PayTech


Kerv Kick-Starts Fundraising Effort for Ring Enabling Contactless Payments (Sept. 29, 2015)

London-based fintech startup Kerv has turned to crowd-funding site Kickstarter to raise mass-production capital to enter the field of wearables with an NFC-enabled ring that allows consumers to make contactless payments. The Kickstarter campaign launched Friday in an effort to raise nearly $117,000 and as of this morning, the company already has raised more than $52,000.

Report Cites Vulnerabilities in Voice Authentication (Sept. 29, 2015)

Voice-based user authentication systems are vulnerable to “voice impersonation attacks,” where criminals gain access to a sample of a user’s voice and use that sample to build a model of the user’s speech pattern with voice-morphing software, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers say.

Alibaba, Ant Financial Invest in Paytm (Sept. 29, 2015)

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial announced today an agreement with India’s One97 Communications Ltd. to invest in Paytm, an m-commerce platform and One97 subsidiary. The capital infusion will enable Paytm to achieve greater scale and develop its m-commerce and payment ecosystem in India and invest in marketing, technology and personnel. The companies did not disclose specifics of the deal, however it’s believed the investment is worth approximately $600 million.

Reports: Square Preparing for IPO? (Sept. 28, 2015)

Square Inc. may be getting ready to file an initial public offering within the next two weeks, according to a report in Fortune magazine, adding weight to rumors going back more than two years about the m-POS company’s desire to go public.

EC Seeks Input on Simplifying Cross-Border VAT Payments (Sept. 28, 2015)

With European Union law now requiring merchants to tax digital goods based on which country the buyer is located in—instead of where the seller is located—the European Commission (EC) is canvassing interested parties for feedback on the system of reconciling and paying taxes to national governments.

The emerging threat of trade-based money laundering in trade finance

Money laundering is a global phenomenon, evident in many parts of the world. Techniques have ranged from simple bulk cash movements across borders to more sophisticated techniques hidden in trade transactions. As trade between the Middle East and the rest of the world continues to grow, the threat of trade based money laundering becomes more […]

First Data Exec: With Android Pay Launch, U.S. Mobile Payments Ubiquity ‘A Couple of Years’ Away (Sept. 23, 2015)

This month’s launch of Google Inc.’s Android Pay, just weeks before the U.S.’s Oct. 1 EMV liability shift date, is a key milestone in expanding mobile payments access to the majority of consumers, but we’re still “a couple of years” away from mainstream m-payments with ubiquitous support from banks, merchants and handset makers, predicts Dom Morea, senior vice president of business development for First Data Corp.

PayNearMe, 7-Eleven Offer Bill Pay Services (Sept. 23, 2015)

Financial services provider PayNearMe has partnered with 7-Eleven Inc. to launch the PayNearMe Bill Pay app, enabling consumers in the U.S. to pay more than 17,000 national and local billers, such as cable companies, utilities providers and insurance companies, with cash using a barcode scan at participating 7-Eleven stores.

New York State Issues First BitLicense (Sept. 22, 2015)

After much debate over whether New York Department of Financial Services’ (NYDFS) state-level framework for licensing digital currency companies is too restrictive, the state agency has issued its first regulatory license, the so-called BitLicense, to Boston-based mobile payment company Circle Internet Financial.

Roundtable: a world of real-time payments

Call it immediate, instant, fast(er) or real-time, the drive to speed up payments is being discussed in almost every country. As part of that discussion Banking Technology and ACI Worldwide brought together international participants from Australia, Europe, the UK and the US review the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Singapore slings (and arrows)

For those who attend Sibos every year, it can seem as though the conference never actually ends – it simply adjourns until the following year. This year, the rise of distributed ledgers and the role of non-bank players in financial services look set to top the agenda – but there will also be a strong focus on innovation, women in finance and millennials.

Worldpay Hopes to Reap $1.4 Billion in IPO

With several companies vying to acquire Worldpay Group Ltd., Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital, owners of the U.K.-based payment processor, have decided to proceed with their planned IPO of the company with the hopes of raising $1.4 billion.

Apple Pay Registers for Business in China (Sept. 21, 2015)

Apple Inc. is making good on its plan to bring Apple Pay to China, with news that it’s registered a subsidiary, Apple Technology Service (Shanghai) Ltd. in Shanghai’s free-trade zone, with permission to operate Apple Pay, but it’s already late to the m-payments party in China, say observers.

RBC Goes Live with HCE-Based M-Payments (Sept. 17, 2015)

Royal Bank of Canada this week introduced a new—and still somewhat rare—approach to connecting its customers to its RBC Wallet mobile payments service via host card emulation (HCE), so it works with any NFC-based Android handset, regardless of its brand or the user’s wireless carrier.

Top-tier banks rally round R3 distributed ledger project

Nine major global investment banks have formed a partnership to explore the potential of distributed ledger technology in financial markets. The project, led by financial technology company R3, aims to create early standards for the emerging technology that will make it easier and more efficient as it grows.

People on the Move: Bastien Latgé, EMVCo

EMVCo, the EMV technical body collectively owned by American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay and Visa, has appointed Bastien Latgé to the newly created role of director of technology.