Innovators’ Spotlight: SUBWAY (Franchise World Headquarters LLC)
The mega-chain goes mobile with many partners and a mobile app of its own with two key ingredients—convenience and loyalty.
Payments
Viewpoint: Strategic Priorities for Success in Today’s Prepaid Environment
Changing times call for new priorities. Clients want a partner with a nimble organization and a flexible and feature-rich technology stack, but not at the expense of business and operational reliability.
Viewpoint: The Power of Push Marketing with Good Data and Analytics
Financial services providers have amassed mountains of data about customers, but what’s it worth? Real value comes from the analysis and timely application of knowledge through push marketing campaigns and ongoing product improvements.
Blog: A Soon-to-Be Must-Have: Biometrics Authentication for Customer Service
Apple Pay’s Touch ID application has pushed biometrics payments authentication into the mainstream. But biometrics authentication goes beyond fingerprint sensors, and voice biometrics authentication is one of the best ways to thwart identity fraud.
CFPB Calls for Greater Transparency in Campus Card Agreements (Dec. 16, 2014)
The CFPB is calling for greater transparency from colleges and financial institutions when they enter agreements to offer prepaid or debit products to students.
First Data, Verifone Reduce Merchants’ Data Breach Exposure (Dec. 16, 2014)
First Data Inc. and Verifone are helping U.S. merchants reduce their exposure to large-scale consumer payment data breaches and expedite merchant acceptance of EMV-enabled credit and debit cards.
Apple Making it Easier for PayPal, Google Wallet Users (Dec. 16, 2014)
Apple in recent weeks has become somewhat more accommodating to consumers who use PayPal or Google Wallet. For example, consumers in the U.S. and U.K. now may use PayPal when making purchases on Apple’s online store.
LevelUp Completes NCR Silver Integration, Rolls Out Gift Card Feature (Dec. 16, 2014)
NCR Corp. today announced the NCR Silver POS system now includes a feature enabling merchants to easily add LevelUp, the mobile payments and loyalty network, to customer payment options.
Fingerprint authentication for mobile finance moves closer with FIDO
Widespread use of fingerprint authentication for financial transactions on mobile devices could start taking off from early next year as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Google, Samsung, Lenovo, Microsoft, Alipay and others adopt a new authentication standard through their joint project, the FIDO Alliance, which has just published its specifications and launched its first server.
Amex Launches Savings Research, Sharing Findings with CFPB (Dec. 15, 2014)
American Express has launched a research pilot to study what marketing tactics and behavioral triggers can convince cardholders to save using its Serve prepaid account software platform.
Fiserv: Millions of Consumers Want Mobile Bill Pay, Options (Dec. 15, 2014)
The growth in consumer popularity of mobile bill pay features continues unabated as 27 million U.S. households with access to the Internet are paying at least one bill from their phones, an increase of nearly 70 percent compared with 2013, according to The Seventh Annual Billing Household Survey from Fiserv.
Rev Launches Travel Card in India with FX Provider (Dec. 15, 2014)
Paybefore Award-winning Rȇv Worldwide is continuing its focus on multicurrency travel cards with its latest launch in India.
Are Driver’s Licenses Headed for Mobile Wallets? (Dec. 15, 2014)
If Maxwell the talking pig can show a police officer his proof of Geico insurance on a smartphone, why not a driver’s license?
Seasonal Gift Card Sales Headed for Record; Online and Digital Sales Propelling Growth
Overall holiday sales figures may be a mixed bag so far this year, but gift card sales for the season are on track to hit news sales peaks in the U.S. and the U.K., aided by an uptick in online sales, plus growing popularity for digital gift cards, new data suggest.
CFSI Study: Underserved Market Worth $103 Billion; GPR to Maintain Double-Digit Growth (Dec. 11, 2014)
The financially underserved market in the U.S. generated approximately $103 billion in fee and interest revenue in 2013, based on consumer usage volume of $1.3 trillion in financial products and services, according to a new study from the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) and Core Innovation Capital.
Blade Brings Bitcoin to Debit Cards; Microsoft Accepts Bitcoin Payments in U.S. (Dec. 11, 2014)
After a strong showing in consumer bitcoin spending on Black Friday weekend, Blade Financial yesterday launched what it’s calling the first B2B payment processing platform that extends traditional debit card programs to bitcoin businesses.
USPS Adds Blackhawk Network Gift Card Malls (Dec. 10, 2014)
Blackhawk Network this week announced a new distribution deal with the U.S. Postal Service, introducing the company’s gift card malls to select post offices in time for the holiday season.
U.S. and Europe Focus on Faster Payments, Quicker Access to Funds (Dec. 10, 2014)
NACHA, the Herndon, Va.-based electronic payments association, and the European Central Bank (ECB) independently are taking steps to speed up the payments process with the goal of same-day settlement.
Bitcoin Transactions Notch $296 Million over Holiday Weekend (Dec. 10, 2014)
During the feverish shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, even bitcoin had its mad moment.
Digital Gift Cards to Get Boost from Multichannel Distribution (Dec. 9, 2014)
With gift cards expected to be a top seller this season, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation, Sprint, GiftCards.com and CashStar are making it even easier for consumer to do their holiday gift card shopping online and on their phones.
Monitise to Develop Mobile Products and Services for Virgin Money (Dec. 9, 2014)
U.K.-based mobile money provider Monitise plc has signed a 7-year agreement with Virgin Money to develop digital banking products and services for Virgin Money customers.
Russia Begins Testing National Payment System Next Week (Dec. 9, 2014)
Russia is scheduled to begin testing its new National Payment System (NPS) with eight banks next week, and the platform is scheduled to become fully operational in the first quarter of next year.
More Must Reading: FFIEC Updated BSA/AML Exam Manual (Dec. 8, 2014)
The FFIEC’s recently updated BSA/AML Examination Manual is emphasizing—as it has in the past—that the buck stops with issuing banks in terms of ultimate responsibility for BSA/AML compliance for prepaid access products, regardless of agreements or contracts with other players in the value chain.
Funding Roundup: Stripe, Dynamics Inc., Atom Bank (Dec. 8, 2014)
Millions of dollars keep flowing into the payments industry as investors recently showed support for advanced payments cards from Dynamics Inc., Stripe’s e-commerce solutions and a digital-only Atom Bank.
RBI Small Bank Guidelines to Foster Inclusion (Dec. 8, 2014)
The Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines for licensing small finance banks in the private sector to, among other objectives, better meet the needs of unbanked and underbanked populations and to provide credit to small businesses, farmers and small industries.
Mobile Payments App Helps Kohl’s Enroll 20 Million Customers in its Loyalty Program (Dec. 8, 2014)
Department store Kohl’s Corp. expects to enjoy the fruits of combining a mobile payments app with loyalty this holiday season.
PayPal: Convenience, Int’l Demand Push Holiday Mobile Shopping (Dec. 4, 2014)
Holiday shoppers with PayPal accounts took to their mobile devices in droves last week, with PayPal Inc. reporting a 56 percent surge in mobile sales volume over its platform on Thanksgiving Day compared to last year and a 62 percent jump on Black Friday.
Klarna Eyes U.S. with $100 Million Expansion, New Ohio HQ (Dec. 4, 2014)
Europe’s biggest payments company is coming to the U.S. Stockholm-based e-payments provider Klarna has announced it will earmark at least $100 million for a U.S. expansion, including a new operations center in Columbus, Ohio.
SpendSmart Shutters Prepaid Business, Shifts Focus to Mobile Loyalty Marketing (Dec. 4, 2014)
SpendSmart Networks is pulling the plug on its prepaid card business, citing poor performance amid increasing regulatory pressure and associated costs.
Litigation News: Pulse Network Alleges Antitrust Violations; Target Breach Suit Continues (Dec. 4, 2014)
PULSE Network LLC, a Discover Financial Services company, filed a lawsuit against Visa Inc. late last month alleging antitrust law violations it says undercut PIN debit competition. Meanwhile, Target’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit related to its 2013 data breach was denied.
UnionPay Signs Payments Deals with Apple, China Telecom (Dec. 2, 2014)
China UnionPay continues to take steps to make it easier for its customers to make payments on their mobile devices.
Monitise Bolsters Platform with £49 Million Investment, Expanded Partnerships (Dec. 2, 2014)
U.K.-based mobile money provider Monitise plc is getting a major capital infusion, landing a £49.2 million (US$77 million) investment from the trio of MasterCard, Santander Group and Telefónica.
Viewpoint: The EU Payments Package Puzzle
Debate on the EU Payments Package, composed of the revised Payment Services Directive and the Regulation on Interchange Fees, recommenced in Brussels on Nov. 19. Although the two pieces of legislation are part of one “package,” they’re at different stages in the legislative process, and depending on how they progress, the transition into law could be smooth for the industry—or not.
Tablets and phones becoming the norm for e-retail
While online retailers roll their Black Friday bargains over to Cyber Monday, research shows that an increasing amount of online sales are being made via smartphones and tablets, and this trend is continuing – but this does not mean smaller crowds, as consumers are also switching to ‘click & collect’ services.
Skrill Acquires Ukash, Adds Reach to paysafecard (Dec. 1, 2014)
Skrill Group, a global provider of online payment technologies to merchants and consumers, has added significant reach to its online payment voucher provider paysafecard with the acquisition of Ukash.
NRF: Holiday Weekend Shopping Drops 5.2 Percent from 2013 (Dec. 1, 2014)
Holiday shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend was slightly lower than the previous year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.
UGO Wallet Available to Customers of Canada’s Largest Telecoms (Dec. 1, 2014)
UGO Wallet, an NFC mobile wallet developed by UGO Mobile Solutions and Canadian banks President’s Choice Financial and TD Bank Group, launched last week and is available to customers of Canada’s three largest wireless carriers.
‘Contactless’ Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year Finalist (Dec. 1, 2014)
Is it a surprise to anyone in the payments industry that the word “contactless” was a finalist this year as Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year?
Monitise deepens ties with partners to raise £49 million
Monitise plans to raise £49.2 million through extensions of its relationships with Santander, Telefónica and MasterCard. The money raised will be used to ‘support the development and accelerated roll-out of its global platform capabilities’.
What the U.K.’s New Payments Regulator Wants (Nov. 25, 2014)
Payments industry participants are getting a taste of what compliance might be like under its new regulator the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).
