U.K. Eyes Increased Protection for Gift Card Holders in Insolvencies (June 22, 2015)
The U.K. Law Commission is exploring ways to protect gift card holders in the event of retailer insolvency and is requesting comments on its proposals by Sept. 17.
Regulation
Funds Transfer Pricing: confronting a mosaic of risk
The need for financial institutions to accurately gauge their exposure to myriad sources of risk has seldom, if ever, been greater. The credit crisis toward the end of the last decade must have made that clear, and if bankers managed to avoid getting the message back then, the point has been driven home ever since by regulators around the world
Lessons from D.C.: Relationships Matter; Highlight Consumer Benefits (June 16, 2015)
Two key takeaways from the NBPCA’s Power of Prepaid event in Washington, D.C., last week are that relationships matter and industry stakeholders must bring consumer benefits to the forefront of any discussion with lawmakers and regulators.
Pan-European Data Protection Reform on Track for 2015 Adoption (June 16, 2015)
European lawmakers will meet next week to agree on a road map toward finalizing data protection reform this year.
U.S., Japan, China Spearhead Bitcoin Regulations (June 16, 2015)
The U.S., Japan and China are working on regulations to prevent the use of digital currencies, such as bitcoin, from being used to finance illegal activities or terrorist organizations, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei.
ISDA rallies support for derivatives data reporting rethink
Eleven financial associations have published their support for a new set of derivatives reporting standards developed by ISDA, which is calling for greater cross-border harmonisation of data standards – even if that means some national laws will have to be amended.
Tabb: capital markets compliance spend will soar to $2.6 billion this year
TABB Group forecasts global compliance spending among capital markets firms will some increase 7.5% to 8% in 2015, reaching $2.592 billion , and growing at a similar pace for 2016, driven by global regulations that require institutions to expand coverage, enhance existing capabilities and standardise compliance solutions and processes.
OIG Report: Fed Regulators Mostly Working Well Together, Cite Areas for Improvement (June 11, 2015)
A multi-agency federal regulator report concluded that the CFPB and prudential regulators are “generally” coordinating their oversight activities pertaining to consumer financial laws, consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act and the provisions of a MOU (memorandum of understanding) governing coordination activities.
McKenna to head standards at Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation
Karla McKenna has been named head of standards at the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation on a year’s secondment from Citi, where she is director of market practice and standards.
Viewpoint: Why Banks Still May Be Nervous about Banking Nonbank Money Services Businesses
The FDIC draws attention to a standard fraud claim without offering much guidance.
Permanent TSB and Italian bank adopt Wolters Kluwer reporting tools
Irish bank Permanent TSB has chosen a regulatory reporting platform from Wolters Kluwer as part of its measures to cope with Basel III. Belgian bank Banca Monte Paschi Belgio, the Belgian branch of Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, has also chosen the same OneSumX regulatory reporting solution.
FBI Warns of New Cybercrime Threat (June 3, 2015)
Cybercriminals are using a new form of malware to steal shoppers’ personal financial data, according to an FBI alert issued to retailers last week.
New York State Issues Draft Reg for Payroll Cards (June 1, 2015)
New York State’s Department of Labor has published draft regulations for businesses that pay workers with debit cards, including a prohibition on employers profiting from card programs or passing along associated costs to their employees.
Swift extends KYC compliance services to securities users
Swift is extending its Know Your Customer compliance service into the securities area, making it available to fund distributors and custodians.
IRS Breach Exposes Data of 100,000 Taxpayers (May 27, 2015)
Cybercriminals accessed the personal information of about 100,000 U.S. taxpayers in an attack on the IRS’s systems, the agency confirmed this week.
CFPB: Final Prepaid Rule Coming in January ‘16 (May 26, 2015)
The CFPB’s final rule for prepaid financial products will come in January 2016, according to the agency’s latest rulemaking timetable.
CFPB Updates Consumer Complaint Manual (May 26, 2015)
The CFPB this month updated its Company Portal Manual, which explains in detail the process when consumer complaints are submitted to the bureau as well as the procedures companies must follow if they wish to respond to a complaint.
MasterCard Issuers Reject Proposed Deal in Target Breach Case (May 26, 2015)
A settlement between MasterCard and Target stemming from the retail giant’s 2013 data breach has been scrapped after failing to earn approval by enough MasterCard-issuing banks.
Nasdaq unit says risk and data capabilities give FS firms a way to rebuild client trust
Financial services firms should get a grip on their risk management and make more use of the data available to them as part of a two-way process in gaining user trust and building new revenue streams.
Compliance and digital innovation needn’t be mutually exclusive
Regulatory compliance might be a fact of life for every financial institution, but it can be very challenging when competitive pressures come in to play. Software-based services are often now the primary means of contact between a company and its customers; IT is no longer a back-office support function
PayPal Enters into Consent Order with CFPB (May 19, 2015)
PayPal, reportedly, has agreed to a consent order with the CFPB that would require the company to refund $15 million to consumers who were affected by alleged practices that included, among others, enrollment without authorization and deceptive advertising for its PayPal Credit program, previously known as BillMeLater.
Viewpoint: One-Size-Fits-All Regulation of Prepaid Accounts Does More Harm than Good
The NBPCA supports the CFPB goal of protecting consumers, but the proposed rule doesn’t differentiate between prepaid products that serve different needs.
DOE Issues Proposed Rulemaking for Student Cards (May 18, 2015)
The proposed rule includes numerous provisions applying to checking and prepaid card accounts established by colleges or universities on behalf of students or parents for disbursing financial aid.
ISDA releases UTI derivatives trade reporting service
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has launched UTIPrefix.org, a service that enables counterparties to obtain a unique trade identifier (UTI) prefix for derivatives trade reporting.
Denmark Seeks to Eliminate Most Cash Transactions (May 13, 2015)
The Danish government wants to eliminate the obligation of accepting cash for certain retailers—expediting a move toward a cashless economy some government officials believe will reduce costs and increase productivity for affected businesses.
Senate Banking Head Mulling Fed Overhaul Bill (May 11, 2015)
The head of the Senate Banking Committee reportedly is readying a bill that would restructure the Federal Reserve and lead to fewer midsize banks being deemed “too big to fail.”
Industry bodies look to harmonise ISO 20022 real-time payment implementation
Global interoperability of real-time payments systems will require harmonisation of market practices and standards. A group of international clearing houses, banks, vendors, payments associations and other parties have proposed setting up an activity to look at how to deliver this under the aegis of the International Standards Organisation – and set an ambitious target of collating an initial variant of ISO 20022 usage guidelines for real-time payments before the summer.
EU Lawmakers Reach Informal PSD2 Agreement (May 7, 2015)
European lawmakers, following years of discussion, believe improved competition, more innovation and enhanced consumer protections in cross-border payments will be the result of an informal agreement on a revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) reached this week.
FinCEN: Virtual Currency Exchangers Must Comply with BSA, AML Rules (May 7, 2015)
Ripple Labs Inc. acted as a money services business and sold its virtual currency without registering with FinCEN.
Data integrity and post-crisis regulatory reform
The integrity of data in capital markets – be it, for example, price data, trade facts, collateral balances, or other key business information – has long been a fundamental concern of technologists and business stakeholders. But how do we define integrity?
Viewpoint: UDAAP Priorities and the CFPB’s Project Catalyst Initiative
Notes from a business law meeting with speakers from the CFPB, FTC and New York Department of Financial Services.
Morgan Drexen Lawsuit against CFPB Thrown Out (May 4, 2015)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently rejected a lawsuit by Morgan Drexen Inc., a provider of services to consumers through debt-relief lawyers, against the CFPB by a vote of 2-1.
Consumer Organizations Push PINs for EMV (May 4, 2015 )
In a letter sent to Congress and other federal agencies, an ad hoc group of four consumer and technology organizations called for broad action to require PINs—not signatures—for all U.S. EMV card transactions.
Apple Bumps Up Capitol Hill Lobbying Expenses (April 27, 2015)
Apple Inc. is spending more time on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers on topics that include mobile payments, new lobbying expense data suggest. During the first three months of this year, Apple’s expenses for lobbying rose 16 percent compared with the same period a year ago.
OMG addresses data sovereignty issues in the cloud
The Object Management Group has formed a new working group to study issues of documenting and controlling data across distributed cloud environments, a big inhibitor of cloud for those with strict data sovereignty requirements such as banks and financial services firms.
House Bill Likely D.O.A. Because of Proposed Funding Cap on CFPB (April 23, 2015)
Spoiler alert: A bill approved yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives basically will be dead on arrival as President Barack Obama has vowed to veto any legislation that tries to touch the purse strings of the CFPB.
CFPB Consumer Finance Research Conference May 7-8 (April 20, 2015)
The CFPB is holding a conference next month that it says will focus on high-quality consumer finance research, with academic and government experts presenting data.
Viewpoint: Canada’s Regulation of Mobile Payments: Merchant Protection at the Cost of Innovation?
Some of the most significant changes to Canada’s Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry affect the rights of merchants regarding mobile and contactless payments. Will the updated Code have the unintended consequence of disincenting investment in and adoption of innovative payment technologies in Canada?
Senate’s Tax Refund Fraud Bill Takes Aim at Prepaid (April 16, 2015)
Several U.S. senators used income tax season to promote new legislation that takes aim at program providers that enable consumers to receive their tax refunds on prepaid cards.
CounterpartyLink adds hierarchy profiles to legal identity service
CounterpartyLink, a provider of legal entity intelligence for buy- and sell-side institutions and law enforcement agencies, has announced CPL Hierarchy Profile, a new product designed to provide a single view of the client across complex client groups.
