Broker crossing networks will be heavily affected by upcoming European Commission rules on dark trading. But with 18 months to go until implementation, uncertainty still unnerves brokers and asset managers – prompting some market participants to re-examine whether they want to trade at all.
Several U.S. senators used income tax season to promote new legislation that takes aim at program providers that enable consumers to receive their tax refunds on prepaid cards.
Apple Pay is expanding its reach to the health care sector, where InstaMed has integrated the mobile payments service as an option for consumers making payments to hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and insurance companies.
Discover cardholders who have temporarily misplaced their cards or suspect fraudulent activity on their accounts now can shut off their credit cards with Discover’s Freeze It security feature.
The world’s unbanked population plummeted by 20 percent between 2011 and 2014, as 700 million adults became account holders, according to a new report from the World Bank.
Target will pay $19 million to MasterCard issuers to cover costs stemming from the retail giant’s 2013 data breach.
CounterpartyLink, a provider of legal entity intelligence for buy- and sell-side institutions and law enforcement agencies, has announced CPL Hierarchy Profile, a new product designed to provide a single view of the client across complex client groups.
The European Commission’s MiFID II legislation is a poorly thought-out, arbitrary and unclear piece of rulemaking that will prevent traders from being able to do their job. Worse still, a lack of clarity over the final details will inflict uncertainty and cost on market participants from now until 2017, according to delegates at TradeTech Paris this week.
NCR has announced a radical new approach to ATM network deployment, with cloud-based enterprise application allowing banks to control and manage thin-client devices running a locked-down version of the Android operating system.
Banks and asset managers are being forced to learn to live in a world of greater specialisation, as unbundling of research and execution drives greater competitive pressure on costs. That is probably a good thing – but it will take the buy-side and the sell side in different directions, according to senior executives speaking at the TradeTech conference in Paris this week.
Security specialist RiskIQ says the growth in digital business is producing an increasing threat to banks across the world, with the largest banks owning an average of 7,500 public facing digital assets – 60% of which are outside the company firewall.
A former head of the UK Security Service better known as MI5 says banks need to beware the danger of state agencies and others stealing or destroying confidential information.
Royal Bank of Canada has made the first cross-border Renminbi payment on Canada’s new RMB Trading Hub through the hub’s designated clearing bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (Canada).
American Express Co. is getting in on the expanding niche of wearable technology.
Canada’s Financial Consumer Agency this week has released amendments to Canada’s code of conduct for credit and debit card transactions that extend to mobile payments.
A new startup headed by longtime payments veteran Farhan Ahmad is seeing big opportunity in small businesses.
i2c Inc., a provider of payment processing and emerging commerce solutions, announced that Stephen Grice has joined the company as general manager, Europe.
Optimal Payments Plc, an online payment solutions provider, announced that Neil Erlick, executive vice president of business development, has been elected to serve on the board of directors of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
Prepaid International Forum, the not-for-profit body representing the prepaid industry, has elected three new members to serve on the board.
Raphaels Bank has appointed Kerry Penfold to its board of directors.
YapStone, a provider of Web and mobile payment technology solutions for large vertical markets and online marketplaces, has announced the addition of Daniel Issen as chief technology officer.
Buy-side firms stand to gain from developing their own smart order routers and carrying out their own capital markets research. But the growing independence of the buy-side must still be weighed against sell-side advantages of scale, according to speakers at the Trade Tech conference in Paris on Tuesday.
i2c Inc. is bolstering its European business by putting “people on the ground” and opening a London office.
More signs point to the fact that Microsoft is preparing to brand its own payments service, but the tech giant’s approach could be much different than that of mobile wallet rivals Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Inc.’s Android Pay, some observers suggest.
With Blackhawk Network’s GoWallet mobile app, consumers now are able to determine gift card balances by taking photos of their cards.
Fresh off a major acquisition and a 2015 Paybefore Award for Breakout Company of the Year, Ingo Money’s big year continued with this week’s closing of a $13.5 million funding round. Baltimore-based private equity firm Camden Partners co-led the round with venture capital firm MissionOG.
Paybefore announces the winners in its fourth annual Paybefore Awards Europe competition, honoring the best programs and companies operating in prepaid and emerging payments across Europe. Winners represent companies entering the European market from the U.S., Asia, South Africa, Germany, Gibraltar, Italy and the U.K.
PayPal will expand its competitive reach when it flies solo after its planned spinoff from parent eBay later this year. The deal guarantees certain protections and continuity for both companies, but it also underscores the heightened stakes in the e-commerce and digital payments industries.
Biometrics continue to make inroads into payments, with American Express testing new technology that uses facial recognition to authenticate mobile transactions.
The momentum around faster payments continues to build with BBVA Compass becoming the largest financial institution to use the Dwolla platform, which eliminates the customary two- to five-day wait associated with ACH transfers.
Boat Services, the OTC trade reporting service provider owned by technology vendor Cinnober, plans to introduce a MiFID II compliance solution, offering publication services for all instrument classes. It will apply for authorisation by the FCA in the UK when Approved Publication Arrangement registration is available in 2016.
Türk Ekonomi Bankası, one of the private sector commercial banks in Turkey, and a strategic partner of BNP Paribas, has launched an enhanced digital banking service featuring the ability to hold live chat sessions with bank staff.
IG Group has launched a trading app for the Apple Watch, which it says is one of the first of its kind. The Apple Watch is due to be released on 24 April.
Financial data and analytics specialist S&P Capital IQ has launched a new app on the Salesforce AppExchange designed to enable sales, marketing and other professionals to rapidly identify, research and vet potential new business clients and partners.
Finnish online-only bank Holvi has partnered with GBGroup, an identity intelligence specialist, as part of a drive to ensure that all its customers are verified while reducing the time this process takes. Holvi does not operate any branches, and as such relies on other methods to confirm the identity of its customers.
Both political parties again are backing problematic payroll card legislation from New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that could squeeze margins and force some providers to pull programs from the state.
As preparations for the U.S. EMV migration go into high gear, some payments industry participants are questioning whether merchants have enough time to make POS terminals chip-compliant by October 2015, when a liability shift goes into effect.
GPR prepaid cards have fewer fees and providers are disclosing clearly the fees they do have, helping cardholders avoid paying additional costs to use their cards, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com.
With a fresh infusion of cash, Indian payment startup MobiKwik plans to invest in data analytics, brand building and growing its network of mobile wallet users and merchants, according to reports.
Singapore’ DBS Bank has begun a major overhaul of its financial crime prevention strategy, as the bank seeks to upgrade its suspicious activity monitoring, due diligence and risk tools.
