March 2013 By Sirpa Nordlund, Mobey Forum So, where were you in the last week of February? If, like me, you work in the mobile industry, there’s a fair chance you visited Barcelona for the GSMA Mobile World Congress. Over three days, 72,000 visitors from more than 200 countries and all corners of the mobile […]
March 2013 Prepaid issuer and program manager Green Dot Corp. recently announced the appointment of Sam Altman, Green Dot executive vice president of mobile products and strategy, to its board of directors. Green Dot’s board of directors is now comprised of eight members, and Altman will serve as a Class I director. He also is […]
March 12, 2013 Banks looking to devise mobile payments strategies must go against cautious traditions and begin experimenting with a variety of mobile wallet and mobile payment approaches at once without worrying about success or failure, a panel of experts advised a standing-room-only crowd on Mon., March 11 in a session about the future of […]
March 12, 2013 Discover Financial Services has agreed to a deal with Interswitch Limited, the largest integrated payments processor in Nigeria, to enable acceptance of Discover and Diners Club International cards at Interswitch-enabled ATMs and POS terminals throughout that country. The partnership will expand payment opportunities for Nigerians as well, giving holders of Nigeria’s Verve […]
March 12, 2013 PayPal has announced the release of new development tools that will enable third-party developers to streamline in-app payments, the company says. The new features include a mobile software development kit (SDK), JavaScript PayPal buttons that can be simply integrated into Websites, and new APIs for payments processing and settlement. In 2009, PayPal […]
March 12, 2013 Higher payroll taxes, federal tax refund delays, high gasoline prices and inclement weather that spanned much of the United States dampened consumer spending last month, according to the latest SpendTrend data released by First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments processor. Dollar volume growth slowed to 4.6 percent year-over-year compared to January’s growth […]
March 12, 2013 Sunrise Community Banks is bringing its three separate local bank operations together under a single bank charter and will rebrand the enterprise as Sunrise Banks, effective April 1, 2013, the company announced this week. Under the new name, Franklin Bank, Park Midway Bank and prepaid issuer University Bank will merge into a […]
March 12, 2013 Ingenico, a Paris-based POS terminal maker, today announced that subsidiary easycash Loyalty Solutions has developed a gift card for gas station company JET Tankstellen Austria GmbH, enabling the Phillips 66 subsidiary to replace paper vouchers. Customers can use the card to pay for gas purchases at the more than 140 JET gas […]
The good news is that 63% of corporate executives are “highly satisfied” with the service they get from their core banking partners; the bad news is less than half of them are confident that their banks are stable and operating securely within their risk parameters. This is making them increasingly interested in the stability of […]
March 11, 2013 The Federal Reserve Board last week said it has no plans to change its regulations on debit card interchange fee limits, despite outcry from retail and consumer groups that claim the limits are currently too high. The Fed issued its second biennial report on the debit card market—as required by Dodd-Frank—which surveyed card […]
March 11, 2013 Many U.S. banks are taking a cautious approach in making any plans to broadly issue EMV cards to consumers prior to October 2015, when the card networks’ liability-shift deadlines take effect, as they weigh the cost of the migration against the risks of doing nothing, several banking executives said today during a […]
March 11, 2013 The Federal Trade Commission is setting its sights on the mobile sector. Late last week, the agency filed a series of lawsuits against accused senders of mobile marketing spam and released a report on mobile payments expressing concern over privacy, security and billing issues. The FTC filed eight complaints in courts around […]
March 11, 2013 Government agencies must use their full enforcement authority to penalize institutions that run afoul of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements, especially with the advent of mobile payments, which present “huge potential” for fraud, said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) during his summation of a hearing last week on BSA compliance. Warner added that […]
Rising to the challenge of reconnecting with customers, rebuilding trust and renewing the banking experience, banks are starting to explore digital technologies and solutions.
There are “major discrepancies” in firms’ readiness for the implementation of Target2-Securities that leave “significant gaps” in the industry’s plans, according to new research carried out by Celent and Swift.
March 7, 2013 Earvin “Magic” Johnson is no stranger to winning—whether on the basketball court or in the board room. During his Hall-of-Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA legend racked up five championships and three league MVP awards, but his accomplishments as a businessman might be just as impressive. His Magic Johnson […]
March 7, 2013 During a Tuesday session entitled GPR: A Destination or Journey?, panelists at Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla., discussed whether GPR cards should be a stepping stone to a bank account and other products or if they are sufficient financial tools in their own right. The consensus seemed to be that moving everyone […]
March 7, 2013 On the final day of Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla., this week, First Data’s Michael Hursta, vice president, prepaid category manager, discussed consumer research that reveals some challenges and opportunities with taking closed-loop gift cards into international markets. In Latin America, First Data looked at five countries—Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Chile and […]
March 7, 2013 “Banklike” card products, such as American Express Co.’s Bluebird, Chase Liquid and Green Dot’s GoBank, that target underserved customers who are disproportionately “young and mobile” are just the tip of the iceberg of innovative new products emerging to serve a changing society, according to Rachel Schneider, senior vice president for insight and analytics for […]
March 6, 2013 Visa Europe is deepening its relationship with Monitise plc with a new deal to expand mobile payments and mobile commerce services to 3,000 European banks across 36 countries and a commitment to increase Visa Europe’s existing stake in London-based banking and mobile payments provider Monitise, the companies announced today. Visa Europe will […]
March 6, 2013 As GPR card providers seek to develop long-term cardholder relationships, a panel of industry experts at the Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla., discussed strategies of dealing with one of the prepaid industry’s biggest hurdles—reducing customer churn. The lifespan of a typical GPR card is a short one; cards distributed online average […]
March 6, 2013 The prepaid card industry may appear to have little in common with the airline industry, but prepaid card marketers could learn a few lessons from Southwest Airlines about surviving turbulent times and transforming commodity-like financial services products into unique and successful brands, Southwest’s former top executive told attendees during a keynote session […]
March 6, 2013 Visibility, replenishment and store associate awareness are three keys to energizing a retailer’s gift card category, according to Colleen Dorwart, senior manager of gift card services at Cabela’s Inc. Dorwart, who was part of a panel discussion this week at Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla., also stressed frequent conference calls between […]
March 4, 2013 Paybefore celebrated 72 programs in 23 categories, naming for the first time Best-in-Category honorees at the 7th Annual Paybefore Awards Ceremony, which capped off the first day of Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla. This year—for the very first time—there was a sixth judge, consisting of the votes of visitors to Paybefore.com, […]
March 5, 2013 As competitive pressure drives prepaid card pricing and fees steadily downward, prepaid marketers must become savvier about managing portfolios on a holistic basis rather than as low-cost standalone products, a panel of industry executives suggested during a panel discussion on the future of prepaid cards on March 4 at the Prepaid Expo […]
March 5, 2013 The prepaid card industry as it matures is reaching a broader range of consumers at all age and income levels, and competition is forcing prepaid products to become more innovative, said Beth Horowitz, Discover senior vice president, on March 4 at Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla. Mainstream consumer groups steadily adopting […]
March, 5, 2013 CPI Card Group, a Littleton, Colo.-based card producer, has expanded capabilities at its Petersfield facility in the U.K. to support demand for secure prepaid card packaging, the company announced yesterday. The new capabilities, which include gift card packaging for distribution within an open- or closed-loop environment, add to the existing products and […]
March 5, 2013 Tracking their finances, saving time and money, avoiding risk and maintaining close relationships with their parents are some of the hallmarks of older “Millennials,” the generation born between 1982 and 2005, according to Neil Howe, founding partner and president, LifeCourse Associates, a consulting company focused on the attributes of generations. Howe, a […]
March 5, 2013 Prepaid Resources, a New York City-based technology specialist for the prepaid and banking industry, has announced a partnership with Atlanta-based technology provider IDology to incorporate advanced identity verification and prescreening solutions within Prepaid Resources’ FraudGuard security services. Fraud Guard protects against unauthorized direct-deposit enrollments using Prepaid Resources’ BenefitsDirect Direct Deposit Management application. […]
March 5, 2013 GroupGifting.com, the developers of the eGifter Web and mobile social gifting app, debuted its integration with LinkedIn at the Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla., yesterday. The new feature enables consumers to send eGift cards to their LinkedIn Connections. “Social gifting in a business context is now a reality,” said Tyler Roye, […]
March 2013 Expanding the Boundaries of PrepaidLeft to right: Lisa Breitengross and Kevin Boglarsky, Discover On March 4, Paybefore celebrated 72 programs in 23 categories, naming for the first time Best-in-Category honorees at the 7th Annual Paybefore Awards Ceremony, which capped off the first day of Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla. This year—for […]
Feb. 28, 2013 Discover Financial Services is taking on the likes of online banking specialists Simple and Moven with Discover Cashback Checking, introducing a mainstream debit card, to be processed on its Pulse network. Initially targeting only select Discover credit card customers by invitation, Discover’s new banking service carries no monthly fees or minimum balances […]
Feb. 28, 2013 MasterCard Worldwide pushed its global mobile payments strategy forward this week with announcements of diverse initiatives targeting new customers, including a strategic partnership with Amsterdam-based mobile network operator VimpelCom Ltd. to reach unbanked consumers in 18 countries with a “mobile money” service, as well as the card network’s first NFC launch in […]
Feb. 28, 2013 A new startup from PayPal co-founder Max Levchin is aiming to improve the process of making online purchases via mobile device—an improvement he says is a boon to customers and retailers alike. Known as Affirm, the new company is the brainchild of Levchin’s tech incubator Hard, Valuable, Fun and is launching a […]
Feb. 28, 2013 As part of a partnership established last year with The Members Group (TMG), a Des Moines, Iowa-based card processing and payment solutions provider, CO-OP Financial Services today announced it will be offering TMG’s reloadable prepaid cards to all of its client credit unions. The TMG reloadable prepaid cards are in addition to […]
Feb. 28, 2013 Customer service is in the news for the second time this week as prepaid card provider AccountNow Inc. reported that more than 90 percent of its call volume is now resolved in the automated system rather than via live agent. The increase follows AccountNow’s move to VoltDelta for customer service 18 months […]
The two specialists in an organization most likely to have strong opinions on mobile payments and the impact on the business—software developers and accountants—are unlikely to assign value the same way.
Blog: New Credit Card Surcharges Could Impact Prepaid Market February 2013 By Lori Breitzke, E&S Consulting LLC A proposed settlement agreement in the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation—filed in 2005 on behalf of approximately 7 million merchants alleging, among other claims, that MasterCard and Visa had separately colluded […]
February 2013 By Lori Breitzke, E&S Consulting LLC A proposed settlement agreement in the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation—filed in 2005 on behalf of approximately 7 million merchants alleging, among other claims, that MasterCard and Visa had separately colluded with banks to eliminate competition and increase interchange (swipe) […]
While most large banks in the UK offer a mobile app, some do not yet offer mobile cash withdrawal as a feature. That is likely to change soon, according to Ian Byrne, banking director UK and Ireland at ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf.
