Aug. 27, 2013 A new prepaid card in Nigeria enables shareholders to receive dividend payments directly onto the card. The First Dividend Plus Prepaid Card is being billed as a “revolutionary product” by Verve International, the payment card provider that is releasing the card in partnership with stock registrar service First Registrars Nigeria. The card […]
Aug. 26, 2013 Another element of PayPal Inc.’s in-store payments strategy fell into place today with the announcement that TSYS has inked an agreement with Discover Network to process PayPal transactions at U.S. brick-and-mortar locations as part of the PayPal in-store payment acceptance partnership announced last year with Discover. TSYS’s involvement will provide an expanded […]
Aug. 26, 2013 Shell Canada has launched a gift card program with StoreFinancial, which is providing processing and program management services. StoreFinancial is providing Shell with a restricted authorization network (RAN) card, along with its RASER card activation technology, which enables client retailers to sell and activate gift cards without a third-party distributor, regardless of […]
Aug. 26, 2013 A growing number of Canadian companies are using corporate incentive programs to motivate and reward employees and customers—and to greater effect, according to a recent report by Berkeley Payment Solutions, a Toronto-based provider of MasterCard and Visa prepaid card programs for corporations, governments and financial institutions. Slightly more than three-quarters of respondents […]
Aug. 26, 2013 Vodafone continues to expand availability of M-Pesa throughout India as it readies the launch of the money service in at least two other countries by the end of this year. As an expansion of its partnership with ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, M-Pesa is now available to consumers in Delhi, […]
Aug. 22, 2013 Financial industry groups are applauding yesterday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors that it will appeal a court ruling invalidating the agency’s debit interchange and network routing rules. Though the Fed’s rules setting debit interchange fee limits under the Durbin Amendment are “far from perfect,” the court’s July 31 decision […]
Aug. 22, 2013 MICROS Systems Inc. and PayPal Inc. this week announced a strategic global collaboration that will pave the way for thousands of restaurants and other hospitality industry businesses using MICROS’s payment platforms to add PayPal as a POS and mobile app payment option. MICROS, used in more than half a million businesses around the […]
Aug. 22, 2013 Bitcoin Ventures Inc. is aiming to make it easier for consumers to obtain and make transactions with Bitcoin virtual currency. The Calgary, Alberta-based software development company and provider of Bitcoin e-commerce solutions has announced CoinTap, a prepaid card the company says streamlines “an otherwise tricky and time-consuming process” of exchanging traditional currency […]
Aug. 22, 2013 Online gift card provider GiftCard.com has announced a new affiliate program that will enable online publishers and bloggers to earn revenue for referrals to the company’s gift and incentive card Websites. Affiliate e-publishers and bloggers will have access to banner graphics and text links for both GiftCard.com and IncentiveCardLab.com to help direct […]
July 11, 2013 Another major piece of MCX’s jigsaw puzzle fell into place today with the announcement that payments technology provider FIS will provide the payments processing platform, including transaction routing and settlement, for the retail consortium’s evolving mobile commerce system. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FIS will execute mobile payments at participating retailer outlets in combination with […]
By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor Isis, the mobile wallet system backed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, Verizon and three major card networks, is gathering steam as it nears its national rollout, with a new co-branding effort with American Express Co.’s Serve payments platform providing the latest push forward. Amex earlier this month announced plans to […]
Ukash recently has undertaken a slate of major new initiatives, expanding its Paybefore Award-winning platform to offer a full spectrum of services to cash-preferred consumers.
Aug. 21, 2013 Certainty on debit interchange and network routing regulation isn’t likely any time soon. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has decided to appeal a judge’s ruling requiring the agency to rewrite those rules. During a hearing today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Fed’s lead attorney, Scott Alvarez, said the […]
A new mobile payments network called YellowPepper has launched in Colombia, marking the beginning of a massive project to bank the unbanked and sweep away the dominance of cash across the Spanish-speaking Americas.
Aug. 20, 2013 Groupon bucked the mPOS system from the outset with its unique merchant pricing strategy, and its latest move to embrace traditional payment terminals seems equally novel as mainstream acquirers like Chase Paymentech are now getting into dongles. Groupon last week said it will add traditional credit card terminals to its merchant payments […]
Aug. 20, 2013 Sixteen Australian payment service providers have added MasterCard’s MasterPass as a payment option for their electronic merchant clients. Announced at the Online Retailers and E-Commerce Expo in Sydney, the agreements brings MasterPass to thousands of online merchants, who will add a MasterPass button to their online checkout, enabling shoppers to make purchases […]
Aug. 20, 2013 A mobile payments network aims to bring financial services to Colombia’s unbanked consumers and move the country’s economy away from cash. The Miami-based network, known as YellowPepper, thus far has signed up 12 Colombian banks for its system, which includes a virtual payment card, P2P and mPOS capability, according to a report […]
Aug. 20, 2013 IntelliVoice Networks Inc., a provider of prepaid phone services, is broadening its array of offerings through a deal with Payteller LLC, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based provider of self-service kiosks offering financial services. Payteller will install its kiosks in high-traffic retail locations throughout the Midwest and in Texas, according to an announcement. Payteller […]
It’s time for the prepaid industry to once again innovate by embracing next-generation processing technology and creating new tools that help people improve their financial behavior.
Adding a savings tool to GPR cards drives usage and retention and helps cardholders get ahead.
Zapp, a U.K.-based provider of mobile payment technology, recently announced several senior-level appointments.
WEX Inc., a South Portland, Maine-based provider of corporate payment solutions (formerly Wright Express), announced that Stephen R. Crowley has joined the company as chief information officer and senior vice president, shared services.
Visa Europe has named Nicolas Huss president and CEO.
Ovation Incentives, a U.K.-based B2B incentive program provider, has appointed Rory Smith head of its U.S. office in Chicago.
MasterCard has appointed Ezediashi Ofili vice president and business leader to drive growth of its prepaid business in sub-Saharan Africa. MasterCard also appointed Marcus Mak head of merchant marketing for the company’s Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa region.
Giftango, a digital gifting solutions provider and wholly owned subsidiary of InComm, announced it now operates under the name InComm Digital Solutions.
France-based prepaid card provider Edenred recently announced two appointments to its executive committee.
San Francisco-based BillFloat, which provides small-dollar loans to customers for electronic bill payments, recently announced that Neil Peretz has joined the company as general counsel.
Aug. 19, 2013 One of Europe’s largest private equity firms has acquired a controlling stake in U.K.-based online payment system Skrill. Funds advised by CVC Capital Partners doled out EUR 600 million (US$801 million) to nab a 75 percent stake in Skrill from Bahrain-based Investcorp. Founded in 2001 as Moneybookers, Skrill is among the world’s […]
Aug. 19, 2013 Customer relationship management (CRM) tools, which previously came with multimillion-dollar implementation costs, are becoming more affordable for companies of all sizes because of software-as-a-service (SAAS) models, according to Enacomm Inc., which last week unveiled 4Cast. The CRM application, which is now available as an SAAS release, analyzes past and current user data […]
Aug. 19, 2013 The taxicab industry is serving as a laboratory for new mobile payment technologies, with VeriFone Systems Inc.’s new cloud-based Way2ride app the latest example. VeriFone this month in New York City is launching a mobile app in 7,000 cabs enabling riders to tap to pay using any iOS or Android smartphone. Users […]
Aug. 19, 2013 San Francisco-based online payment startup Stripe has expanded its services to the U.K. The company’s platform enables merchants to accept network branded payment cards online by integrating a few lines of code on their Websites. Already active in the U.S. and Canada, Stripe’s client list includes Foursquare and Redditt. The company has […]
Aug. 15, 2013 Is Facebook ready to take another stab at payments—this time using mobile apps? The social media giant reportedly is about to test a new mobile payments feature that would enable users who have stored credit card information with Facebook to make purchases directly from e-commerce mobile apps using only Facebook login credentials. The […]
Aug. 15, 2013 Blackhawk Network has released a new line of travel insurance cards that will enable customers to purchase coverage with cash at Canadian Safeway grocery locations. Known as SmartAssure, the cards are being launched in partnership with issuer Jones Deslauriers Blevins Insurance Group, one of Canada’s largest insurance brokerages. Available in multiple denominations […]
Aug. 15, 2013 A mobile commerce partnership between Spanish telecom provider Telefónica and two Spanish banks has been given the green light by the European Commission (EC), paving the way forward for what the companies are calling Europe’s first full joint venture between financial institutions and telecom operators. In its ruling, the EC said there […]
Aug. 15, 2013 A new mobile app from Heartland School Solutions, a division of Princeton, N.J.-based merchant processor Heartland Payment Systems, aims to make it easier for parents to manage their children’s school related expenses, such as meals, tuition, lab fees and sporting events. The app, launched this week for Apple iOS and Android smartphones […]
By Ginger Schmeltzer, Fiserv In July, The Clearing House announced that it would pilot an “industry-wide dynamic credentialing solution” to improve the safety and soundness of digital payments. According to the announcement, The Clearing House is partnering with its member institutions to create a “secure cloud” that protects mobile payments at the point of sale […]
By Joe DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger The payments startup culture, as it currently exists, is now mature enough that established firms in even highly regulated, slower moving industries can learn a thing or two from how these smaller, faster, younger tech companies think. While size, scope, market, finances and level of success varies widely upon […]
Aug. 14, 2013 A judge has given the Federal Reserve another week to answer questions about rewriting the agency’s rule on implementing debit interchange fees and network routing regulations under the Durbin Amendment. The agency’s existing rule was thrown out last month when the district court ruled in favor of merchants in a lawsuit filed […]
Aug. 14, 2013 Travelex has teamed up again with MasterCard and its subsidiary Access Prepaid for what the companies say is the first-ever multicurrency prepaid travel card specifically developed for U.S. travelers. The Multi-Currency Cash Passport Prepaid MasterCard, equipped for both magnetic-stripe and EMV chip transactions, enables customers to preload funds in five currencies simultaneously, […]
