People on the Move: Howard Green, Mark Olson and Dan Perez, Better ATM Services
Better ATM Services, a Mesa, Ariz.-based ATM technology provider, has announced changes to its leadership team.
PayTech
People on the Move: Mark Woods and Kevin Beardsley, The Bitcoin Foundation
The Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit institution founded to promote bitcoin use, has appointed Mark Woods affiliate director, and Kevin Beardsley director of membership.
People on the Move: Christopher Foskett, First Data Corp.
First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments processor, has appointed Christopher Foskett head of global, strategic and national accounts.
People on the Move: Scott Salmon, i2c Inc.
i2c Inc., a provider of payment processing and emerging commerce solutions, announced that Scott Salmon has joined the company as general manager, international, to lead i2c’s continued growth in Asia-Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa.
People on the Move: Sarah McCrary, Leaf
Leaf, creator of a m-POS tablet, has appointed Sarah McCrary CEO.
People on the Move: Dan O’Malley, Mozido LLC
Mozido LLC, a startup that focuses on cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, has hired Dan O’Malley as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
People on the Move: Bob DeRodes, Target Corp.
Minneapolis-based retailer Target Corp. has hired Bob DeRodes as executive vice president and chief information officer.
People on the Move: James Lipham and Paul Todd, TSYS
TSYS, a Columbus, Ga.-based processor, has announced the retirement of James B. Lipham as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer effective June 30, 2014, and the TSYS board of directors appointment of Paul M. Todd to take over the role.
People on the Move: Kelly Kay, YapStone
YapStone, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based provider of Web and mobile payment solutions, has appointed Kelly Kay president and chief operating officer.
Small financial institutions must face the mobile challenge
As contactless and mobile payment methods continue to grow, building societies and other financial institutions need to avoid being complacent about new technology, according to senior delegates speaking at the BSA annual conference in Manchester this week.
The value of SEPA beyond the SEPA-zone
The work corporates are doing to streamline cash management processes should not end with SEPA implementation, says. Indeed, the principles and ideas underpinning SEPA can inform progress even in the most challenging markets.
MasterCard Continues APMEA Prepaid Push with Japan Pact (May 8, 2014)
With the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region among MasterCard’s strongest prepaid growth markets, the payment network is launching a new prepaid card program in Japan that has the potential to reach 34 million customers.
Retailers Could See Higher Gift Cards Sales with Spring and Summer Festivities (May 8, 2014)
The spring and summer months boost gift card sales as consumers plan to buy them for a variety of occasions, including Mother’s Day on Sunday.
Report: Despite Debit Routing Thaw, EMV Ubiquity in U.S. Is Four Years out (May 8, 2014)
While the logjam over EMV debit routing may finally be breaking up, it remains unlikely that EMV will reach the mainstream ahead of the liability shifts the payment networks plan to implement in October 2015.
SEC Issues Bitcoin Warning (May 8, 2014)
Suggesting that investments in digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, might carry with them a higher risk of fraud and a harder time recovering losses in the event of fraud or theft, the SEC yesterday issued an investor alert regarding the decentralized P2P currency.
ITT Pushes Back on CFPB Claims and Why You Should Care
Although this lawsuit involves lending practices, the industry would be wise to pay close attention because of its UDAAP implications, which are applicable to all entities the CFPB regulates.
Amazon Partnership with Twitter Is Next Step in Streamlined Shopping (May 6, 2014)
Amazon blazed a fresh trail into social media this week with the debut of its new Twitter shopping feature enabling users to add items to their Amazon shopping carts directly from Twitter feeds.
Canadian Prepaid Card Regs Go into Effect (May 6, 2014)
Rules issued last December by Canada’s Department of Finance affecting open- and closed-loop prepaid cards went into effect May 1.
Startup Taps Gift Cards for Fee-Free Remittances (May 6, 2014)
San Diego-headquartered Quippi is taking the fees out of remittances by offering gift cards that can be purchased online or in-store in the U.S. and redeemed by recipients in Mexico.
British Firm Exports Big Data Solutions to Fight Fraud, Improve Customer Service (May 6, 2014)
Nobody questions whether big data has a role to play in the payments industry, but many providers are grappling with how to capture and analyze the right data to improve their businesses.
Corporates taking too much payment risk warns SunGard
Four out of five organisations are leaving themselves open to payment fraud because of a lack of standardised payment workflows, according to a study by financial technology vendor SunGard.
Blackhawk Opens Digital Gift Platform to suretap Users (May 5, 2014)
Digital gift cards are getting a boost in Canada as Blackhawk Network and Rogers Communications have opened Blackhawk’s digital gift card platform to users of the Rogers suretap mobile wallet app.
U.K. Banks Debut P2P Payments Service (May 5, 2014)
A group of the biggest financial institutions in the U.K. have banded together to launch a new P2P mobile payments system that by year-end will be accessible to 9 out of 10 bank account holders in the U.K.
GPR at Retail: Details Count
Neither the costs of shepherding a card into stores nor increased competition has deterred new entrants from launching GPR prepaid cards. Providers are coming into the market with astute hooks that play to their strengths to attract and retain cardholders.
Swift Innotribe Startup Challenge names European finalists
Swift’s Innotribe Startup Challenge has named the five European finalists for its annual competition, which seeks to find the best new companies in financial services and bring them to compete in the final at Sibos Boston in October.
Blog: Apple Is ‘Serious’ about Moving into Payments
Apple entering the payments space has been a tantalizing prospect for many for a while now. It’s certainly something that would easily upset the status quo of the payments market, and I don’t believe Apple is aiming for the low-hanging fruit.
Blog: Retain Customers by Measuring the Right Data
Management of metrics—such as average handle time, first call resolution, etc.—certainly results in cost saving. But exclusive focus on these metrics results in a huge missed opportunity to improve customer loyalty, increase sales and build brand identity.
Viewpoint: EC Payments Package Update
What we know and what we can do before the final Plenary European Parliament vote on the Payments Package.
With Square Knocking, Australian Bank Enters m-POS Market (Apr. 30, 2014)
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank could be looking to get out ahead of Square’s eventual arrival Down Under.
Edenred Digs into Paperless Meal Voucher Opportunity in France (Apr. 30, 2014)
A decree by the French government approving electronic corporate meal vouchers could open up a major opportunity for corporate prepaid card providers that can help employers move from paper to plastic.
European Central Bank: It’s Time to Focus on Payment Cards (April 30, 2014)
The European Central Bank isn’t waiting for the Aug. 1 SEPA compliance deadline for direct debits and credit transfers to turn its attention to card transactions.
Mobile payment security will depend on using the ‘smart’ in smartphone
Confusion and concern over security is cited over and over again as the biggest barrier to widespread consumer uptake of mobile payments. And no wonder – confidence in the protection of sensitive cardholder data lies at the heart of trust in this technology. An EMV card as a physical asset is cryptographically secure. How can we emulate this security with something that is virtual?
If T2S is the answer, what’s the question?
The purpose of the European Central Bank’s T2S project is ill-defined and taking so long to deliver that it is being pushed aside by other projects according to speakers at the Swift Business Forum in London.
Delaware Joins Escheat Suit against Retailers (April 29, 2014)
The State of Delaware has thrown its weight behind a civil lawsuit claiming nearly two dozen well-known retailers avoided escheating unused gift card balances to the state by forming special entity corporations based outside the state.
SIMalliance: HCE No ‘Silver Bullet’ for Mobile Wallets (April 29, 2014)
Several major payments players recently have thrown their weight behind host card emulation (HCE), the technology many believe could be the key to finally bringing NFC-based mobile payments into the mainstream.
PicomoPay, MoneyGram Hoping to Capitalize on Facebook’s Popularity (April 29, 2014)
Just weeks after a report surfaced that Facebook was seeking an e-money license in Europe to boost its international remittance business, PicomoPay, a social networking payments platform, announced a deal with MoneyGram to enable U.S. Facebook users to send money transfers to more than 336,000 MoneyGram agent locations in more than 200 countries.
Fed Study: Prepaid is Fastest-Growing Noncash Payment Type (April 28, 2014)
Prepaid cards continue to be the fastest-growing form of electronic payment, with the number of prepaid payments in the U.S. increasing 15.8 percent annually between 2009 and 2012, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s EconSouth.
U.S. Bank Boosts P2P to Real-Time Speed (April 28, 2014)
U.S. Bank is going real-time with its P2P offerings and adding a few key new features in a field where the P2P ambitions of companies like Square, Google and Amazon are generating considerable interest.
Company on the Move: CardFlight, Technology Innovation Award
CardFlight, a New York-based firm that enables developers to integrate in-person card payments into their own apps, has received the 2014 Technology Innovation Award from the Electronic Transactions Association.
People on the Move: Jose Garcia, First Data Corp.
First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments processor, has hired Jose Garcia to lead the company’s government solutions business.
