Amsterdam-based mobile network operator and technology company VEON has partnered with Wirecard AG as part of a global payments and processing agreement. Wirecard, a Germany-based provider of global payments solutions, now manages third-party payments functionality and airtime top-up on VEON’s Internet platform, enabling customers to upload funds and update mobile payment accounts within seconds, according to an announcement.
Facing disruption from fintech providers, traditional banks must embrace APIs and the open-source model to avoid losing their place at the center of consumers’ financial lives, a new report warns. Capgemini’s 2017 World Retail Banking Report polled thousands of retail banking customers around the world to gauge how the rise of fintech-based financial services has changed the game when it comes to banking.
Eight fledgling fintech companies have won $250,000 each from the Center for Financial Services Innovation. Each FinLab winner in this third annual competition from the CFSI receives $250,000 in capital, along with resources to test, enhance and scale their products, in part via the expertise of JPMorgan Chase, a founding lab partner.
This year’s Banking Technology Awards are taking place on 13 December in London and once again we will be recognising individuals for leading and playing an instrumental role in devising and/or delivering the technology strategy to support the key business objectives of an organisation. The Tech Leadership Award category is open to all industry participants worldwide – those […]
More than $809 billion is set to switch to the fledgling instant payments system in Europe by 2027, representing a significant threat to cards, according to a new report from Ovum, a London-based consultancy. Instant, or real-time, payments enable account-to-account bank transfers in seconds instead of days.
Know any innovative products, inspirational projects, skilled teams or visionary leaders that deserve a special recognistion this year? Nominate them for a Banking Technology Award!
Probably not. Even so, the case for virtual prepaid accounts is growing stronger. A journey through the landscape—including a stop at a recent Apple conference—shows why.
When the self-described skeptic took over as global head of prepaid for Mastercard earlier this year, Andrew Buckley wasn’t quite convinced that the opportunities ahead were worthy of all the hype. Five months later and he’s among the converted, preaching the gospel of democratization—not just of payments but of innovation.
With increasing global smartphone penetration and a willing consumer base, financial institutions recognize the potential of biometrics to offer more convenience and security to their customers—but a lack of familiarity with the still-new technology among top banking brass remains a significant barrier to adoption, a new report from Mastercard and Oxford University found.
Can a mobile payment service gain users by offering instant access to credit card accounts? Walmart is about to find out. The retail giant has launched a program that enables Walmart Pay customers to spend via their credit lines immediately upon approval instead of waiting for plastic cards to arrive.
US tech giant Fiserv has offered to buy Monitise, a UK-based mobile payments software and solutions provider. The cash offer to acquire is at 2.90 pence per share – valuing Monitise at approximately £70 million.
It wouldn’t quite be June if we didn’t have rain or Cisco’s annual visual networking index (VNI) forecast. We’ve had plenty of rain, now it’s time to tuck into some stats! Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that you probably didn’t need us to tell you, but internet traffic is going to grow. The total […]
Australia Post is partnering with processor i2c Inc. to “expand and modernize” its digital payments offerings. Under the pact, the Australian postal service will use i2c’s Agile Processing platform to roll out enhanced digital functionality for its payments products, including the Load&Go GPR Visa card, along with gift, multicurrency travel and corporate incentive cards. The i2c platform also will underpin future financial services products from Australia Post.
Moving incentives to virtual prepaid cards is an important trend, but Philip Morris International is taking its incentives a step further with blockchain. The cigarette company and fintech firm Billon Group reportedly have completed a test replacing prepaid cards with the distributed ledger technology, enabling digital and mobile payments.
Apple has made a bold foray into the P2P money transfer market—and Green Dot is helping the tech giant in its bid to unseat Venmo and other established players in the increasingly crowded space.
Apple has unveiled Pay Cash as it looks to fight it out with PayPal, Square and Venmo in the overcrowded peer-to-peer (P2P) payments market. In a range of updates to its mobile operating system, iOS 11, new features to the iPhone and iPad are coming this autumn. Apple Pay users will be able to make […]
You’ve heard of wearables—now meet “drinkables.” Global Processing Services (GPS) is helping support a new energy drink marketing campaign featuring special bottles equipped with contactless chips, each preloaded with a credit for a trip on the London Underground. The campaign for the Lucozade Energy brand launched last week, with bottles distributed free at major London train stations and commuter hubs.
Following Airbnb’s acquisition of crowdfunding and social payments startup Tilt in February, it is now being wound down.
Breathless reports point to a terrifying increase in U.K. contactless fraud. Dig a little deeper, however, and the story changes.
About two months after launching in the U.K., Square has introduced its Virtual Terminal service there. The technology enables merchants to accept payments through the Square dashboard, an appealing prospect for online service providers, contractors and other smaller firms that do relatively few face-to-face transactions.
Mobile payments platform provider Judopay has appointed Ryan Farley CEO.
Barclaycard has begun trialling a new payment concept that lets consumers scan and pay for their shopping using their smartphone, without the need to visit a physical checkout. Called Grab+Go, it’s the firm’s plan to turn a smartphone into a “pocket checkout”, allowing users to scan the items they want to buy as they pick […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Supercard, a new card and mobile product launched by Travelex and Wirecard last June, is now being sunsetted.
Nearly half—49 percent—of millennial consumers had paid a bill via mobile within 30 days of a survey conducted for a new report from FIS. That data point underscores the growing importance of digital financial services and payments not only for younger consumers but their older counterparts.
Comdata is making it easier for clients who use the B2B payment and financial technology provider’s virtual credit cards, or ePayables, which it says will drive adoption. The company is so convinced its new Spend Escalator technology is beneficial, it has applied for a patent.
Google has a new plan to become a bigger player in payments. The search engine and web marketing giant said that it’s enabling merchants and developers to “turbocharge checkout conversion” by making it easier for consumers to use the credit cards and debit cards stored with Google.
Words cut. Time saved. A round-up of key events in the payments enclave. Featuring Australian Settlements Limited, IBM, Mastercard, UnionPay International, Visa and Wirecard. Financial services provider Australian Settlements Limited (ASL) has adopted IBM Cloud for its new payments platform (NPP) implementation. ASL provides members, including building societies, credit unions and mutual banks, with settlement […]
The right technology—the systems that encourage consumer loyalty and spending—do much more than speed up checkout. An expert explains why.
Consumers age 16 through 22 are open to communication from brands but have high expectations of those brands, demanding high levels of customer service and the latest in omnichannel functionality, according to a new study from American Express.
Bank has found another way to use the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistants. The online-only Australian bank launched RoboChat May 15 to help home buyers—and homeowners who want to refinance—complete UBank’s online home loan application more easily.
France-based retail giant Carrefour and French bank BNP Paribas have joined forces to launch Lyf Pay, a new mobile wallet that supports in-store and P2P transactions as well as loyalty cards, coupons and offers.
Vodafone has transferred most of its ownership stake in Safaricom—the provider of Kenya’s mega-popular M-PESA mobile money transfer service—to Vodacom, Vodafone’s South African affiliate.
Green Dot’s acquisition of UniRush, a deal that closed in February, is already paying off for the company. As part of its first-quarter earnings release, Green Dot said that UniRush not only added $12 million in revenue during its first month of new ownership, but contributed to 6 percent growth in the company’s overall active card base, to 5.05 million.
Current, a startup comprised of a small team of New York-based fintech entrepreneurs, has launched a prepaid card program and mobile app for kids and parents that goes beyond dispensing allowances
The Alipay online payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group is moving further into North America through an agreement with payments technology provider First Data. Alipay is considered the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform, with more than 450 million global active users.
Alipay is teaming up with First Data in North America as it looks to take a bite out of Apple’s market share. As Banking Technology previously reported, Alipay has been gaining plenty of traction around the globe – with HelloPay Group in Asia merging with Ant Financial (which runs Alipay); and inking deals with European […]
WorldFirst has unveiled World Account, an international payments platform for SMEs and online sellers. The company states the account offers international banking functionality on one platform. It says “many businesses waste time and money” trying to open up bank accounts in new currencies. These accounts are also often held in the UK resulting in “additional […]
Score one for London. Even as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union through Brexit, the British capital and banking and investment center stands as the global hub of fintech, according to Paybefore readers.
U.K. challenger bank Starling is staying busy with the launch of its real-time mobile offering, Starling Payment Services. The new division of the bank will offer sponsorship access to the U.K.’s major payment schemes, enabling other banks, payment service providers and fintech companies to use real-time payments from the summer.
