Defaqto hires Patrick Gale as non-exec chairman
Financial research company Defaqto has appointed Patrick Gale as its new non-executive chairman. Gale replaces Rupert Pennant-Rea, who served as chairman for six years.
Worldwide
Prepaid Regulation Could Have Adverse Effects, Says Study (Jan. 15, 2013)
Jan. 15, 2013 Competition in the network branded prepaid card market has led to lower costs and better functionality for card users, says a new working paper from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The well-functioning market, combined with a lack of evidence that consumers are making errors when choosing a prepaid card, means […]
NCR Adds PayPal to Mobile Payment Menu for Restaurants, Retailers (Jan. 15, 2013)
Jan. 15, 2013 NCR Corp., eager to expand use of its mobile apps for restaurants and retailers, this week announced an agreement with PayPal Inc. designed to make it easier for consumers to manage their bills and pay for food using their smartphones when dining out. Duluth, Ga.-based NCR plans to integrate PayPal alongside credit […]
MasterCard Continues Africa Push with Equity Bank Partnership (Jan. 15, 2013)
Jan. 15, 2013 MasterCard has inked a deal with Kenya’s Equity Bank to issue new debit and prepaid cards over the next 18 months. The 5 million new cards will be equipped with PayPass contactless technology and EMV chips, and are set to roll out initially in Kenya, followed by Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South […]
TransCard Buys HQ Gift Cards, Expanding Reach to Malls and Casinos (Jan. 15, 2013)
Jan. 15, 2013 Chattanooga, Tenn.-based processor and program manager TransCard this week said it has acquired HQ Gift Cards, the nation’s largest program manager of mall-based prepaid and gift cards, as part of a broader expansion push. Gardena, Calif.-based HQ, founded in 2000 and acquired in 2006 by Ceridian Stored Value Solutions, manages gift and […]
Managing PEX Cards Goes Mobile (Jan. 15, 2013)
Jan. 15, 2013 PEX Card, a New York City-based provider of the Visa-branded PEX Card prepaid expense-management card for small and midsize businesses, has launched PEX Mobile, a suite of iOS and Android applications enabling PEX Card administrators to perform day-to-day cash management and expense control functions using a smartphone. “PEX Card administrators often play […]
Savvis Deal Strengthens Mozido’s Cloud Infrastructure, Hosted IT Offerings (Jan. 15, 2013)
Jan. 15, 2013 Mozido LLC, an Austin, Texas-based startup providing cloud-based, white-label mobile payments services for banks and merchants, has signed a multiyear deal for access to the cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions of Savvis, a subsidiary of telecom CenturyLink. “By leveraging Savvis’ leading cloud and hosting infrastructure, we will enable customers in the […]
The irresistible rise of digital banking
The banking industry, integral to our commercial and personal lives, has always evolved with the times to embrace new challenges and consumer attitudes. Technology plays an obvious and increasingly important role in this evolution.
Boots on the Ground (January 2013)
January 2013 Experts on five markets—Brazil, France, Italy, Middle East and Russia—discuss how prepaid is developing where they’re doing business, as providers and consultants. By Loraine DeBonis, Editor-in-Chief Paybefore: How widely has prepaid been adopted in Brazil beyond the meal voucher market? Neissan Monadjem: The food voucher programs along with the mobile prepaid “card” vertical represent 80 […]
Social media trading goes live on DCM
Online trading service DCM Capital has released a trading platform with a social media sentiment feed, allowing traders to incorporate information from channels such as twitter and Facebook into their trading decisions.
Vienna bourse debuts high-speed data
Vienna Stock Exchange has started a new low-latency market data service that it says will provide better, faster market data for investors interested in trading Vienna, Prague and Ljubljana.
Misys markets “competitive advantages” for trade finance
Banking software provider Misys has incorporated global processing into its trade finance solution, TI Plus, in a move that the firm says will help banks gain a competitive advantage through improved customer service and reduced costs.
Viewpoint: Consolidation and Asset Extension
By Lee Britton, Prepaid Financial Services One of the great things about getting old is hearing new phrases defining old concepts. Chances are, by the time 2013 has been and gone, you’ll have come across the above phrase, specifically around payments or technology. But first, it’s important to recognize two apparently irreconcilable differences: What someone […]
MCX Will Start with Cloud/Barcode (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013 MCX executives and member merchants revealed a few more details about their plans for mobile payments during a panel at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & EXPO in New York City today, including that its initial mobile payments solution will be primarily barcode- and cloud-based. The coalition of merchants, which announced formation […]
Medagate Rolls Out ‘Dual-Network’ Healthcare Card (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013 Restricted-spend healthcare payment provider Medagate, a wholly owned subsidiary of InComm, has announced the launch of what the company calls the first dual-network healthcare spending card. The MasterCard-branded Dual Value Health Card enables employers and health plans to offer members a healthcare funding account, such as a health savings account (HSA) or […]
Payelp Partners with Qiwi for Reloadable Prepaid Visa Card in Eastern Europe (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013 Payelp Global, a Los Angeles-based e-commerce platform serving merchants via 300 different payment gateways worldwide, is expanding its services to include a reloadable virtual prepaid card for consumers in regions that lack broad credit and debit card penetration. The offering builds on Payelp’s existing partnership with Moscow-based Qiwi Ltd., which recently introduced […]
Report: Mobile Banking Users to Reach 1 Billion Globally (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013 Nearly twice as many mobile phone users by the end of 2017 will have used their devices for mobile banking, compared with this year—1 billion versus 590 million—according to a new report from U.K.-based Juniper Research. The developed markets of Far East & China, North America and Western Europe will have the […]
Boku Earns E-Money License in Europe (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013 San Francisco-based mobile direct carrier biller Boku has received an e-money license for its European payments platform. Boku said the approval from the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority will enable the company to expand its platform in Europe. Currently operating in more than 65 countries, Boku has direct billing deals with about 250 […]
People on the Move: Dan Åkhagen, Payair (January 2013)
January 2013 Payair, a Swedish mobile commerce company, has hired Dan Åkhagen as human resources director. He will be responsible for the recruitment of new staff and the development of existing employees. Åkhagen has extensive experience with human resources issues in both public and private sectors. Before joining Payair, he was employed by game developer […]
People on the Move: Yunsok Chang, Ari Sarker and TV Seshadri, MasterCard Worldwide (January 2013)
January 2013 MasterCard Worldwide has announced three new appointments to bolster its Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA) leadership teams. TV Seshadri is moving from India to Singapore as group executive, global products and solutions (GP&S) for APMEA. Seshadri will assume responsibilities for developing, driving and implementing product strategies and solutions for MasterCard to maximize the […]
Wall Street Systems acquires IT2 Treasury Solutions
IT2 Treasury Solutions, a UK company that provides treasury management software and services for large corporations and small and mid-sized financial institutions, has been sold to Wall Street Systems, a subsidiary of trading technology provider ION Trading.
March deadline for code to tackle fixing of interbank lending rates
European regulators have until March to impose a code of conduct on banks contributing to the creation of the Euribor interbank lending rate benchmark. The deadline is included in recommendations published by the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority following their joint work on benchmark rate-setting processes in the wake of the Barclays Libor scandal and other rate-fixing revelations.
Electronic Banking? Meet the man who wrote the book(s) …
Leaving no stone unturned in our mission to bring you information and data on banking systems from all corners of the globe, it is with some excitement that we pass on news from the learned journal Decision Support Systems.
BATS trading errors highlight perils of technology arms race
US exchange operator BATS Global Markets’ revelation earlier this week that it may have accidentally breached best execution regulation on thousands of client transactions over a four-year period has been criticised by senior buy-side traders, who have expressed disappointment at the failure of exchanges to serve long-term investors.
Mobile banking to hit 1 billion users by 2017
As uptake of mobile banking services is predicted to reach 1 billion by 2017, banks are starting to view the mobile channel as an indispensable revenue stream, according to Nitin Bhas, senior analyst at telecoms research firm Juniper Research.
IT pros willing to back the bankers
The finance sector has been plagued with bad press over the past five years, with little respite for those in the industry, but despite the issues faced by the sector, 59% of IT jobseekers would still consider entering the industry, writes Richard Nott, website director at CWJobs.co.uk.
Swift appoints Kennel to head market infrastructure efforts
Swift, the Brussels-based financial messaging consortium has appointed Juliette Kennel to the newly-created post of head of market infrastructures. Kennel, formerly head of standards, will be responsible for bringing together Swift’s activities in this area. Swift’s relationships with other market infrastructures is a focus for Gottfried Leibbrandt, who took over as chief executive last summer, […]
Citi targets “dangerous” global collateral shortfall
Citi has established a set of alliances with Clearstream and Euroclear Bank that it says will transform the way broker-dealers manage their collateral, freeing up precious resources as onerous new regulations in the US and Europe burden banks with tougher collateral requirements.
Push for Pan-European Account Access Could Spur Prepaid Card Growth (Jan. 10, 2013)
Jan. 10, 2013 European banks and prepaid card marketers are weighing their options as they await word on a European Parliament initiative to guarantee all European Union citizens access to a payment account, according to observers. The push to bring payment services to all springs from a European Commission announcement in March 2012 that laid […]
U.S. Bank Launches NFC Payment Pilot in Salt Lake City, Portland (Jan. 10, 2013)
Jan. 10, 2013 Salt Lake City’s focus as a hotbed of NFC-based mobile payment intensified today as U.S. Bank announced the launch of its “Go Mobile” app enabling some of its credit card customers to convert their iPhones to an NFC payment device. Salt Lake City residents can now wave their phones to pay at […]
First Data: Slow Spending Growth in December (Jan. 10, 2013)
Jan. 10, 2013 Down-to-the-wire drama over the U.S. economy and the “fiscal cliff,” lasting effects of Hurricane Sandy and relatively modest retail discounts during the holidays are likely contributors to December having the lowest monthly dollar volume growth in three years, according to the latest SpendTrend data released by First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments […]
Brink’s Enters Payroll Card Business with NetSpend (Jan. 10, 2013)
Jan. 10, 2013 NetSpend Holdings Inc. has added another partner to its growing payroll card business. The Brink’s Company, which is best known for supplying security-related logistics and transportation services, will offer a new payroll card in partnership with NetSpend, which will serve as exclusive program manager and processor. The Brink’s Money prepaid card, set […]
BancorpSouth to Offer New Prepaid Card through Community Bank Program (Jan. 10, 2013)
Jan. 10, 2013 Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Inc. has announced the launch of a new GPR prepaid card targeted at travelers, students and online shoppers. The MasterCard-branded card can be used at retailers, online and for cash withdrawal at ATMs, and features an online account management system that enables reloads over the Web. BancorpSouth said there […]
RBS and NatWest online platform targets British SMEs
RBS and NatWest have launched a free online business supplier community called BizCrowd, which is designed to encourage collaboration between British SMEs.
JP Morgan trade platform promises joined-up thinking
JP Morgan has begun rollout of its new multi-asset class trading platform, JP Morgan Markets, which the firm says will make it easier for clients to bring together different elements such as research and analytics and convert them into successful trades.
Diebold debuts cardless ATM at CES
ATM maker Diebold has developed an ATM that lets customers withdraw cash without using a card – and saves the bank money in the process.
Internet fraud: follow the money
While the internet has provided inumerable benefits, it has also been the field for new types of fraud and rights infringements. If the financing used by people who illegally upload or otherwise exploit content were cut off, might it be possible to combat the spread of their activities?
BNY Mellon promises post-trade savings via Belgian CSD
BNY Mellon is planning to open a new issuer central securities depository that it claims will offer market participants more efficient post-trade services.
Tough year ahead for NFC as retail payments diversify
NFC technology advocates face continued disappointment in 2013 as it is likely to be overshadowed by other developments in retail payments, according to a new report by financial research firm Celent.
SunGard boosts corporate actions automation capability through acquisition of XSP
Financial technology company SunGard has acquired XcitekSolutionsPlus, a company that provides corporate actions tools, in a move aimed at capitalising on the increasing automation of the sector.
