Report: EMV Makes Increasing Sense for Credit, Debit Cards (June 10, 2014)
The increasing risk of fraud, the rise of NFC, customer convenience and lower technology costs have combined to make the business case for EMV work for U.S. payment card issuers, according to a new report from Aite Group.
Cachet App to Expand FirstView’s Mobile Presence (June 10, 2014)
On the heels of its March acquisition of the moneto mobile payment platform from DeviceFidelity Inc., Minneapolis-based remote deposit capture specialist Cachet Financial Solutions announced it will be developing a prepaid mobile app for cardholders of FirstView, an Atlanta-based program manager and processor.
Banks: get your act together or fail, EBAday conference told
Banks are paying lip-service to the concept of customer service and are years behind on innovation – and unless they literally get their act together by collaboratively embracing open software libraries and sharing applications and data, they will not survive.
EMERGE Recap: Digital Currencies Pack Potential to Serve the Underbanked (June 9, 2014)
The rise of Bitcoin and other digital currencies could present new opportunities for serving the underbanked once acceptance becomes more widespread, and payment providers and investors are building an infrastructure to support such uses.
EMV Inching into Prepaid with i2c, Banco do Brasil Americas Travel Card (June 9, 2014)
Despite some skepticism around the business case for prepaid issuers, in particular, to migrate to EMV in the U.S., another card targeting international travelers has made its debut.
Bitcoin ATM Allowed in China, Denied in Switzerland (June 9, 2014)
Bitcoin recently took one step forward and one step back as one provider launched its first Bitcoin ATM in China, while another Bitcoin operator has been denied doing the same more than 4,700 miles away in Switzerland.
Company on the Move: paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG, Award Recipient
In addition to being the 2014 Paybefore Awards Europe winner in the Consumer Champion category, paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG, which is part of the Skrill Group, also has been included in The New Economy’s list of top 40 most innovative companies in the world.
Companies on the Move: The Members Group and TMG Financial Services, Marketing Honors
Des Moines, Iowa-based payments processor The Members Group and its sister company and credit card agent issuer TMG Financial Services received recognition from the Iowa Chapter of the American Marketing Association, both earning multiple NOVA Awards for excellence in marketing campaigns.
Amex Bolsters Bluebird, Serve with Budgeting Tools; Expands Free Reload Network (June 5, 2014)
New financial management tools for American Express Serve and Bluebird GPR prepaid cards announced today likely will strike a chord with cardholders—many of which already are displaying positive financial behavior, according to the payments network.
EMERGE Keynote: CFSI’s Tescher on Promoting Financial Health for All (June 5, 2014)
With the Center for Financial Services Innovation ringing in its 10th anniversary this year, CFSI President and CEO Jennifer Tescher took a short walk down memory lane—but kept a sharp focus on the road ahead—in her keynote address yesterday at EMERGE: The Forum on Consumer Financial Services Innovation.
Federal Banking Agencies Seek Comment on ‘Outdated, Unnecessary’ Regs (June 5, 2014)
A rare chance to trim back certain redundant financial regulations that seem to spread like ivy has arrived.
The challenge of intraday liquidity reporting
Reporting on the management of intraday liquidity risk will start on a monthly basis from 1 January 2015 to coincide with the implementation of the liquidity coverage ratio reporting requirements. Christian Goerlach of Deutsche Bank, takes a closer look at some of the issues facing global banks.
ISO 20022: where next?
An question that continues to be asked is will the increased adoption of ISO 20022 facilitate the consolidation of payments clearing utilities and see the introduction of new services for customers? This suggests that despite the fact that ISO 20022 has been around for more than decade, confusion still exists over what it is.
Aktif Bank Turkey targets cross-border payments
Turkey’s largest investment bank Aktif has begun using international payment services from specialist Earthport, in a move the bank says will help its corporate and retail customers to get a better deal on their cross-border payments.
