PayTech


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 […]

Card News: Bancorp to Issue TFG Payroll; InComm Partners with Jackson Hewitt on GPR Card (Oct. 7, 2013)

GPR and payroll cards—two of the fastest-growing segments in prepaid—continue to expand as a new GPR program and a new payroll card partnership were unveiled today. In separate announcements, InComm and tax preparer Jackson Hewitt said they’re working together on a new GPR program, while The Bancorp Inc. said it will issue payroll cards to TFG Card Solutions’ […]

Sprint’s NFC Answer to Isis (Oct. 7, 2013)

When Isis, backed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile and Verizon, was announced nearly three years ago, Sprint was notably missing from the group of top U.S. telcos involved in the mobile wallet project.

Payments and the Government Shutdown (Oct. 7, 2013)

As the federal government shutdown drags on, the payments industry could begin to feel some impacts of the inaction, according to industry observers. And while those effects currently are relatively limited, the coming Congressional battle over the debt ceiling could have serious implications—especially for recipients of Social Security benefits via the Treasury Department’s Direct Express […]

PayPal’s path to success paved with “good ideas and lots of hard work”

PayPal is belatedly paying some attention to design: in its early days, the company didn’t have designers, so the Pay with PayPal button wasn’t very consistent – sellers could tinker with it and even modify the colour. That’s changing, John Muller, vice president and general counsel, told Money 2020.

Foreign money transmitters face state-by-state regs in the US

Some European money transmitter companies are learning what insurance carriers from outside the US. learned years ago — the country is a nightmare of financial regulations that can differ sharply from state to state. And European companies that are doing business in individual states probably need a license from that state.

The challenges of paying Asia faster

Slowly but steadily, financial institutions and their corporate clients are beginning to talk about growth again. Markets are gradually shifting from a purely defensive position; the Fed has spoken about tapering its quantitative easing programme; and many companies are putting expansion back on the agenda in response, writes Greg Murray.

CFPB: CARD Act Saved Consumers Billions, But Some Concerns Remain (Oct. 3, 2013)

The credit card industry has largely cleaned up its act in the four years since sweeping new federal rules took effect, though some concerns remain, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concluded this week. The CFPB’s 102-page report on the impact of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act) passed in 2009 found […]

MasterCard Unveils Parking-Based Couponing Platform (Oct. 3, 2013)

MasterCard and parking services provider Parkeon have announced the launch of a couponing platform that delivers offers from local retailers to consumers as they’re paying for parking. The system is being billed as the first of its kind and will be launched as a pilot next week in Rockville Center, N.Y., with a full-scale rollout […]

Blog: The Case for Staying Confident about NFC (October 2013)

Once again, NFC is in the news for more of what didn’t happen than for what did. Despite the rumors that Apple would put NFC in its new security-minded iPhone 5S, the annual iPhone new model release announcement came and went without a mention of NFC.

People on the Move: Brad Hanson, Glen Herrick, Ira Frericks, Ron Butterfield and Troy Moore, Meta Financial Group Inc. (October 2013)

Meta Financial Group Inc., the holding company of MetaBank, has recently appointed Brad Hanson as president, Glen Herrick as executive vice president and chief financial officer, Ira Frericks as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Ron Butterfield as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Troy Moore will be taking on a new role as executive vice president of retail bank sales and operations.

CFPB, Lawmakers Continue Campus Card Examination (Oct. 1, 2013)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday hosted a Banking on Campus Forum in Washington, D.C., as part of its ongoing investigation into campus cards. Some college students said they feel pressured into using specific financial products—which can include student ID cards that double as debit or prepaid cards and are used to access scholarships and […]

SpendSmart Expands into Gov’t Segment, Eyes More Verticals (Oct. 1, 2013)

San Diego-based prepaid provider The SpendSmart Payments Co. has set its sights on expanding beyond the teen card market, and the company is kicking off that expansion with a government-focused business line. SpendSmart’s new program management platform will focus on prepaid cards for distribution by municipal, county and state governments. The company already has inked […]

MobiKwik Unveils New Mobile Wallet in India (Oct. 1, 2013)

Indian payment startup MobiKwik is launching what the company is calling the country’s first consumer-focused mobile wallet. The MobiKwik wallet is available as an app for iOS and Android devices, and enables users to make online purchases from about 500 merchants. The wallet can be loaded via bank account transfer or credit card and a […]

Amex Debuts New Travel Card in Sri Lanka (Sept. 30, 2013)

American Express is partnering with Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank to launch a new prepaid travel card aimed at the growing number of Sri Lankans traveling abroad for business, education or leisure. The new Travel Life Prepaid Card, American Express’ first prepaid travel card in Sri Lanka, enables travelers to lock in a particular currency exchange […]

FIS Unveils ‘Active Analytics’ Suite to Refine Product Marketing (Sept. 30, 2013)

Technology companies are continuing to focus on Big Data, specifically analyzing transaction data to help clients improve the profitability of their portfolios. The latest to do so is payments technology provider FIS, which recently unveiled the FIS Active Analytics suite to help clients create segmented marketing campaigns and merchant offers, and price products more effectively. […]

Global Payout Offers Health Discounts to GPR Cardholders (Sept. 30, 2013)

Global Payout Inc., an electronic payment and prepaid solutions provider, is offering a newly enhanced health discount plan for all holders of the company’s MoneyTrac Prepaid Discover card, a GPR card that features a health care and pharmacy discount program. The WellCard Health Discount Plan now offers cardholders pre-negotiated health services with more than 410,000 […]

Pinnacle Bank outsources processing to Fiserv

US based Pinnacle Bank has chosen to outsource its processing to Fiserv as part of its Precision bank platform, in a move the bank says will help it to scale and roll out new products including mobile banking, bill payment and checking. Based in the town of Elberton in the US state of Georgia, Pinnacle […]

New Age of Bank-Technology Partnerships (September 2013)

The partnerships banks are forming with financial technology suppliers today look very different than routine client-vendor relationships of past decades, and one of the most interesting aspects of the trend is how both sides are transforming each other.

Blog: Not Your Father’s Distribution Strategy

By Charnsin Tulyasathien, epay

The mobile space has changed—from the early, “Wild West” days where subscribers represented land, and service providers represented pioneers grabbing as much as they could.

PayPal, Braintree Reach $800 Million Purchase Agreement (Sept. 26, 2013)

It’s official; eBay Inc. has announced it will acquire e-commerce processor Braintree Payment Solutions in an $800 million deal that will bring Chicago-based Braintree under eBay’s PayPal business unit. The two companies were reported to be in negotiations for a sale earlier this week. With the purchase agreement in place, PayPal gains Braintree’s more than […]