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The rise of the blockchains: alternative models emerge

If the global payments industry were to be designed from scratch, nobody would design the system which we have today. Yet distributed ledger technology has the potential to bring about dramatic change– if it can overcome the unanswered questions over to what extent the industry should collaborate or compete and whether there will be one model or many different ones, according to speakers and delegates at the European Payments Regulation conference in London on Wednesday.

Webinar: Coping with Consumer Complaints and CFPB Expectations (Dec. 2, 2015)

Deciphering how the CFPB handles consumer complaints—and ultimately decides to take action against a company—can be difficult. During a recent Webinar, Tristram Wolf, a Ballard Spahr associate and former CFPB attorney policy writer and investigator, joined colleagues in offering an inside look at the complaint process and tips for staying out of the CFPB’s crosshairs.

House Committee Applauds Mobile Payments Innovation (Dec. 2, 2015)

In a Congressional hearing yesterday, lawmakers examined the role mobile payments technologies are playing in disrupting traditional payments, paying particular attention to how mobile has increased payments security and enabled small businesses and underbanked consumers to access electronic payments.

U.K. Licenses Second Digital Bank (Dec. 1, 2015)

A new digital banking startup has received a U.K. banking license, adding another challenger to the growing ranks of financial services providers seeking to contest the dominance of established banks. Tandem Bank is just the second digital-only bank to earn a license from the Bank of England, following Atom Bank, which was licensed in June.

M-Payments’ Next Mission

The pressure to build scale rises with new competitors—Android Pay, Samsung Pay and CurrentC—joining Apple Pay in the emerging m-payments fray. Will consumers climb aboard? How they’re using m-payments so far, may tell the tale.

Trade repositories fall short warns CPMI-IOSCO study

Just under two-thirds of the world’s top nations in capital markets have now adopted international best practices, according to a new report on financial market infrastructures, but more work is needed on trade repositories.

Gift Cards, E-Commerce Drive Holiday Shopping

U.S. shoppers flocked to physical and online stores during the Thanksgiving weekend, with more than 151 million Americans shopping in-store and/or online, based on data from the National Retail Federation. The shopping frenzy is expected to continue, with Cyber Monday deals projected to drive 121 million U.S. consumers to shop online. Average spending per shopper was $299.60, and gift cards were especially popular, comprising a whopping 76.6 percent ($229.56) of that average total.

Visa Highlights Security Efforts during Peak Shopping Season (Nov. 30, 2015)

As consumers take to their computers and mobile devices in the hopes of getting great deals today and throughout the holidays, shoppers could fall prey to identity thieves and other scams. To thwart such crimes online and in stores, Visa has kicked off an educational campaign for issuers, merchants and consumers about the network’s security efforts.

ERPB Approves Instant Payments Plan (Nov. 29, 2015)

Instant payments are a step closer to becoming a reality in Europe, now that the European Payments Council (EPC) has submitted and received approval on its proposal for the design of a pan-European instant credit transfer framework.

Banks warned: digitise or die …

Retail banks often claim that customer service is their primary focus, but 75% of banks believe they haven’t concentrated efforts on improving it. Instead, annual reports focus on the financial results. Whether these two stories can become one remains to be seen, according to a new whitepaper by bank technology vendor Misys.

HP Enterprise wins RBS cheque imaging contract

RBS has awarded a contract to Hewlett Packard Enterprise for the implementation of a new image-based cheque clearing service in response to UK regulatory changes that require all cheques to be processed digitally by 2017, under HM Treasury’s Future Clearing Model.

No cloud please, we’re bankers

Despite predictions over the last few years that banks were just a heartbeat away from adopting cloud technology, only 1% of banks are actually running core processing in the cloud today, according to a new report by Temenos.

Market infrastructures must work with tech firms to combat cyber-threats

Financial market infrastructures must work with the “broader ecosystem” to improve the resilience of the international financial system in the face of “inevitable” cyber-attacks. The latest guidance document from the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions – Guidance on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures – looks to […]

San Francisco Suit Seeks Billions from Amex over Anti-Steering Rules (Nov. 25, 2015)

Following a federal court’s ruling earlier this year that American Express violated anti-trust laws by prohibiting merchants from encouraging customers to use alternate payment methods, San Francisco’s City Attorney has filed a lawsuit against the payments network, seeking billions in penalties and damages as part of a statewide consumer action.

People on the Move: Rossini Zumwalt, Emergent Payments

Emergent Payments, a global payments company, announced the hiring of Rossini Zumwalt to strengthen the company in fraud prevention, and compliance and risk management of digital payments in emerging markets.

People on the Move: Keisha Whitehall Wolfe, K&L Gates

Keisha Whitehall Wolfe has joined the consumer financial services group as counsel from the office of the commissioner of financial regulation (OCFR) within Maryland’s department of labor, licensing and regulation.

People on the Move: Gene Fredriksen, PSCU

People on the Move: Gene Fredriksen, PSCU

Gene Fredriksen, PSCU’s chief information security officer (CISO), was named CISO of the Year by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF) at its 12th Annual Industry Achievement Awards Gala.

In Wake of Paris Attacks, France Eyes Stricter Prepaid Rules (Nov. 24, 2015)

French officials are calling for tighter regulation of prepaid products in the European Union, claiming that prepaid cards were in preparation for the terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month. The proposal to tighten prepaid regulation is part of a broader initiative to combat terrorist financing.

Philly Fed Study Measures Consumers’ Reaction to Breach

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia finds, not surprisingly, that consumers affected by a data breach are much more likely to opt for fraud protection, while those consumers who are unaffected or only hear news about breaches are less likely to use fraud prevention services.

Kynetix kicks off blockchain commodities consortium

Post-trade technology company Kynetix has launched a blockchain consortium, focused on using distributed ledger technology in commodities markets. The move comes as financial institutions increasingly explore ways to integrate the blockchain concept into mainstream financial services.

One in five UK bank accounts hit by cybercrime

One in five UK consumers (21%) have had personal details stolen and their bank accounts used to buy goods and services as a result of a cyber security breach, according to new research from business advisory firm Deloitte.

Shift, Coinbase Debut Bitcoin Visa Card (Nov. 23, 2015)

Bitcoin may be a step closer to going mainstream now that Coinbase is partnering with Shift Payments to launch a Visa-branded bitcoin debit card that lets users spend the funds in their bitcoin wallets anywhere Visa is accepted.

Diebold Acquiring Wincor Nixdorf for $1.8 Billion (Nov. 23, 2015)

The payments world is contracting a bit more as U.S. ATM manufacturer Diebold is getting significantly larger, announcing its plan to acquire German-based Wincor Nixdorf for approximately $1.8 billion, or €1.7 billion, creating the largest global ATM supplier.

Apple Pay, MasterCard Offer Free Transit Fares in London (Nov. 23, 2015)

Five months after Apple Pay’s arrival in the U.K., the contactless payments service is working with London’s transit authority and MasterCard to drive Apple Pay usage for mass transit by offering free rides on Mondays, starting today and running through Dec. 14. Meanwhile, Visa Europe is doing its part to promote Apple Pay in the U.K. with a two-month advertising campaign touting its integration with the payments service.

FIX adopts open access mechanism for trading applications

Non-profit organisation the FIX Trading Community has started posting its projects on developer repository GitHub, as part of a drive to get all of the important resources freely available in one place using a single sign-on. The move was done to encourage wider access and to speed up the development of standards for high-performance trading applications.

Correspondent banking faces ‘existential crisis’ warns PwC

De-risking, motivated by short-term risk-reward calculations, should not be allowed to kill off one of the cornerstones of the global financial system. Rather than abandon correspondent banking relationships, banks should be thinking about investing in and automating their risk controls, according to a new whitepaper by PwC.

CFPB Pushes Back Prepaid Final Rule Release

The CFPB announced in a Nov. 20 blog post that it has updated its regulatory agenda, including the schedule for its final rule on prepaid accounts, which now is expected to be released in March 2016. Several lawmakers have expressed concern over the CFPB’s broad proposed rulemaking on prepaid, noting that consumers, including those that rely on overdraft and government benefits, may be harmed if the rules go too far.

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