Green Dot Teams Up with Celebrity Steve Harvey (Oct. 8, 2015)
Steve Harvey will be promoting all products issued by Green Dot Bank as part of a multiyear marketing partnership, Green Dot announced today.
PayTech
Defendants Appeal Judge’s Refusal to Dismiss McDonald’s Class-Action Suit in PA (Oct. 8, 2015)
Two McDonald’s franchise owners have appealed a judge’s refusal to dismiss a class-action lawsuit alleging they illegally mandated employees be paid via prepaid cards.
PMPG endorses Swift messages for intraday liquidity reporting
The Payments Market Practice Group has endorsed the use of Swift messages for intraday liquidity reporting. The Swift message set for intraday liquidity reporting underpins a rulebook created by the Liquidity Implementation Task Force, an industry group of twenty five large clearing banks, custodian banks and global brokers, to support compliance with Basel Committee on Banking Supervision requirements.
Visa Exec: Convergence of Payments with Commerce Is Industry’s Next Challenge
The convergence of mobile payments and commerce will be the payoff for merchants investing in m-payments technology, but the payments industry has a lot of work ahead to help marry payments with the shopping experience to enrich consumers’ experiences, Phil Kumnick, senior vice president of global acquirer processing for Visa Inc., told attendees today at the NFC Solutions Summit in Phoenix.
CFPB Draws Line in Sand Regarding Arbitration Clauses (Oct. 7, 2015)
Prior to today’s field hearing in Denver, the CFPB has announced it’s considering proposing rules that would restrict consumer financial companies from using certain types of arbitration clauses that block consumers from forming class action lawsuits to obtain compensation.
ECJ’s Takedown of Safe Harbor Spells Trouble for U.S. Firms (Oct. 7, 2015)
Europe’s top court has struck down a longstanding agreement that enabled U.S. companies to handle the personal data of users in the European Union without being subjected to EU privacy rules, in a decision that will significantly affect not only tech giants like Google and Facebook, but payments and financial services companies, as well.
CFPB Hearing on Arbitration Tomorrow (Oct. 6, 2015)
The controversial prospect of new regulations for arbitration agreements will be front and center during a CFPB field hearing on the matter tomorrow morning in Denver.
NFC Pulling into Bay Area Chevron Stations (Oct. 6, 2015)
Mobile payments’ drive into the fuel station sector continues, with Visa Inc. announcing a new NFC pilot at more than 20 Chevron stations around San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Non-Cash Transaction Growth Surges Worldwide, Surpassing GDP in All Regions (Oct. 6, 2015)
The rise of mobile and contactless payments technology caused non-cash payment volumes to soar last year, surpassing the growth rate of GDP in all worldwide regions, according to a new report from Capgemini and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
EBA Clearing Launches RFP for Pan-European Real-Time Payments Service (Oct. 6, 2015)
EBA Clearing, a bank-owned provider of European payment infrastructure solutions, this week announced an RFP to build the framework for a pan-European service that could support real-time payments within the next two years.
PayThink: A ‘Killer App’ for M-Payments Is Coming (Oct. 5, 2015)
Mobile payments development has exploded with the arrival of Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, but it will take “organic demand” from consumers to drive broad adoption of mobile wallets, according to payments experts speaking at PayThink last week in Las Vegas.
Gyft Releases Workplace Survey Stats; Launches B2B Bulk Gift Card Program (Oct. 5, 2015)
Employers need to “step up their gifting game” with the holiday season approaching, according to the latest research from Gyft. The First Data company released the findings to coincide with its launch of a B2B bulk gift card purchasing program, enabling businesses to conveniently reward their employees with gift cards from more than 200 retailers.
Funding Roundup: Adyen, SoFi, Chillr Land Investments (Oct. 5, 2015)
Emerging payments and fintech continue to draw investment dollars. Dutch payments processor Adyen has landed financing from a fund comprised of some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, while alternative financing startup SoFi pulled in $1 billion in what the company is calling the biggest fintech investment to date. Meanwhile, mobile money transfer kept up its hot streak as Sequoia Capital got in on the ground floor of an India-based P2P app.
Nedbank South Africa revamps payments ahead of September 2016 deadline
South Africa’s Nedbank has chosen Volante Technologies to help it revamp its payments message service using VolPay Foundation, which focuses on validating and processing payments. The move comes ahead of regulatory change next year, which will force all South African institutions to change the way they handle payments.
Challenger banks line up to join Faster Payments through new access model
Three challenger banks have committed to take advantage of a new way to guarantee settlement between banks of payments made through Faster Payments, the UK’s 24/7 real-time payments service, when it becomes available next year.
First Data Aims to Raise $3B with October IPO (Oct. 1, 2015)
Although it may not be as large as analysts initially predicted, First Data Corp.’s IPO could be the largest public offering of 2015.
EMV: Third Time’s a Charm?
I recently received my EMV debit card from a top 5 U.S. issuer.Tell us about your experiences with EMV at the POS.
Rep. Tipton, CFPB Director Cordray Square off on Prepaid (Oct. 1, 2015)
Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) and more than 40 other lawmakers are urging CFPB Director Richard Cordray to be cautious in prepaid rulemaking and to make sure the government Direct Express program is not adversely affected by the forthcoming rule.
Viewpoint: Apple Pay Branches out of the Orchard
You’d think an A-list celebrity had shown up when Apple Pay launched in the U.K. in July. Despite some speed bumps related to transit and international acceptance, prepaid providers shouldn’t ignore the mobile wallet.
Blog: Marketing in a Mobile World Comes Down to Customer Experience
Fundamental shifts in the way socially connected and digital-savvy consumers connect have altered the customer-engagement and marketing landscape forever. To succeed, retailers and consumer brands must use data-driven engagement strategies.
Viewpoint: Good First Impressions Make for Profitable Relationships
The time has come for financial institutions to truly reap the benefits mobile connectivity offers, and the place to begin is with customer onboarding.
Viewpoint: Apple Pay Usage Report
Despite Apple Pay’s high-profile U.S. launch, recent First Annapolis primary consumer research suggests that only one in five iPhone 6 users has actually made a purchase with Apple Pay. But, that’s not the only stat that matters.
People on the Move: Himanshu Patel, First Data
Payments processor First Data has appointed Himanshu Patel chief financial officer.
People on the Move: New Board Members, CFPB
The CFPB has appointed new consumer finance experts from outside the federal government to the Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council and Credit Union Advisory Council.
Company on the Move: Gemalto, Digital Payments Award
Digital payments security provider Gemalto has won the Juniper Research 2015 Award for Digital Payments for its Allynis Trusted Services Hub.
People on the Move: David Hunter, Kerv Board
Kerv, a London-based fintech startup, has announced that David Hunter has been appointed chairman of its board of directors.
People on the Move: William Fields, NXT-ID Inc.
NXT-ID Inc., a biometrics authentication company focused on mobile commerce, announced that William Fields has joined its advisory board.
People on the Move: Ted Chaney, Payveris LLC
Payveris LLC, a digital payments company serving banks and credit unions across the U.S., has hired Ted Chaney as senior vice president, strategic alliances.
People on the Move: Brian Brunner, PeoplesBank Board of Directors
Brian Brunner has joined the board of directors of PeoplesBank, Codorus Valley Company.
Companies on the Move: R3, Distributed Ledger Initiative
Financial innovation firm R3 announced that an additional 13 of the world’s leading banks have joined its partnership to design and apply distributed ledger technologies to global financial markets.
People on the Move: Hervé Pierre, SIMalliance Board
Hervé Pierre, embedded software and products senior director, strategy, at Gemalto, has been reelected as chairman of SIMalliance throughout the 2015-16 term.
People on the Move: Eileen Burbidge, Tech City UK
Eileen Burbidge, founding partner at venture capital firm Passion Capital, has been appointed the chair of Tech City UK, a publicly funded, nonprofit group launched in 2010 by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to support the East London tech cluster known as Silicon Roundabout.
People on the Move: Jeffrey W. Jones, U.S. Bank
Jeffrey W. Jones has been named president of U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems, which helps organizations reduce payment costs and improve efficiencies through the use of travel, purchasing, fleet and aviation cards, as well as virtual accounts and other payment products.
People on the Move: Bryan Murphy, YapStone
YapStone, a global provider of Web and mobile payments technology solutions for large vertical markets and online marketplaces, has appointed Bryan Murphy president.
Green Dot CEO Steve Streit: Consumers Demand ‘Great’ Mobile Experience (Sept. 29, 2015)
Green Dot Corp. sees continued strong demand for the mobile features of its iconic prepaid card and its GoBank checking account. And though the company hasn’t embraced Apple Pay or Android Pay, adding mobile payments access is on the company’s horizon, Steve Streit, Green Dot’s CEO, told attendees at PayThink in Las Vegas today.
Kerv Kick-Starts Fundraising Effort for Ring Enabling Contactless Payments (Sept. 29, 2015)
London-based fintech startup Kerv has turned to crowd-funding site Kickstarter to raise mass-production capital to enter the field of wearables with an NFC-enabled ring that allows consumers to make contactless payments. The Kickstarter campaign launched Friday in an effort to raise nearly $117,000 and as of this morning, the company already has raised more than $52,000.
Report Cites Vulnerabilities in Voice Authentication (Sept. 29, 2015)
Voice-based user authentication systems are vulnerable to “voice impersonation attacks,” where criminals gain access to a sample of a user’s voice and use that sample to build a model of the user’s speech pattern with voice-morphing software, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers say.
Alibaba, Ant Financial Invest in Paytm (Sept. 29, 2015)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial announced today an agreement with India’s One97 Communications Ltd. to invest in Paytm, an m-commerce platform and One97 subsidiary. The capital infusion will enable Paytm to achieve greater scale and develop its m-commerce and payment ecosystem in India and invest in marketing, technology and personnel. The companies did not disclose specifics of the deal, however it’s believed the investment is worth approximately $600 million.
Reports: Square Preparing for IPO? (Sept. 28, 2015)
Square Inc. may be getting ready to file an initial public offering within the next two weeks, according to a report in Fortune magazine, adding weight to rumors going back more than two years about the m-POS company’s desire to go public.
Nearly 90% of Cybersecurity Experts Expect Uptick in M-Payment Data Breaches (Sept. 28, 2015)
As the mobile wallet providers battle for market share—the most recent being today’s expansion of Samsung Pay to the U.S.—a sobering percentage of cybersecurity experts expect mobile payment data breaches to climb over the next 12 months.
