Fintech Acquisitions Roundup: FIS, Yodlee, SVB Deals (Aug. 12, 2015)
Financial technology investment remains hot, with several fintech providers involved in major acquisitions announced over the past week.
Mobile
MasterCard, TD Bank Test Payments Wristband That Uses Consumer’s Heartbeat (Aug. 12, 2015)
MasterCard, Canada’s TD Bank Group and technology provider Nymi, formerly Bionym, are getting to the heart of payments security.
Rite Aid Reconnects NFC at its Stores Nationwide, Welcoming All NFC Payments (Aug. 12, 2015)
Pharmacy retailer Rite Aid this week said it will resume NFC acceptance at its 4,600 stores nationwide beginning Aug. 15, following months disabling contactless payments acceptance in the wake of Apple Pay’s rollout.
Report: Speed, Security Essential to Continue M-Banking Boom (Aug. 11, 2015)
To compete in a mobile world, financial services providers must focus on speed, convenience and security when designing mobile banking and payments services, according to a new report.
Target Aims for Bullseye with Beacons (Aug. 10, 2015)
Target is tackling showrooming and hopes to increase shopper engagement with its latest test of location-based beacon technology in 50 of its stores, with a nationwide rollout slated for later this year.
Sen. Blumenthal Asks MCX to Explain M-Payments Exclusivity Policy (Aug. 6, 2015)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) this week sent a letter to the retail consortium Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which is readying the launch of its CurrentC mobile payments service, demanding details about its exclusivity policy requiring participants to block rival mobile wallets, along with other information.
Green Dot Goes Mobile for Cash Loads (Aug. 4, 2015)
Green Dot Corp. is using barcode-generation technology to enable customers to add cash to their accounts using their mobile devices at more than 65,000 retailers in its reload network.
Rise of Mobile Squeezes Facebook’s Payments Revenue (Aug. 4, 2015)
Amid Facebook’s better-than-expected, second-quarter earnings report last week, payments revenue fell 8.1 percent.
Samsung Pay to Roll out in Europe after South Korea, U.S. (Aug. 3, 2015)
Samsung plans to launch its m-payments service Samsung Pay in Europe, by extending its global partnership with MasterCard and leveraging the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service platform to connect European card issuers to the m-payment service.
Mobikwik adds on-demand cash reloads
Indian mobile wallet provider MobiKwik is launching a new, Uber-like service.
Visa Partners with Stripe to Expand E-Commerce Reach (July 30, 2015)
Visa Inc. this week announced a new partnership with and investment in Stripe, a startup specializing in mobile and online payments technology, to work on new approaches to online payments and increasingly popular “buy buttons.”
MasterPass Coming to India amid E-Commerce Boom (July 30, 2015)
MasterCard and Citibank India are teaming up to bring the payment network’s MasterPass digital wallet to India.
SUBWAY Adding PayPal OneTouch (July 30, 2015)
SUBWAY will launch a revamped version of its mobile app and Web ordering service, adding PayPal’s OneTouch mobile checkout as a payment option.
Santander U.K. Enables Friends to Pool their Funds with KiTTi (July 30, 2015)
Santander, a financial services provider in the U.K., has made it easy for up to 100 consumers at least 18 years old to pool their funds via an app available on iOS and Android.
New Ingo Money and NetSpend Pact Enables Mobile Check Deposit for Prepaid Cardholders (July 28, 2015)
Ingo Money and NetSpend today announced an agreement that will enable NetSpend prepaid cardholders to deposit checks to their accounts via smartphones by combining Ingo’s mobile check deposit capture service with NetSpend’s mobile banking platforms.
Report: CurrentC to Launch Next Month for iPhone and Android (July 27, 2015)
CurrentC—the mobile payments service backed by a consortium of major retailers—reportedly will launch next month, and curiosity is running high about how the merchant-centric app will stack up against Apple Pay and other emerging mobile wallets.
Square Secretly Files for IPO (July 27, 2015)
After more than a year of rumors, it appears Square finally could be taking the plunge and going public. The m-POS pioneer—which has been expanding steadily into other verticals—has filed confidentially for an IPO with the SEC, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources with knowledge of the plan.
Social Media Driving Mobile Money Boom (July 22, 2015)
Mobile money transfers are projected to balloon nearly 150 percent this year, with social media services driving much of that growth.
Apple Pay U.S. Merchant Acceptance Reaches 1 MM, up 400 Percent since Launch (July 16, 2015)
Apple Pay this month has reached a new milestone: More than 1 million U.S. merchants now accept the m-payments service, according to new data from Ingenico.
MasterCard JV Partners with Sri Lanka’s Largest Telco on Mobile Remittances (July 16, 2015)
Sri Lanka’s largest telco, Dialog Axiata, is partnering with MasterCard joint venture HomeSend to enable mobile remittances to the country, which represents a US$7.2 billion money transfer market.
Apple Pay Goes Live in U.K. (July 14, 2015)
Apple Pay went live today in the U.K., and analysts say its prospects of catching on with consumers are promising, at least from the hardware perspective.
First Data Amps up Gifting Platform with Latest Acquisition (July 14, 2015)
First Data Corp. has made another move to bolster digital gifting options for its retail clients, acquiring digital gift card platform Transaction Wireless Inc. (TWI).
MasterCard Pilots ‘Selfie’ Online Payments (July 8, 2015)
Biometrics authentication continues to draw interest from some of payments’ biggest players, with MasterCard unveiling a new pilot program that will enable online shoppers to approve purchases with a facial scan.
Visa Europe Pulls Back on Monitise Investment (July 8, 2015)
Two days after revising its earnings expectations for the year, London-based financial technology firm Monitise plc told investors today that Visa Europe plans to withdraw its remaining investment in the company.
Apple mops up mobile payments market
iPhone devices account for more than one in three mobile transactions, and are used for 10% of all global online transactions, according to new figures published by payment specialist Adyen.
Apple Eyeing P2P, Patent Filing Suggests (July 7, 2015)
P2P providers may have to brace for yet another competitor to enter the crowded field—Apple Inc.—which has filed a patent suggesting plans to extend P2P services to its Apple Pay users.
Facebook P2P Service Goes Nationwide (July 1, 2015)
Facebook’s mobile P2P payments service now is available throughout the U.S., the social media giant announced this week.
Santander and Monitise Form Joint Venture to Spark Fintech Innovation (July 1, 2015)
Spanish banking titan Santander and U.K.-based mobile banking firm Monitise today announced the formation of a joint venture to launch new fintech startups in their own backyards, using the companies’ combined strategic and technical resources.
Wirecard Gives Retailer Apps a Boost with More Functionality (June 30, 2015)
Wirecard this week has launched a mobile checkout development platform enabling retailers to boost the capabilities of their own apps by integrating open- and closed-loop contactless payments, P2P gifting, offers, merchant loyalty functionality and electronic receipts.
Canada’s suretap Gets Support from More Wireless Carriers, CIBC (June 25, 2015)
A group of Canada’s major wireless carriers this week announced support for the NFC-based suretap mobile wallet, and with one major bank already on board, the move looks like a watershed moment for telco-led mobile wallets, which generally have struggled to catch on elsewhere.
India’s War on Cash Continues with New Tactics (June 25, 2015)
The Indian government’s efforts to shift the country’s economy away from cash have taken a significant step forward.
Banking Technology Forum 2015 afternoon sessions: mobile, regulation data and cyber
The afternoon sessions at the Banking Technology Forum 2015 focused on mobile payments, the data dilemma, cyber-security and regulation with speakers from Zapp, GSMA, EY and many others
Dunkin’ Donuts Boosts Mobile App with Visa Checkout in Coffee Giants’ M-Payments Race (June 22, 2015)
Coffee kings Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are racing to see who can get consumers their caffeine fix fastest by streamlining mobile ordering and payments in their respective apps.
Report: M-Commerce Strong in Asia-Pacific; China, India, Taiwan Leading the Way
Mobile shopping is growing fast in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a newly released study by MasterCard.
HSBC sees boom in use of mobile among corporate customers
Corporate users are increasingly adopting mobile payments, according to figures from HSBC, which expects usage of its HSBCnet Mobile corporate banking platform to double over the next 18 months, reaching $100 billion in payments.
The Bancorp to Offer HCE-Based M-Payments in Europe (June 15, 2015)
The Bancorp, a major provider of prepaid card services in the U.S. and Europe, is extending open-loop mobile contactless payment capabilities to its clients in the region through a new partnership with mobile payments company MeaWallet.
MasterCard Extends Tokenization with Support for Private-Label Cards for Use in E-Wallets (June 15, 2015)
MasterCard is extending its digital enablement services (MDES), which provide digital tokens, to store-branded credit cards and merchant card-on-file programs, including apps, e-commerce sites and recurring billing services.
Apple Pay to Meet the U.K. (June 9, 2015)
Apple Pay is coming to the U.K., but it’s unclear whether Apple is adjusting its business model to entice issuer participation as it moves across the pond.
Visa Europe Predicts Mobile Payments Boom by 2020 (June 8, 2015)
The U.K. might not be a cashless society by 2020, but Visa Europe research predicts mobile payments will help displace cash as they gain popularity.
Reuters: Retailer Take-Up of Apple Pay Slow (June 8, 2015)
Reuters research suggests Apple may be having more trouble signing up top retailers to accept Apple Pay than the tech company anticipated.
