UnionPay Targets American Travelers with Gift Card
Building on a partnership that began three years ago, UnionPay announced that U.S. travelers headed to China have a new payment option—UnionPay Gift Cards.
PayTech
Wirecard Makes Scandinavia Play with Paygoo Pact
Wirecard’s flurry of activity continues as the German payment services and technology firm joins with Norway-based program manager Paygoo to launch a reloadable prepaid MasterCard, to be distributed through one of Europe’s largest convenience store chains, Reitan Convenience.
PayPal Will Shut Down in Turkey After Regulators Reject New License
PayPal will shut down its business in Turkey on June 6 after regulators there denied the online payment processing service a new license.
Report: Asian Banking Hacks Linked to North Korean Software Code
Software code used in recent attacks on banks—including a high-profile Bangladesh attack that resulted in the theft of approximately $81 million—comes from the North Korean government, according to security experts.
Oman Arab Bank opts for BPC’s SmartVista for payments
Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has selected BPC Banking Technologies’ SmartVista suite for its payment business. SmartVista will replace the existing legacy platform, ACI Worldwide’s Open2. BPC says following a review and bid process, OAB selected its suite over ACI Worldwide and HPS. Fahd Amjad, GM retail banking at Oman Arab Bank, says the partnership with […]
CIMB Bank and MasterCard launch corporate cards in Malaysia
CIMB Bank, in partnership with MasterCard, has launched its Corporate Card Solutions in Malaysia, a new addition to its suite of cash management products. The solutions include the corporate card and purchasing card which offer automated processes and real-time reporting; and a new virtual card solution for supply chain requirements. Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, […]
Visa Europe contactless transactions pass 3 billion mark
Visa Europe says three billion contactless transactions were made across Europe on Visa cards and payment-enabled devices in the year to 30 April. This leap nearly triples that of the same period in the previous year. Tristan Kirchner, executive director, product management at Visa Europe, says it’s “extraordinary growth” and it’s due to the work […]
Top fintech stories this week – 27 May 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Swift hacks sees 12 more banks under attack A fast moving chain of events. High five for Apple Pay in Singapore Big banks onboard include OCBC and Standard Chartered. NYSE launches new trading tech platform, NYSE Pillar The […]
Santander UK pilots blockchain app for payments
Santander says it is the “first” UK bank to introduce blockchain for international payments through a new app. It is currently being rolled out as a staff pilot, with the intention to expand the technology “at a later date”. Sigga Sigurdardottir, head of customer and innovation at Santander, says: “The need for finance has evolved […]
Swift hacks sees 12 more banks under attack
Investigators are looking at more potential computer breaches following the three hacking incidents on Swift’s payment network, according to Bloomberg. The three attacks comprised a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh – the biggest cyber heist in history; Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank stopping an attempted wire fraud; and Ecuador’s Banco del Austro losing around $9 […]
Green Dot Issues Mea Culpa, Still Working out Final Kinks
Green Dot has taken to social media to apologize for service issues that go beyond its initial reporting that balance inquiries temporarily were unavailable in certain channels, following the third wave of its processing conversion to MasterCard Payment Transaction Services.
Wells Fargo Joins the Mobile Wallet Race
Wells Fargo will launch its mobile wallet this summer, giving consumers using Android devices a new way to pay with their Wells Fargo debit and credit cards.
Payments Vets Launch ‘Innovation’ Platform for Issuers
The multibillion-dollar fintech boom often garners headlines for consumer-facing innovation. Three payments veterans—John Mitchell, Futeh Kao and Chermaine Hu—decided it was time to create some issuer-facing innovation. With their new company Episode Six, the team has launched a payments software platform that integrates with issuers’ existing processing infrastructure to enable customized new products, Mitchell tells Paybefore.
Wirecard Singapore and NETS team for terminal payment solution
Wirecard Singapore, part of Wirecard Group, and NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers {Singapore}) have partnered to provide a single terminal payment solution for Singapore government agencies. The move will enable users to use their CEPAS (Contactless e-Purse Application) cards such as NETS FlashPay, EZ-Link and concession cards on one single device. Wirecard says CEPAS cards […]
People on the Move: Todd Clark, CO-OP Financial Services
CO-OP Financial Services, which provides financial technology to 3,500 credit unions, has announced that Todd Clark will assume the role of president and CEO, effective June 27, succeeding the retiring Stan Hollen.
Company on the Move: The Orogen Group, Launch
Former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit and independent investment fund Atairos Group are creating The Orogen Group, a New York-based company that will make controlling and other strategic investments in financial services companies and related businesses.
People on the Move: Karen Richardson, Worldpay
Global payments processor and technology provider Worldpay Group plc has appointed Karen Richardson to the company’s board of directors as an independent non-executive director and a member of the audit and nomination committees, effective July 1, 2016.
People on the Move: Melissa Stevens, Fifth Third Bancorp
Fifth Third Bancorp has hired Melissa Stevens as senior vice president, chief digital officer and head of omni-channel banking.
Company on the Move: Visa Inc., New Dubai Innovation Center
Visa Inc. has opened a new innovation center in Dubai Internet City, the region’s largest information and communications technology community.
BBVA teams with Red Hat for digital banking drive
BBVA is partnering with Red Hat to speed up innovation and digital banking growth. The agreement, which turns Red Hat into a “priority partner” for BBVA, is part of a series of alliances that BBVA is aiming to forge. Earlier this year, it signed an alliance with Cisco, also allowing it to become a “priority” […]
High five for Apple Pay in Singapore
Apple Pay support is expanding beyond American Express to Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards from five of Singapore’s major banks. The big banks include POSB, DBS, OCBC, Standard Chartered and UOB. This latest deal is a significant development for Apple as it now has more than 80% of the Visa and MasterCard credit […]
ANZ pilots shared ledger for payments reconciliation
Australia and New Zealand-based banking group, ANZ, is trialling a shared ledger in the reconciliation of international payments with an unnamed US bank. ANZ says it is not strictly using blockchain but the shared ledger will act in a similar way. Its objective is to reconcile cross-border payments between counterparties in real time. Nigel Dobson, […]
Kmart Settles Data Breach Class Action with Banks
A settlement agreement has been reached from a 2014 data breach between Kmart and several banks.
Kozlowski Takes Reins at The Bancorp
The board of directors of The Bancorp Inc. and The Bancorp Bank has appointed Damian Kozlowski to leadership roles with both entities. Kozlowski will become CEO of The Bancorp and president of The Bancorp Bank, effective June 1, 2016. He also will serve as director of both units. Kozlowski has served since 2010 as CEO, president and director of Modern Bank, a New York City-based private bank.
MasterCard and Pizza Hut Will Use Robots for Payments in Asia
The robot, called Pepper, represents only one emerging payment method that seems to be inspired by science fiction.
Survey: U.S. Banks Earn Top Marks Globally, But Have Opportunity to Better Reach Younger Consumers
Consumers with bank accounts are four times more likely to use mobile apps from their primary financial institutions than from other sources, according to an FIS survey.
Judge Grants Final OK to Target Breach Settlement
The 2013 Target data breach settlement has been finalized.
As CFPB Calls for Checking Alternatives, TCF Launches Suite of Financial Tools
Following a flurry of activity among banks entering the GPR card market in 2011 and 2012—Chase, U.S. Bank, BB&T and more—the prepaid industry hasn’t seen as much competition from banks issuing their own consumer-facing prepaid cards. That changed today.
Swift strikes back over three hack attacks
Swift has unveiled a five-part plan to reinforce security across its network after three hacking incidents. The attacks comprised a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh; Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank stopping an attempted wire fraud; and Ecuador’s Banco del Austro losing around $9 million. At the 14th annual European Financial Services Conference in Brussels, Swift […]
Ripple and Temenos power Deloitte’s payments project
Deloitte is pioneering an integration project combining Ripple’s protocol and Temenos’ core banking software for direct bank-to-bank settlements in real time. Deloitte says the overall objective of the Ripple integration is to enable financial institutions to send payments, either in local or foreign currency, in real time without relying on intermediary banking relationships. Ripple offers […]
Saudi Arabia’s central bank, SAMA, in major tech overhaul
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), Saudi Arabia’s central bank, is modernising its technology with a range of new solutions from SAP and Calypso. The bank is working SAP to automate the ERP and BI functionality (with SAP’s Business Objects), and is also interested in Bank Analyzer for financial reporting, indicates the vendor. SAP is now […]
Two Green Dot Directors Resign; Preliminary Proxy Results Suggest Streit Will Stay
Harvest Capital Strategies LLC began a public campaign to change Green Dot leadership in January.
MasterCard Expands Award-Winning Aid Services
The launch of MasterCard Humanitarian Aid Solutions leverages several of the network’s existing platforms to enable recipients to access funds and other forms of aid via a single card.
Wirecard, Curve Aim at SMEs with Smart Card, Mobile Combo
The Curve card functions as a prepaid MasterCard, which acts as a conduit for payment from the chosen card. A companion mobile app provides account management, transaction history and other functions.
Webinar: Part of Europe’s PSD2 Promises to Change the Handling of Payment Data
Data provisions for access to accounts in the PSD2 likely will spark the launch of new payment and fintech firms to handle the new data demands from consumers and to create new products, according to presenters.
Thieves with Cloned Cards Steal $12.7 Million from Japanese ATMs
The scam indicates that card-present fraud is still very real. The incident reportedly took place on May 15 and involved data stolen from South Africa-based Standard Bank.
UK debit cards to overtake cash payments by 2021
Debit cards are on track to topple cash in 2021, when they will take over as the UK’s most frequently used payment method, according to trade association Payments UK. In its report, “UK Payment Markets 2016”, which looks at current and future payment behaviour in the UK, it reveals over 72,000 payments were made every […]
Third time unlucky for Swift as Ecuador bank hacked
Ecuadorian bank Banco del Austro has become the third victim of hacking through the Swift system, with cybercriminals stealing around $9 million. This latest revelation follows a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh; and Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) stopping an attempted wire fraud involving the use of “fraudulent” Swift messages. The Ecuador attack has […]
SAP gains breakthrough core banking system deal in the US
Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T), one of the largest financial services groups in the US, is taking a “leap of faith” with a new core banking system from SAP. Speaking at SAP’s annual Sapphire conference in Orlando, Will Shupe, BB&T’s executive vice-president responsible for IT and operations, said the bank opted for a gradual renovation […]
Wirecard totally wired for Q1 2016 profit and revenue
Financial services and technology company Wirecard has reported consolidated revenues of €210.5 million in the first quarter of 2016, a rise of 32% on €159.4 million in Q1 2015. For the period ending 31 March 2016, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 34.6% to €62 million. For the same period last […]
