Banks are paying lip-service to the concept of customer service and are years behind on innovation – and unless they literally get their act together by collaboratively embracing open software libraries and sharing applications and data, they will not survive.
The rise of Bitcoin and other digital currencies could present new opportunities for serving the underbanked once acceptance becomes more widespread, and payment providers and investors are building an infrastructure to support such uses.
Despite some skepticism around the business case for prepaid issuers, in particular, to migrate to EMV in the U.S., another card targeting international travelers has made its debut.
Bitcoin recently took one step forward and one step back as one provider launched its first Bitcoin ATM in China, while another Bitcoin operator has been denied doing the same more than 4,700 miles away in Switzerland.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has promoted Michael Dotsey to senior vice president and director of research.
Ingo Money, an Atlanta-based technology and solutions provider, hired Dickson Chu as executive vice president, corporate development and chief product officer.
Mercator Advisory Group has appointed Tim Sloane vice president of payments innovation, and promoted Ben Jackson, formerly senior analyst, to director of the Prepaid Advisory Service.
Monitise plc has announced a series of updates to its executive leadership team and board of directors, including the appointment of Elizabeth Buse to co-CEO of Monitise Group.
In addition to being the 2014 Paybefore Awards Europe winner in the Consumer Champion category, paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG, which is part of the Skrill Group, also has been included in The New Economy’s list of top 40 most innovative companies in the world.
Des Moines, Iowa-based payments processor The Members Group and its sister company and credit card agent issuer TMG Financial Services received recognition from the Iowa Chapter of the American Marketing Association, both earning multiple NOVA Awards for excellence in marketing campaigns.
TSYS, a Columbus, Ga.-based processor, has named Walter Taylor group executive, chief procurement officer.
New financial management tools for American Express Serve and Bluebird GPR prepaid cards announced today likely will strike a chord with cardholders—many of which already are displaying positive financial behavior, according to the payments network.
With the Center for Financial Services Innovation ringing in its 10th anniversary this year, CFSI President and CEO Jennifer Tescher took a short walk down memory lane—but kept a sharp focus on the road ahead—in her keynote address yesterday at EMERGE: The Forum on Consumer Financial Services Innovation.
A rare chance to trim back certain redundant financial regulations that seem to spread like ivy has arrived.
Reporting on the management of intraday liquidity risk will start on a monthly basis from 1 January 2015 to coincide with the implementation of the liquidity coverage ratio reporting requirements. Christian Goerlach of Deutsche Bank, takes a closer look at some of the issues facing global banks.
An question that continues to be asked is will the increased adoption of ISO 20022 facilitate the consolidation of payments clearing utilities and see the introduction of new services for customers? This suggests that despite the fact that ISO 20022 has been around for more than decade, confusion still exists over what it is.
Visa isn’t waiting for regulators to help simplify prepaid products for consumers.
There may be one more round to go in the dispute between merchants and the Federal Reserve over interchange fees and debit routing requirements.
As speculation mounts around Apple’s plans for mobile payments and the tremors the company could create among mobile wallet providers, Apple might be prepping to launch its own digital currency.
More than six months into his new gig, CashStar’s CEO explains why the biggest potential for digital gift cards may lie in promotions, loyalty and customer service.
We have the opportunity to make a difference, to be part of the process and to influence the outcome of prepaid regulations.
Payments startups looking to get off the ground in the U.K. soon could gain support from a somewhat unexpected source: regulators.
Building on its experiences from the rollout of the South African Social Security Agency initiative in 2012, which provides millions of South Africans a secure way to receive social grants, MasterCard has announced the launch of a similar program in Pakistan.
While recent reports are showing a decline in cash transactions, convenience store and gas station owners can increase customer loyalty, foot traffic and sales by installing an ATM, according to a survey of consumer habits in the U.K.
The spread of m-POS platforms has accelerated the decline of cash, according to a new report revealing that the volume of cash used in POS transactions in the U.S. dropped 10 percent between 2012 and 2013.
The speed at which the mobile market evolves is staggering. Just as we started to look at mobile first, where banks need to align their services and strategies to cater for mobile before desktop or other traditional channels, the notion of mobile-only is now creeping to the fore.
MasterCard is beefing up its cardholder security efforts, adding identity theft resolution assistance to all of its credit, debit, prepaid and small business cards issued in the U.S.
After revolutionizing payment card acceptance for small merchants, Square now is seeking to make waves in the cash advance arena.
Five months after UnionPay’s partnership with Rev Worldwide to expand its prepaid market opportunities globally, payment network UnionPay is spending a sizable chunk of change to promote card and mobile app usage for online purchases to cardholders within China.
As speculation grows that Apple will include NFC technology in its next-generation iPhone, another clue came to light last week, when the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application filed by the company for an NFC antenna design
Mobile app providers might be overlooking a key demographic as they try to develop the right mix of form and function that will help their apps gain traction with a large population of consumers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could release its long-awaited rules for GPR prepaid cards next month.
U.K.-based Raphaels Bank has signed on to deliver what the bank is calling the first prepaid loyalty card program in the roadside recovery industry for the RAC, a British automobile association.
Prepaid cards could be a key entry point for financial inclusion—especially when combined with mobile phones, according to a new report from MasterCard that studied the underserved population in six countries within the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region.
Processors continue to get scooped up in acquisition deals this month.
The European mobile payments market continues to draw the interest of investors, with London-based mobile payment and loyalty app Yoyo landing $5 million in seed investment.
Bell ID, a global provider of smart chip management solutions, has appointed Michelle Lehouck EMV product director for its U.S. division.
Matthias Höllerl has been promoted to vice president of sales, mobile messaging, at DIMOCO, a European mobile payment and messaging provider.
Net Element Inc., a mobile payments and transactional services provider, has appointed Drew Freeman to the company’s board of directors.
Naveen Surya, managing director at ItzCash Card Ltd., is serving a two-year term as Payments Council of India chairman as well as chairman of the prepaid issuers working committee. Vishwas Patel, CEO at Avenues India Pvt Ltd., is serving two-year terms as PCI vice chairman and chairman of the merchant aggregator and acquirers committee.
