Viewpoint: Separating Fact from Fiction: Consumers Union Campus Banking Report
The NBPCA responds to the CU report on student cards.
Features
Innovators’ Spotlight: SimplyTapp
The startup behind three little letters that could be a very big deal in contactless payments.
Swift’s Chris Church: making plans for Sibos
As delegates finalise their plans to attend Sibos in Boston this month, Chris Church, chief executive Americas and global head of securities at Swift, discusses what they can expect
CFPB Finalizes Remittance Transfer Rule; Extends Temporary Exception (Aug. 26, 2014)
The CFPB has finalized its remittance transfer rule requiring remittance transfer providers to disclose certain third-party fees and any exchange rates applicable to the transfer.
Domestic Routing Mandate Could Hinder CNP Transactions in India (Aug. 26, 2014)
India’s central bank now requires all card-not-present transactions for purchases within the country to be routed through a bank in India, with funds settled only in Indian currency.
Unlocking the potential of Africa
From Senegal to the Seychelles, and Botswana to Uganda, new demands and new opportunities are emerging in Africa, but there are still challenges
More Lawmakers Try to Influence DOE on Campus Card Rules (Aug. 13, 2014)
Letter writing among U.S. lawmakers has been fast and furious lately as they try to influence how the U.S. Department of Education handles new rules governing universities’ and colleges’ arrangements with financial service providers that deliver financial aid dollars.
Ready for the ‘summer of 39’ aftermath?
This summer, regulatory pressure on financial services firms has ratcheted up to unprecedented levels. Many may have breathed a sigh of relief as Dodd-Frank rule-making slowed … but the respite was only fleeting. Since July, the industry has been bombarded with 39 new consultation papers in the EU and UK alone
CFPB Eyes the Big Ten (Aug. 11, 2014)
The CFPB is focusing on universities in the Big Ten Conference to see if these schools, some of the largest in the U.S., have appropriately disclosed their agreements with financial institutions regarding the financial products they offer their students. “Making these agreements available for all financial products shows schools’ and companies’ commitment to transparency, helping […]
Meta Out from Under Consent Order (Aug. 8, 2014)
MetaBank has been released from its Consent Order by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to an announcement by the bank’s parent company, Meta Financial Group.
FTC: Apps Must Provide More Consumer Info before Download (Aug. 7, 2014)
Many mobile apps used for shopping don’t provide consumers with enough information before they download them to their smartphones, according to the FTC.
New Payroll Law in Illinois Effective Jan. 1, 2015 (Aug. 7, 2014)
Paybefore typically confines discussions about state legislative and regulatory activity to the State Tracker section of Pay Gov. But after we published Pay Gov yesterday, Illinois passed a law that explicitly allows payroll cards in the state, subject to certain conditions.
SEPA Standards Take Effect in Europe (Aug. 7, 2014)
Cross-border payments in the Eurozone have reached a milestone, with Aug. 1 marking the migration deadline for all credit and direct debit transfers to comply with Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) requirements.
CFPB: Small-Dollar Overdrafts Are Big Problems for Some (Aug. 5, 2014)
Debit card-initiated overdrafts are leading to disproportionate charges for cardholders, with fees often larger than the overdraft amount, according to a new report by the CFPB.
Diebold: on the comeback trail
After a decade of being the ATM maker you’ve never heard of, Diebold is returning to Europe and a year into his tenure as president and chief executive at the firm, Andy Mattes thinks that the company’s profile is about to change.
Merchants Cautioned on New POS Malware Threat (Aug. 4, 2014)
Federal officials are warning retailers about a new form of malware that hackers could use to access POS systems and steal consumer data.
CFPB Proposal: Include Consumer Narrative in Complaint Database (July 17, 2014)
The CFPB wants to expand its Consumer Complaint Database to enable consumers to provide a narrative with their complaints about financial services.
Merchants Get another Extension in Debit Interchange Case (July 17, 2014)
The merchant plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors have been granted another extension to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Canadian Gov’t Gauges Interest in Prepaid for Federal Benefits (July 14, 2014)
With the Canadian government planning to phase out paper checks by 2016 for federal benefits recipients, half of Canadians who are unwilling to use direct deposit would be willing to try receiving their benefits on a reloadable prepaid card, according to a public opinion report released earlier this year and commissioned by the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
Know thine algo: how to define it, prove it, tame it. Part 1
Regulators across the globe appear divided on the question of whether tighter control of algorithmic trading is necessary: the Australians are pretty laid back about it, the Germans are ahead of the game, while political debate rages in the US …
China moves cautiously towards options market launch this year
As China prepares to open an options market for the first time later this year, big changes are afoot in Asia’s biggest market. French trading technology specialist Horizon Software talks to Banking Technology about the kind of tools that will be needed to liberalise the Chinese economy.
Supreme Court Rules in NLRB Case (June 26, 2014)
The Supreme Court ruled today to throw out President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as unconstitutional. CFPB Director Richard Cordray was appointed the same day but has since been confirmed by the Senate, suggesting the ruling will have little or no effect on the CFPB.
Merchants Get More Time to Petition Supreme Court in Debit Interchange Case (June 24, 2014)
A consortium of merchant groups has been given more time to decide if it will try to take a long-running lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Canada Lays Framework for Digital Currency with New Regs (June 24, 2014)
While digital currency has received a frosty reception from many national governments, it has been greeted a bit more warmly in Canada.
Cordray Goes Before House Committee, Says Overdraft Will Be Part of Prepaid Rules (June 19, 2014)
CFPB Director Richard Cordray headed to the House yesterday to present his bureau’s semi-annual report to the House Financial Services Committee, headed by Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Latest FDIC Consent Order Also Focuses on BSA (June 19, 2014)
The FDIC has issued another consent order for a company with significant prepaid business and again the focus is on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance.
T+2: Settlement Time
In April, US post-trade utility the DTCC called for the US settlement cycle to be moved to T+2, to bring it into line with what’s happening in the rest of the world, which is converging on T+2 settlement cycles – at different speeds.
European market data: too high a price?
Despite promises of change heralded by the European Commission’s upcoming MiFID II, the cost of market data in Europe is still far too high and transparency remains a serious problem, according to senior financial industry executives. Yet the arrival of the Market Model Typology standard earlier this year may provide a catalyst for change.
European trading venues: the next generation
A new generation of trading venues is competing their way into the European securities markets with plans to make trading more efficient. But will they bring benefit to banks and investors?
The Bancorp Steps up BSA Compliance Efforts, Following FDIC Consent Order (June 13, 2014)
The Bancorp Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp Inc., this week revealed in an 8K filing with the SEC that it’s stepping up its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance efforts in accordance with an FDIC consent order that went into effect June 5.
MiFID II transparency: a brave new world
As the European Parliament adopted MiFID II/MiFIR on 15 April, the financial services industry was left wondering what exactly the new transparency regime is going to mean. Despite a curiously low EC estimate of compliance costs, at between €512 and €732 million, it is clear that MiFID II will have a large impact on the tens of thousands of firms and counterparties that will now fall under its scope.
Cordray: Proposed Rules for Prepaid Cards Due by ‘End of Summer’ (June 11, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has bumped plans to release its proposed rule on prepaid cards to “the end of the summer,” according to Richard Cordray, the agency’s director.
30:30 hindsight – Thirty years of Banking Technology
Banking Technology first appeared 30 years ago this month. David Bannister, the current editor, looks back at that first year of coverage …
Nasdaq OMX pursues data and technology revolution
Shifting settlement cycles, the rise of big data, global regulation and increasing demand for post-trade services are creating both challenges and opportunities that global exchanges would do well to face wisely, according to Lars Ottersgard, head of market technology and Eva Saidac, head of business development market technology at Nasdaq OMX.
Responding to NPRMs Is Everyone’s Business: Are You Ready to Respond to the CFPB’s NPRM on General Use Cards?
We have the opportunity to make a difference, to be part of the process and to influence the outcome of prepaid regulations.
Cloud – what is it not good for?
Across the financial services sector, the question is now less about where cloud technology is being used, and more about where it isn’t used. Where do financial institutions draw the line when it comes to deciding whether to keep a process or IT-related service in-house or outsource it to specialists such as Amazon Web Services, SAP and many others?
Viewpoint: 4AMLD and Its Impact on the Prepaid Industry in Europe
If proposed changes to simplified due diligence go through as drafted, it will drive out a whole section of the prepaid market from Europe.
Survey: KYC action plans 2014
Looked at from a data perspective, many new regulations have overlapping requirements that come back to customer data. Banking Technology joined forces with Markit І Genpact KYC Services and regulatory specialist JWG to look at how firms are approaching the challenges this poses.
CFPB’s Online Privacy Disclosure Option Promises Big Saving but May Fall Short for Prepaid Providers (May 15, 2014)
GPR and payroll providers may be eager to take advantage of what the CFPB estimates will be $17 million in annual saving across the financial services industry. The proposed rule, however, may not be a real option for prepaid providers.
RBI Pulls Back on Biometric POS Mandate, Launches Prepaid Cashout Pilot (May 15, 2014)
The central bank has pulled back on a mandate requiring new POS and ATM terminals to include biometric authentication. However, it’s also enabling prepaid providers, for the first time, to offer cashout at biometric terminals.
