Company on the Move: Fiserv Inc., Technology Award
Fiserv Inc., a global provider of financial services technology solutions, has received awards in two categories at the Banking Technology Awards, held in London.
News
People on the Move: Kaylene Barnes, Sheryl Britton, Chassidy Butler, Bonnie Lemke, Jason Medick and Matt Flynn, The Members Group
The Members Group (TMG) has announced the addition of several directors, each of whom brings extensive financial services experience to the Des Moines, Iowa-based payments processor.
Clock Starts Tomorrow for CFPB’s Prepaid Card Comment Period (Dec. 22, 2014)
The CFPB’s NPRM on prepaid accounts is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow.
N.J. General Assembly Passes ZIP Code Repeal Bill (Dec. 22, 2014)
The N.J. General Assembly last week approved by a vote of 73-1 the ZIP code repeal bill (A-3480), which eliminates the collection of consumer ZIP code information for gift cards at the POS.
Starbucks, Square Go Separate Ways on Mobile Payments (Dec. 22, 2014)
The mobile payments piece of Starbucks’ partnership with Square has ended.
M&A Roundup: Mozido, CorFire, Payment Data Systems, Akimbo Financial (Dec. 22, 2014)
Industry experts earlier this year predicted abundant M&A activity in the payments industry, and they are being proved correct right to the very end of 2014.
Data analytics do drive financial growth finds EY study
Firms that excel at data analytics also achieve better financial results according a study by EY. High-growth companies are twice as likely to focus on data and analytics in revenue-generating areas such as marketing and sales,
EU Officials Agree to Cap Interchange Fees (Dec. 18, 2014)
Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and European Union Council negotiators yesterday agreed to cap the interchange fees on cross-border and domestic card-based payments, ensuring uniform rules across the EU.
Holiday Spending Growth Down, But Consumer Confidence Appears Stronger (Dec. 18, 2014)
Store openings on Thanksgiving Day and the typical headline-seeking weekend deals by retailers helped somewhat during the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season this year.
Toronto, Jakarta Transit Payment Systems Going Electronic (Dec. 18, 2014)
Transit systems throughout the world continue to adopt electronic payment systems—the latest among them Toronto and Indonesian province Jakarta.
ESMA: ‘crowdfunding would benefit from regulation’
The European Securities and Markets Authority says that crowdfunding platforms are incentivised to operate in a way that they fall outside existing regulations, which is holding back their growth and increasing risks for investors.
BAML boosts EMEA GTS team with internal promotions
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has made a series of internal promotions in its EMEA Global Transaction Services team.
CFPB Calls for Greater Transparency in Campus Card Agreements (Dec. 16, 2014)
The CFPB is calling for greater transparency from colleges and financial institutions when they enter agreements to offer prepaid or debit products to students.
First Data, Verifone Reduce Merchants’ Data Breach Exposure (Dec. 16, 2014)
First Data Inc. and Verifone are helping U.S. merchants reduce their exposure to large-scale consumer payment data breaches and expedite merchant acceptance of EMV-enabled credit and debit cards.
Apple Making it Easier for PayPal, Google Wallet Users (Dec. 16, 2014)
Apple in recent weeks has become somewhat more accommodating to consumers who use PayPal or Google Wallet. For example, consumers in the U.S. and U.K. now may use PayPal when making purchases on Apple’s online store.
LevelUp Completes NCR Silver Integration, Rolls Out Gift Card Feature (Dec. 16, 2014)
NCR Corp. today announced the NCR Silver POS system now includes a feature enabling merchants to easily add LevelUp, the mobile payments and loyalty network, to customer payment options.
Fingerprint authentication for mobile finance moves closer with FIDO
Widespread use of fingerprint authentication for financial transactions on mobile devices could start taking off from early next year as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Google, Samsung, Lenovo, Microsoft, Alipay and others adopt a new authentication standard through their joint project, the FIDO Alliance, which has just published its specifications and launched its first server.
Amex Launches Savings Research, Sharing Findings with CFPB (Dec. 15, 2014)
American Express has launched a research pilot to study what marketing tactics and behavioral triggers can convince cardholders to save using its Serve prepaid account software platform.
Fiserv: Millions of Consumers Want Mobile Bill Pay, Options (Dec. 15, 2014)
The growth in consumer popularity of mobile bill pay features continues unabated as 27 million U.S. households with access to the Internet are paying at least one bill from their phones, an increase of nearly 70 percent compared with 2013, according to The Seventh Annual Billing Household Survey from Fiserv.
Rev Launches Travel Card in India with FX Provider (Dec. 15, 2014)
Paybefore Award-winning Rȇv Worldwide is continuing its focus on multicurrency travel cards with its latest launch in India.
Are Driver’s Licenses Headed for Mobile Wallets? (Dec. 15, 2014)
If Maxwell the talking pig can show a police officer his proof of Geico insurance on a smartphone, why not a driver’s license?
US shifts to EMV as Obama and Apple weigh in
The US is finally adopting EMV after an eventful 12 months in which barriers have been overcome. Merchant reluctance is diminishing, good progress is being made, and the ‘EMV train’ is now picking up speed, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
London Stock Exchange connects EuroCCP to main market
The London Stock Exchange has set out plans to add EuroCCP as a third clearer for its main market from March 2015, joining LCH.Clearnet and Switzerland’s SIX x-Clear.
Seasonal Gift Card Sales Headed for Record; Online and Digital Sales Propelling Growth
Overall holiday sales figures may be a mixed bag so far this year, but gift card sales for the season are on track to hit news sales peaks in the U.S. and the U.K., aided by an uptick in online sales, plus growing popularity for digital gift cards, new data suggest.
CFSI Study: Underserved Market Worth $103 Billion; GPR to Maintain Double-Digit Growth (Dec. 11, 2014)
The financially underserved market in the U.S. generated approximately $103 billion in fee and interest revenue in 2013, based on consumer usage volume of $1.3 trillion in financial products and services, according to a new study from the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) and Core Innovation Capital.
Blade Brings Bitcoin to Debit Cards; Microsoft Accepts Bitcoin Payments in U.S. (Dec. 11, 2014)
After a strong showing in consumer bitcoin spending on Black Friday weekend, Blade Financial yesterday launched what it’s calling the first B2B payment processing platform that extends traditional debit card programs to bitcoin businesses.
People on the Move: Anabel Perez, NovoPayment
Anabel Perez, CEO of prepaid processor and program manager NovoPayment, has been selected as one of this year’s Endeavor Entrepreneurs, which recognizes entrepreneurs who have become role models and give back to their communities as mentors and investors for the next generation of innovators.
Euronext prepares for 2015 derivatives launch with LCH. Clearnet
Euronext is planning to launch a new service that would allow derivatives to be reported to Euronext and cleared by LCH. Clearnet. The new service will use the Tradexpress platform built by vendor Cinnober, and is due to go live in spring 2015.
People on the Move: Jane Thompson and Richard Bard, Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. Board
Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. has announced that Jane J. Thompson and Richard H. Bard have been elected to its board of directors effective Oct. 6, 2014, when the board expanded to 10 members.
People on the Move: Marc West, Fiserv Inc.
Fiserv Inc. has announced that Marc West has been named president of the company’s digital channels business.
People on the Move: Edward Boyle, Daniel Delshad, Duane Jacobsen and Steve Williams, Blade Financial
Blade Financial has launched what it says is the first B2B payment processing platform extending traditional debit card programs to bitcoin businesses.
People on the Move: Mark Colyer, Metropolitan Commercial Bank
New York City-based Metropolitan Commercial Bank has appointed Mark Colyer vice president of the prepaid card group.
People on the Move: Bob Sacco, MyECheck, Inc.
MyECheck Inc., a Folsom, Calif.-based provider of electronic check solutions for Internet and mobile payments, has named Bob Sacco national account manager.
People on the Move: Dannell Mastrean, TSYS
TSYS has announced the promotion of Dannell Mastrean to group executive of major accounts.
USPS Adds Blackhawk Network Gift Card Malls (Dec. 10, 2014)
Blackhawk Network this week announced a new distribution deal with the U.S. Postal Service, introducing the company’s gift card malls to select post offices in time for the holiday season.
U.S. and Europe Focus on Faster Payments, Quicker Access to Funds (Dec. 10, 2014)
NACHA, the Herndon, Va.-based electronic payments association, and the European Central Bank (ECB) independently are taking steps to speed up the payments process with the goal of same-day settlement.
Bitcoin Transactions Notch $296 Million over Holiday Weekend (Dec. 10, 2014)
During the feverish shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, even bitcoin had its mad moment.
Spain’s BME opens high-speed London trading link
Spain’s BME is poised to open a new trading route from London to Madrid, which it says will increase the speed of access to the Spanish stock market for investors in London.
Digital Gift Cards to Get Boost from Multichannel Distribution (Dec. 9, 2014)
With gift cards expected to be a top seller this season, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation, Sprint, GiftCards.com and CashStar are making it even easier for consumer to do their holiday gift card shopping online and on their phones.
Monitise to Develop Mobile Products and Services for Virgin Money (Dec. 9, 2014)
U.K.-based mobile money provider Monitise plc has signed a 7-year agreement with Virgin Money to develop digital banking products and services for Virgin Money customers.
