Company on the Move: TSYS, Most Ethical Company Award
TSYS has been recognized as a 2017 World’s Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere Institute, a global organization dedicated to advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
PayTech
Earthport revenue and payment volume power up
Earthport, a cross-border payments service provider, has reported a massive rise in its number of transactions and payment volume for the six-month period ended 31 December 2016. The number of transactions reached five million, a growth of about 85% over the prior year period. Payment volume increased by 97% to $7.80 billion and revenue per […]
Tug of love turns to group hug for banks and fintechs
With the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and open architecture framework set to come into force next year, regulation may well tip the scales between banks and fintechs for customer loyalty, according to a new report conducted for Temenos by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In the 36-page study, “Symbiosis: Your bank has your trust. […]
Will the CFPB’s Proposed Six-Month Effective Date Extension Be Enough?
In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the CFPB proposed pushing back the effective date of the final prepaid accounts rule to April 1, 2018. The six-month delay provides industry participants more time to handle the difficulties of complying with certain provisions of the rule and for the CFPB to assess whether any additional adjustments to the rule are appropriate. Comments are due by April 5, 2017.
SEC Says ‘No’ to Winklevoss Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund
The Securities and Exchange Commission denied the application of Internet entrepreneurs and venture capitalists Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to create an exchange-traded fund for the virtual currency bitcoin.
DOJ Weighs in on CFPB Leadership Case, Calls for Changes to Dodd-Frank
The Department of Justice files an amicus brief filed with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the president should have the authority to fire the head of the CFPB, but stopped short of calling for the bureau’s leadership format to be changed.
CFPB Stares down another D.C. Challenge
House bill 1009 would require the CFPB and other independent federal agencies to submit regulations annually to a White House office for review, in the latest push to reform the CFPB and otherwise reduce regulatory burdens for the financial and payments industry under the Trump administration.
Samsung moves on Siri with Bixby AI
Watch out Siri and Alexa, Samsung has unveiled its own artificial intelligence (AI) solution called Bixby. This will be a new interface on Samsung’s devices – with the imminent Galaxy S8 getting it first – and when an application becomes Bixby-enabled, it will be able to support “almost every task” that the application is capable […]
Walmart Pushes Omnichannel Shopping with New Tech Incubator
Walmart recently announced another step toward further developing its e-commerce business with the creation of a technology incubator called Store No. 8 to create new retail online businesses as well as help the retail giant better compete against Amazon.com.
Illinois Regulator Joins Global Virtual Currency Consortium
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has become the first U.S. regulatory agency to join the R3 Consortium, a global partnership of banks and other parties working to develop distributed ledger-based applications for financial services. The agency oversees the regulation and licensing of banks and financial institutions, among other businesses, in the state.
Faster Loans for Consumers with Little Credit History? Experian and Finicity Think So.
New underwriting technology developed by Experian and financial data aggregator Finicity could speed up borrowing and enable millennials and other consumers with thin or no credit files to receive money. The product emerges amid a federal call for more work on helping those potential borrowers build credit scores.
MoneyGram Board Says Company Can Further Consider Euronet Proposal
Money transfer giant MoneyGram can give further consideration to Euronet’s surprise bid to acquire the company from under the nose of Ant Financial, which in January entered a definitive agreement to buy MoneyGram.
Wells Fargo Faces New Pressure from Top Democrat over Fake Accounts
The top Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee wants to interview executives from Wells Fargo over a scandal about fake accounts its employees set up for customers. Last year, the CFPB announced a $100 million fine against Wells Fargo for what the agency called “widespread unlawful sales practices.” The agency said the fine was the largest such penalty it has ever issued.
Top fintech stories this week – 17 March 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Under Renewed Fire, the OCC Moves Forward with its Fintech Charter Plan
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is moving forward with its plan to enable fintech companies to become special purpose national banks (SPNBs), releasing a licensing manual draft supplement which provides guidance on how the OCC “will apply the licensing standards and requirements in its existing regulations and policies to fintech companies applying for [SPNB] charters“ and another document that summarizes public comments about the plan to allow SPNBs for fintech companies. The special purpose charter has no shortage of critics, but perhaps the most vocal—New York State—has turned up the dial on its opposition.
Flywire Crosses into New B2B Payment Verticals
Cross-border payments specialist Flywire is expanding beyond tuition and health care payments to offer B2B payments in several new segments, including travel, luxury goods, publishing, import/export, business/professional services and technology. Flywire already has several deployments of its new services underway, the company tells Paybefore.
India to Open Payment Interface, Ease Transactions between M-Wallets
As India’s war on cash wages on, mobile wallets continue to reap the rewards. Although some experts suggested the advent of the Reserve Bank of India’s Unified Payment Interface platform could make mobile wallets obsolete, a new plan for interoperability could be a boon for Paytm, MobiKwik, Freecharge and other mobile wallet providers.
Consumers Are Open to Payment Innovation, But First Improve Existing Tools
Retail transactions promise to become more vocal and mobile in 2017, according to a new U.K. survey report. Even so, the mainstreaming of chat bots and other new tools appears a while off, given the relatively low level of awareness enjoyed by those innovative technologies.
BBVA launches fintech challenge for start-ups
BBVA has launched the ninth edition of its “Open Talent” fintech competition – and is looking for start-ups from across the globe. The Spanish bank says this year its programme has grown from one competition to five. It will be hosting three focused world-wide competitions, more than a dozen country-specific opportunities, two specialist challenges for […]
The Bancorp Hires Neurohr to Lead Compliance
With federal and state payments regulation in near-constant flux, compliance strategy continues to be of utmost importance, especially for issuers. Amid this landscape, The Bancorp has named Bill Neurohr to head its compliance operations and serve as the point man for the company’s interactions with regulators.
Fill ’Er Up: Samsung Pay Is Now Good at ExxonMobil Stations
Samsung Pay took another stride this week, with ExxonMobil announcing that its customers can now use the mobile wallet at the pump to pay for gas. This expansion comes only months after Samsung launched a points-based rewards program for Samsung Pay.
Cachet Prices Public Offering, Looks toward a $9.3 Million Payday
Cachet Financial Solutions expects to raise nearly $9.3 million in its public offering this week, according to an SEC filing. The Minneapolis-based financial technology provider and Pay Award winner, which priced its offering at $4.50 per share, plans to use the proceeds for working capital, to pay down debt and other, unspecified purposes.
Investment Roundup: Fintech Financing Heats Up
With funds flowing from some of the biggest names in payments, including PayPal and Ant Financial, March got off to a hot start for worldwide e-commerce and fintech investment. Providers around the globe have landed hefty financing rounds from some venture capital, payments and financial services heavyweights during the first half of the month.
Fintech funding round-up: 14 March 2017
Life needs less noise. So here words are destroyed. A round-up of key events in fintech funding. Featuring Autobooks, University of British Columbia, Scotiabank and more. Michigan-based start-up Autobooks has raised $5.5 million in funding. This follows an earlier $2 million seed funding round. Draper Triangle Ventures led the latest round and was joined by […]
Green Dot Names Board Adviser from Harvest, Repurchases $50 Million in Stock
It was a busy day for Green Dot Corp. The payment services provider, on March 13, named Jeffrey B. Osher, managing director of Harvest Capital Strategies LLC, an “observer” and adviser to Green Dot’s board of directors, and it entered into an agreement with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to purchase $50 million of its Class A common stock as part of its stock buy-back initiative.
Euronet Outbids Ant Financial for MoneyGram
Payments processor Euronet is dangling more money and the potential for faster, simpler regulatory approval in front of MoneyGram investors, significantly outbidding China’s Ant Financial Services Group for the No. 2 U.S.-based money transfer company.
Barclaycard gets Uber momentum
Barclaycard and Uber have agreed a new commercial agreement that will see Barclaycard customers get “exclusive offers” when they use their personal card to pay for their Uber rides. The deal means Barclaycard’s personal credit card customers can get a free Uber ride, up to the value of £15, for every ten that they take […]
Chase Pay Acquires MCX Mobile Payments Technology
Another bell has tolled for the mobile payment service operated by the nearly 3-year-old MCX, a consortium of large retailers. JPMorgan Chase, whose own Chase Pay mobile wallet has been making serious strides, has acquired the technology that underpins CurrentC, the MCX mobile payment product that never went beyond pilot stage.
Peg Johnson named to i2c global leadership role
Global payments processor i2c Inc. has appointed Peg Johnson as executive vice president of global client success to oversee global operations of its client services and customer success organizations. Johnson will report directly to i2c CEO Amir Wain.
Acquisitions Drive Record Start for Meta’s Tax Business
Meta Financial Group’s heavy investment in the tax refund space is paying dividends, with the company’s MetaBank subsidiary originating a record $1.26 billion in interest-free tax advance loans between Dec. 12, 2016, and Feb. 28, 2017—up from less than $100 million in advance loans during last year’s tax season, according to the parent company.
Servion: FIs Must Bank on Latest AI for Customer Service
Banks that aren’t proactive in adopting the latest artificial intelligence technology for customer service risk losing those customers. That’s because many online-only banks and others are investing in automated assistants that improve customer interactions by predicting why customers are contacting the bank and resolving the issue quickly.
DH Corporation to be bought by Vista Equity Partners and merged with Misys
Canada’s banking software firm DH Corporation (D+H) is to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners and merged with Misys. The deal is reported to be worth CA$ 2.5 billion ($1.9 billion).
Top fintech stories this week – 10 March 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Fintech funding round-up: 10 March 2017
When time is tight, the reading can be light. A round-up of key events in fintech funding. Featuring Dimebox, NAB Ventures, Currencycloud and more. Amsterdam-based start-up Dimebox has raised €5 million in a series A round from payment processor Billpro Group. Dimebox says its modular, white label Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution includes risk management, artificial intelligence […]
CFPB Proposes Delay, Potential Tweaks on Prepaid Rule
Prepaid stakeholders scrambling to meet the Oct. 1, 2017, effective date for the CFPB’s final rule on prepaid accounts can take a breath. The CFPB has proposed delaying the effective date by six months—and has signaled it might be open to tweaking some aspects of the rule.
Wirecard completes Citi Prepaid acquisition
Wirecard AG has finalized its acquisition of Citi Prepaid Services.
Not so Hot as a Commodity: Processing Tech Must Do More for Prepaid
Differentiation with new prepaid use cases is critical as the industry consolidates and change in the wider payments world and consumer behavior accelerate. Exploiting opportunities in the prepaid market demands a modern processing technology that supports new product road maps and the ability to adapt quickly.
Disrupting Payments for the Better at Mobile World Congress
A deep dive into a packed panel discussion on disruption at the annual conference shows how payments providers are mapping the future with new technology, and how traditional players can endure.
What Will Happen to the CFPB?
Republicans have never liked the agency, but so far, their efforts to reform it and reduce its power—or eliminate it altogether—have appeared scattershot. Echoing what a former Secretary of Defense once said: Here’s what we know and what we know we don’t know about the bureau’s future.
How to Fight Fraudsters without Losing Legitimate Customers
An analysis of a real fraud situation shows that some barriers to fraud can potentially drive away valuable customers. Here’s what to do—and not to do—when criminals target your cards.
