Jan. 7, 2013 Telecom network and equipment provider ZTE Corp. has been selected by Shanghai-based card network China UnionPay (CUP) to provide mobile payment services to CUP cardholders. As part of the deal, ZTE—the world’s fifth-largest maker of telecom equipment—plans to develop an NFC-based mobile phone. The firms also said they would explore the development […]
Jan. 7, 2013 Financial institutions and mobile wallet vendors will encourage consumers to use mobile payments over the next few years through hybrid solutions intended to bridge the gap between the physical, online and mobile channels, according to a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research that outlines financial services trends in 2013, as well […]
Jan. 7, 2013 Payment processor Heartland Payment Systems has acquired Ovation Payroll, a Rochester, N.Y.-based payroll services firm. In addition to bolstering Heartland’s payroll business, the acquisition brings Ovation’s affinity partner network under Heartland’s umbrella, providing Heartland with “high quality sales leads that can be leveraged throughout the Heartland sales force,” the company said. With […]
Jan. 7, 2013 Publicity and news stories touting Gift Card Weekend on Jan. 4-6 drove more than 1 million unique visitors to its Website, suggesting a dramatic uptick in consumer interest in the second annual event, according to Kansas City, Mo.-based Gift Card Impressions, which created the concept. The event’s success has prompted Gift Card […]
Jan. 4, 2013 Customers now can purchase a Square mobile payment card reader along with their venti Caffè lattes and blueberry scones at all of Starbucks’ 7,000 company-operated stores in the United States. Square enables anyone with an iPhone, iPad or Android device to accept credit and debit cards with its card reader that plugs […]
Jan. 4, 2013 Alternative payments services such as PayPal, Bill Me Later and Checkout by Amazon are surging in growth and overall purchase volume, on track to rise 73.6 percent over the next five years as consumers embrace streamlined online payment processes, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. In its fifth […]
Jan. 4, 2013 In a bid to capitalize on the rapid growth of smartphone use in Vietnam, Singapore-based mobile banking provider Tagit is partnering with mobile switch operator Smartlink to launch a new platform that will enable Vietnamese banks to launch cost-effective smartphone-based financial services, the companies said. By partnering with Smartlink, Tagit gains access […]
Jan. 4, 2013 Mobile payment provider mPowa is starting the new year in expansion mode, as the U.K.-based company unveils plans to enter new markets, including new cities in the U.S. and India. mPowa, which offers merchants a card reader that plugs into a mobile device for payment card acceptance, is competing with Square—the market […]
Jan. 4, 2013 New York City-based startup Kurrenci has developed a virtual currency it says will help online retailers earn and retain customers by using a unique discounting method. Kurrenci’s platform is based on the company’s eponymous virtual currency, which can be purchased or earned online by users, and then exchanged for goods at participating online […]
Canada’s CIBC bank has launched a novel promotion aimed at increasing uptake of NFC technology for mobile payments.
January 2013 We wanted to start the year off with some perspective from industry thought leaders across the globe to find out what will shape prepaid and emerging payments in the new year. We asked several executives from a variety of companies as well as a few analysts to share their thoughts about what the […]
San Francisco-based startup Cardfree is taking a merchant-centric approach to mobile wallets, leveraging a leadership team that has worked on mobile programs for some big-name retailers.
Jan. 2, 2013 The CFPB has made public its proposed adjustments to a new rule on international remittances and the agency’s plan to briefly extend the effective date of the rule. The rule originally was slated to go into effect Feb. 7, 2013, but in its proposed revisions to the rule, published Dec. 31, 2012, […]
Jan. 2, 2013 Bieber Fever is spreading beyond music and fragrances to prepaid cards. Pop star Justin Bieber soon will be promoting a MasterCard-branded prepaid card offered by BillMyParents Inc. The San Diego-based provider of payment solutions targeted to teens, young adults and their parents, announced late last year that Bieber will act as “brand […]
Jan. 2, 2013 JP Morgan Chase & Co. will pay $35 million to acquire San Francisco-based daily deals startup Bloomspot Inc. in a bid to bolster the local merchant discounts the bank can offer its Chase credit card customers. Bloomspot, which competes with daily Web deals titan Groupon Inc. as well as other city-specific deals […]
Jan. 2, 2013 While 2012 drew to a close with all eyes focused on the looming “fiscal cliff,” a pair of other late-December developments out of Washington had many in the financial services industry taking notice. President Obama signed into law a bill that will eliminate the requirement that duplicative fee disclosure signs be posted […]
Jan. 2, 2013 The gift card industry this week makes its big push for consumers to redeem gift cards received in 2012 during its second annual Gift Card Weekend Jan. 4-6 featuring special bonuses and promotions from gift card merchants. The event, launched last year and backed by the Retail Gift Card Association, so far […]
M-Payments in 2013 to Bring More New Startups, Intensified Competition January 2013 By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor The pace of mobile payments entrepreneurial development is likely to remain brisk this year, with venture capital flowing into the sector and likely to drive a number of new concepts from new POS approaches to mobile […]
January 2013 By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor If anyone thought last year couldn’t compare with the events of 2011, they quickly were proved wrong as 2012 turned out to be every bit as transformational. In the U.S. market, we saw a fledgling federal watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), go from crawling […]
Ten UK payment service providers have committed to MasterCard’s PayPass Online by MasterCard, part of PayPass Wallet Services, allowing them to accept electronic payments across multiple channels.
Alternative investment management firm Man Group has gone live with Swift’s Global Electronic Trade Confirmation messaging service, and successfully confirmed its first trades with Morgan Stanley using the Cor Financial Salerio post-trade management service.
Dec. 20, 2012 A new money transfer service from online payment platform Payza will enable Bangladeshis living in the U.S. to quickly and easily send money to relatives and friends back home. With its new SimplySendBD service, Payza aims to capture a piece of the $14 billion annual Bangladeshi remittance market—and establish a successful template […]
Dec. 20, 2012 A division of Banco do Brasil, the largest bank in Brazil, is gearing up to launch a reloadable prepaid card targeting Brazilians living abroad through a new agreement with i2c Inc., the payments processing and emerging commerce technology provider. The collaboration between Banco do Brasil Americas and i2c is part of a […]
December 20, 2012 Canada’s mobile payments offerings continue to multiply. BMO Bank of Montreal is poised to boost its mobile banking and payments offerings through a strategic alliance with London-based Monitise plc to develop a range of new smartphone applications, mobile Web offerings and text-notification services for online and mobile banking. The deal builds on […]
Dec. 20, 2012 In a highly competitive European market, SumUp, a London-based provider of mobile POS card readers, has expanded its reach to 10 markets with recent product launches in Belgium, France and Portugal. SumUp enables merchants to accept debit and credit card payments using their smartphones and tablets as a POS device. SumUp is capable […]
Electronic transaction specialist Consult Hyperion has opened a New York office. Lanny Byers and Howard Hall will serve as co-managing directors, reporting to chief executive Neil McEvoy.
December 2012 It’s been an exciting year for prepaid and emerging payments. We’ve seen intriguing, unexpected partnerships (Starbucks and Square, PayPal and Discover), a steady stream of new mobile entrants attracting investors and, in the past few months, prepaid card launches in the Middle East, Russia and Africa. We expect 2013 to bring even […]
Dec. 18, 2012 The bold prediction this week by PayPal’s president David Marcus that NFC will fail to gain adoption and “the NFC payments debate will slowly die in 2013” is touching off fresh arguments as payments industry execs head to office holiday parties. In a Dec. 17 blog post, Marcus explained why he doubts […]
Dec. 18, 2012 In a bid to serve a growing market demand and increase its customer base, Russia’s Svyaznoy Bank will issue its first large-scale prepaid card, the bank announced this week. The card will be available in versions branded by MasterCard and Visa, with Gemalto providing deployment and other card services. Svyaznoy already is […]
Dec. 18, 2012 On the heels of announcing it would cease marketing its mobile POS system directly to merchants, electronic payments service provider VeriFone Systems Inc. has signed a deal to provide NFC payments and mobile marketing in the city of Shen Yang, China. Under the new partnership with China Mobile and Bank of China, […]
Dec. 18, 2012 Mobile payments could present serious security and competitive threats to financial institutions and other established payments industry players, according to a new FDIC report. In the latest edition of its semi-annual publication “Supervisory Insights,” a team of senior FDIC researchers explained that if consumers adopt mobile payments widely, nonbank players with little […]
December 2012 By Adam Perrotta, Assistant Editor When MasterCard and global mobile carrier Telefónica joined forces to bring mobile financial services to 12 South American countries in early 2011, Richard Hartzell, president, Latin American and the Caribbean, MasterCard, said the initiative would help arm the card network with “the right artillery to strengthen our […]
December 2012 By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor Crossing the pond and moving its headquarters from the U.K. to New York City, Waspit Inc. is creating a buzz on college campuses with a unique marketing style for its mobile banking product that’s heavily steeped in social media. Waspit users can make purchases with a Waspit […]
December 2012 Virtual Piggy Inc., a Hermosa Beach, Calif.-based provider of e-commerce solutions enabling children to manage and spend money within a parent-controlled environment, has appointed Joseph Dwyer chief financial officer. He has more than 20 years of experience at the executive level for public and private companies, including OpenLink Financial, Energy Solutions International, Capstone […]
Dec. 17, 2012 VeriFone Systems Inc.’s decision to withdraw from marketing its mobile POS device directly to merchants is the first sign of retrenchment and likely consolidation in what has been a fast-growing niche. The San Jose-based company last week said from now on it will sell its Sail smartphone attachment for mobile card payments […]
Dec. 17, 2012 MasterCard Worldwide is targeting upscale consumers based in the Middle East who travel frequently to different global regions with its new MasterCard Platinum Prepaid Travel Card launched this week in Bahrain. The card, issued by Al Baraka Islamic Bank and Nonoo Exchange Company, both based in Bahrain, enables customers to load up […]
Dec. 17, 2012 Prepaid distribution and technology provider InComm has inked a deal with Dollar General to enable the retailer’s customers to more easily purchase points and memberships for Xbox LIVE in stores via InComm’s recently launched Digital Delivery Application (DDA). The new system eliminates the need for customers to purchase and redeem physical prepaid […]
Dec. 17, 2012 Colorado-based card producer CPI Card Group was selected by Portuguese retail firm Sonae to design and manufacture gift cards available at Sonae’s Continente supermarket locations throughout the country. The cards will be sold at special free-standing displays rather than at points of sale—one of the first gift card lines in Portugal to […]
Dec. 17, 2012 QSecure Inc., a Los Altos, Calif.-based developer of dynamic payment card technology, has announced its digital wallet, Imago, which consists of a smartphone app to manage payment, gift and loyalty cards, and the powered ImagoCard that holds the data of those cards and can be swiped at the point of sale like […]
December 2012 Smart Packaging Solutions, a smart card technology provider based in France, has appointed Alex Chung chief representative, greater China and South East Asia. Chung, who has experience within the smart card industry, will be in charge of expanding SPS business in the Chinese market and ensuring SPS local presence in Southeast Asia. Most […]
