DTCC hires Tierney to head Asia Pacific unit
US post-trade services utility the DTCC has appointed Peter Tierney as regional head of Asia, as the company continues its drive to be a global centre for OTC derivatives reporting.
News
Blackhawk Snaps up $230 Million in IPO (April 22, 2013)
Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. exceeded expectations with its initial public offering launched last week, raising $230 million and bringing its market value based on the IPO price to $1.2 billion. The prepaid card provider and third-party distributor owned by Safeway Inc. priced 10 million of its shares at $23 each, after Blackhawk’s existing shareholders initially […]
CFPB Rules (Almost) No Preemption: Issuers Required to Honor Cards after Funds Escheat to Maine, Tenn. (April 22, 2013)
The industry has been waiting for a possible preemption ruling from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since last summer when the agency requested comments on whether certain state laws with a two-year escheat period conflict with federal law that requires no expiration prior to five years. The CFPB has determined that escheat laws in Maine […]
Visa to Bring Mobile Banking Platform to Pakistan (April 22, 2013)
Visa Inc. is set to launch a new mobile financial service in Pakistan built on technology the payment network acquired under its 2011 purchase of mobile banking service provider Fundamo. According to a report on the Website of The Express Tribune of Pakistan, the service will use Visa’s VisaNet electronic payments processing network and will […]
Virgin Australia Joins Airlines Adding Prepaid Card for Frequent Fliers (April 22, 2013)
Virgin Australia is joining a growing number of airlines adding a prepaid travel card as a perk for frequent flier customers. Members of the airline’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program will have the option to upgrade their existing Global Wallet membership card to a contactless Visa prepaid card, enabling customers to load funds onto their cards […]
Brazil’s BM&F Bovespa adopts Nasdaq surveillance tools
Brazilian exchange BM&F Bovespa has installed a new market surveillance system from Nasdaq OMX, which it says will help ensure the safety of all market participants on the Brazilian market.
Immediate mobile payments come to Europe, M-Pesa to India
Payment processing firm Visa Europe has introduced a service allowing consumers to make mobile payments across the region immediately and using any European currency. Meanwhile in India, popular money transfer and payment service M-Pesa has now been fully launched. Visa Europe’s Personal Payments service enables Visa credit, debit or prepaid card users to accept payments […]
Turkey tops table at TradeTech
Prospects for Turkey’s capital markets gave delegates cause for optimism as the TradeTech conference and exhibition in London wound to a close on Thursday. “Turkey is moving from an emerging to a developed market,” said Alexis Chryssochoides, head of prop trading and product development at Eurobank Equities. “The country has already been upgraded by several […]
SIX chief exec calls for industry to educate public about HFT
Market operators have a duty to educate the public about stock markets – and to take widespread concerns about the role of high-frequency traders seriously, according to Christian Katz, chief executive at SIX Swiss Exchange.
New Bank Payment Obligation standards launched by Swift
Swift and the Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce have introduced new legal and technology standards for the new Bank Payment Obligation payment instrument. The BPO allows buyers and suppliers to secure and finance international trade transactions. It provides the benefits of a letter of credit in an automated and secured environment, and […]
Mobile money to transform Turkish transport and US retail
Turkish operator Turkcell and SIM card and mobile security solutions provider Gemalto have each found themselves at the hearts of two mobile payment projects that promise to transform the transport and retail sectors in Turkey and the USA respectively.
Latin American markets looking for international investors to boost liquidity
New trading systems in Brazil and Mexico are prompting high hopes that Latin America’s two largest markets will attract more international investors and grow their liquidity base, according to panellists at the TradeTech conference in London.
Visa Europe Amps up Mobile Payments Service (April 18, 2013)
Visa Europe is adding two new functions to its Personal Payments mobile money transfer service, enabling users to make instant transactions in any European currency. The multi-currency feature will be rolled out across the European Union by the end of this year, Visa Europe said, and will enable payments to be sent and received across […]
MCX Picks Gemalto to Build its Mobile Wallet (April 18, 2013)
The wheels are turning for U.S. merchant consortium MCX, which this week said Netherlands-based Gemalto will build its mobile wallet. MCX, founded last year by major merchants including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and CVS, altogether counts about 30 merchants as members aiming to create a broad mobile payment app streamlining payment and loyalty options […]
Amazon Program Could Enable ‘Anonymous’ Online Payments (Apr. 18, 2013)
With privacy and security concerns among the most important factors for many online shoppers, a plan by electronic retail giant Amazon could enable consumers to make purchases from third parties without disclosing any personal information to the seller. According to a patent filed by Amazon in 2009 and published earlier this week, the system would […]
TradeTech panellists see politics riding roughshod over regulation
Discontent with regulation cast a cloud over delegates on the first day of the TradeTech conference in London, as senior industry executives pondered on the politicisation of the debate and the perceived failure of regulators to deliver efficient markets.
New exchanges set out their stalls at TradeTech
The next generation of trading venues went head-to-head on the first day at TradeTech in London– each keen to present its model of how best to match buyers with sellers.
UK regulators concerned that EU legislators will close off “legitimate” trading activities
Regulators in the UK are concerned that some European governments will force through regulations that will close off legitimate market practices such as algorithmic trading because they do not fully understand the markets, said a panellist at the TradeTech event in London. Tim Rowe, head of the trading platforms and settlement team at the UK’s […]
Alaric hires Jan Rees as account manager
Fraud and payments specialist Alaric has hired Jan Rees as account manager to look after customers across EMEA and the Americas. Rees has more than 20 years’ experience in the payments space, including roles at S1, Wincor Nixdorf, Level Four and Logica (now CGI). For the past year he has been working on a consultancy […]
MiFID II is a “dog’s dinner” says former UK government advisor
While HFT may pose a real threat to market stability, the European Commission’s response has been woefully inadequate and shows a lack of understanding of the core issues, says professor Dave Cliff of the University of Bristol and former member of the UK government’s Foresight Project.
Angry TradeTech delegates clash over HFT
A session at Trade Tech in London fell into chaos earlier today, as furious delegates hurled accusations across the table and members of the audience sparred aggressively with panellists.
US regulators seek huge budget increases to keep up with industry
It’s not just the banks that are struggling with the costs of regulation – so are the regulators. In the US. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has requested a 52% budget hike to $315 million dollars – described by one of its own commissioners as “improbable and unsustainable”.
Otkritie and SunGard release Russian algo trading tools
Russian broker Otkritie has chosen financial technology company SunGard to help launch a new direct market access service that should make it easier for investors to access Russia’s capital markets.
New York City Pilot Adds Mobile Payment to Parking Spots (April 16, 2013)
New York City is the latest to launch a mobile payment pilot for its municipal parking operations, enabling motorists to use smartphones to locate and pay for available parking spots on streets and city-operated parking lots. The pilot harnesses technology from Vancouver-based PaybyPhone, which provides mobile payment services for parking operations in 180 cities around […]
Global Contactless Transit Push Continues in London, Beijing (April 16, 2013)
The global move toward cashless payments for mass transit continued this week, with news out of two major world cities. London soon could be banning cash payments on its iconic buses, according to the BBC, while Beijing’s subway has debuted a new payment system that uses sound waves to enable ticket purchases via smartphone. In […]
NBPCA White Paper Calls for Cooperation to Address AML Concerns (April 16, 2013)
A proposed plan by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to check prepaid card balances at the U.S. border to combat money laundering will not significantly help solve illegal cross-border funds transfers, according to a new white paper issued by the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA). Instead, the NBPCA said, the agency […]
Kuwait Airways Launches Prepaid MasterCard for Frequent Fliers (April 16, 2013)
Kuwait Airways aims to increase customer loyalty with a new prepaid MasterCard that provides members of its frequent-flier Al Waha Club with rewards for every purchase using the card. The Baitok-Waha Club card, offered in collaboration with a local bank, Kuwait Finance House, enables cardholders to earn two free miles for every domestic purchase and […]
Shoppers Want ‘Seamless’ Experience In-Store, Online, via Mobile (April 16, 2013)
Whether it’s in-store, online or using a mobile device, consumers want a seamless shopping experience, with nearly 90 percent of consumers saying it’s important to them to be able to shop in the way that is most convenient for them, regardless of the sales channel, according to a recent report. More than 80 percent of […]
Fidessa plans ASEAN trading network
Trading technology company Fidessa has partnered with Asian brokers CIMB, DBS Vickers, Maybank Kim Eng, OCBC Securities, Philip Securities and UOB Kay Hian as part of a plan to create a one-stop trading service for all ASEAN markets.
Traiana swap data repository targets Dodd-Frank, EMIR compliance
Post-trade services company Traiana has opened its Swap Data Repository Service, Harmony TR Connect, for OTC derivatives – providing a tool for market participants to comply with US Dodd-Frank legislation on trade reporting.
Lawmakers Renew Push to Further Restrict Overdraft, Call for Prepaid Study (April 15, 2013)
Concerned about reports that suggest checking account overdraft fees are on the rise again despite regulatory efforts to curb them, a group of lawmakers led by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) recently re-introduced a bill to further restrict bank overdraft fees and launch an investigation into prepaid card overdraft protection programs. The Overdraft Protection Act […]
MasterCard Offers Free Service to Block Fraudulent EMV Transactions at ATMs (April 15, 2013)
Another concern about the U.S. migration to EMV was alleviated last week when MasterCard Worldwide announced a solution for ATM operators facing a liability shift this week for fraudulent transactions at ATMs from Maestro cards issued abroad. MasterCard alone has a global chip liability shift for non-U.S.-issued Maestro cards that goes into effect April 19, […]
UnionPay, Intel Team Up on Mobile Payments (April 15, 2013)
China may be one step closer to becoming the one of the largest NFC payments markets. Shanghai-based payment card network China UnionPay (CUP) has tapped tech giant Intel to provide mobile payment services. Under the collaboration, announced last week at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, CUP will use Intel’s identity protection technology for its […]
Vodafone, China Mobile Look to Bring M-PESA to Myanmar (April 15, 2013)
The M-Pesa mobile money transfer service could be coming to Myanmar, thanks to a joint bid by Vodafone and China Mobile. The companies are among 12 groups being considered by the Myanmar government for one of two licenses to operate a mobile network in the Southeast Asian nation, according to a report in the Financial […]
US banks Heritage and Central Valley adopt Fiserv tools
US banks Heritage Bank and Central Valley Bank have adopted an account processing tool called DNA from financial technology provider Fiserv. Parent company Heritage Financial says the platform’s flexibility will help the banks grow.
UBS names new group CIO
UBS has appointed Oliver Bussmann as group chief information officer, replacing Michele Trogni, who is retiring after 25 years at the bank, the last four of which she spend as head of group technology. Bussman will take up the post at the beginning of June.
Banks opt for hosted mobile services says Celent
As Banking 3.0 continues its inexorable rise, banks are increasingly turning to hosted mobile services developed with vendors – but there is still more work to be done before mobile banking becomes mainstream, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
IPS 2013 Round-up: market changing faster than players or regulators
By the standards of the rest of the financial services sector, the payments industry has always progressed at a glacial pace. For the past 10 years, the key topic at the long-running International Payments Summit has been the Single Euro Payments Area.
HFT: The Movie – Eurex sets out the case for the defence
Germany’s Eurex derivatives exchange has posted a series of videos, in which it explores the role of HFT in providing liquidity to its order book.
London job market shows signs of spring thaw
There were signs of spring Financial service jobs in London showed growth in the first quarter of the year, but March ended with a month-on-month drop.
