PayTech


NBPCA Chair Previews Hot Topics ahead of D.C. Event

The conference agenda covers the latest in prepaid legislation, regulation, compliance and business innovation, with keynote addresses from Reps. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), and IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

CFPB Report Blasts Payday Lenders over Bank Fees

In advance of the CFPB’s proposed rule on payday loans, the bureau has released a new report critical of payday lenders’ practice of debiting borrowers’ checking accounts, which often leads to overdrafts, penalty fees and account closures, while failing to actually recover payments, according to the report, which is based on data from more than 330 lenders.

U.S. House Passes Oversight Bill for Two Financial Regulators

The Financial Stability Council Reform Act would give Congress funding power over the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research, which keep track of financial risks and conduct other research.

Swift Business Forum London 2016: Blockchain – a reconciliation revolution

Blockchain is a revolution in reconciliation but not in payments, is one of the messages coming out of the Swift Business Forum London 2016. For the sixth edition of the show, more than 1,300 delegates were rammed and jammed into Tobacco Dock, London. This morning’s (20 April) sessions were dominated by warm-up speeches that praised […]

Payments UK launches new support service, signs Faster Payments as the first taker

Payments UK’s new service – Standards Collaboration Framework – offers institutions support in the implementation of industry standards. The first taker has already been onboarded. This is Faster Payments Scheme Limited (FPSL). Payments UK says the customer “will use the central, well-maintained ‘library’ to simplify how its industry stakeholders access and receive notifications about updated […]

ISO 20022 message guidelines approved and published

ISO 20022 Registration Management Group, the senior global registration body, has approved the ISO 20022 message guidelines – they have now been published. The new guidelines were developed by the ISO Real-Time Payments Group (RTPG) and facilitated by Payments UK, the representative of the country’s payments industry. Payments UK describes this development as “an important […]

Swift to launch new cloud-based learning platform, SwiftSmart

The new e-learning platform will administrate, document, track, report and deliver a broad catalogue of digital courses and social learning. It is an interactive, cloud-based service. To start with, SwiftSmart will support a subset of Swift’s existing training portfolio, which consists of 100+ courses. The full portfolio will be available by 2017. The initiative is […]

Nets and JCB partner for mobile payments in Denmark

Denmark-based Nets and JCB have teamed up for Nets to use J/Speedy, JCB’s contactless technology, for Dankort payments with smartphones. Nets will launch Dankort on the mobile in autumn 2016, and JCB is also aiming to accelerate its mobile payment implementation globally using host card emulation (HCE) technology. Jeppe Juul-Andersen, SVP at Nets with the […]

Green Dot Board Battle Continues ahead of Shareholder Meeting, MoneyPak Relaunches

As Green Dot Corp. continues to fend off criticism of its performance and leadership from activist investor Harvest Capital Strategies, the company has sent a letter to shareholders in support of a trio of incumbent board members ahead of elections at Green Dot’s upcoming annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for May 23. Meanwhile, Green Dot’s popular MoneyPak product is back with new security features.

Visa Promises Quicker EMV Transactions

Visa releases a “Quick Chip for EMV” software upgrade that will enable consumers to remove their chip cards from payment terminals in two seconds or less.

MasterCard and Western Union boost Bangladesh’s mobile money transfers

MasterCard, Western Union, Bkash, a mobile financial service (MFS) provider, and BRAC Bank have launched a new, international remittance receiving service in Bangladesh. The service – via Western Union’s global network – enables Bkash’s registered customers to use their mobile phones to receive remittances from abroad directly into their accounts or collected from a Western […]

FIS and The Clearing House to debut US real-time payments system

FIS and The Clearing House (TCH) are preparing to launch a pilot for a “first-of-its-kind” real-time payments system in the US. The pilot will initially focus on the bill payment use case, using FIS technology and operating via the TCH real-time payments platform. Already under development, the pilot will go live in the first quarter […]

2016 Pay Awards in Pictures

In March we celebrated the winners of the 2016 Pay Awards at All Payments Expo in New Orleans. See photos of our Best-in-Category honorees and our Industry Achievement winner.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand chooses SIA for new RTGS system

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), the nation’s central bank, has chosen Italian payments company SIA to implement and support a new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. The new system will replace the current exchange settlement account system (ESAS). It will be delivered by SIA’s subsidiary Perago, based in South Africa. Perago is a […]

Card Forum: Experts Look ahead to CFPB Final Prepaid Rule

With the CFPB expected to release its long-awaited final rule on prepaid accounts sometime in the coming months, industry experts peered into their crystal balls last week during a panel discussion at Card Forum in Los Angeles, delivering predictions about the timing and potential effects of the looming regulation.

Mobile Wallet Offers Are Blooming

New mobile-wallet offers are blooming like spring flowers as industry players try to attract more consumers to the fledgling payment method, which represents only a speck of U.S. retail spending.

New Zealand Banks on Faster Payments with SIA

The country’s central bank hires Italy’s SIA to set up a real-time gross settlement system. The move represents the lastest development in the global effort to implement faster payment systems.

Switzerland’s new RTGS system paves the way for ISO 20022

Switzerland’s new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, SIC (SIX Interbank Clearing), is now live – opening the way for ISO 20022 usage. The new RTGS platform, SIC4, was introduced with the euroSIC system on 16 April 2015. The new SIC system went live on 14 April. With SIC up and running, migration to the new […]

Top fintech stories this week – 15 April 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! EPC launches public consultation on SEPA instant payments scheme You’ve got until 10th July to submit your views. What do corporates want from their banks? Simplicity, standardisaion and automation. New core banking system selection in the Netherlands Amsterdam Trade […]

Companies on the Move: Edge Consultancy 

Edge Consultancy LLC, a new strategic consulting firm aimed at community banks and credit unions, has added several new consultants and leadership positions, including CEO Kirk Kordeleski, former CEO at Bethpage Credit Union.

People on the Move: Raj Seshadri, MasterCard

MasterCard has appointed Raj Seshadri as president, U.S. Issuers. In this new role, she will be responsible for managing and expanding the company’s partnerships with banks and credit unions across the U.S. market.

People on the Move: Mung Ki Woo, OmnyPay

OmnyPay, a provider of one-step loyalty rewards and coupon redemption via mobile, announced that former MasterCard senior executive Mung Ki Woo will be joining OmnyPay’s leadership team in the role of chief partnerships and international officer.

CFSI: Startups Filling Gap for Next-Gen Prepaid Services

As entrepreneurs recognize the market potential of serving the underbanked, many of the most cutting-edge payments startups are building their products and services around the existing prepaid infrastructure, Center for Financial Services Innovation Managing Director Ryan Falvey told Card Forum attendees this week.

Card Forum Panel: Mobile Wallet Opportunities, Pitfalls for FIs

When it comes to mobile wallets, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay garner plenty of headlines. But while the trio of high-profile “—Pays” has finally brought long-awaited consumer attention to mobile wallets at large, are they putting bank issuers at risk of losing control of the payments experience? And, if so, how do FIs fight to stay relevant in the mobile wallet age?

Eleos opts for Wirecard and CIMB Bank Singapore mPOS solution

Wirecard is partnering with CIMB Bank Singapore to provide mobile point of sales (mPOS) card acceptance and banking solutions for clients of POS solution provider Eleos Web. Software till system manufacturer Eleos will use Munich-based Wirecard’s white label solution to “expand” till functionality to incorporate mobile card acceptance. Ong Whee Shiong, MD at Eleos, says […]

Bolivia’s banking community adopts Swift’s KYC

Bolivia’s banking community has connected to Swift’s Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, a centralised repository which maintains a standardised set of information about financial institutions required for KYC compliance. Since December 2014, the KYC Registry has been adopted by more than 2,350 financial institutions globally to “complement” existing compliance programmes. In Latin America, the Registry […]

FSS to provide UPI solutions for six Indian banks

India-based payments firm Financial Software and Systems (FSS) will provide Unified Payment Interface (UPI) solutions for six unnamed Indian banks. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) recently launched UPI, which offers instant, online bank payments. The move is seen as a major change to the Indian financial sector. FSS says UPI enables the banks […]

No barriers for Paymentwall in Iran

San Francisco-based Paymentwall has integrated Iran’s local payment system, following the end of economic sanctions in the country. The US and the European Union had imposed economic sanctions on Iran until it complied with restrictions set for its nuclear program. After 35 years, Iran agreed to a nuclear deal with the US, and it can […]

Swift to launch new payments data quality service

Swift will launch Payments Data Quality, a reporting and data analytics service to help financial institutions comply with new international requirements for originator and beneficiary information in payments messages. The service will be available in Q3 2016 and Swift says it will help banks monitor their compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Recommendation […]

CFPB Fills Leadership Posts

On April 12, the CFPB announced the addition of several new members to leadership positions within the bureau for the external affairs division; the consumer education and engagement division; the student loan ombudsman and Office for Students and Young Consumers; the Office of Small Business Lending; the Office of Consumer Response; and the Office of Supervision Examinations.

Indian Smartphone Maker Strikes Payments Pact with Visa, TransServ

In a bid to grow its mobile payments business, Indian smartphone maker Micromax has struck a deal with Visa and payment technology provider TranServ. The three companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which Micromax handsets will incorporate QR code-based in-store payments service mVisa, as well as TranServ’s Udio mobile wallet app, which enables online and mobile purchases via linked Visa prepaid card.