Banking Technology Dec 2016 / Jan 2017 issue out now
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Mobile
Fiserv Continues Notification Push with OBS Buy
Financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Online Banking Solutions Inc. (OBS), in a deal Fiserv said will bolster its cash management and digital business banking capabilities—and continues the firm’s recent focus on driving customer engagement via notifications.
South African Bank Eyes Bigger Role in M-Payments with Firepay Acquisition
South Africa’s Standard Bank has acquired a majority stake in Firepay, the maker of mobile payments service SnapScan, which is used to make in-store and online payments at more than 32,000 merchants across South Africa.
M-Payments Deal Report: Apple Pay, WeChat, Starbucks and Square
Some of the biggest players in the mobile payments space have announced deals that could bring digital payments and gifting to more consumers around the globe. Starbucks will provide “social gifting” and payments to users of China’s WeChat messaging service, while Square will integrate its digital debit cards with Apple Pay, two recent developments that could boost the popularity of mobile payments.
Fintech funding round-up: 12 December 2016
With so much fintech funding activity going on, we’ve summarised the latest fundraising efforts of start-ups. Featuring Lunar Way, FXCH and Polychain Capital.
Top fintech stories this week – 9 December 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Can Amazon Make the Checkout Lane Obsolete?
Amazon’s vision of the future, which it’s testing in Seattle, is a grocery store that enables customers to complete purchases via scanning mobile phones instead of waiting to pay.
Citi Prepaid Talks Samsung Pay Rewards, Tipping Point for Incentives
Most of the talk around Samsung Pay’s new points-based loyalty program has been about whether it can spur mobile wallet adoption. But the in-app delivery of a virtual prepaid rewards card could mark a substantial shift for the incentives business, according to Brad Garfield, global product head for Citi’s corporate and public sector prepaid cards.
American Express Acquires Mobile Authentication Provider
Fraud prevention is driving payments acquisition activity, with two major moves by the networks in the last two weeks. American Express has acquired InAuth Inc., a provider of mobile device authentication and intelligence solutions, which follows Visa’s announcement of its plans to acquire e-commerce authentication specialist CardinalCommerce, which operates the largest authentication network in the world, according to the company.
Western Union Gains Mobile Momentum with Investment in Billing Specialist
Western Union continues to expand its presence in the mobile vertical with an investment in Walletron Inc., a provider of mobile wallet bill presentment and payments services. The investment follows a deal struck between the companies earlier this year, under which Western Union’s Speedpay electronic bill payment service began offering biller clients the option to incorporate Walletron’s moBills platform.
Can PayPal, Google Holiday Promotions Spur Long-Term Adoption?
PayPal and Google’s Android Pay are making the holidays more festive with new promotions, but will they lead to more consumer usage? PayPal says it’s making its P2P payment service “more personal and heartfelt,” while Android Pay is offering U.K. users a free gift when they use the mobile wallet for purchases.
The Future Is Now: Helping Merchants Engage Consumers
Whether it’s digital coupons, next-generation mobile apps or using augmented reality technology to enhance shopping, have no doubt: That future is here and it’s all about engagement. Paybefore sat down with Amy Parsons, vice president and head of global commerce, Discover Global Network, to get her take on what’s ahead.
Blackhawk Network Connects Merchants to Apple Pay
Blackhawk Network said Dec. 5 that it will “integrate gift cards, e-gifts, loyalty and rewards programs into Apple Pay,” a move that could make the mobile wallet more attractive to consumers.
Digital messaging platform Viber gets banking chatbot
Comtrade Digital Services has built an automated banking platform that enables users of online/mobile messaging platform Viber to perform a range of banking operations entirely through a chatbot.
Bancorp Bets Big on Fintech with Cube8 Innovation Lab
The Bancorp is doubling down on its commitment to fintech, unveiling plans for a new dedicated fintech innovation and development studio. Dubbed Cube8, the division will serve as a space where Bancorp will “explore unconventional–even radical–ideas in financial technologies” with the goal of creating changes or new opportunities to bolster the company’s business strategies, operational efficiency and incremental revenue, Bancorp said.
FIS to Offer Zelle Network P2P Service
Financial services providers that work with FIS will be able to ramp up their real-time payments capabilities quickly now that the company is integrating with Early Warning’s Zelle Network P2P service. Using FIS PayNet and the financial technology provider’s open payment framework, the P2P service will be offered as part of FIS’s other real-time payment services, such as digital e-gifting, bill payment and external transfers.
New mobile bank Pepper goes interactive with Playbuzz
Bank Leumi’s new mobile banking subsidiary, Pepper, is working with digital authoring platform Playbuzz “to enhance user experience and engagement through personalised content”. Content created with Playbuzz’s suite of interactive formats, such as polls, quizzes and flip cards, will be embedded into Pepper’s banking app (to be launched in Q1 2017).
Case study: KeyBank – treasure the moment
Treasury professionals are finally adopting mobile cash management, says Melissa Zajac, vice-president and senior product manager, Key Total Treasury, KeyBank’s corporate online channel. Slowly but steadily. So what are the best practices?
Cachet Revamps Prepaid Mobile Platform for Faster App Design, Deployment
Cachet Financial Solutions has upgraded its Pay Award-winning Select Mobile Money prepaid mobile platform with enhancements that enable program managers to design and launch branded apps more quickly, as well as provide cardholders with a new international money transfer service.
Apple Wins Mobile Wallet Victory in Australia
Apple has scored a big win in Australia for the company’s mobile wallet. That country’s competition regulator has denied a request by big local banks to collectively negotiate over the introduction of Apple Pay there.
Fintech funding round-up: 29 November 2016
We’ve summed up the latest funding efforts and results in the fintech space – so you don’t have to! Featuring Billon Group, Stripe, figo and Finimize.
New funding round values Stripe at $9.2bn
San Francisco-based online and mobile payments technology provider Stripe was valued at $5 billion during its previous funding round in July 2015—meaning its valuation nearly doubled in less than a year and a half.
Top fintech stories this week – 25 November 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Fintech funding round-up: 24 November 2016
Let’s put the fun in funding by keeping it mercifully brief. Money seekers are PayKey, Euklid and Flender.
Infographics: the fintech landscape
It’s infographics time! A great compilation of fintech companies, showing how we’ve gone from graph paper to personal data algorithms – and everything in between.
Survey: Small Business Like Mobile Wallets, But Fear System Upgrades
Small business might want to accept payments via mobile wallets, but most of those merchants worry about the cost of upgrading their systems to do so, according to new survey from Samsung Electronics America.
Leumi Card behaves with biometric mobile app
Israel-based Bank Leumi’s credit card subsidiary, Leumi Card, will launch a “first-of-its-kind” integration of a mobile security product based on behavioural biometrics. Using Israeli start-up SecuredTouch’s solution embedded in the Leumi Card app, it will eliminate the need for passwords. SecuredTouch’s technology allows user identification based on a “unique” personal usage profile within the mobile […]
Chasing the Competition: U.S.’s Largest Bank Debuts Chase Pay App
A little more than a year after the bank announced plans for its Chase Pay mobile wallet—and just in time for Black Friday—customers of the U.S.’s largest bank by assets finally can use the Chase Pay app in stores, online and for in-app payments. The industry will have to wait and see if this is the watershed moment for mobile wallet adoption, some payments experts have predicted.
Wirecard Rolls out Virtual Visa Prepaid Card in the Netherlands
Wirecard has begun issuing in the Netherlands the pay2d Visa card, a virtual prepaid card for online payments. Wirecard, which worked on the card with fintech firm 3V Benelux B.V., said this marks its first virtual prepaid card rolled out in that country.
Viva Mobile Ticketing in Las Vegas
Consumers in southern Nevada now are able to purchase transit passes using the recently launched rideRTC app for Apple and Android smartphones.
Bunq and Veridium join hands for mobile banking biometrics
Dutch mobile-only challenger bank Bunq is using Veridium’s hand recognition software for its new app. The app will now use VeridiumID and its software, 4 Fingers TouchlessID. With their collaboration, Veridium and Bunq say this is a “world first” for “safe” mobile banking. Todd Shollenbarger, COO of Veridium, calls Bunq’s banking platform a “market disruptor”. […]
The Rise of M-Commerce: Tips for Effective Mobile Marketing, Sales
Mobile commerce is on the rise—and as the busy holiday shopping season nears, now is a key time for retailers to examine how they can improve their brand’s efforts around m-commerce. Discover offers insights into how retailers can use the mobile channel to market their offerings and drive engagement and sales.
Fraud Fighting Roundup: InComm, Tender Armor Pilot; Intellicheck Launches ‘Retail ID Online’
More than 3.6 million personal records, including card data, are stolen every day, according to the Breach Level Index, and fraudsters are hard at work to use that data to their advantage. The latest report from IDology highlights fraud trends, while InComm, Tender Armor and Intellicheck have announced initiatives to keep the fraudsters at bay.
QR Masterpass Payments Could Bolster India’s Cashless Bid
With India’s recent abolition of some high-denomination paper currency already driving an uptick in electronic payments, Mastercard is bringing a QR code-based version of its Masterpass mobile payments service to the country. Launched in partnership with Ratnakar Bank Limited (RBL), Masterpass QR enables users to make in-store payments via scan of a QR code displayed on a smartphone.
Visa Pushes Mobile Biometrics for Authentication
Visa hopes to spread the use of biometrics authentication by developing a mobile app that enables the use of multiple biometrics markers. The idea behind the technology, which Visa says it’s creating with BioConnect, is that if a consumer’s default biometric fails to work for some reason, the app will allow that person to use another such marker. For instance, a person’s fingers might be too damp to allow fingerprint access into a device, so the app might then enable voice recognition.
Samsung Pay Launches Rewards Program
Heeding the advice of many payments experts who say mobile wallets need to do more than enable payments, Samsung has launched a points-based rewards program for Samsung Pay. Consumers using the mobile wallet for purchases can earn points from those transactions and then use those points to buy Samsung products and vouchers, along with gift cards and value that can be transferred to the Samsung Rewards Visa prepaid card.
New Text-Based Service Could Help Nigerian E-Payments Push
A group of financial services and telecom providers has banded together to launch a new mobile payment service to help increase electronic payments in Nigeria. Known as mCASH, the platform is a joint venture of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, numerous Nigerian deposit banks and the country’s four main telecom providers: Etisalat, MTN, Airtel and Globacom.
Top fintech stories this week – 11 November 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Green Dot Highlights Secured Credit, Savings Gains in ‘Strong’ Q3 Earnings Report
Steve Streit, CEO of Pasadena, Calif.-based Green Dot, hailed the third quarter as another strong one for the company, pointing to operating revenue, adjusted EBITDA and earnings per share improving on quarter-by-quarter and year-over-year bases. He also highlighted several Green Dot products and services.
Citi Pay on Way as Bank Is Latest to M-Wallet Fray
The recent surge of bank-backed mobile wallets continues, with Citi the latest financial institution to announce it’s getting into the game. The bank on Nov. 10 unveiled its Citi Pay app, which will enable customers to make online and mobile purchases using their Citi card accounts via Mastercard’s Masterpass digital payments service.
