Feb. 7, 2013 Consumers are responding positively to merchant offers in the Isis Mobile Wallet test, according to early data since the pilot launched in late October in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas, according to Jim Stapleton, Isis chief sales officer. “What we are seeing is once they leave the store, about two-thirds [of consumers […]
Feb. 7, 2013 The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), which has been at the forefront of U.S. transit system mobile payment development since introducing an open-loop, contactless payment system for city buses and trains in Salt Lake City beginning in 2009, this fall plans to add a contactless, closed-loop prepaid card to its consumer payment options. […]
Feb. 7, 2013 Do GPR cards pose significant money laundering threats? That’s the question the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta explores in recently published paper. Among the paper’s findings is that, as GPR prepaid cards have grown in popularity and come under increased scrutiny by regulators, significant regulatory measures […]
Weve, the advertising and commerce joint venture between mobile network operators Vodafone, O2 and EE, has hired payments industry veteran David Sear as its permanent chief executive.
February 2013 By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor The retailer-led mobile payment venture Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) has disclosed little about the shape of its developing payment platform since it formed six months ago, but the few details emerging so far are fueling fresh waves of industry buzz. At a panel during the National […]
Feb. 5, 2013 U.K.-based mobile payments provider mPowa has inked a white-label deal with Portugal Telecom Group that will enable the carrier to offer small businesses a card reader-based mobile payments service. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but TechCrunch reports it was a multimillion-dollar pact with a seven-year term. The partnership opens […]
Further evidence that bank IT spending is growing again comes from industry analysts at Ovum, which is predicting overall growth of 3.4% among retail banks, reaching $118.6 billion in 2013, as they focus on “customer satisfaction and revenue growth”.
The enterprise is experiencing massive changes as the major technology trends of cloud computing and tablets are intersecting to upset the balance of legacy computing environments.
Jan. 31, 2013 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it has begun an inquiry into “the impact of financial products marketed to students through colleges and universities” to determine whether these products are “in the best interest” of students. Such products include student ID cards that double as debit cards and cards used […]
A study shows that 62% of City traders “admit to missing key investment or sell opportunities because they didn’t keep track of time zone differences”.
Jan. 30, 2013 Merchants across the U.S. are holding off on introducing a surcharge for Visa and MasterCard credit card transactions despite getting the green light to do so this week under the terms of a proposed settlement in the merchants’ antitrust case reached last November. The settlement, subject to final approval in a hearing […]
Jan. 30, 2013 SALT Technology Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of a cloud-based mobile payments platform, has raised $2 million in financing from private investors with backgrounds in the mobile, financial and payments technology sectors. The company, which also has offices in London and Toronto, said it will use the new funding to accelerate the development […]
Jan. 29, 2013 Mobile wallets are far from fully developed, but a handful are gaining an early edge on competitors based on ease of use and payment options, according to new analysis from Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group. The firm’s “Mobile Wallet Market Analysis” set out to analyze “apps for smartphones or tablets enabling consumers […]
Jan. 29, 2013 In a move POS terminal maker Ingenico said is part of its bid to become a “one-stop-shop” for multichannel payment solutions, the Paris-based company has entered a deal to acquire payment processor Ogone Partners for EUR360 million (US$485 million). Ingenico will incorporate Ogone’s 42,000-merchant online payments platform into its existing POS and […]
Jan. 29, 2013 Adding to a growing array of mobile payments options for merchants, FreedomPay is entering the fray with “Vibe,” a mobile wallet initially targeting restaurant operators interested in creating targeted consumer promotions on the fly, based on specials, weather and in-store traffic conditions. The Radnor, Pa.-based payment processor says its cloud-based mobile wallet […]
UK banks are still in “a difficult place” as they face economic uncertainty, increased cost and competitive pressures, complex regulations and rapid technological changes – but the changes that are happening in the payments industry offer scope for them to reclaim the initiative and deploy innovative solutions.
Jan. 28, 2013 Paybefore today announced winners for the 2013 Paybefore Awards—the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the worldwide prepaid and emerging payments industry. And for the first time in the seven-year history of the awards, Paybefore is allowing visitors to Paybefore.com (subscribers and nonsubscribers) to cast their votes for Best in Category through Feb. […]
The organization that stood out from the crowd in 2012 to make a positive, game-changing difference in the prepaid/emerging payments environment in a geographic region or globally. May be a new or established organization. Company Name: American Express American Express is a global financial services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences […]
Best prepaid or emerging payments program launched and operated by a non-U.S. company outside the United States. Programs using a U.S.-based company for processing or similar support are eligible. Program Name: NuCard Prepaid CardCompany Name: Tutuka South Africa has a large microlending market that provides short-term, unsecured loans to millions of South Africans. NuCard was […]
The in-market mobile wallet or mobile application that (1) provides end users with value-added features and/or enhances payment capabilities, user decision-making or loyalty and (2) provides retailers with a strong value proposition. Program Name: moneto Prepaid MasterCardCompany Names: DeviceFidelity, MasterCard With real-time balance and transaction history, free P2P money transfers, the only instant cash-back rewards […]
Best use of a consumer-funded reloadable network branded prepaid card* for general use, such as ATM access and purchasing. Includes travel, remittance and youth-focused (including campus and student) programs; excludes payroll programs. Program Name: PayPal Prepaid MasterCardCompany Names: PayPal, MasterCard The PayPal Prepaid MasterCard is the only prepaid card that can link automatically to PayPal’s digital […]
Jan. 24, 2012 Mobile carriers around the world continue to join forces to enable mobile payments. On Jan. 23, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) approved an application by five domestic mobile carriers and transit card provider EasyCard Corp. to jointly run a platform for mobile payment-related apps, according to the Central News Agency. Chunghwa Telecom […]
CGI, which recently acquired UK software house Logica, has formed a partnership with mobile banking and payment specialist Monetise to offer joint services for banking and payments companies using the Monitise platform.
Jan. 22, 2013 Google Inc. is adding digital muscle to coupons with Zavers by Google, a paperless couponing system introduced earlier this month that enables consumers to capture coupons online and redeem them automatically through store loyalty cards, tracking their deals through a computer browser or any mobile phone. The system is designed to give […]
Jan. 22, 2013 Munich-based Telefónica Deutschland in mid-February plans to enable P2P funds transfers between its mobile phone service subscribers along with a new NFC pilot that will launch at the same time in Germany. The effort grew out of the mpass mobile wallet service, announced last year as a joint venture between Telefónica Germany, […]
Jan. 22, 2013 Cash transaction network PayNearMe is taking its payment services small-time in a move the company thinks will pay off in a big way. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm, founded in 2009 and led by CEO Danny Shader, has launched PayNearMe Express, a self-service version of its existing cash payment system, aimed at enabling […]
Jan. 21, 2013 As the U.S. and Western European markets for mobile card readers grow ever-more crowded, Citigroup is aiming to take a leadership position in mobile merchant acceptance in India. The bank this week announced what it describes as India’s first nationally distributed dongle, enabling merchants to accept credit and debit cards with a […]
Jan. 21, 2013 A pair of payment startups have received cash infusions from investors totaling nearly $30 million. San Francisco-based BillFloat, which provides small-dollar loans to customers for electronic bill payments, landed $21 million from Investor Growth Capital (IGC), with participation from Bronze Investments and previous BillFoat investors Venrock, FirstRound Capital and Baseline Ventures. As […]
Jan. 21, 2013 The Federal Reserve’s Retail Payments Office (RPO) last week announced it will be conducting its triennial study to determine the current volume and composition of electronic and check payments in the United States, with new attention on fraud metrics. “While the Federal Reserve’s 2013 Payments Study will continue to build upon trend […]
Faced with flatlining IT budgets, global CIOs must better exploit the business potential of technology to achieve results – currently they realise only 43% of that potential says Gartner. Top of the priority list is what the research firm calls ‘digital technologies’. In this it includes mobile, analytics, Big Data, social media networking and cloud, […]
The UK Payments Council has announced that the introduction of its planned Mobile Payments Service has been pushed back until “spring 2014” – a year after its previously expected introduction, and two years after Barclays broke from the rest of the UK banks and launched its Pingit service. The delay comes despite commitments from financial […]
Jan. 15, 2013 NCR Corp., eager to expand use of its mobile apps for restaurants and retailers, this week announced an agreement with PayPal Inc. designed to make it easier for consumers to manage their bills and pay for food using their smartphones when dining out. Duluth, Ga.-based NCR plans to integrate PayPal alongside credit […]
Jan. 15, 2013 Mozido LLC, an Austin, Texas-based startup providing cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, has signed a multiyear deal for access to the cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions of Savvis, a subsidiary of telecom CenturyLink. “By leveraging Savvis’ leading cloud and hosting infrastructure, we will enable customers in the […]
The banking industry, integral to our commercial and personal lives, has always evolved with the times to embrace new challenges and consumer attitudes. Technology plays an obvious and increasingly important role in this evolution.
January 2013 Experts on five markets—Brazil, France, Italy, Middle East and Russia—discuss how prepaid is developing where they’re doing business, as providers and consultants. By Loraine DeBonis, Editor-in-Chief Paybefore: How widely has prepaid been adopted in Brazil beyond the meal voucher market? Neissan Monadjem: The food voucher programs along with the mobile prepaid “card” vertical represent 80 […]
By Lee Britton, Prepaid Financial Services One of the great things about getting old is hearing new phrases defining old concepts. Chances are, by the time 2013 has been and gone, you’ll have come across the above phrase, specifically around payments or technology. But first, it’s important to recognize two apparently irreconcilable differences: What someone […]
Jan. 14, 2013 MCX executives and member merchants revealed a few more details about their plans for mobile payments during a panel at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & EXPO in New York City today, including that its initial mobile payments solution will be primarily barcode- and cloud-based. The coalition of merchants, which announced formation […]
Jan. 14, 2013 Payelp Global, a Los Angeles-based e-commerce platform serving merchants via 300 different payment gateways worldwide, is expanding its services to include a reloadable virtual prepaid card for consumers in regions that lack broad credit and debit card penetration. The offering builds on Payelp’s existing partnership with Moscow-based Qiwi Ltd., which recently introduced […]
Jan. 14, 2013 San Francisco-based mobile direct carrier biller Boku has received an e-money license for its European payments platform. Boku said the approval from the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority will enable the company to expand its platform in Europe. Currently operating in more than 65 countries, Boku has direct billing deals with about 250 […]
January 2013 By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor Financial institutions must combat persistent consumer indifference toward mobile banking in the United States if they want to see consumers move toward mobile commerce, according to a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research. The research, which outlines financial services trends in 2013 as well as how […]
