Blog: Security vs. Convenience: The Online Payments Conundrum
Online commerce has begun to approach saturation in Western markets, while fraud, competition and a more demanding consumer base are squeezing online payments providers.
PayTech
Blog: Money2020 Opens Door to Payments’ Future (October 2013)
The second annual Money2020 in Las Vegas earlier this month had a vibe unlike payment conferences of the past, and not just because of the acrobats roaming around during networking sessions.
Blog: Mobile App Permissions: Scaring Users and Haunting Developers?
Please let me use your camera. Do you mind if I browse through your contacts so I know all your family and friends, and can call or text each at my discretion? To the uninitiated, these eerie questions read like a disturbed love note from a stalker. But these are common permissions requests for many mobile apps. Could they scare off users?
Pay Magazine – Fall 2013
B2B Ignites Prepaid Growth; Prepaid Frenzy: Moving Beyond GPR; Who’s Afraid of Big, Bad Apple?; The Bitcoin Craze: Lovers and Haters; Companies & People: B2B’s Top Power Players; Chucking the Cash Register
‘Square Cash’ Joins Crowded P2P Field (Oct. 16, 2013)
Square Inc. is wading into the crowded U.S. P2P field this week with Square Cash, taking a somewhat unique debit card-based approach versus competitors by enabling Visa and MasterCard debit cardholders to send funds to each other free of charge via email.
PFS Expands Reload Network with Ukash (Oct. 16, 2013)
Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), a London-based provider of global prepaid solutions, announced that its cardholders throughout Europe now can load their prepaid cards using the Ukash e-money service. Ukash codes can be purchased with cash from thousands of retail outlets, and the 19-digit code can be used to transfer funds by logging into the cardholder’s […]
Jamba Juice to Sweeten Deal for Isis Adoption (Oct. 16, 2013)
With the Isis digital wallet set to launch nationwide later this year, the companies behind the wallet are hoping a special launch promotion will sweeten the proposition for consumer adoption.
Hong Kong’s JETCO to Build M-Payment Platform Using NFC (Oct. 16, 2013)
Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (JETCO), along with its 30 member banks, announced plans to build a mobile payment platform that uses NFC technology.
System Glitch Leads to EBT Shopping Spree (Oct. 16, 2013)
A system disruption last weekend enabled public assistance recipients in 17 states to make purchases using Electronic Benefits Transfer cards with no spending limits. Xerox, one of three companies that operate the payment system for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), said a routine test of a backup generator on Saturday caused the company’s EBT […]
Mobile payments success needs complete ecosystem
The public is ready to adopt mobile payments in many aspects of their lives, but service providers need to have a defined role in the ecosystem and an understanding of how they interact with other players and the consumer.
Bitcoin Loses Dwolla Support; Feds Shut Down Silk Road (Oct. 15, 2013)
In the latest setback to the Bitcoin craze, Dwolla announced it will phase out all Bitcoin-related operations by the end of this month, citing “uncertainty and confusion” around the virtual currency. Bitcoin accounted for only 0.1 percent of its merchants, according to Dwolla, which specializes in P2P transactions. The move comes on the heels of […]
Venture Capital Flows into Payments Industry (Oct. 15, 2013)
Oct. 15, 2013 Several companies in the prepaid and emerging payments industry recently have received investor funding, including CardFlight, Carta Solutions Holding Corp., Gyft Inc., Leaf and Tabbedout. CardFlight, a New York-based firm that enables developers to integrate in-person card payments into their own apps, has raised $1.6 million in seed-round funding, led by New […]
Survey: P2P an Opportunity for E-Payments Providers (Oct. 15, 2013)
While digital payments have become commonplace for paying bills and making purchases, person-to-person payments still have much unlocked potential for electronic payment providers, according to a new report from financial services technology provider Fiserv. In its 2013 “How Americans Pay Each Other” survey, the Brookfield, Wisc.-based company polled 2,533 Americans on how they made payments. […]
Kenyan Regulators’ Call for Interoperability Could End M-Pesa Dominance (Oct. 15, 2013)
Proposed new regulations from Kenya’s central bank could force leading telecom provider Safaricom to open its M-Pesa electronic money transfer service to other providers, possibly bringing an end to the company’s dominance of the Kenyan e-money market.
Citi builds out global eBAM service and cross-border payments
Citi has expanded its electronic bank account management service to 55 countries, in a move that the bank says will help corporate treasurers to better manage risk. The bank also expanded its cross-border WorldLink payment service into new emerging markets.
Google Wallet Revamps App, Welcoming iPhone; While NFC’s Momentum Sputters
Google Wallet’s latest makeover—a revised mobile app pushing merchant offers through more channels that’s available now for the first time to Apple Inc.’s iPhone users—means millions more consumers may give it a try.
Executive profile: One on One with Amit Parikh, Discover
New head of prepaid speaks on his multifaceted career, his view on prepaid and why living in the Bay Area gives him a unique perspective on payments.
Pay Mobile: Money2020 Edition (Oct. 11, 2013)
This week in Las Vegas more than 4,500 attendees gathered for the second annual Money2020 conference. Companies across the payments value chain took the opportunity to showcase their latest partnerships, technology or programs with a deluge of announcements charting the future of money.
Money2020: PayPal Cracks QR Codes (Oct. 10, 2013)
PayPal added another key piece to its POS strategy this week with the introduction of Payment Code, a QR code-based approach enabling consumers to pay by scanning the PayPal mobile app at checkout.
MasterCard to Acquire Turkish Processor Provus (Oct. 10, 2013)
Turkey’s large unbanked population, relatively industry-friendly regulatory environment and growing popularity of payment cards, including prepaid and contactless, has made it an attractive and expanding market.
Suze Orman Approves i2c for Prepaid Processing (Oct. 10. 2013)
Prepaid processor i2c Inc. has been chosen to provide processing services for The Approved Card from Suze Orman MasterCard. Redwood City, Calif.-based i2c will bolster the card with new features, including an integrated communications engine that responds in real-time to cardholders’ behavior with personalized messages to help them better manage their finances. “Of the platforms […]
Amazon Charts Course into Online Payments (Oct. 10, 2013)
Online retail titan Amazon is making a major foray into electronic payments, unveiling a new service that enables e-commerce merchants to let customers pay with the cards saved in their Amazon accounts. Dubbed Login and Pay with Amazon, the feature gives participating retailers access to Amazon’s 215 million active account holders, who can make purchases […]
U.K. to Create New Payments Regulator (Oct. 10, 2013)
The U.K. government has decided to create a new regulatory body for retail payment systems that will be charged with ensuring a level playing field in the noncash payments market by promoting modernization, innovation and meeting the needs of consumers—all of which might otherwise be stifled by a lack of competition, according to Her Majesty’s […]
Lessons on living in a real-time payments world
Coming to the US to tell an audience of payments specialists about how the UK has transformed its national infrastructure over the past five years with the introduction of an effectively real-time payment system might have been considered a rough assignment – what can the Brits teach the wider world, particularly the US, about payments […]
PayPal points to global reach
Don Kingsborough, vice president of retail and prepaid products at PayPal, had a clear message for Money2020 delegates in Las Vegas yesterday: “The future is actually now.”
American Express aims to serve unbanked and underbanked
Amex, home of that object of envy, the Black Card, is expanding in an unexpected direction – to provide services to the unbanked and underbanked.
WorldPay’s world of payments shows huge diversity
Adoption of alternative payment mechanisms is growing more rapidly in developing economies as they leapfrog the legacy infrastructures deployed elsewhere.
Zapp: putting banks back in the m-payments picture
Formed earlier this year, Zapp expects to launch next year with the backing of most of the major UK retail banks, Peter Keenan, chief executive of the venture, says that at the time of launch the Pay by Zapp service will be available to 40% of UK current account holders, and it will have the backing of 50% of the nation’s online and mobile retailers – including well-known brands.
US consumers reject mobile wallets, survey says
The overwhelming majority of US consumers would not use a mobile wallet, according to a survey carried out by consultancy Consult Hyperion during September.
Mobile payments – the tipping point
There comes a tipping point when market readiness, social behaviour and technology combine to create a sudden, ubiquitous change of behaviour. For mobile payments the tipping point may have arrived – but will there be a dominant solution?
Lack of EMV means US leads the world in card fraud
The US leads the world in card fraud, at least in part because it has lagged in the adoption of the EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) Chip & PIN standard, and continues to use signatures for verification. One result, said Carolyn Balfany, group head for US product delivery at MasterCard Worldwide, during Money2020 in Las […]
Viewpoint: Payroll: Proof of Prepaid Power in Numbers
A group of like-minded companies came together this summer to address the recent melee in payroll cards. The work is far from over, but their activity points to the power of pooling resources and relationships for real progress and impact.
Bitcoin is the future, Money2020 delegates told
Bitcoin is here to stay and will continue to grow, according to experts speaking on separate panels at Money2020 in Las Vegas.
Money 2020: Innovation, Mobile-Centric Money Take Center Stage (Oct. 8, 2013)
Innovative and mobile-centric financial services are taking center stage this week at Money2020, which has drawn more than 4,500 attendees to Las Vegas.
Amex Relaunches Serve with Free Cash Reloads through InComm (Oct. 8, 2013)
American Express today announced a relaunch of its Serve prepaid account, packing the card with a raft of new features and benefits, including free cash-reload services at CVS and 7-Eleven stores nationwide, plus online bill payment and money management tools, for $1 a month.
Big Names among Group Aiming to Bolster Card-Linked Offers (Oct. 8, 2013)
Some of the heaviest hitters in e-commerce, banking and tech have joined together to enhance customers’ experience with card-linked offers. The newly formed CardLinx Association counts among its ranks a number of big names, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Discover, Facebook, First Data Corp., LivingSocial, MasterCard and Microsoft Corp. Announced this week at the […]
MasterCard Report Outlines Global Shift Away from Cash (Oct. 8, 2013)
Economies around the world are making the move away from cash, and the shift largely is being driven by new technologies, government initiative and consumer preference, according to a new report by MasterCard Advisors. Among the countries the report describes as the most “cashless” are: Belgium, where 93 percent of total consumer spending in 2011 […]
MasterCard and Visa Launch Prepaid Cards in Myanmar and Ghana (Oct. 8, 2013)
MasterCard and Visa separately have launched prepaid cards this week in Myanmar and Ghana, respectively. CB Bank is rolling out a prepaid travel card for citizens of the Southeast Asian country called the CB Bank EASI Travel Prepaid MasterCard card. The financial institution says the reloadable prepaid card is the first of its kind in […]
Maybe next time …
What do Monty Python star Michael Palin, a municipal cemetery, the rock band Def Leppard and a long-running debate in the press room at Sibos have in common? The answer is Sheffield, Palin’s home town, which has for some years now been an also ran in the choice of the next venue for Swift’s annual travelling circus.
Money2020: MetaBank, TSYS Execs Say Third-Party Oversight, Compliance Key (Oct. 7, 2013)
The explosion of innovation in financial service products is driving a growing reliance on third parties to help process and distribute products that, in turn, is making third-party oversight a key priority integrated with daily operations, according to top prepaid card industry experts at preliminary sessions during Money2020 in Las Vegas on Oct. 6. Because […]
