How to Make a Multigenerational Global Impact with Prepaid
With the worldwide prepaid market set to hit $3.1 trillion by 2022, providers need to have a firm handle on who those prepaid consumers will be, and how they will shop.
Analysis
It’s Time to Rethink Service Level Agreements
SLAs provide various metrics upon which service is judged. But in many cases, those metrics—and the business expectations of deals—prove unrealistic and could lead to poor decisions and wasted money.
Need for human connection in digital banking
Technology may rule the world, but human connection is still king.
APRA’s EFS Form Review consultation: first stage of a long road
On 16 January 2017, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) released for public consultation its Economic and Financial Statistics (EFS) Form Review. Notably, this consultation package represents a major overhaul of many of the financial and statistical returns currently prepared by the Australian authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) as well as introducing a new set of returns to be submitted. We examine what’s at stake.
European Online Transaction Rule Revised after Payments Industry Complaints
After absorbing hundreds of complaints from the payments industry, the European Banking Authority will relax its pending customer authentication rules for online transactions. But given the rise in popularity of online shopping, the new threshold of 30 euros before two-factor authentication is required may not be enough to assuage industry concerns.
Q&A with Walt Granville, Cachet Financial Solutions
No more “one and done.” That’s central to Cachet Financial Solutions’ mission for its prepaid clients and was the impetus for platform upgrades that were nearly a year in the making. Paybefore spoke with Walt Granville, senior vice president of mobile innovation, about what’s resonating with clients and how Cachet is using optimized mobile apps to help them fight churn.
Innovators’ Spotlight: Raise
The Chicago-based startup enables consumers to easily purchase and redeem e-gift cards right from their smartphones, essentially turning unwanted e-gifts into a convenient and useful form of digital currency.
How to make a success out of blockchain
There is pressure for CEOs to decide how distributed ledger technology (DLT) fits into their business strategy. Regulators also recognise that blockchain could advance their own processes. So what is all the excitement about? Blockchain is an exciting innovation but the technology has flaws…
Mobile payments in the age of the customer
The mobile payment market is getting more congested every day. For banks, it’s the most frequent touchpoint – one that can help (re) establish everyday relevance and drive engagement. How can banks develop their strategy and prioritise the capabilities that will help them remain valuable to their customers?
N.Y. Grants Global Cash Card Petition against Labor Dept. Paycard Regs
Payroll card providers that operate in New York can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Global Cash Card tells Paybefore that its petition against the New York Department of Labor payroll card regulations due to go into effect on March 7, 2017, has been granted. The industry had been raising red flags about the regulations, which many feared would result in providers exiting the market, since first proposed in 2015.
CFPB Seeks Help in Tackling Thin-, No-File Challenge
In a Feb. 16 field hearing, the CFPB said it wants industry input on using alternative data to help thin- or no-file consumers build credit scores. It’s a challenge that many in the prepaid industry have been trying to solve for years to better serve cardholders who often are among the approximately 26 million U.S. consumers who don’t have a credit history and another 19 million consumers whose credit histories are insufficient to produce a credit score, according to CFPB estimates.
Mobile money: the state of play
With mobile money technology widely available, and so many citizens having access to a mobile phone, how many are actually banking in this way? What are the benefits available to them when using mobile money? And what does the future hold for this fintech innovation?
8th Circuit Tells Lower Court to Take another Look at Target Data Breach Settlement
The case creates new issues surrounding standing and how to resolve and settle class action claims in the context of privacy and data protection suits, where some members of a group have not suffered concrete harm and thus may not be able to meet the concrete and particularized injury prong of the test for standing.
White House: CFPB Exempt from ‘1 In, 2 Out’ Rule
The CFPB is not required to comply with President Trump’s executive order limiting new regulations, according to a memorandum from The White House. Trump’s order—which requires covered agencies to repeal two regulations for every one new regulation adopted—does not apply to the CFPB, which is considered an independent agency.
FCA: experimenting in the sandbox
2017 looks set to be the year in which a number of different jurisdictions vie to become the natural home of the financial technology sector. To help ensure that London remains fintech-friendly, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has created the “regulatory sandbox”.
Global ATM Hacker Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
The ringleader of three highly organized, global cyberattacks on ATMs resulting in $55 million in losses was sentenced Feb. 10 to eight years in prison and ordered to pay more than $55 million in restitution.
Trade finance and blockchain: the right time
Financial institutions and technology companies have tinkered with trade finance for years, but progress has been slow. Despite automation advances in many areas of financial services, trade finance remains a largely paper-based, manual process. But it could be one area where blockchain technology will be successfully applied.
Investing in Innovation: Payoff ahead
We’re only six weeks into the New Year and already we’ve seen significant activity on the regulatory front in the U.S. and more to come in the U.K. and Europe. Meanwhile, many of the other trends we identified as ones to watch in our Year-in-Review report—bots, blockchain and co-opetition—have been dominating the headlines (along with some major acquisitions). Are you investing in the right places?
Viewpoint: Why Better Payments Security Requires More Sharing
When payment systems come under attack, the broad retail and service economies suffer. That’s why legal concerns and information-sharing programs need to be reexamined.
The rise of in-app commerce
In-app payments are cannibalizing more traditional payments.
Viewpoint: What Openness Means for Payments, Fintech Future
With regulators opening up the payments infrastructure and consumers and business clients demanding á la carte but interoperable financial services from a variety of players, the industry and its would-be disruptors must adapt.
PSD2 and the future of payments
Banks need to do more than just comply with the upcoming revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2). To survive, banks will need to embrace these changes.
Prepaid Gains More Love from Canadians, but Bank Execs Might Have Worries
Reloadable prepaid cards are a hit with Canadian consumers, with 95 percent of them saying they are satisfied with the products in 2016. That represents an increase of 22 percentage points from 2015, and stands as the highest satisfaction rate for all payment tools, according to the second annual survey from the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization.
Modern payments and banking APIs
Modern banking is not limited to banks anymore. It’s not only about online or mobile banking, it’s about all the things you would do in your banking system, but now you can do in apps or other solutions provided by third parties, not banks. Payments are one of such functionalities.
Consumer Groups Cry Foul as House Joins Senate Push for Prepaid Rule Repeal
The CFPB’s final prepaid rule is turning out to be unpopular with the current U.S. Congress: A U.S. representative has followed the lead of a Senate colleague and filed a joint resolution to repeal the rule, which has attracted criticism from industry groups since the agency released it last year. But consumer groups, who lobbied for the rules, are attacking the effort, arguing that it would put consumers at risk.
Appeals Court Denies Efforts to Defend CFPB in PHH Case
Efforts by three different parties to defend the CFPB were thwarted Feb. 2 when a federal appeals court denied the motions to submit briefs on behalf of the CFPB in PHH Corp., et al.v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Insurtech in 2017: making insurance great again
There are many reasons to be excited about insurtech in 2017!
The European Banking Authority favours arbitrary box-ticking over data innovation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently proposed new rules that would require payment card operators to enforce additional security measures, such as passwords or security tokens, for all online transactions over €10, aimed at fraud prevention. This is a clumsy solution to a problem that is already being addressed by far more sophisticated means, argues Nick Wallace, senior policy analyst at Centre for Data Innovation, and policymakers should reject the EBA’s proposal.
Can Sen. Perdue Undo CFPB Prepaid Accounts Rule?
For those disappointed that President Trump’s regulatory relief executive orders wouldn’t extend to prepaid providers—and others covered under the CFPB’s final prepaid accounts rule—Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) may be coming to the rescue. On Feb. 1, Sen. Perdue, along with six co-sponsors, introduced joint resolution 19 that provides “congressional disapproval” for the rule, and which says that “such rule shall have no force or effect.”
CFPB Orders UniRush, Mastercard to Pay $13 Million over RushCard Outage
The CFPB is “putting the prepaid industry on notice that companies will face the consequences if consumers are denied access to their money or to the services they pay for and on which they have the right to depend.” In its first enforcement action against prepaid providers, the bureau on Feb. 1 announced that UniRush and Mastercard will pay a combined $13 million for a 2015 service disruption that left cardholders without access to their funds.
2017: the year fintech shifts its focus to Africa
Africa is becoming a very interesting fintech innovation hub (in particular South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt). As much as 80% of the continent is unbanked, opening the door to a breadth of opportunities for fintech companies to seize market share.
People on the Move: Kathy Moe, FDIC San Francisco
The FDIC has appointed 30-year veteran Kathy Moe regional director for the San Francisco region.
Mastercard Victorious in U.K. Interchange Lawsuit
Mastercard can put a notch in the win column after a High Court judge ruled in the payment card network’s favor regarding a lawsuit brought on by retailers disputing cross-border interchange fees on debit and credit cards.
U.K. Slaps Deutsche Bank with $200 Million Penalty over Money Laundering Case
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority has fined Deutsche Bank £163 million (US$204.7 million) for failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering controls between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2015, according to Paybefore sister publication Banking Technology.
Trend Watch 2017: Payments Year in Review
Paybefore’s first-ever payments year-in-review report, sponsored by The Bancorp, is available now. Offering an in-depth look at key trends and the Top 10 payments stories from 2016 that will continue to shape the industry in 2017 and beyond, this must-have resource examines everything influencing the industry from the CFPB and Uber to Brexit and Trump and much more.
Fed Highlights Progress toward Faster, Safer Payments
A 2-year-old Federal Reserve plan to improve the speed, efficiency and security of the U.S. payments system has made significant strides toward those goals, but there’s more work to do, according to the Fed’s latest progress report on the initiative. First announced in a January 2015 document titled Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System, the plan includes several strategies to enhance the U.S. payment system to “meet the changing demands of American consumers and businesses.”
Understanding the role of virtual card provider
Your organisation’s satisfaction with its virtual card provider is the single most important factor determining the return you will receive on your investment. So when you choose a supplier, set your expectations high.
Five mistakes to avoid when starting a fintech company
Francisco Lorca, MD of Startupbootcamp FinTech London, a UK-based accelerator, highlights the pitfalls of starting a fintech firm, drawing on his extensive 17-year experience in finance and entrepreneurship.
Industry views: loyalty rewards – baby, please don’t go
Experts from Blackhawk, Cachet, Arroweye, i2c and more explain what loyalty strategies are moving the needle with consumers and why.
Viewpoint: What Can the Payments Industry Expect from Trump?
Even if President Trump puts the brakes on federal regulation of the payments industry, state regulators are poised to swerve into the open lane that creates.
