Worldwide


Mastercard Moves Closer to Finalizing VocaLink Deal

A lone concern by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding Mastercard buying VocaLink appears to be nearing resolution, thus paving the way for the card network’s acquisition of the U.K. transaction processor.

Blackhawk Provides ‘Upside’ for Companies, Business Travelers

Blackhawk Network’s expansion into the incentives industry continues to bear fruit. In its latest partnership, business travel site Upside will be offering its customers incentives, including gift cards from the more than 50 merchants in Blackhawk’s network.

FIS and Verifone Help Consumers Redeem Loyalty Points

2016 Pay Award winners FIS and Verifone are working together to make it easier (and instantaneous) for consumers to redeem loyalty points, some $16 billion of which are left on the table annually in the U.S., the companies said.

Carmakers Continue Payments Push: Daimler to Roll out Mercedes Pay

Banks and retailers aren’t the only companies getting into the digital wallet game. Daimler Financial Services, which operates under the same corporate umbrella as the Mercedes luxury car brand, plans to build an electronic payments service via its acquisition of Luxembourg-based PayCash Europe.

Daimler Financial Services buys PayCash Europe

Daimler Financial Services is acquiring e-payments services provider PayCash Europe, based in Luxembourg. This will enable Daimler to launch its own e-payments service under the Mercedes Pay brand.

UBS extends agreement with EPAM Systems worth $300m

The world’s largest wealth manager UBS has extended its long-standing agreement with EPAM Systems, a provider of product development and software engineering solutions. The agreement – worth over $300 million – “supports the bank’s strategic cost reduction programme”, according to EPAM.

Schroders in digital drive with Capriza

Global asset manager Schroders has selected Capriza’s enterprise mobility platform “to power its drive to digitisation”, according to the vendor.

HSBC to capitalise on tech innovation with technology advisory board

HSBC has appointed a technology advisory board of top-level specialists from around the globe as the banking giant is keen to capitalise on opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI), biometrics, blockchain and data science, combat cybercrime and leverage its global infrastructure.

Money rolls

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Texas Republican Meets with Trump for CFPB’s Top Job

A Texas Republican under consideration to lead the CFPB met with President-elect Donald Trump last week, Trump Spokesman Sean Spicer confirmed on a Jan. 12 call with reporters, according to The Huffington Post. Former U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a long-time critic of the bureau and a proponent of repealing the Durbin Amendment and other aspects of Dodd-Frank, could please financial services providers, while putting retailers on edge.

Want Consumers to Spend More? Make Sure They Have Gift Cards.

Gift cards are very good for business, and getting better: 75 percent of U.S. consumers using the payment devices in 2016 spent more during their shopping trips than the value stored on those cards, according to a First Data study. That compares with 69 percent in 2015. The average extra spending stands at $27.74 more than the value of the card, the report said.

Trade Group Report Offers Post-Brexit Licensing Guidance

With last year’s Brexit decision casting uncertainty on U.K.-based e-money passporting, the Emerging Payments Association (EPA) has released a new report recommending the best options for U.K.-licensed fintech and financial services companies in danger of losing their European Union passporting rights following the U.K.’s exit from the EU.

White House Unveils Fintech Framework for U.S.

Following the OCC’s plans for a special fintech bank charter, which has state regulators and a few Democratic senators up in arms, the National Economic Council (NEC) of the U.S., part of the Office of White House Policy, has published a whitepaper, “A Framework for Fintech,” reports Paybefore’s sister publication Banking Tech.

Automic Software now on Temenos Marketplace

Business automation software vendor Automic Software has inked a deal with Temenos to make its Automic Workload Automation available on the Temenos MarketPlace store.

Fintech funding round-up: 17 January 2017

They said it. We read it. We edited. A round-up of the latest funding efforts in the fintech and payments space. Featuring Kasisto, BillGO, Gumption Labs and Fraugster.

Video: Banking Technology Awards 2016

Our dazzling event gathered together over 260 banking and financial technology specialists from all over the world – recognising the excellence and innovation in the use of IT in financial services, and of course the people that make it happen! Join us at the 2017 awards, which will be held at a 5-star venue in London in Q4 this year.

Deutsche Bank bans texting and messaging apps on work phones

No more texting or using messaging apps such as WhatsApp on company issued phones, Deutsche Bank tells its employees. According to a memo issued by COO Kim Hammonds and chief regulatory officer Sylvie Matherat, the functionality will be switched off this quarter.

Blockchain incubator Adel unveils P2P retail banking network

Blockchain incubator Adel has unveiled its project framework for people to create a peer-to-peer (P2P) network in retail banking. The firm says it will work in the “same way as Airbnb and Uber revolutionised the hospitality and taxi industries”. “Anyone with a car can be a taxi. Anyone with accommodations can be a hotel. Anyone […]

PayPal Acceptance Deals Continue with Discover Pact

Discover and PayPal have reached a deal that will expand PayPal’s POS presence while making Discover a more visible payment option within the PayPal mobile wallet. Under terms of the pact, PayPal will gain access to Discover’s tokenization services, enabling U.S. PayPal customers to use their Discover cards within the PayPal wallet app to make contactless purchases at contactless-enabled merchants that accept Discover.

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Credit Card Surcharge Case

Credit card surcharges came before the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 10, in a case that concerns how much freedom retailers have in telling consumers they are being charged extra for the payment method. Comments from justices suggested that the Supreme Court might send the case back to New York for further review, though it was unclear when a decision would be announced, according to news reports.

Fifth Third Swings for the Mobile Wallet Fences

Go big or go home: Fifth Third on Jan. 11 said that its customers can now use five major mobile wallet providers, with debit and credit card purchases via the recently added Android Pay and Microsoft Wallet, along with previous partners Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Masterpass.