2015 Paybefore Awards: Top Motivator
Best-in-Category: Delta Air Lines Performance Pays Debit Card from Xerox, MasterCard Worldwide and Comerica Bank
Payments
Supreme Court: Regulators Can Change Rule Interpretations without Advance Notice, Comment Period (March 10, 2015)
The Supreme Court is backing the authority of regulators to reinterpret their own rules without seeking industry input.
CFPB Releases Arbitration Study; Considers Next Steps for Regulation (March 10, 2015)
The CFPB is considering next steps in weighing new regulations for arbitration agreements widely used in financial services businesses to settle consumer disputes, following today’s release of the 728-page “Arbitration Study: Report to Congress 2015.”
EU Passes Interchange Caps; Prepaid Businesses Must Look Elsewhere for Income (March 10, 2015)
The long road to interchange reform in the European Union has come to an end of sorts with passage of interchange caps today in the European Parliament.
Experts: Cardholder Authentication Key to Stemming Apple Pay Fraud (March 9, 2015)
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that fraudsters were exploiting stolen credit card data to set up fake Apple Pay accounts and buying big-ticket items in Apple’s own stores and other retail outlets.
Despite 1 Million Cards on Apple Pay, Chase Sees ‘Need to Be Everywhere’ (March 9, 2015)
JPMorgan Chase isn’t putting all of its mobile payments eggs (or apples) in one basket.
Transfast Partners with Trio of Kenyan Banks for Same-Day Deposits, M-Pesa (March 9, 2015)
International money transfer company Transfast has announced partnerships with three of Kenya’s largest banks to speed up its services for sending and receiving funds across borders.
EBA Drawing Blueprint for SEPA-Wide Instant Payments (March 9, 2015)
EBA Clearing, a provider of European payment infrastructure solutions, is laying the groundwork for a Europe-wide instant payments processing service.
Securing the future of NFC?
Ever since the deployment of Apple’s NFC solution – ‘Apple Pay’, and the various competitors launches since, there’s been speculation around what the future holds for consumer payments and how security will impact it
Citi Mobile Challenge extends deadline
The Citi Mobile Challenge, which seeks to unearth innovation and developer talent in some of the most far flung reaches of globe in a bid to get the best talent to help change the way the world banks, has extended its registration deadline to allow more people to take part.
Schulman: PayPal’s Open Platform Is Key to Success in Digitization of Money
Explosive developments in mobile commerce and payments will drive a level of disruption in the next three to five years unlike anything the financial services industry has seen before, Dan Schulman, incoming CEO of PayPal, forecast this week.
Blackhawk Boosts Wallet App with Gift Card Exchange, Scanning (Mar. 5, 2015)
Blackhawk Network Inc. is bolstering its mobile wallet app, adding a feature that will enable users to sell and exchange gift cards as well as the ability to scan physical gift cards to add them to the wallet.
Google Shuts Down Softcard (Mar. 5, 2015)
Google wasted no time shutting down Softcard after acquiring technology and intellectual property from the telco-backed mobile wallet last week.
Study: Prepaid Satisfaction High but Image Problem Persists (Mar. 5, 2015)
With plenty of room to further penetrate the market—40 percent of respondents had not used a prepaid card—survey results around willingness (or not) to recommend prepaid to a friend, suggest the industry may be suffering from a lingering image problem.
Company on the Move: New Doone Science & Technology, GlobalPlatform Membership
GlobalPlatform, a nonprofit organization that standardizes managing applications on secure chip technology, has added New Doone Science & Technology as an observer member.
Meet the Jetsons? Visa and MasterCard Unveil In-Car Food Ordering, Transit Innovations (March 3, 2015)
New mobile payments and loyalty management technologies envisioned for public transportation and automobiles may spark some big changes in commuters’ daily routines, according to announcements from Visa and MasterCard this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Ubiquity Expands Customer Base with Meta, Wave Crest Deals (March 3, 2015)
Ubiquity Global Services, which last fall announced the opening of a contact center in Lisbon, has recently signed deals with two major prepaid companies, Meta Payment Systems and Wave Crest.
Cardtronics Offers Surcharge-Free ATM Access Direct to Consumers (Mar. 3, 2015)
ATM owner/operator Cardtronics Inc. is launching a new surcharge-free ATM membership program called ATMpass that enables consumers to purchase monthly, quarterly or annual memberships for surcharge-free ATM access in retail locations.
Cordray’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress Focuses on Mortgages/Lending (March 3, 2015)
CFPB Director Richard Cordray today addresses the House Financial Services Committee for the bureau’s semi-annual report to Congress.
N.Y. May Put AML Onus on Bank Execs (Mar. 3, 2015)
New York is considering a plan to hold top banking executives personally responsible for the quality and effectiveness of their firms’ AML efforts.
Viewpoint: Supervisory or Enforcement Action, Deputy Director Antonakes Explains How the CFPB Decides
The CFPB’s Antonakes explained his bureau’s supervisory approach and enforcement actions and how they are different from that of the federal banking agencies.
Mobile money goes global in 2015 reports GSMA
Mobile money is expanding rapidly as global smartphone penetration grows. This year, many providers are looking to expand their range of mobile money services to areas such as credit and savings – but operators must be wary of the remaining challenges, including regulation and market sizes, according to a new report by the GSMA.
PayPal Makes In-Store Gains with Paydiant Acquisition (March 2, 2015)
PayPal took a big step forward in expanding its in-store payments presence today, announcing plans to acquire Paydiant, an Auburndale, Mass.-based mobile payments technology company.
Samsung Pay to Roll Out This Summer, Expanding Merchants’ Mobile-Payment Reach (March 2, 2015)
Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled details of Samsung Pay, its mobile payments service set to roll out in the U.S. this summer to compete with Apple Pay and Google Wallet, further expanding the potential audience—and merchants—that can participate in the tap-to-pay experience.
Visa Buys Merchant Offer Platform TrialPay (March 2, 2015)
Visa last week announced plans to buy TrialPay, an e-commerce platform that helps merchants convert free users into paying subscribers for gaming and other online and mobile services.
CFPB’s Submission Overhaul for Credit Agreements Could Streamline Prepaid Process (Mar. 2, 2015)
The CFPB is updating the system credit card issuers use to submit their card agreements to the agency’s public database, and the new automated process could be used by prepaid card issuers if submitting cardholder agreements as proposed by the agency’s NPRM on prepaid accounts becomes law.
Samsung banks on backward compatibility in payments play
Samsung has announced a new mobile payment service called Samsung Pay, that it claims will break the obstacles to mobile wallet adoption by being compatible with older point-of-sale terminals through the use of Magnetic Secure Transmission, which allows terminals using traditional magnetic stripe technology to accept payments.
Blog: Trends in Emerging Technologies
Younger users are setting the stage for a payments future of wearables and mobile. See what the latest consumer research from FIS reveals.
Viewpoint: Citi Prepaid: Building on Success in the U.S. Corporate Prepaid Market
Success in the corporate prepaid card market requires providers to offer more than just cost savings and efficiency improvements. Successful providers must also present a compelling opportunity for corporates to enhance their offering and services.
Blog: 5 Payments Trends to Watch in 2015
The U.S. migration to EMV chip technology, developments in mobile and contactless payments in retail and transit, and a focus on layered payments security, were the headlining themes from the annual Smart Card Alliance Payments Summit.
Google Wallet Buys Softcard Tech/IP, Signs Distribution Deal with Wireless Carriers (Feb. 25, 2015)
Google Wallet is getting fresh horses in the mobile wallet race, where Apple Pay has the early lead.
Square Co-Founder: Pinpointing Shoppers’ In-Store Locations Will Transform Retail, Payments (Feb. 25, 2015)
Mobile payments technology is driving multiple types of innovations, but one of the most transformative likely will be location-based technologies that improve the shopping experience, according to Square’s co-founder Jim McKelvey.
APEX Panel: The Changing Shape of Personal Financial Services (Feb. 25, 2015)
With more than a quarter of U.S. households either unbanked or underbanked, there is a major opportunity in creating alternative financial products to serve that segment.
Visa Checkout to Reach 16 Countries This Year (Feb. 23, 2015)
Visa is expanding Visa Checkout, its secure online payment service, to reach a total of 16 countries this year, the company said last week.
Report: Google Wallet Hatching Makeover, Dangling Incentives for Carrier Support (Feb. 23, 2015)
Google Inc. is plotting another makeover for its 4-year-old Google Wallet, to be revealed in May at its annual I/O developer’s conference, according to a Feb. 20 report in the Wall Street Journal.
APS to Offer Banking Services through 11,500 Post Office Locations (Feb. 23, 2015)
Customers of Advanced Payment Solutions (APS), a London-based provider of alternative banking solutions, soon will be able to access banking serves through the U.K. Post Office’s 11,500 branches.
Samsung’s LoopPay Deal Buys Quick Path to Mobile Payments, Pressure for Apple Pay? (Feb. 19, 2015)
Samsung this week announced its purchase of mobile payments startup LoopPay, taking over its technology that enables magnetic stripe cards to be processed as contactless transactions at traditional payment terminals.
Judge Tosses Anti-Steering Rules, but Expert Says Door May Be Open for Appeal (Feb. 19, 2015)
A federal judge has ruled that American Express no longer may bar retailers from steering customers toward paying with cards with lower merchant fees.
Pay.gov Integrates PayPal, Dwolla with U.S. Gov’t Payments Portal (Feb. 19, 2015)
Pay.gov, the U.S. government’s online payments portal for 90 federal agencies, is expanding to embrace digital wallets, including PayPal and Dwolla, the U.S. Treasury announced this week.
Patent Hints at Coupons and Loyalty for Apple Pay; JetBlue Takes it to the Skies (Feb. 18, 2015)
Apple Inc. has filed a patent application indicating plans to add loyalty features to Apple Pay, introducing the option to redeem coupons and tickets via NFC, according to a new report.
