IRS Thwarts Hack; Obama Calls for More Cybersecurity
Oh the irony. On the same day President Barack Obama and his administration presented plans to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity, the IRS announced an attack on its Website.
Analysis
U.K. Gov’t Group Calls for Open Banking Standard
A U.K. government panel is calling for the development of an open banking standard that will enable banking data to be shared and used securely, giving consumers access to tailored financial solutions and an easier way to compare products and services.
Russian Lawmakers Want to Ban Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues to encounter hurdles as its supporters try to facilitate the digital currency’s mainstream acceptance. Though certain states and countries are welcoming bitcoin, or permitting it with certain provisos, Russia is considering a ban.
Q&A with Emily Baum, Prepaid International Forum
The Prepaid International Forum (PIF) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2016. Emily Baum, a non-executive board member of the forum and business development director of PrePay Solutions, tells Paybefore more about PIF, where the 23-member group is headed and how the industry is responding to calls for increased prepaid regulation following the Paris terrorist attacks.
Clearing contradictions in derivatives regulation
There’s one challenge that regulators seem unable to address, and that is regulation itself. Today’s evolving regulatory environment seems to be beset by a range of internal contradictions. One such contradiction is the banks’ decision to act as clearing providers for derivatives businesses.
Innovators’ Spotlight: Poynt
Electronic payment options for consumers are proliferating, and shoppers expect merchants to accept the full gamut of form factors. But for retailers—especially small and midsize enterprises (SMEs)—it can be tough to keep up. That’s where Poynt comes in.
Memory muscle
An in-memory DBMS with its roots in embedded systems for the defence and aerospace sectors is setting records for manipulating financial data. Chief executive Steve Graves told Banking Technology how it works.
CFPB Takes Aim at Lack of Checking Account Options for Consumers
The CFPB announced today a three-prong approach to ensure consumers are receiving a fair shake regarding checking account access. But what may surprise many in the prepaid industry is that the agency also is providing information to consumers about the prepaid option.
Rob Binns to join Misys as chief financial officer
Financial software provider Misys has appointed Rob Binns as its chief financial officer. Binns joins Misys from HP where he was head of treasury and investor relations. He joined Hewlett-Packard in 2007 from Mercury Interactive and has held a number of senior finance positions in the company including VP Software Field Operations and VP Investor […]
Hassan named chief digital officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Morgan Stanley has appointed Naureen Hassan as chief digital officer for Wealth Management, a new position in which she will lead the strategy and marketing of digital tools and platforms serving the firm’s 16,000 financial advisors and 3.5 million clients. Naureen Hassan served most recently as executive vice president, Investment Services Segments and Platforms at […]
Trader voice – the last bastion of the old world
The largest vendors in the trader voice market are now in a similar position to IBM in the late 1990s: their solutions are proprietary, expensive to maintain, and lacking true open integration …
Viewpoint: Leaders, Learners and Laggards
I talk with a lot of banking leaders who describe their approach to innovation as being a “fast follower. My typical retort is that they are half-right—most of them are definitely followers, but there usually isn’t anything fast about their approach.
Viewpoint: Mobile Wallet Myth-Busting Starts Now
For those of us in prepaid, combating misrepresentation of our products in the media is nothing new. A recent news story claiming banks are leaving customers on the hook for fraud if they use a mobile wallet shows there’s plenty of work to do for new payment methods.
Viewpoint: An Open Letter to the On-Demand Economy
Hyperwallet CEO challenges businesses in the booming on-demand economy to make getting paid as easy as ordering a ride on Uber.
Report: Fraudsters’ Test Runs Surged in Q4 2015
Cybercriminals could be ramping up their attacks on financial services providers, according to a new study. The fourth quarter of 2015 saw a tenfold increase in “bot attacks”—essentially test attacks meant to gauge the security of targeted systems—according to the report by ThreatMatrix, a San Jose, Calif., cybersecurity company.
Money market statistical reporting: challenges for 2016 and beyond
Money Market Statistical Reporting presents a fair number of challenges. And firms are pressed for time to prepare for these requirements, according to an overview prepared by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. Where they may have adopted tactical solutions in the past to meet transaction level reporting obligations, now is a good opportunity to think more strategically about investing in the right platform and infrastructure. This is especially true given that daily reporting obligations will soon be extended in 2018 to include securities and financial transactions
Washington State Proposes Problematic Payroll Card Rules (Jan. 21, 2016)
Add another state in play regarding proposed restrictions on payroll cards. Washington state representatives introduced a bill making it unlawful for payroll card providers to charge certain fees.
Viewpoint: Balancing Digital Money, Counter-Terrorism and the Future of E-Money in Europe
Following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, some European member states are calling for swift action, while others are concerned that too much regulation would stifle prepaid card distribution and innovation.
Why is it so hard to know who you’re doing business with?
Every bank wants to achieve a single view of a customer, but no-one has found an easy, cost-effective, scalable way to do it. The simple fact is that there is too much customer information, entering the bank from too many places, to align and maintain into a single view. An effective solution would reduce costs, allow the bank to generate revenue faster, facilitate KYC processes and meet regulatory requirements.
Viewpoint: Terrorist Financing and Prepaid Cards: Ban Them!
When a terrorist spends cash, there is no trace, no history of where it came from, where or how it was spent. But using a prepaid card leaves a trail to follow.
2016: An EMEA regulatory view
If 2015 was all about how the financial sector continued its post 2008 crisis transformation, 2016 looks set to promise even more developments in the same vein across the EMEA region. The ongoing change continues to be remarkable in its depth and scope impacting financial institutions and technology firms like Wolters Kluwer Financial Services who exist to enable banks and others to navigate risk and regulatory complexity
Mismatched trade detection poses risks for banks
While some of us have experienced the speed at which sales are completed on the trade floor, most of us have heard tell of it. So it’s no surprise that mismatched trades is a common challenge for most banks, giving rise to the finance technology industry creating a brand new category – solutions for the management of the P&L trading desk
Viewpoint: The Must-Have Fraud Detection Toolkit for 2016
Stop asking customers what kind of car they owned 10 years ago. Make better fraud decisions—and reduce costly false positives—with behavioral biometrics analysis they never see.
Viewpoint: 5 Banking Trends for 2016
Financial institutions are undergoing a seismic transformation. Digital technology is reshaping what consumers want from their banks and the way they conduct transactions. Let’s take a look at the top five banking trends for 2016.
Viewpoint: Enough with the 2016 Predictions—Let’s Think Bigger!
Forget predictions. We’ve got work to do. There are several significant challenges for payments that need to be solved from fixing cross-border payments to making payments disappear.
Viewpoint: The Future of Payments Is Already Here, So What’s Next?
With more contactless cards in the U.K. than people, the new age of payments is already here. But we’re not done yet, and thanks to biometrics, we could be the next form factors.
CFPB Complaint Report: Prepaid, Money Transfers Less than 2% and 1% of Consumer Complaints (Jan. 12, 2016)
The CFPB recently released its November complaint report or “snapshot” of consumer complaints it received through its Website for the three month average between September 2014 and November 2015. Although prepaid saw a jump of 215 in complaint volume, prepaid complaints still represented only 2 percent of all complaints the CFPB received during the period.
FinCEN Seeks Comment on Cost Analysis of CDD Proposal (Jan. 12, 2016)
A proposed rule that would place new Customer Due Diligence requirements on financial institutions—including prepaid issuers—has taken a step forward with the release of two new documents estimating the impact and cost the proposed rule would have on regulated institutions and seeking comment from stakeholders by Jan. 25.
Keeping file-based threats out of bank vaults
While mention of bank robberies will often conjure images of masked criminals and high-speed car chases, most modern instances of the crime are being conducted from behind computer screens. In addition to the lure of stealing cash, these criminals are going after banks for valuables such as the personal data of customers, details of mergers and acquisitions between companies and the private tax information of corporations, data is fast becoming an incredibly valuable commodity in its own right
Trust, data, and why marketplace lenders are here to stay
New peer-to-peer platforms that match lenders with borrowers are proving to be more efficient than banks at connecting those with money and to those that need money. Known as marketplace lenders, this new industry is still very much in its infancy, currently representing a tiny proportion of total loans compared to bank lending
People’s Bank of China Revokes Prepaid Provider’s License (Jan. 7, 2016)
The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the country’s central bank, this week has revoked the license of Shanghai Chang Gou Enterprise Services, a prepaid card-issuing company, preventing it from selling prepaid cards, according to Reuters.
Two Lenders Settle Charges in $353 Million FTC Case (Jan. 6, 2016)
Two payday lenders have settled Federal Trade Commission charges over allegedly hitting customers undisclosed and inflated fees.
Industry Views: 2015 Game-Changers, Priorities for 2016
To kick off the New Year, we asked payments industry thought leaders to tell us what happened in 2015 that will most influence payments in 2016 and to discuss their hottest priorities for the next 12 months. Responses run the gamut from a combined Visa/Visa Europe to compliance, wearables and the impact of Chase Pay.
From training to trendsetting: how institutions reverse the fintech migration
Aspiration doesn’t look like it used to. The face of Eighties ambition was a power dresser, clad in a suit with shoulder pads as they rushed to Wall Street to earn as much as they could, whereas today’s bright young things are more likely to be found sipping lattes at a co-working space in Silicon Valley
Closed-Loop Gift Cards Set for 6 Percent Growth this Holiday Season
Closed-loop gift cards appear poised for growth for the second consecutive holiday season after 2012 and 2013 declines, thanks in part to last-minute shopping and young consumers, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group Inc.
Idaho Ag Dept. First to Launch NIC’s eGovExpress Digital Wallet (Dec. 23, 2015)
Idaho’s Department of Agriculture is the first government department to launch the eGovExpress digital wallet developed by Olathe, Kan.-based NIC Inc., provider of official government Web portals and digital government services for more than 3,500 federal, state and local government agencies.
Fintech: friend or foe?
While the mainstay of the financial services industry was busy dealing with the global financial crisis in 2008, start-up organisations in Silicon Valley, New York, London and other major financial and technology hubs were turning their attention away from social media plays and looking to reinvent financial services.
Viewpoint: Staying Relevant through Gift Card Innovations
There’s no questioning the popularity and appeal of gift cards—especially during this time of the year. Giving recipients the ability to treat themselves to something they really want or need has become prized among gift buyers. What’s even more exciting is how the concept of gift cards continues to evolve as new brands and card types launch.
Viewpoint: Prepaid Regulations Should Go on a New Year’s Diet
The CFPB needs to return to its original plans on prepaid regulations and put its proposed rules on a New Year’s diet. By issuing rules focusing solely on disclosure, the CFPB could issue guidance earlier in 2016 that would help consumers, prevent access disruptions, and potentially reduce the size of the landfill needed to for the mountains of noncompliant cards and marketing materials.
Blockchain: ushering a new era in fintech
The distributed ledger – the central nervous system of the Bitcoin system – is the most sweeping departure from the long-standing financial bookkeeping practices followed since the codification of the Medici’s double entry accounting system.
