People on the Move: Simon Mitchell, Grass Roots
Grass Roots, a provider of employee and customer engagement solutions, has appointed Simon Mitchell to the role of global account director.
News
People on the Move: John Racine, Wave Crest
Wave Crest Group Limited, a global digital payments provider, has named John Racine as its executive chairman.
Breaking News: CFPB Credit Review Could Foreshadow Regs, Enforcement Actions (March 18, 2015)
The CFPB on March 17 announced a request for public comments on how the credit card market is functioning and the impact of credit card protections on consumers and issuers. The inquiry, which is required by the CARD Act every two years, will focus on issues including credit card terms, the use of consumer disclosures, […]
InComm Connects Visa ReadyLink to Walmart Rapid Reload Service (March 17, 2015)
Walmart’s Paybefore Award-winning Rapid Reload service now is enabling reloads for more than 100 prepaid card programs with the integration of the Visa ReadyLink reload network.
Gyft CEO Talks Fighting Fraud with Bitcoin at SXSW (March 17, 2015)
Gyft, a San Francisco-based mobile gift card company and subsidiary of First Data Corp., has announced plans to use bitcoin to enable gift card providers to issue more secure, consumer-friendly digital products, according to Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham, who spoke during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conferences & Festivals this week in Austin, Texas.
Alibaba Unveils ‘Smile to Pay’ as Latest Biometrics Approach for M-Payments (March 17, 2015)
Alibaba Founder Jack Ma this week wowed the audience at a computer technology conference in Germany with a live demonstration of “Smile to Pay,” a facial recognition technology the China-based e-commerce giant is developing for mobile shopping and payments.
Yoma Bank Myanmar revamps core banking system
Myanmar’s Yoma Bank is to install a new core banking system provided by vendor Misys, as part of a major transformation project at the privately-owned bank. Yoma especially wanted to be in a position to benefit from the growth of mobile technology in the country.
Viewpoint: Let’s Reduce Complexity and Improve Disclosure
The Colorado congressman suggests having too many disclosures is a disservice to consumers.
Misys adds Apple Watch banking appahead of April launch
Misys has launched a banking app prototype for the upcoming Apple Watch, which is due to launch in April, that allows users to make transactions by speaking at their watch.
Big Firms, Startups Drawn to Blockchain Technology (March 16, 2015)
The value of bitcoin at around $300 is a far cry from its 2013 peak of more than $1,000, but blockchain—the underlying technology that serves as a record of all bitcoin transactions—is garnering a lot of attention.
Financial Services Tools in First Wave of Apple Watch Apps (March 16, 2015)
The Apple Watch is still more than five weeks away from rollout, but thousands of developers are scurrying to ready apps for April 24 when the device goes on sale.
CFPB Hearing on Payday Lending (March 16, 2015)
The CFPB will be holding a field hearing concerning payday lending at noon EDT, Thurs., March 26, in Richmond, Va.
2015 Paybefore Awards: Best Travel Companion
Best-in-Category: STA ISIC Prepaid MasterCard CashCard from Tuxedo Money Solutions, STA Travel and ISIC
80% of banks to replace core systems “within five years”
Four out of five banks believe they will have to replace their core banking system in the next three to five years, with nearly 90% in favour of including SaaS or cloud based services as part of the infrastructure, according to a new survey of senior bank executives.
2015 Paybefore Awards: Best Health Benefits Delivery
Best-in-Category: The Alegeus Technologies Benefit Debit Card from Alegeus Technologies
MiFID II requirements “naïve” and “terrifying” says industry
The financial services industry faces a daunting task as the European Commission’s MiFID II legislation draws close to its final deadline, and grave concerns about inconsistencies in the rules and the pressures of meeting it remain.
Appointment: Swift Americas hires markets initiatives director
Swift has hired David Lefferts as managing director, market initiatives for the Americas. Lefferts joins Swift after eight years at Markit, where he held product development, cross-product strategy, and senior business development roles over his eight year tenure.
West African integration initiatives drive rapid changes in capital markets
West Africa’s capital markets are changing fast as regional integration and local stock exchange initiatives combineto transform its infrastructure. Increasing adoption of FIX and a promising demographic profile help too, according to speakers at the FIX Trading Community conference in London this week.
Liquidnet beefs up European algo sales team
Global institutional trading network Liquidnet has hired Chris Jackson as European head of its Execution and Quantitative Services group. This new role will involve setting the strategic direction of the European trading desk and Algorithmic Services Group, as well as heading the sales effort for Liquidnet’s global algorithmic offering with European clients.
Banks warned to stay out of politics as state-sponsored cyber-attacks get personal
Bankers should watch what they say in public, or risk a devastating computer network attack on their business from state-sponsored hackers. This was the stark warning offered by speakers at the FIX Trading Community conference in London yesterday.
Meet Our Paybefore Awards Winners (March 11, 2015)
The celebration of Paybefore Awards winners continues.
Direct Express Earns High Marks from Cardholders; Treasury Shares Demographic Data (March 11, 2015)
The U.S. Treasury’s Direct Express prepaid benefit card program earned a 95 percent satisfaction rating from cardholders in 2014, marking the sixth consecutive year of near 100 percent customer satisfaction.
CFSI Report: Big Data Holds Big Potential for Financial Services Providers (March 11, 2015)
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) has released a new report outlining ways big data can help financial services providers better serve their customers.
Etsy Patents Video-Streaming Shopping Service on Heels of IPO Filing (March 11, 2015)
Following last week’s IPO announcement, Etsy Inc., a Paybefore Award-winning online and offline marketplace for buying and selling homemade items and artisanal products, has received a patent on its method for video-streaming interactive shopping events.
2015 Paybefore Awards: Best Choice Retail Card
Best in Category: Walmart Closed Loop Gift Card from Walmart and First Data.
2015 Paybefore Awards: Top of Wallet
Best-in Category: Balance Financial Prepaid MasterCard from Walgreens, MasterCard Worldwide and Galileo
2015 Paybefore Awards: Outstanding Pay Solution – Platform
Best-in-Category: OceanPay Visa Prepaid Card from Brightwell Payments and The Bancorp
2015 Paybefore Awards: Outstanding Pay Solution – Program
Best-in-Category: Global Cash Card for Popeyes from Global Cash Card and MasterCard Worldwide
2015 Paybefore Awards: Top Motivator
Best-in-Category: Delta Air Lines Performance Pays Debit Card from Xerox, MasterCard Worldwide and Comerica Bank
New trading venue prepares to take on fixed income markets
A new US bond trading venue with a mission to help electronify fixed income markets for investors using experience gained in the equity markets is preparing to launch in the US this quarter. Called OpenBondX, the venue was Created by former Lime Brokerage chief executive Alistair Brown and former colleagues, OpenBondX is an ‘all to all’ system open to the buy-side and the sell-side.
Supreme Court: Regulators Can Change Rule Interpretations without Advance Notice, Comment Period (March 10, 2015)
The Supreme Court is backing the authority of regulators to reinterpret their own rules without seeking industry input.
CFPB Releases Arbitration Study; Considers Next Steps for Regulation (March 10, 2015)
The CFPB is considering next steps in weighing new regulations for arbitration agreements widely used in financial services businesses to settle consumer disputes, following today’s release of the 728-page “Arbitration Study: Report to Congress 2015.”
EU Passes Interchange Caps; Prepaid Businesses Must Look Elsewhere for Income (March 10, 2015)
The long road to interchange reform in the European Union has come to an end of sorts with passage of interchange caps today in the European Parliament.
Digitisation replaces regulation as top concern for retail banks
The need for a digital strategy has leapt to the top of retail banks’ agendas over the past year, replacing regulatory issues, as they look to fend of competition from tech and e-commerce rivals.
Velocimetrics doubles data capture rates for trading analytics
Real-time business performance monitoring and analysis specialist Velocimetrics has announced that its TipOff product can now capture network packets to disk at a sustained rate of 40 Gigabits/sec, almost double its previous performance.
Deutsche Börse extends cooperation with Bombay exchange
Deutsche Börse, Eurex and the Bombay Stock Exchange have further extended their strategic cooperation offering connectivity services. Participants of BSE will be able to use Deutsche Börse’s resilient low latency N7 network services to connect to BSE back-ends in India through the Deutsche Börse access points in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Experts: Cardholder Authentication Key to Stemming Apple Pay Fraud (March 9, 2015)
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that fraudsters were exploiting stolen credit card data to set up fake Apple Pay accounts and buying big-ticket items in Apple’s own stores and other retail outlets.
Despite 1 Million Cards on Apple Pay, Chase Sees ‘Need to Be Everywhere’ (March 9, 2015)
JPMorgan Chase isn’t putting all of its mobile payments eggs (or apples) in one basket.
Transfast Partners with Trio of Kenyan Banks for Same-Day Deposits, M-Pesa (March 9, 2015)
International money transfer company Transfast has announced partnerships with three of Kenya’s largest banks to speed up its services for sending and receiving funds across borders.
EBA Drawing Blueprint for SEPA-Wide Instant Payments (March 9, 2015)
EBA Clearing, a provider of European payment infrastructure solutions, is laying the groundwork for a Europe-wide instant payments processing service.
