PayTech


Configo launches site to aggregate banks’ API portals

Fintech start-up Configo has launched a project to aggregate the API portals launched by financial players around the world. It is not commercial driven but is “just a small project to put everything in order”, says Yosi Dahan, co-founder and CEO of Configo.

Visa CEO Charlie Scharf Steps Down; Board Appoints Amex Vet Alfred Kelly

The desire to spend more time with family and the rigors of travel have compelled Charlie Scharf to step down as Visa Inc. CEO, according to an Oct. 17 announcement by the payments network. Replacing him is American Express veteran Alfred Kelly Jr., who was unanimously appointed by the board of directors.

Verifone Pumps up Mobile Payments at Gas Stations

Verifone said Oct. 18 that it had adopted and deployed a new mobile API standard designed to better tie together payment and loyalty applications for customers at gas stations and convenience stores.

In NFC Fight, Australian Banks Call Apple’s Security Claims ‘Baseless’

A group of Australia’s biggest banks have launched the latest salvo in their dispute with Apple over third-party access to the iPhone’s NFC hardware. In a joint filing to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the banks rebuffed Apple’s claims that they should not be allowed to collectively negotiate with the tech giant over making their own mobile payment apps available on iPhones.

US Bank finds geolocation innovation for anti-fraud

US Bank is offering a Visa-developed geolocation service, a new, opt-in technology integrated into the bank’s mobile apps that enable the location of a card transaction to be matched to the location of the user’s phone. By matching the location, US Bank says it can help ensure that transactions on customers’ cards are approved and […]

IbanFirst raises €10m and launches Banking-as-a-Service for SMEs

Payments firm IbanFirst has raised €10 million for its growth plans and launched Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) for SMEs in Europe. IbanFirst offers an online multi-currency platform “in BaaS mode” – which it calls “an alternative to banks”. It was founded in 2013 by Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier (former head of Western Europe at Saxo Bank) under the name […]

Yes Bank goes biometric for payments

Yes Bank, India’s fifth largest in the private sector, has partnered with Lastmile.mobi to introduce the IRIS EMV POS solution. The device allows biometric authentication through iris scanning, and can act as a POS terminal as well as an ATM. Lastmile.mobi provides a cloud-based platform accessible by a biometric enabled mobile device. The solution integrates […]

EMV Rollout Initially Boosting ATM Fraud, but Could Eventually Slow It

With the U.S. rollout of EMV making it harder for fraudsters to target merchant POS systems, thieves increasingly have set their sights on ATMs. But cash machines won’t be such an easy target for long, as the same technology that has increased POS security is steadily making its way to ATMs.

British Banks Underreport Cyber Attacks, Report Says

U.K banks don’t report all the cyber attacks directed at them, according to a Reuters report. The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority reports at least 75 cyber attacks against financial institutions this year, but the news agency quoted experts who said that total is likely underreported. That’s in part because British banks are not required to report every such attack.

Japan Might Remove Bitcoin Tax

Japan might remove its 8 percent sales tax on bitcoin and other virtual currency transactions, according to reports. The plan stems from the country’s Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Agency, according to an Oct. 14 report in Japan Today. It said regulators intend to study the issue via a committee; among the questions is what constitutes a virtual currency.

NatWest’s debit card payments suffer glitch

Friday’s not the best for NatWest. Today (14 October), there have been some issues with its debit card payments and its customers are unable to make purchases. The bank says it is “aware of some issues” and is “working hard to fix them”. On Twitter, customers are either confused or venting their fury. We’re aware […]

Nod and pay a virtual reality with Alibaba

Alibaba has revealed a new payment service that lets virtual reality (VR) shoppers pay just by nodding their heads. Called VR Pay, it’s been developed by Ant Financial’s (Alibaba’s financial arm) incubator F Lab, and it’s another innovation in the lively and overcrowded payments arena. With the tech, shoppers (bovine at the best of times) […]

Aditya Birla picks Infosys Finacle core system for new bank

Indian firm Aditya Birla has chosen the Infosys Finacle core banking system for its upcoming joint venture (JV), Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank. Aditya Birla has got in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India and plans to set up the new payments bank by the end of its financial year (2016-17). Aditya Birla will […]

Top fintech stories this week – 14 October 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! MasterCard to buy French payment firm Stet? EXCLUSIVE. Payments processor could be a target. Brooks Macdonald puts IT revamp with Third Financial on hold EXCLUSIVE. All freeze for wealth management firm. Banks behaving badly in Singapore Monetary Authority […]

ISC invites bids for Iranian card management system implementation

Tehran-based Informatics Services Corporation (ISC) is inviting bids for the installation and implementation of an international card payment switch in Iran. ISC says it is considering the procurement of a national merchant management system, card management system, ACS (access control server) and FRM (fraud / risk management) to manage international card payments’ usage within Iran’s […]

Pay Magazine – Fall 2016

Fintechs Are from Mars, Banks Are from Venus; CFPB Enforcement Lessons; Payments Infrastructure: New Routes, Not New Rails; Biometrics Pros and Some Huge Cons; Samsung Pay Talks Strategy; Smartest Payments People; Loyalty Strategies; More

Payments round-up: 13 October 2016

Make it lean, keep them keen. A round-up of events in the payments space. Nordea is leaving the Swipp collaboration and partnering with Danske Bank’s MobilePay platform in Denmark and Norway. The shared payment solution’s plan is a reaction to “new international players” who “regularly appear in the market”. Danske says it will begin converting […]

TransferWise connects to UK Faster Payments Scheme

TransferWise has “successfully” integrated into the UK’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) using ACI Worldwide’s tech at the back-end. As Banking Technology reported in August, TransferWise became the “first” tech firm to get direct access to FPS as technical partner to Raphaels Bank. Prior to that, ACI partnered with the same bank, opening up access to […]

MasterCard selects super six for fintech accelerator

Silicon Valley Bank and MasterCard have selected six start-ups to participate in Class 5 of Commerce.Innovated, a virtual accelerator designed to help commerce, payments and fintech start-ups grow their businesses. The six US start-ups will go through the four-month virtual programme and are in various stages of funding and development: Domuso, a payment financing platform […]

SIBOS Interview: Payments trends in EMEA

Alain Raes, CEO EMEA and Asia Pacific, Swift, discusses the main payment trends in Europe, including real-time and the Global Payments Innovation Initiative.

SIBOS Interview: The securities services industry

Bruno Prigent, Head of Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) and Mathieu Maurier, Global Head of Sales and Relationship Management discuss the global securities industry and SGSS’s plans for the future.

SIBOS Interview: Gerry Gaetz, Payments Canada

SIBOS Interview: Gerry Gaetz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Payments Canada discusses the modernisation of Canada’s payments system with Tanya Andreasyan, editor of Banking Technology.

MasterCard to buy French payment firm Stet?

MasterCard is believed to be mulling the acquisition of French payments processor Stet. MasterCard told Banking Technology it “does not comment on rumours or speculation”. Stet responded saying that “these are unfounded rumours” and that it “has no discussions of this type with MasterCard.” Stet was set up in 2004 and is currently owned by […]

Federal Appeals Court Declares CFPB Structure Unconstitutional

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Oct. 11 deemed the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unconstitutional because of it being led by a single director, calling the bureau a “gross departure from settled historical practice” in which independent agencies are led by commissioners or board members, according to the court’s decision.

CFPB Fines Navy Federal Credit Union $28.5 Million

The CFPB has fined Navy Federal Credit Union $28.5 million for improper debt collection action. That breaks down to $23 million going to victims and a $5.5 million civil penalty, the federal consumer agency said.

Chinese tourism fuels Alipay and Zapper payment partnership

Alipay has partnered with Zapper, the consumer insights and marketing platform, to grab a slice of the Chinese tourism market in the UK. Zapper says the partnership will allow over 250,000 Chinese tourists visiting the UK to pay using the Alipay app in over 1,000 locations nationwide. Rita Liu, head of Alipay EMEA, says merchants, […]

Applying Augmented Reality to an Omnichannel Retail Environment

Virtual reality (VR) has been grabbing headlines this year with major players across several industries entering the market. But there is evidence to show that augmented reality (AR) may be a more valuable platform in the years ahead. So what exactly is AR and what are the potential applications that could help take it from a small niche to a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years?

People on the Move: Eric Jing, Ant Financial

Ant Financial Services Group, the online and mobile financial services affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has appointed current president Eric Jing as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective Oct. 16.

People on the Move: Safdar Khan, Mastercard

Mastercard has named Safdar Khan to the role of division president for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Khan will be based in Jakarta and be responsible for leading the implementation of the company’s digital payment technologies in those markets.

An unfiltered view of filters

With regulators placing ever greater demands on institutions in the area of sanctions, it is essential that institutions screen their customers and transactions against relevant sanctions lists. Regulators are showing less tolerance for errors than in the past. Not only have fines have been imposed on banks but also on payments companies and casinos. Specifically, […]

Symantec reveals more hack attempts on Swift network

Symantec has found evidence that the Odinaff group has mounted attacks on Swift users, using malware to hide customers’ own records of Swift messages relating to fraudulent transactions. The tools used are designed to monitor customers’ local message logs for keywords relating to certain transactions. They will then move these logs out of customers’ local […]