N.J. Governor Chris Christie (R) signed into law a bill that eliminates the collection of consumer ZIP code information for gift cards purchased at the POS, putting an end to a protracted legal battle over unclaimed property rules in the state.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wants to increase access to traditional banking services by getting banks to change their account-opening criteria. But broader access to checking and savings accounts doesn’t mean consumers won’t continue to seek out alternatives, including prepaid cards, which may have more features and fewer fees, according to industry observers.
In a Jan. 27 letter to U.S. Rep. Sean P. Duffy (R-Wis.) and several other members of Congress, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said the agency would give the lawmakers’ request for a 60-day extension to the comment period for its prepaid NPRM “serious consideration.” But the rest of the letter suggests that the agency feels 130 days since the proposal went up on its Website will be adequate for stakeholders to comment.
Critics of the DOJ’s controversial Operation Choke Point, which encourages financial institutions to scrutinize clients that operate certain types of businesses, such as payday lenders and firearms sales, may welcome the latest news from the FDIC.
Prepaid issuers aren’t the only ones confused by the potential implications of the FDIC’s recent FAQs on brokered deposits. The agency offered some clarifications to ABA staff but recommends issuers reach out to their examiners with specific questions.
The Federal Reserve this week issued a new report, “Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System,” outlining a plan to enhance the overall speed, safety and efficiency of the nation’s payment system with collaboration from payment industry participants including businesses, payment card networks, processors, payment technology firms, consumers and financial institutions.
Securities market regulators are beginning to clamp down on market abuse linked to complex high-frequency trading strategies – but there is much more to be done, according to a new report by financial consultancy Kinetic Partners.
With the newly seated 114th Congress in its third week, the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) has laid out its agenda for the upcoming term, including several items with potential implications for the prepaid and emerging payments industry.
The Bancorp Inc., parent of The Bancorp Bank, disclosed last week in a short regulatory filing that it reclassified deposits as “brokered” as a result of FAQs issued by the FDIC on Dec. 24, 2014. The FAQs—which, for practical purposes, have the effect of a rule of law—require reclassification of deposits underlying many types of prepaid cards, as newly documented by the FDIC.
The CFPB is accepting applications to fill seats on three separate committees. The CFPB announced the openings in a notice in the Federal Register late last week.
In declining to review the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the controversy over the Fed’s interchange fee cap is over. Read more later today in Pay News.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is creating a guide to help colleges evaluate institutions that offer financial accounts to students—and the CFPB is seeking input in devising the document.
As in any complex document, there are some ambiguities in the FAQs and time will tell how those will play out. But, what’s clear is that for many banks, the FAQs raise the cost of doing business, which will (or should) precipitate a review of business models.
For better or worse, financial institutions are more risk averse than ever. This is the direct result of continuing and growing regulatory scrutiny over a broad range of activities, including the compliance of financial institutions in areas such as international sanctions, the prevention of money laundering, the funding of terrorism or the facilitation of tax evasion.
Retailers and payments executives who were hoping to get an answer from the Supreme Court this week on whether the court will hear NACS et al v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will be waiting a bit longer.
President Obama is throwing support behind new legislation to further protect consumers from data breaches, while backing another new bill that would prevent companies from misusing student data. At a Federal Trade Commission presentation Jan. 12, President Obama outlined the Personal Data Notification & Protection Act, which would require U.S. companies to notify customers within […]
We asked a number of prominent players in emerging payments to give us their opinions on what the shift in the 114th Congress might mean to payments.
Comments are due Feb. 9, 2015, for a multisite program the CFPB plans to launch early this year to provide one-on-one and group financial counseling to individuals with disabilities transitioning into the workplace or who already are employed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled a conference this Friday to determine whether it will grant certiorari and move forward with oral arguments in NACS v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which pertains to debit interchange fees and network routing requirements.
The FDIC has issued guidance to promote consistency by insured depository institutions in identifying, accepting and reporting brokered deposits. The guidance, which is in the form of “frequently asked questions,” addresses prepaid cards.
By facilitating payments, and clearing and settling transactions in the securities and derivatives markets, financial market infrastructures are essential nodes in a complex and ever more integrated international network of capital flows. The consequent inter-dependencies between financial market infrastructures will create new resiliency challenges
Derivatives market participants are concerned about the impact of new margin requirements for non-cleared derivatives under Basel III, with a large number unsure whether they will even have to comply with the rules, according to new survey published today by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.
The NBPCA and the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association representing the payments technology industry, submitted a joint letter today requesting a 60-day extension to the comment period for the CFPB’s NPRM on prepaid.
The start of a New Year also brings a new EU law into effect that’s intended to stop companies from undercutting their competition by setting up in low-tax countries. However, the law also could increase the tax on purchases of digital content like mobile applications, music downloads and e-books.
Bookmark our 2014 year in review for easy reference as you make plans and set strategy for the New Year.
The payments industry has two dates quickly approaching regarding NPRMs and their respective comment periods, which already have begun.
With much of the holiday revelry come and gone, the payments industry must refocus on two important NPRMs and their respective comment periods, which already have begun.
The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is expected to publish tomorrow its NPRM in the Federal Register that would create a certification program to replace the temporary certification program in place now for access to the Death Master File (DMF).
The CFPB’s NPRM on prepaid accounts is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow.
The N.J. General Assembly last week approved by a vote of 73-1 the ZIP code repeal bill (A-3480), which eliminates the collection of consumer ZIP code information for gift cards at the POS.
Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and European Union Council negotiators yesterday agreed to cap the interchange fees on cross-border and domestic card-based payments, ensuring uniform rules across the EU.
The CFPB is calling for greater transparency from colleges and financial institutions when they enter agreements to offer prepaid or debit products to students.
In 2015, organisations in the business finance solutions space are likely to spend significantly on business intelligence and analytics. This data goldmine can help organisations unlock hidden opportunities and insights
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fewer than a third of banks are at the implementation stage of projects implementing the Basel intraday liquidity monitoring rules that come into force next month – and most believe that industry collaboration will be needed to achieve a successful outcome.
A platform for sharing cyber-security threat intelligence among financial services companies has been launched by US post-trade utility the DTCC and non-profit security organisation FS-ISAC. Called Soltra Edge, the platform gathers data about cyber-security threats and converts it into a standardised format for sharing.
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.
