Sept. 12, 2013 Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), presented the agency’s semi-annual report to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services during an often contentious hearing this morning. Literally seconds after welcoming Cordray to this morning’s hearing, Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) assailed the agency for the relatively unchecked power […]
Sept. 12, 2013 The Federal Reserve is seeking payments industry input on a set of new policy proposals to modernize and improve the nation’s payments system in the wake of rapid changes in technology and consumer expectations. Earlier this week, the agency released its Payment System Improvement – Public Consultation Paper, the purpose of which […]
Sprint’s Boost Mobile Wallet users now have a way to turn checks into instant funds with a new service dubbed Quick Check, which uses remote deposit capture to deposit checks into customers’ wallet accounts.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has made Percy Batliwalla global head of sales for large corporates and financial institutions in global transaction services. Batliwalla will remain in Singapore and report to Paul Simpson, head of BAML global transaction services. Percy was most recently head of Asia Pacific GTS sales where he was responsible for sales […]
The Singapore Exchange and Luxembourg-based Clearstream are planning to launch a collateral management service that should help customers use assets as collateral at SGX’s securities depository CDP.
Russia’s BCS Financial Group has chosen to install market abuse surveillance, insider dealing and compliance tools from specialist firm b-next, as the firm prepares to enter the UK market.
Germany’s Boerse Stuttgart has chosen Nasdaq OMX to provide it with a new trading engine, which it says will decrease latency and increase throughput for members on the exchange. The Stuttgart exchange is focused on corporate bonds and investment funds for private investors, and has an average volume of €370 million per day. The exchange […]
South African central securities depository Strate and Belgium’s Euroclear are planning a new collaboration to make South Africa’s mutual fund transactions more electronic –including the creation of a centrally hosted mutual fund settlement and custody platform.
PayPal could give mobile commerce a big boost with the introduction of PayPal Beacon, a service it’s piloting this fall that will enable customers who opt in to pay “hands-free” with their PayPal mobile apps at participating merchants.
Two major mass transit contactless payment initiatives are speeding forward this week, with the debut of Chicago’s Ventra system and the announcement of a smartphone-based payment feature for Hong Kong’s transit network.
Sept. 10, 2013 The money keeps pouring in as two mobile payments players, Check and Paydiant, are the latest to report recent infusions of capital. Wellesley, Mass.-based Paydiant announced today that it has closed a $15 million round of funding from North Bridge Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners and Stage 1 Ventures, among others. The new […]
Japanese banking group Sumitomo Mistui will launch a new NFC payment service that will be available through all three of the country’s mobile network operators and more than 30 NFC-enabled smartphone models.
US banks Clare Bank and Farmers Exchange Bank have chosen to install cloud-hosted core banking services from vendor Temenos, in a deal that the banks say will help them reduce costs and roll out products to customers more easily.
Germany’s Commerzbank and Benelux-based Clearstream are planning to launch a new service designed to help customers in the G20 nations gear up for central clearing of OTC derivatives.
Russian broker BCS Prime Brokerage plans to install a new pre-trade risk system called TripleCheck, which it says will help it to meet tough new regulations on algorithmic and proprietary trading.
PayPal is making a splash with a redesign of its mobile app that pulls together several of the company’s latest initiatives into a digital wallet emphasizing consumer benefits, including instant discounts and the ability to pay at the POS.
Vodafone and Visa are teaming up to launch an NFC-based mobile payment pilot in New Zealand.
Sept. 9, 2013 Financial institutions and Bitcoin companies met last week with several British government agencies, asking them to consider regulating the virtual currency so they can be used to promote commercial growth and encourage financial innovation. Representatives from Bitcoin companies and smaller FIs told officials that “big banks are blocking the creation of business […]
Delta Air Lines has equipped more than 19,000 of its flight attendants with Nokia Lumina mobile devices with mobile POS capability for the airline’s new in-flight purchase program.
Retail banking competition is likely to heat up over the next decade, with millions more people switching accounts every year, according to new research published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. But current levels are still far behind those found in other industries such as electricity and gas utilities, the study found.
Western Union has launched a new mobile money transfer service in Nepal, which aims to capitalise on the country’s massive inflow of cross-border remittance payments.
Germany’s DAB bank has chosen a new data distribution tool called Diffusion from vendor Push Technology, which it says will help it to deliver real time data to customers. DAB Bank is an internet bank and direct broker. Founded in 1994 and based in Munich, the bank calls itself Germany’s first discount broker. The bank […]
To drive customer education and engagement, financial services providers are applying the concepts of gaming—and it turns out a little fun can drive serious results.
With only one in five UK consumers using their mobile to make payments, new research suggests that the technology is being held back by consumer fears over security, lengthy sign-up processes and problems making payments outside of individual schemes.
Italian banking group Instituto Centrale Banche Popolare Italiane has introduced a new trading and recording system across its Milan operations, which it says will help it to better keep up with changing regulation and offer a better service for its traders.
The Australian Securities Exchange has connected to NYSE Technologies’ secure financial transaction infrastructure network, creating a new link between the Australian market and the outside world.
Visa Europe and its majority-owned mobile money specialist Monitise have signed a deal with IBM in a major mobile banking and mobile payment collaboration targeting Europe’s banks.
Prepaid card market growth slowed from 2011 to 2012 as a then-softening economy and compliance complexities finally caught up to the industry.
Sept. 4, 2013 Green Dot Corp. is seeking $90 million in damages from Sallie Mae in a lawsuit claiming the student loan giant misled Green Dot about the prospects for a prepaid card the two companies announced last year to help colleges disburse student financial aid refunds that Sallie Mae pulled the plug on. In a […]
Sept. 4, 2013 PayPal Inc. is opening for business in Russia, now that the San Jose, Calif., payment giant has overcome the regulatory barriers to fully operating in the country. According to a report in the Moscow Times, PayPal will begin enabling account holders to transfer funds to Russian banks in rubles starting on Sept […]
Australia-based mobile payment processor Mint Wireless has announced the launch of a new platform the company says will simplify the integration of card payments across multiple mobile devices and platforms.
Isis says it’s bolstering its market position before its national rollout with a handful of payment terminal manufacturers and software providers that are integrating Isis SmartTap capabilities into a range of POS systems, including integrated POS terminals and vending machines.
Blue Label Telecoms today announced a partnership with MasterCard that will expand electronic payment terminals to 22,000 small traders and rural shops in South Africa.
Payments processor PreCash is combining a mobile app with its bill payment technology to help consumers pay bills with cash, which the company hopes will translate to a broader financial services relationship with PreCash.
What consumers want from mobile wallets is a question not easily answered, nor is it clear whether any of the mobile wallets developed so far will hit the jackpot in creating a consumer experience compelling enough to change entrenched habits.
Sept. 3, 2013 Health insurers must accept prepaid cards as payment for coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a rule issued last week. The rule paves the way for more than 8.5 million uninsured people who would otherwise have difficulty buying coverage on insurance […]
Less than three months after iZettle’s first venture outside of Europe, the Swedish mobile payments company again has partnered with Spain’s Banco Santander to launch its m-payments service, which enables customers to accept card payments with their smartphones or tablets and an iZettle card reader, in Brazil.
Poland’s Warsaw Stock Exchange has introduced co-location systems designed to appeal to high-frequency traders, as Italy clamps down on HFT with Europe’s first HFT-specific tax. The moves highlight ongoing national and international divisions over the role of HFT in capital markets.
Created in April 2013, Turkey’s new Borsa Istanbul exchange is at the heart of an ambitious project to turn Istanbul into a major global trading centre. With the country’s economy ascendant, Turkey has a lot to offer, according to Ali Çöplü, chief information officer of Borsa İstanbul.
Turkey’s Garanti Bank has launched a new ‘socially integrated’ mobile banking service called iGaranti, which connects with Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare to help users send money to friends and family.
