People on the Move: Tom Ochoa, CardCash.com
CardCash.com, a Brick, N.J.-based marketplace for secondary gift cards, has hired Tom Ochoa as senior vice president of business development.
PayTech
People on the Move: Safdar Khan, MasterCard
MasterCard has appointed Safdar Khan to lead its growing Islamic payments business in Southeast Asia, and he will be promoted to the role of group country manager for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
People on the Move: Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Hoople, Meta Financial Group Inc. Board of Directors
Meta Financial Group Inc. announced that Elizabeth G. “Betty” Hoople has joined the company’s board of directors.
People on the Move: Marion King, RBS
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Marion King as director of payments. She will begin her role with the Edinburgh-based company in early 2015.
People on the Move: David Sear, Skrill Group
Skrill Group, provider of online payment technologies to merchants and consumers, has announced that David Sear will become CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2015.
People on the Move: Robin Caddell, Cassandra Pudenz and Alexandra Guzik, TMG Financial Services
TMG Financial Services, a Des Moines, Iowa-based payments solutions provider, has announced the promotion of one employee and the addition of two others to the team.
Blog: One Apple Pay User Takes a Bite
Those of us immersed in payments may have a unique perspective on Apple Pay, but what about other folks? I asked one self-proclaimed Apple “fan boy” to give the mobile wallet a test drive.
Blog: Unlocking the Real Value of Mobile Payments
Giving consumers what they really need and want from mobile payments will require making payments as invisible as possible.
Blog: India’s E-Commerce Boom Paves Way for Digital Money
India is on the brink of a huge economic transformation and making money digital is a crucial part of the solution.
MCX Speaks Out: Confirms Exclusivity, Defends Data Security, Privacy (Oct. 29, 2014)
MCX sets the record straight on CurrentC, including exclusivity and data security, following Rite Aid-CVS/pharmacy showdown with Apple Pay.
Apple Pay Passes 1 Million Mark in 72 Hours, Plans ahead for China (Oct. 28, 2014)
More than 1 million credit cards were activated within the first three days of the Apply Pay mobile wallet’s Oct. 20 debut, Apple CEO Tim Cook told attendees at the WSJD Live Global Technology Conference this week.
NRF: Holiday Sales to Jump 4.1 Percent; Consumers Clamor for Gift Cards, Uneasy with Paying by Phone (Oct. 28, 2014)
Retail holiday spending in the U.S. is expected to jump 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion in 2014, marking the first increase of more than 4 percent since 2011.
Putin Delays Security Deposit Payments for Visa, MasterCard (Oct. 28, 1014)
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week signed a law giving Visa and MasterCard a five-month reprieve from paying a huge security deposit for operating in Russia, according to The Moscow Times.
MasterCard Invests in Mozido’s Global Expansion Plans (Oct. 28, 2014)
MasterCard was one of several investors to lead a round of Series B funding that brought in $185 million for Mozido LLC, a startup that focuses on cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants.
“Mobile is the future” says Garanti Bank
Banks are pioneering advanced technologies in Turkey, giving the country a headstart over many of its European counterparts. In Istanbul, Garanti Bank explained how it pays for its customers to get mobile internet access – and how it is using social media to attract and keep customers.
Apple Pay/Pharmacy Flap Shows Consumer Interest in M-Wallets (Oct. 27, 2014)
Consumers who want to use Apple Pay at the POS may be a little confused as two large pharmacy chains reportedly accepted some initial payments with the mobile wallet that went live last week, but no longer are.
M&A Update: Blackhawk, Green Dot Complete Respective Acquisitions (Oct. 27, 2014)
Blackhawk Network and Green Dot Corp. recently have completed their acquisitions of Parago Inc. and Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG), respectively.
FDIC Committee to Address Unbanked/Underbanked National Survey (Oct. 27, 2014)
FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion will meet this week to discuss the results of the 2013 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.
Awards Night Honors Industry Achievements (Oct. 27, 2014)
Several Paybefore Award-winning companies also were recent recipients of accolades at the Emerging Payments Awards held in London last week.
Visa’s Frew: Banks Moving GPR to the Forefront Will See Results (Oct. 23, 2014)
As GPR cards go mainstream for certain consumer sectors, banks that bring GPR cards to the forefront of their branch marketing efforts are seeing positive results, according to Cecilia Frew, Visa’s head of U.S. prepaid products.
CEO Nelms: Don’t Know When but Discover to Participate in Apple Pay (Oct. 23, 2014)
David Nelms, CEO at Discover Financial Services, kept his cards close to the vest about the payments network’s involvement with the recently launched Apple Pay—but Discover’s participation does seem likely, based on his comments during a Q&A with investors on this week’s earnings call.
U.S. Treasury Selects Banking Up to Help Consumers Build Credit (Oct. 23, 2014)
Finding ways to use GPR prepaid card usage data as a tool to help thin- and no-file consumers build credit has been an enticing yet elusive goal for the industry for years.
InComm Teams Up with Retailers to Fight Fraud
InComm is helping retailers fight several prevalent forms of prepaid card fraud by explaining what to look for and how to fight it.
Viewpoint: Prepaid Program Managers Must Be Exam-Ready Bank Partners
In light of the intense regulatory focus and pressure on prepaid cards, it’s time for program managers to step up and manage their own compliance to the point of being “exam-ready.”
Groups Appeal to Pres. Obama on Data Security Responsibility
Retailers and financial institutions struggle with costs of data breaches.
MasterCard Exec: Apple Pay Launch Is ‘Catalytic’ Event (Oct. 21, 2014)
Apple Pay is a “catalytic” event likely to change the U.S. payments landscape, though it may take time to see its full effect, according to Matt Barr, MasterCard’s new U.S. head of emerging payments.
Wave Crest Launches MyFare Prepaid Card for Fleet Owners (Oct. 21, 2014)
Wave Crest Group Ltd., a Gibraltar-based multicurrency digital payments provider, has launched the MyFare debit card in the U.S., which enables fleet owners to pay their drivers instantly on a personalized prepaid card.
FSC’s Strategic Plan Reinforces Gibraltar as Location of Choice (Oct. 21, 2014)
The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission last week published its 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, which is designed to reinforce Gibraltar’s position as a destination of choice for businesses looking for European headquarters.
Money 2020 Announces Inaugural Event in Europe (Oct. 21, 2014)
Weeks away from its Money20/20 event in Las Vegas, Money2020 LLC has announced Money20/20 Europe, a conference and exhibition focusing on the opportunities and challenges specific to payments in Europe.
MasterCard, Zwipe Test Fingerprint Authentication for Contactless Payments (Oct. 20, 2014)
In a bid to make contactless payments of any size possible without a PIN, MasterCard and Zwipe, a Norwegian developer of payment cards with biometric sensors, have developed what the companies are calling the first contactless payments card featuring an integrated fingerprint sensor.
Green Dot Expands Retail Footprint with ACE Cash Express Deal (Oct. 20, 2014)
Longtime NetSpend partner ACE Cash Express has signed a distribution agreement with Green Dot Corp., making the check cashing giant and Paybefore Award-winning prepaid pioneer an authorized retailer for the Green Dot Reload Network.
TD Bank Reaches Breach Settlement with Nine States (Oct. 20, 2014)
TD Bank has reached a settlement over a 2012 data breach that compromised customers’ personal information.
Apple Pay’s Rollout a Test for Merchants Weighing NFC, Other Options
As Apple Pay goes live today, millions of merchants will be measuring consumer and marketplace reaction at the POS, as they contemplate their own mobile payments strategies, including accepting NFC-based payments.
Pres. Obama Mandates Chip-and-PIN for Gov’t Payments Cards (Oct. 17, 2014)
President Obama hours ago signed an executive order making chip-and-PIN card technology the standard for the federal government.
RBS poaches King from MasterCard for new payments role
RBS has confirmed that it has hired Marion King, formerly president of UK and Ireland at MasterCard, in the newly created role of director of payments in the New Year.
Connect with customers or face extinction, banks told
Banks in Italy and beyond must find new ways to connect with consumers, or risk going out of business. But how to achieve a successful transformation exercised the minds of senior bank representatives at the SIA Expo in Milan this week.
Apple CEO: Apple Pay to Launch Monday with 500-Plus Banks’ Support (Oct. 16, 2014)
Apple Inc. will officially launch its NFC-based Apple Pay service on Monday, CEO Tim Cook said today during an event to unveil new devices at the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
PayPal’s Q3 M-Payments Volume Up 72 Percent; Square Denies Buyout Rumors (Oct. 16, 2014)
eBay Inc. subsidiary PayPal continued its growth streak during the third quarter, as the unit’s mobile payment volume surged 72 percent and 4.4 million new users came aboard during the period ended Sept. 30.
Prepaid Spending up Amid Slight September Slowdown (Oct. 14, 2014)
Prepaid was a bright spot for spending dollar volume growth in September at 5.7 percent compared with an overall drop in same-store spending growth, which came in at a 3.1 percent increase year-over-year compared to a 3.9 percent year-over-year jump in August.
Walmart to Spend up to $1.5 Billion on E-Commerce (Oct. 16, 2014)
Merchants continue reshaping their strategies to meet the demand for online shopping, and the latest to do so in a significant way is Walmart.
