Q&A with Ben Kaplan, CashStar
More than six months into his new gig, CashStar’s CEO explains why the biggest potential for digital gift cards may lie in promotions, loyalty and customer service.
PayTech
Responding to NPRMs Is Everyone’s Business: Are You Ready to Respond to the CFPB’s NPRM on General Use Cards?
We have the opportunity to make a difference, to be part of the process and to influence the outcome of prepaid regulations.
Citi names finalists for Latin America Mobile Challenge 2014
Citi has chosen the ‘headliner’ finalists for its mobile innovation competition in Latin America, the Mobile Challenge LatAm 2014, which aims to bring together individuals and companies with innovative ideas to create applications for Citi’s Latin America mobile banking platform.
Regulator as Incubator in U.K. (June 2, 2014)
Payments startups looking to get off the ground in the U.K. soon could gain support from a somewhat unexpected source: regulators.
MasterCard Launches SASSA-Like Program in Pakistan (June 2, 2014)
Building on its experiences from the rollout of the South African Social Security Agency initiative in 2012, which provides millions of South Africans a secure way to receive social grants, MasterCard has announced the launch of a similar program in Pakistan.
ATM Report: Cash is King at Local Shops (June 2, 2014)
While recent reports are showing a decline in cash transactions, convenience store and gas station owners can increase customer loyalty, foot traffic and sales by installing an ATM, according to a survey of consumer habits in the U.K.
Rise of m-POS Hastens Move Away from Cash (June, 2, 2014)
The spread of m-POS platforms has accelerated the decline of cash, according to a new report revealing that the volume of cash used in POS transactions in the U.S. dropped 10 percent between 2012 and 2013.
Forget ‘mobile first’: are we heading for mobile-only banking?
The speed at which the mobile market evolves is staggering. Just as we started to look at mobile first, where banks need to align their services and strategies to cater for mobile before desktop or other traditional channels, the notion of mobile-only is now creeping to the fore.
MasterCard Ups Cardholder Security with Expanded Fraud Policies (May 29, 2014)
MasterCard is beefing up its cardholder security efforts, adding identity theft resolution assistance to all of its credit, debit, prepaid and small business cards issued in the U.S.
Square’s Move into Small Business Advances Could Boost Balance Sheet (May 29, 2014)
After revolutionizing payment card acceptance for small merchants, Square now is seeking to make waves in the cash advance arena.
UnionPay Spending Millions to Promote Online, Mobile Payments (May 29, 2014)
Five months after UnionPay’s partnership with Rev Worldwide to expand its prepaid market opportunities globally, payment network UnionPay is spending a sizable chunk of change to promote card and mobile app usage for online purchases to cardholders within China.
Patent Application Latest Clue to Apple’s NFC Ambitions (May 28, 2014)
As speculation grows that Apple will include NFC technology in its next-generation iPhone, another clue came to light last week, when the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application filed by the company for an NFC antenna design
Report: Hispanic Demographic Important to Mobile Payments, Banking (May 28, 2014)
Mobile app providers might be overlooking a key demographic as they try to develop the right mix of form and function that will help their apps gain traction with a large population of consumers.
CFPB’s Spring Agenda Includes General Use Cards (May 28, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could release its long-awaited rules for GPR prepaid cards next month.
Raphaels Hits the Road with RAC Prepaid Card (May 28, 2014)
U.K.-based Raphaels Bank has signed on to deliver what the bank is calling the first prepaid loyalty card program in the roadside recovery industry for the RAC, a British automobile association.
MasterCard Report: Prepaid, Mobile a Winning Combination for Financial Inclusion (May 27, 2014)
Prepaid cards could be a key entry point for financial inclusion—especially when combined with mobile phones, according to a new report from MasterCard that studied the underserved population in six countries within the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region.
Kalixa Expands Its Market; Intuit Picks up the Check (May 27, 2014)
Processors continue to get scooped up in acquisition deals this month.
Yoyo Strings $5 Million Investment, Expands U.K. Campus Presence (May 27, 2014)
The European mobile payments market continues to draw the interest of investors, with London-based mobile payment and loyalty app Yoyo landing $5 million in seed investment.
People on the Move: Michelle Lehouck, Bell ID
Bell ID, a global provider of smart chip management solutions, has appointed Michelle Lehouck EMV product director for its U.S. division.
People on the Move: Matthias Höllerl, DIMOCO
Matthias Höllerl has been promoted to vice president of sales, mobile messaging, at DIMOCO, a European mobile payment and messaging provider.
People on the Move: Drew Freeman, Net Element Inc. Board of Directors
Net Element Inc., a mobile payments and transactional services provider, has appointed Drew Freeman to the company’s board of directors.
People on the Move: Naveen Surya and Vishwas Patel, Payments Council of India
Naveen Surya, managing director at ItzCash Card Ltd., is serving a two-year term as Payments Council of India chairman as well as chairman of the prepaid issuers working committee. Vishwas Patel, CEO at Avenues India Pvt Ltd., is serving two-year terms as PCI vice chairman and chairman of the merchant aggregator and acquirers committee.
People on the Move: John Walsh, SightSpan
SightSpan Inc. CEO and President John Walsh and John Walsh, former host of “America’s Most Wanted” recently met at a Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Foundation event in Charlotte, N.C.
Payment portfolio migration – avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits
The benefits of changing a payments portfolio over to a service provider with a modern and flexible platform are inherent and far outweigh the downside of staying with a provider whose solution is a poor fit.
InComm Banks on Prepaid Platform to Bolster New M-Wallet Service (May 22, 2014)
A new mobile wallet platform from InComm is capitalizing on the company’s prepaid expertise to offer wallet providers a multitude of features, possibly giving InComm a competitive boost and signaling a shift in the prevailing business model. T
Global NFC SIM Shipments More than Double (May 22, 2014)
Despite skepticism that the path to widespread NFC-based mobile payments is in the SIM card, global shipments of NFC-enabled SIM cards more than doubled last year, and the SIMalliance expects such growth to continue.
APEX Europe Wraps Up in Marbella, Spain (May 22, 2014)
Following sessions on Tuesday that featured a keynote presentation by Guido Mangiagalli, Visa Europe’s head of prepaid/core payments; a deep dive into PSD2 and MIF regulations for prepaid, mobile and payments providers by TrustEu Affairs’ Monica Monaco; and a merchant panel addressing interchange and regulation from their side of the table, APEX Europe wrapped up yesterday with panels and individual speakers addressing the opportunities in emerging payments.
CARTES: Gazing into the Payments Crystal Ball
Don’t get bogged down by existing technological limitations—they will inevitably fade with the march of innovation—and the future will be beyond what you can imagine.
Viewpoint: What I’ve Learned about Prepaid and Velcro Pants
Year one as the head of prepaid for Discover has led to some interesting lessons, including the importance of thinking beyond practical boundaries to create unique, workable solutions.
Blog: I Want My EMV
EMV chip card technology that helps block counterfeit card fraud at the POS is coming to the U.S., and last week I was one of the first on my block to experience it.
What next for the ATM?
Given that bank customers are unlikely to increase significantly their usage of ATMs and now that opportunities to deploy large numbers of additional dispensers are limited, what does the future hold for the ATM and where does its next phase of growth lie?
Viewpoint: 4AMLD and Its Impact on the Prepaid Industry in Europe
If proposed changes to simplified due diligence go through as drafted, it will drive out a whole section of the prepaid market from Europe.
Paybefore Reveals Best-in-Category Winners for European Awards in Spain
Paybefore today celebrated the winners in its 2014 Paybefore Awards Europe competition and revealed those selected as Best in Category at the All Payments Expo Europe in Marbella, Spain.
At APEX Europe: Mobile’s the Thing (May 19, 2014)
At the launch of the All Payments Expo Europe today in Marbella, Spain, speakers invariably turned to the topic of mobile, with strong emphasis on (and statistics to support) meeting the needs of merchants participating in mobile payments services and the consumers who use them.
MasterCard Bulks up Processing Muscle in India with ElectraCard Services Acquisition (May 19, 2014)
A little more than a month after announcing 40 percent prepaid growth in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard is buying Pune, India-based prepaid processor ElectraCard Services Private Ltd.
Google Play Adds PayPal in Bid to Boost Sales (May 19, 2014)
While Google and PayPal are competitors in the mobile wallet space, the companies are cooperating on an initiative to enable Google Play purchases to be paid for with PayPal in 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada and Germany.
Apple Set to Take Bite out of Payments? (May 19, 2014)
Apple’s recent deal with China’s UnionPay on a pair of contactless payment initiatives may be a sign that the tech giant is ready to make a major move into NFC payments, including equipping the next generation of the iPhone with NFC technology.
Pay Magazine – Spring 2014
The Genius Issue: Ideas, Technology, People Remaking Reload Networks; 2014 Paybefore Awards: Innovation in 20+ Categories; What Keeps Regulators Awake at Night
CFPB’s Online Privacy Disclosure Option Promises Big Saving but May Fall Short for Prepaid Providers (May 15, 2014)
GPR and payroll providers may be eager to take advantage of what the CFPB estimates will be $17 million in annual saving across the financial services industry. The proposed rule, however, may not be a real option for prepaid providers.
EMV Preparation Continues with PULSE Deal, New EMV Industry Services (May 15, 2014)
More pieces of the U.S. EMV quilt were stitched together this week with announcements from PULSE, MasterCard, FIserv and CPI Card Group.
