There were more than 1 billion mobile money transactions worldwide in December 2015, according to a report released by the GSMA this week at the mobile association’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. In its fifth annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, the GSMA outlined the growth of mobile money, which it said is “changing the landscape of financial inclusion.”
The demand for large cross-border transactions is on the rise, and consumers making those purchases are seeking the most convenient and cost-effective transaction methods and channels. That’s according to Flywire, a 4-year-old company that got its start in the international student tuition sector and has since expanded to enable multiple types of cross-border payments.
Starbucks will change its loyalty program, rewarding what consumers spend instead of how often they visit. The change, due in April, has drawn some criticism from the chain’s customers although the coffee giant claims customers suggested it.
Blockchain gets another boost as IBM has made nearly 44,000 lines of code available to the Linux Foundation’s open source Hyperledger Project to help developers build secure distributed ledgers. IBM has also made a range of announcements spanning technology and business consulting to “rapidly advance the use of distributed ledger technology across multiple industries”. These […]
Join us for this complimentary webinar as our panel of industry experts discuss faster payments initiatives globally, with a focus on key issues and considerations for financial institutions and corporates alike, including: managing cross-border payments, faster Payments models, the legal framework, payments risk & anti-money laundering.
Digital financial services (DFS) have the power to transform the lives of millions living in poverty. However, the lack of merchant acceptance presents a significant obstacle to its success. Sacha Polverini, chairman of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) focus group on digital financial services and Carol Benson, managing partner at Glenbrook Partners, look at how […]
Broadridge Financial Solutions has taken a minority stake and entered into an exclusive distribution and marketing alliance with Netherlands-based management consulting firm AMA Partners. AMA provides DirectorInsight, a platform offering data and analytical tools for the evaluation of corporate governance and executive compensation. Broadridge says the deal expands its data capabilities for corporations and institutional […]
Fiserv has revealed that 25 US credit unions, with approximately $2.5 billion in assets and 250,000 members collectively, have committed to its CUnify account processing platform. Five of these credit unions are new core processing clients of Fiserv, and will be converting to CUnify in the course of 2016. CUnify is a core platform used […]
The European Automated Clearing House Association (EACHA) is to deliver a framework for ACH interoperability for instant payments by March 2016. EACHA leads, upon invitation by the European Central Bank (ECB), a taskforce consisting of ACHs (including members of EACHA, EBA Clearing and representatives of Target2), national central banks, the ECB, and “ad hoc other […]
Chainalysis, a New York-based cyber security start-up, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) on collaborating to fight online crime. Chainalysis aims to change “negative headlines where digital currencies have been connected to fraud and cybercrime” and is tracking digital identities on the blockchain. The start-up says its software […]
Wearable payments technology and the Internet of Things continue to gain steam, with MasterCard and Visa announcing separate initiatives involving the technologies at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
Apple Pay launches in China via a UnionPay deal, giving further mobile payment competition to homegrown rivals such as Alipay. Meanwhile, Samsung Pay also is set to enter the market.
Natixis Payment Solutions has teamed up with French start-up CopSonic to create SwipeSonic, an ultrasound payment solution for online shopping transactions. CopSonic’s technology uses ultrasound to encrypt information within music and voice, or transmit data “entirely inaudibly to the human ear”. Emmanuel Ruiz, CEO of CopSonic, says: “Sound is the easiest and most effective technology […]
MasterCard has unveiled its MasterCard IQ series that uses real-time intelligence to tackle fraud and the increasing number of false declines. The plan is for cardholders and merchants to see a reduced number of transactions unnecessarily declined, while maintaining the “highest levels” of security. Javelin Strategy & Research estimates that one out of every six […]
Barclays and BlackBerry are bringing BBM, the mobile instant messaging service, to Pingit money transfers in the UK. BBM users can now make mobile payments to each other using Barclays’ mobile payment app Pingit. Matthew Talbot, SVP, BBM at BlackBerry, says to “exchange money was a logical extension” of BBM’s functions. Once a user has […]
Payments provider Ingenico Group has reported a revenue of €2.197 billion in its full year (FY) 2015 results – a rise of 14% on a comparable basis. For the period ended 31 December 2015, it says revenue was also up 37% on a reported basis, and adds that the US is now its number one […]
New York-based Digital Asset Holdings, a developer of distributed ledger technology (aka blockchain), has teamed up with Accenture, Broadridge and PwC. Digital Asset says it has entered into non-exclusive strategic business relationships with the companies, and Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Asset, says the alliances will “accelerate innovation” and “drive growth”. The Accenture relationship will […]
Three commercials tied to the big game, including one from PayPal, reflect how transactions are changing and what consumers expect from their payment systems.
In its latest report “Breaking Down Buy Side Barriers: Achieving Alpha through Agility,” analyst firm TABB Group has found that investment managers are struggling to cope with trade life cycle errors as a consequence of technology failure. Support for all asset classes and security types, multiple currency transactions, geographical locations and asset allocation strategies is […]
The CFPB wants the nation’s top banks to offer consumers more lower-risk account choices. That could be good news for the prepaid card industry even as some might grumble about the agency meddling in their affairs.
With the hospitality industry accounting for 38 percent of credit card fraud, and recent breaches showing ongoing vulnerability, the time has come for stronger security measures.
Matthew Blanchard, Head of Incentive Compensation, IBM UK&I, explains to Banking Technology why automation is necessary and how firms can improve their bottom line.
Consumers certainly know of Apple Pay. But recent survey results shed light on how shoppers are employing the mobile payment technology and suggest that challenges to further use remain.
With recent legislation calling for increased cooperation between companies and government agencies to combat potential cyberthreats, officials are asking financial institutions to include information such as IP and bitcoin wallet addresses in suspicious activity reports (SARs).
Following a new privacy shield agreement, which upon approval will replace an expired Safe Harbor pact between the U.S. and the EU Commission, European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli last week said he supported the agreement.
Online marketplace giant Amazon is acquiring India-based online services provider EMVANTAGE Payments.
Peru’s new nationwide mobile money network has launched with the goal of bringing 5 million of the country’s unbanked citizens into the financial system over the next five years.
A Wendy’s customer has filed a class action complaint against the fast food chain for its alleged failure to protect consumers’ credit and debit card information.
Financial technology consultancy Capco has found that cost pressure will drive the uptake of the utility model in finance. In its latest report, ‘What Makes Utilities Useful,’ it surveyed senior banking executives’ attitudes towards adoption of a utilities-style approach. With responses from 102 financial services professionals across 69 financial institutions in 26 countries, they found […]
ITRS, the analytics and real-time monitoring technology provider, has announced plans to integrate its Geneos platform with the trading and risk management platform of eBroker Systems to provide a series of performance metrics for users. The agreement will see Geneos monitor both eBroker’s deployed and hosted trading platform. eBroker Systems operate in the Greater China […]
Nearly five years after Square founder Jack Dorsey announced that Visa had invested in the business, the payments network reveals its stake in the m-POS company, which went public last year. In related news, a Swedish m-POS provider launches a loan service for merchant clients.
MoneyGram agrees to pay $13 million to settle claims that criminals used its network for fraudulent transactions. The company also will increase its anti-fraud activities.
A year after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to enhance the speed, safety and efficiency of payments in the U.S., the program has made substantial progress, the Fed reports.
Spanish financial services group BBVA is changing its fintech investment strategy, closing its in-house VC fund and contributing $250 million to a new, independently managed firm, Propel Venture Partners.
Commerzbank has reported a quadrupling of profits on the back of digital growth, as European banks are balancing their investment in digital services with cost cutting initiatives. Stephan Engels, chief financial officer at Commerzbank, said that adoption of digital technology is proving invaluable in an earnings call with analysts on 12 February. He observed, “Due to […]
Banking technology specialist Wincor Nixdorf has been selected as the general contractor to equip all 20,000 workstations of Deutsche Post and Postbank with new IT systems. The installation will begin in April 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by April 2017. The solution package also includes a five-year service agreement. During the project, up […]
Banking Technology is delighted to announce the appointment of Tanya Andreasyan as Editor and Antony Peyton as Deputy Editor. Andreasyan brings a wealth of experience to the role having been working in the banking/financial services technology industry for ten years. She had previously worked at IBS Intelligence, a UK-based publishing house and analyst/consultancy firm focused on […]
Visa Europe is expanding its Visa Europe Payment Tokenisation Service (VEPTS) for cloud-based payments. VEPTS will be available for payment credentials such as banks’ own mobile payment apps, a variety of wearable and other connected devices, internet browser-based wallets, and retailer-specific checkout offerings such as Visa Checkout. Sandra Alzetta, executive director product enablement for Visa […]
Trading platform provider Fidessa has reported a growth in revenue in 2015 up 7%, rising to £295.5 million up from £275 million in 2014, despite the reduction and closure of many sell-side trading operations over the last 12 months. The firm notes that the closure of the Jefferies Group’s Bache futures unit and Standard Chartered […]
Temenos’ earnings have risen by 23% for the full year (FY) 2015 on the back of 52% growth in total software licensing. Along with FY 2015, the vendor reported good results for the fourth quarter of 2015 – its IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) revenue was $168.4 million, up from $133.1 million in Q4 2014. […]
