January 2013 By Jeremy T. Rosenblum and Stefanie H. Jackman, Ballard Spahr LLP The sky is not falling—at least yet. The ability of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to supervise smaller banks (less than $10 billion in assets) and other companies providing prepaid cards to consumers is currently limited. For participants in the […]
BNY Mellon is planning to open a new issuer central securities depository that it claims will offer market participants more efficient post-trade services.
NFC technology advocates face continued disappointment in 2013 as it is likely to be overshadowed by other developments in retail payments, according to a new report by financial research firm Celent.
Financial technology company SunGard has acquired XcitekSolutionsPlus, a company that provides corporate actions tools, in a move aimed at capitalising on the increasing automation of the sector.
Jan. 8, 2013 Atlanta-based prepaid distribution and technology provider InComm has acquired Giftango Corp., the Portland, Ore.-headquartered digital gift card fulfillment provider, in a move InComm says is meant to expand the company’s reach into high-volume, e-commerce gift card sales and distribution. “This acquisition opens doors to new and meaningful distribution channels for InComm merchants […]
Jan. 8, 2013 Customers of U.S. Bank, Minneapolis-based lead bank of U.S. Bancorp, now will be able to set up bill payments by photographing their paper bills using the camera on smartphones and tablets. Mobile Photo Bill Pay could help spur bill pay adoption by eliminating the need to manually enter biller and payment information, […]
Jan. 8, 2013 After a strong post-Thanksgiving start, in-store holiday retail sales were sluggish this season as an uncooperative calendar and a continued shift toward online shopping dragged down store visits. According to retail analytics provider RetailNext, brick-and-mortar retail traffic was down significantly in the 2012 holiday season, as the number of store visits fell […]
Jan. 8, 2013 Coinstar Inc. is introducing a new dimension to the secondary gift card market with Alula, a kiosk service it’s piloting in some supermarkets that enables consumers to immediately convert unused gift cards into cash. The service cuts out steps and speeds up the process of selling unused gift cards through various online […]
January 8, 2013 Mozido LLC, a startup that made its mark with cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, is moving into new territory with its acquisition of PagoVision Inc., which provides check-cashing services to unbanked and immigrant consumers through a network of 1,500 U.S. merchants. The move brings PagoVision’s robust array of […]
The recent market data glitch on US consolidated tape C, in which investors were unable to view Nasdaq-listed stocks, highlights the need for regulation on resilience, according to Frederic Ponzo, managing partner at capital markets consultancy GreySpark Partners.
Thomson Reuters has launched a tool to help financial institutions comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, widely known as FATCA, which requires banks to identify their US customers for tax purposes.
As the European Commission prepares new rules that will reform Europe’s capital markets, buy-side market participants must be careful to ensure that they are not misunderstood and even side-lined by politicians in Brussels, warns David Morgan, director for trading and client connectivity, capital markets at financial technology provider SunGard.
Jan. 7, 2013 Telecom network and equipment provider ZTE Corp. has been selected by Shanghai-based card network China UnionPay (CUP) to provide mobile payment services to CUP cardholders. As part of the deal, ZTE—the world’s fifth-largest maker of telecom equipment—plans to develop an NFC-based mobile phone. The firms also said they would explore the development […]
Jan. 7, 2013 Financial institutions and mobile wallet vendors will encourage consumers to use mobile payments over the next few years through hybrid solutions intended to bridge the gap between the physical, online and mobile channels, according to a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research that outlines financial services trends in 2013, as well […]
Jan. 7, 2013 Payment processor Heartland Payment Systems has acquired Ovation Payroll, a Rochester, N.Y.-based payroll services firm. In addition to bolstering Heartland’s payroll business, the acquisition brings Ovation’s affinity partner network under Heartland’s umbrella, providing Heartland with “high quality sales leads that can be leveraged throughout the Heartland sales force,” the company said. With […]
Jan. 7, 2013 Publicity and news stories touting Gift Card Weekend on Jan. 4-6 drove more than 1 million unique visitors to its Website, suggesting a dramatic uptick in consumer interest in the second annual event, according to Kansas City, Mo.-based Gift Card Impressions, which created the concept. The event’s success has prompted Gift Card […]
New regulations that will affect how banks run crossing networks for their buy-side clients should avoid constraining investor choice by forcing a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to trading, according to Miranda Mizen, senior consultant at TABB Group.
Ernst & Young has developed new software designed to catch employees engaged in corporate wrongdoing, as Swiss bank Wegelin and Co prepares to cease operations following the firm’s prosecution for helping US citizens evade taxes.
The Futures Industry Association has appointed Allison Lurton as senior vice president and deputy general counsel, starting from 14 January.
Bursa Malaysia has introduced a new market surveillance system for equities and derivatives from Sri Lanka-based IT company MillenniumIT.
Jan. 4, 2013 Customers now can purchase a Square mobile payment card reader along with their venti Caffè lattes and blueberry scones at all of Starbucks’ 7,000 company-operated stores in the United States. Square enables anyone with an iPhone, iPad or Android device to accept credit and debit cards with its card reader that plugs […]
Jan. 4, 2013 Alternative payments services such as PayPal, Bill Me Later and Checkout by Amazon are surging in growth and overall purchase volume, on track to rise 73.6 percent over the next five years as consumers embrace streamlined online payment processes, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. In its fifth […]
Jan. 4, 2013 In a bid to capitalize on the rapid growth of smartphone use in Vietnam, Singapore-based mobile banking provider Tagit is partnering with mobile switch operator Smartlink to launch a new platform that will enable Vietnamese banks to launch cost-effective smartphone-based financial services, the companies said. By partnering with Smartlink, Tagit gains access […]
Jan. 4, 2013 Mobile payment provider mPowa is starting the new year in expansion mode, as the U.K.-based company unveils plans to enter new markets, including new cities in the U.S. and India. mPowa, which offers merchants a card reader that plugs into a mobile device for payment card acceptance, is competing with Square—the market […]
Jan. 4, 2013 New York City-based startup Kurrenci has developed a virtual currency it says will help online retailers earn and retain customers by using a unique discounting method. Kurrenci’s platform is based on the company’s eponymous virtual currency, which can be purchased or earned online by users, and then exchanged for goods at participating online […]
ATM maker NCR has acquired US-based uGenius Technology, a firm specialising in video banking software.
Canada’s CIBC bank has launched a novel promotion aimed at increasing uptake of NFC technology for mobile payments.
UK technology company Celoxica has launched a new futures trading platform, which it says will make automated trading strategies even faster and more efficient.
January 2013 We wanted to start the year off with some perspective from industry thought leaders across the globe to find out what will shape prepaid and emerging payments in the new year. We asked several executives from a variety of companies as well as a few analysts to share their thoughts about what the […]
Global investment banks need to stop focusing on easy opportunities and start innovating, according to a new report by US business consultancy AlixPartners – even if that means unbundling services and embracing smaller financial institutions as allies.
Jan. 2, 2013 The CFPB has made public its proposed adjustments to a new rule on international remittances and the agency’s plan to briefly extend the effective date of the rule. The rule originally was slated to go into effect Feb. 7, 2013, but in its proposed revisions to the rule, published Dec. 31, 2012, […]
Jan. 2, 2013 Bieber Fever is spreading beyond music and fragrances to prepaid cards. Pop star Justin Bieber soon will be promoting a MasterCard-branded prepaid card offered by BillMyParents Inc. The San Diego-based provider of payment solutions targeted to teens, young adults and their parents, announced late last year that Bieber will act as “brand […]
Jan. 2, 2013 JP Morgan Chase & Co. will pay $35 million to acquire San Francisco-based daily deals startup Bloomspot Inc. in a bid to bolster the local merchant discounts the bank can offer its Chase credit card customers. Bloomspot, which competes with daily Web deals titan Groupon Inc. as well as other city-specific deals […]
Jan. 2, 2013 While 2012 drew to a close with all eyes focused on the looming “fiscal cliff,” a pair of other late-December developments out of Washington had many in the financial services industry taking notice. President Obama signed into law a bill that will eliminate the requirement that duplicative fee disclosure signs be posted […]
Jan. 2, 2013 The gift card industry this week makes its big push for consumers to redeem gift cards received in 2012 during its second annual Gift Card Weekend Jan. 4-6 featuring special bonuses and promotions from gift card merchants. The event, launched last year and backed by the Retail Gift Card Association, so far […]
January 2013 By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor If anyone thought last year couldn’t compare with the events of 2011, they quickly were proved wrong as 2012 turned out to be every bit as transformational. In the U.S. market, we saw a fledgling federal watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), go from crawling […]
Data users wanting to use Reuters Instrument Codes to access data carried on consolidated data feeds from other information providers will be able to do so following the resolution of a European Commission investigation into whether Thomson Reuters was abusing its monopoly position.
Ten UK payment service providers have committed to MasterCard’s PayPass Online by MasterCard, part of PayPass Wallet Services, allowing them to accept electronic payments across multiple channels.
Alternative investment management firm Man Group has gone live with Swift’s Global Electronic Trade Confirmation messaging service, and successfully confirmed its first trades with Morgan Stanley using the Cor Financial Salerio post-trade management service.
Dec. 20, 2012 A new money transfer service from online payment platform Payza will enable Bangladeshis living in the U.S. to quickly and easily send money to relatives and friends back home. With its new SimplySendBD service, Payza aims to capture a piece of the $14 billion annual Bangladeshi remittance market—and establish a successful template […]
