Reports: EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Heads Toward Approval
That would provide some long-awaited certainty to financial service providers and tech companies like Google and Facebook that handle consumers’ personal information.
Regulation
Senators Want Answers on Prepaid Outages
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are demanding answers from Green Dot, MasterCard and Walmart about a May outage that left Green Dot-issued Walmart MoneyCard customers without access to certain prepaid services. The senators also asked MasterCard to distinguish the circumstances between the Green Dot outage and the one RushCard experienced October 2015 when it switched to MasterCard’s processing platform.
Supreme Court to Hear ATM Fee Case
First filed in 2011 by a consortium of consumers, independent ATM operators and the National ATM Council, the suit alleges that payment networks’ ATM fee policies suppressed competition by barring ATM operators from offering discounts to users who transact via networks other than MasterCard or Visa.
Amazon Payments Becomes Third Digital Wallet Accepted by Feds
In fiscal year 2015, 98 percent of the $3.98 trillion remitted to the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Services came through electronic payments.
Kroger Latest Merchant to Challenge Visa Debit Verification Rules
Grocery giant Kroger Co. has filed a lawsuit against Visa Inc. over the payment network’s rules for verifying EMV debit card transactions. First reported by the Wall Street Journal, the suit is based on similar issues as those in a legal challenge by Walmart, which sued Visa in May.
Post-Brexit: PIF Calls for U.K. Officials to Protect Businesses; Petition Calls for New Vote
Shortly after the narrowly decided vote for the U.K. to leave the EU (or Brexit) was announced, a trade association is urging the U.K. government to protect U.K.-based financial services providers and a petition calling for a second referendum has nearly 4 million signatures.
U.K. Votes to Exit EU; Payments Industry Faces Uncertainty
The people have decided and the U.K. is splitting from the European Union, raising serious concerns for the payments industry. Among those concerns is how passporting will work when the U.K. is no longer part of the EU since the majority of European e-money issuers have licenses in the U.K. that they passport elsewhere. Fifty-two percent of voters opted to bow out, or “Brexit,” as it’s commonly called.
Payments Industry Braces for ‘Brexit’ Results
As voters head to polling places today to decide whether the U.K. should split from the European Union, the referendum is top of mind for members of the payments industry around the world. Several issues for the industry would be in flux should the U.K. decide to bow out, or “Brexit,” as it’s commonly called.
CME Group granted EU clearing house recognition by ESMA
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), a pan-European financial regulatory body, has finally approved CME Group’s application to offer central counterparty (CCP) services in the EU. The temporary approval was granted last autumn, but it is only now that ESMA has added CME to its list of recognised CCPs for Europe on a permanent basis. […]
Industry players unite for MiFID II implementation with Project Sentinel
Project Sentinel, a collaborative initiative by a group of banks to mutualise the cost of MiFID II implementation in the OTC front office, has announced the creation of a normalised regulatory data model that assists investment firms to meet their MiFID II OTC sales and trading requirements. Etrading Software, which has the project management office […]
Regtech: from regulatory compliance to competitive advantage
Subas Roy, director in EY’s financial services practice, explains how regtech can help and how to avoid the pitfalls. Most of the business leaders that I interact with these days often use two terms, “digital innovation” and “regulatory compliance”. I wonder if they are intrinsically linked? Indeed, successfully addressing multitude of regulatory risks can be […]
Okla. Delays Hwy Patrol Plan to Use Card Readers; FinCEN May Have other Ideas
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin says state law enforcement will delay using devices that read the magnetic stripes on payment cards, following outcries from lawmakers and consumer groups about privacy and legal concerns. But mention of a supplemental proposed rulemaking suggests FinCEN may be looking to revisit card readers at the border.
Class Action Takes Aim at CPI
CPI Card Group has been targeted in a new class action lawsuit over claims the card manufacturing and fulfillment specialist failed to disclose important information to shareholders in the run-up to its IPO last year.
N.Y. DOL Revises Payroll Card Proposed Rule; Fee Restrictions Remain
For more than a year, payroll card providers have had to deal with the specter of a final rule on payroll card regulations from the New York Department of Labor. The wait is now over, sort of. Rather than issue a final rule, the N.Y. DOL today issued a second revision to its proposal, but the industry is still concerned about its implications.
House Amendment Could Stymie CFPB Payday Rulemaking
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations recently approved its Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, and its passage (30-17) most definitely represents a thorn in the side of the CFPB because it delays the bureau’s regulations for payday loans.
The regulatory fintech sandboxes: are they really useful?
This truly has been the time of regulators announcing fintech sandboxes – what better thing to write about on my first fintech column here, than the ways regulators and fintechs can work together! There were three announcements in the past couple of weeks around regulatory sandboxes – the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced […]
CFPB Spends Big to Reach Consumers Online
The CFPB wants to make more consumers aware of its watchdog mission and is spending big to ensure that: $15.3 million so far in fiscal 2016, making the federal agency among the biggest government advertisers, according to reports and an online database.
N.Y. DOL Payroll Rule Expected this Week
It’s been more than a year since the New York Department of Labor first proposed payroll card regulations, but the agency is expected to follow up with a new payroll card rulemaking in the New York State Register this week. What’s uncertain is whether the regulations will be final or if the state will be following up its controversial proposal with a revised proposed rulemaking for which it will accept additional comments.
FIX Trading Community releases standards for MiFID II transaction and trade reporting
FIX Trading Community, the non-profit standards body for the global financial trading industry, has unveiled the FIX Protocol for use for transmitting MiFID II Transaction Reports to Approved Reporting Mechanisms (ARMs). Under MiFID II, all investment firms (including certain buy-side institutions) executing transactions in financial instruments are required to report details of their transactions to […]
Top fintech stories this week – 10 June 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Goldman Sachs to underpin new digital bank with Infosys tech It’ll be the e-Finacle digital banking platform, Banking Technology understands. Infographics: The Euro 2016 guide to e-commerce In the spirit of that football tournament that starts today, we’ve got an e-commerce […]
Dodd-Frank Faces New Challenge from House Republicans
A less powerful CFPB and looser caps on card interchange fees: Those are among the potential features of a bill that Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) plans to introduce later this month that would overturn major provisions of the Dodd-Frank act.
A Class-Action Suit Targets Chase Debit Card Program for Prisoners
Chase faces a class-action suit filed in federal court this week that alleges the bank’s debit card program for prisoners locks them in a cycle of fees upon their release.
The banking balance: technology and informed risk decision making
As our society moves to a world propelled by automation, where technology has given way to artificial intelligence, machine learning, driverless cars and delivery drones, it’s not leap of faith for technologists to consider how technological advances can play a role in banking. In fact, given the proliferation of risks and controls that banks and […]
Infographics: FATCA and CRS – how ready are you?
As we enter a new era in global tax reporting with increasing regulations around tax transparency, Banking Technology and Thomson Reuters have gathered industry views from across the globe to piece together a full picture on the financial market’s readiness for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and continued approach to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance […]
Cybercriminals Take Bite out of O’Charley’s
National restaurant chain O’Charley’s announced it suffered a security breach that may have exposed diners’ payment card information during a three-week period starting in mid-March.
Paper: Despite Looming CFPB Regs, Credit Unions Shouldn’t Fear Short-Term Lending
With the CFPB’s recently announced NPRM on small-dollar loans expected to have significant effects on the industry, QCash Financial released a white paper to quell concerns credit unions might have about entering the space.
Financial Sector Pushes Hard for Data Security Bills; Retailers Want PCI Probe
Members of the financial services industry have launched a media campaign in support of a bill they say would provide better protection of consumer data, bring retailer accountability for data breaches in line with the financial sector and supersede myriad state laws pertaining to breach-notification regulations.
Congress Wants a Closer Look at Bangladesh Bank Theft
The theft earlier this year of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank account at the New York Federal Reserve has caught the attention of more Congressional investigators. The chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Lamar Smith (R-Texas), has given New York Federal Reserve officials until June 14 to turn over documents related to the incident.
Can Blockchain Save the U.S. Postal Service?
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), striving to overcome inefficiencies and profitability that’s historically been much more often in the red than in the black, is exploring the use of blockchain technology to improve current services, provide new services and improve operations.
Experian unveils CrossCore platform for fraud and identity services
Experian, the information services company, has launched its CrossCore platform for fraud and identity services. CrossCore has “plug-and-play” capability and lets companies connect any new or existing tools and systems in one place, whether they are Experian, internal or third-party partner solutions. Steve Platt, global EVP, fraud and identity, Experian, says: “New fraud threats, updates […]
Webinar: FATCA & CRS Compliance: Are you ready?
We are now in a new era of global tax reporting, with more regulations around tax transparency than ever before. To pull together a full picture on the market’s readiness for the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) and approach to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Thomson Reuters has gathered industry views from a global […]
Two years to comply: how must FIs adapt to incoming data privacy regulation?
This week marks exactly two years until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force. It will fundamentally change the way that companies capture, manage and store information. To comply with the GDPR, financial institutions face the prospect of having to completely overhaul legacy systems and practices in just 24 months. Customer is truly […]
Kmart Settles Data Breach Class Action with Banks
A settlement agreement has been reached from a 2014 data breach between Kmart and several banks.
Judge Grants Final OK to Target Breach Settlement
The 2013 Target data breach settlement has been finalized.
Webinar: Part of Europe’s PSD2 Promises to Change the Handling of Payment Data
Data provisions for access to accounts in the PSD2 likely will spark the launch of new payment and fintech firms to handle the new data demands from consumers and to create new products, according to presenters.
How a regulatory enterprise risk management system can help you
Changes to regulatory reporting requirements and their impact on investment management companies have made the implementation of regulatory enterprise risk management (RegERM) systems crucial. Mark Weir, head of data management at Maples Fund Services, explores the issue. A RegERM system should be established within a company to provide accurate and timely compliance and regulatory reporting, with the […]
CFPB’s Final Prepaid Rule Delayed Again
The prepaid industry will be playing the waiting game a while longer. The CFPB’s final rule for prepaid accounts has been pushed back to a summer release, according to the agency’s latest rulemaking agenda.
Pimco picks Kyc.com and Markit regulatory and compliance system
US investment management firm Pimco has selected Kyc.com and Markit for its due diligence and onboarding requirements. Pimco has opted for Counterparty Manager, Tax Utility, kyc.com and the “entire regulatory and compliance ecosystem”. Kyc.com and Markit say their “ecosystem” provides buy- and sell-side firms, and corporates with a solution for onboarding, KYC (Know Your Customer), […]
ICAP profit and revenue fall, plans name change to NEX
ICAP, a UK-based financial services firm, has revealed profit and revenue loss for the year ended 31 March 2016; and a new name following the sale of its global hybrid voice broking and information business. Revenue, trading operating profit, trading profit before tax and profit before tax were all down for year ended 31 March […]
Sen. Durbin Wants Answers on EMV Terminal Certification Delays
More than seven months after last October’s EMV liability shift in the U.S., customers “are forced to continue using fraud-prone magnetic stripe technology” because chip-reading payment terminals remain idle, charged U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Edith Ramirez.
