The National Technical Information Service today has issued an interim final rule establishing a certification program for access to the Social Security Death Master File. The DMF is a tool used by many industries as a means to thwart fraud.
Global standards and approaches to regulation need to focus more on removing risk from the financial system rather than on compliance – but to do so international regulators will need to harmonise their efforts and embrace technology to a much greater degree.
The complexity of regulatory reforms in Europe and the US are placing pressure on the industry and may catch some participants unawares.
Perseus Telecom has launched what it claims is the first ‘trans-Atlantic’ microwave route between New York and Frankfurt, for use by banks, market makers, proprietary trading firms and other market participants.
MasterCard is working with U.K.-based Monitise plc to develop and deploy mobile wallets and digital payments around the globe.
eBay Inc.’s board of directors says spinning off PayPal in an IPO would not be in the company’s and investors’ best interest, resisting a call from activist investor Carl Icahn—a 2 percent owner of eBay—to sell all or part of PayPal.
American Express is creating a joint venture for its Global Business Travel division (GBT), in which the card network will share ownership of the JV with an investor group led by New York investment firm Certares.
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) shared proof last week that its Compass Principles for improving the quality of prepaid cards work.
Bangladesh’s Dhaka Stock Exchange is to install a new trading engine from Nasdaq OMX, which it says will help to realise its plans for regional and global expansion.
Heading to college is all about the quest for knowledge. Part of that process is learning to use fact-based, impartial research to reach educated conclusions. Unfortunately, the March 10 Department of Education’s Inspector General’s report, “Third-Party Servicer Use of Debit Cards to Deliver Title IV Funds,” doesn’t make the grade.
EBA Clearing has reported that market participants are gradually adapting to SEPA, with peak day volumes on its Step2 clearing platform above 100 million SEPA credit transfers and SEPA direct debits.
The Federal Reserve Board has earned a major victory in its long-running legal battle with a group of merchants over its rules implementing the Durbin Amendment, including caps on interchange fees for debit card transactions.
European securities regulator ESMA has published a discussion paper asking for public feedback on the technical standards that should be used for CSDs, including registration, settlement discipline, confirmation rules, acceptance or rejection of terms, as well as access to CSDs by other CSDs and market participants.
The number of central clearing counterparties is likely to rise in the near future as new entrants put Latin America, Africa and Australia on the map for OTC derivatives clearing, but with more regulatory intervention expected and unpredictable customer flows, the new venues face an uncertain future
Four Middle Eastern exchanges – Amman, Beirut, Tunis and Muscat – are to migrate to Euronext’s Universal Trading Platform, replacing the older NSC trading engine they are currently using.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is developing a new fee disclosure format for prepaid cards, ahead of new rules on the topic the agency expects to propose this year.
European Parliament has voted to adopt proposed cybersecurity rules requiring organizations to meet new security standards and share information in case of security breaches.
As Host Card Emulation (HCE) gains momentum and questions continue about whether mass acceptance of NFC technology will ever come, the NFC Forum has issued a position statement on HCE, which emulates an NFC card in the cloud, eliminating the need for a secure element and trusted service manager for NFC applications, such as payments.
Seeking a more efficient and cost-effective method of paying underbanked employees, clothing retailer Pacific Sunwear of California turned to ADP’s ALINE Pay electronic payroll platform, which has since become a cornerstone of the company’s payroll operations.
During the All Payments Expo (APEX) in Las Vegas March 3-5 2014, Paybefore announced its Best-in-Category and Industry Achievement winners for the 2014 Paybefore Awards. Check out the photos.
IT spending in financial markets is on the rise and is set to reach $100 billion in capital markets, corporate banking and asset management by 2018, according to new research by analyst firm Ovum.
Google Wallet is making another course-correction to keep up with fast-moving mobile payments technology.
Western Union is continuing its global expansion in mobile payments, announcing a new mobile money transfer service for Nigeria.
Mobile payments with a flick of the wrist are here.
Legislators and companies, such as MasterCard, are introducing standards for prepaid card disclosures that help us all.
Holders of contactless Visa cards in the U.K. made 94.3 million contactless purchases in 2013, a surge from the 25 million made in 2012, according to data from Visa Europe.
Payments technology company TAS Group, based in Italy with U.S. headquarters in Las Vegas, recently launched its Card 3.0 Card Management Platform in the U.S. to offer program managers greater customization capabilities, down to the cardholder level, and quicker time to market for new programs.
China’s central bank last week released draft rules that would limit the use of third-party payment systems, including the payment operations of Alibaba Holding Group and Tencent Holdings Inc.
A new financial services innovation centre in Indonesia is aiming to capitalise on rising levels of mobile penetration and interest from banks and other financial services providers in new technologies and business opportunities in the country.
The Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit institution founded to promote bitcoin use, has announced the hiring of Jim Harper and Amy Weiss.
CardLab Inc., a Dallas-based provider of open-loop incentive and prepaid card products, has named Glen Holbert chief revenue officer.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has named Christopher D. Carroll, Daniel Dodd-Ramirez and Jeffrey Langer to senior positions.
The International Card Manufacturers Association has announced that 43 individuals have been recognized as the newest Advanced Card Education certificate holders for 2014.
JetPay Payment Services, a division of JetPay Corporation, has appointed Jeffrey S. Tourek executive vice president and national sales leader.
Optimal Payments, a London-based online payment solutions provider, has named Thomas Auriemma as an adviser to provide strategic and regulatory advice on current and future U.S. state regulation regarding payment services for the online gaming industry. The company also appointed Brahm Gelfand as a non-executive director to the company’s board of directors.
PayPal has named Rakesh “Rocky” Agrawal director of strategy.
Fiserv Inc. has opted to make MasterCard’s U.S. common debit application identifier (AID) available for its Accel debit network, as another piece falls into place in the U.S. debit networks’ EMV transaction-routing puzzle.
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) gives the prepaid industry an A-.
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has begun accepting applications from firms looking to set up digital currency exchanges and will issue proposed regulations on digital currency in the coming months, the agency said.
Developments in retail financial services are bringing together large financial institutions and more entrepreneurial, but much smaller, startup companies. While both groups benefit from partnerships—as those in prepaid have long known—there are challenges.
