USPS Adds Blackhawk Network Gift Card Malls (Dec. 10, 2014)
Blackhawk Network this week announced a new distribution deal with the U.S. Postal Service, introducing the company’s gift card malls to select post offices in time for the holiday season.
Analysis
U.S. and Europe Focus on Faster Payments, Quicker Access to Funds (Dec. 10, 2014)
NACHA, the Herndon, Va.-based electronic payments association, and the European Central Bank (ECB) independently are taking steps to speed up the payments process with the goal of same-day settlement.
Banking on Big Data
The volume, speed and power of technology has transformed the Financial Services industry into one the most sophisticated data driven sectors in the global economy, allowing for the execution of complex global transactions at the push of a button. From high frequency trading to eCommerce to mobile banking, the financial sector is generating a huge amounts of data – in fact, almost too much data. Like individuals, institutions are facing an information overload that is limiting the promise and opportunity of technology.
Viewpoint: The EU Payments Package Puzzle
Debate on the EU Payments Package, composed of the revised Payment Services Directive and the Regulation on Interchange Fees, recommenced in Brussels on Nov. 19. Although the two pieces of legislation are part of one “package,” they’re at different stages in the legislative process, and depending on how they progress, the transition into law could be smooth for the industry—or not.
What are bank’s requirements for next generation analytics?
Today’s consumers have high expectations − and for good reason. They have become accustomed to, and in today’s connected world, demand, anytime/anywhere access to the products, services, and information they desire and need
Middle men – the new aces in the derivatives deck
In today’s high-risk, cost-conscious world, buy-sides are demanding the next step in straight-through-processing, becoming increasingly impatient with the multiple screens and manual workarounds they’ve been presented with to date. Those FCMs that can meet this need will immediately become more competitive and create clear distance from those that lag behind.
Using technology to drive business agility in a volatile environment
As business process operations enter a new capter of accelerated transformation, technology services are not just a critical component for financial services firms – they are the business itself.
Viewpoint: CFPB Issues Prepaid Account Study
Simultaneously with the release of its 870-page prepaid account proposal last week, the CFPB issued a “Study of Prepaid Account Agreements.”
Industry Leaders Outline Fraud-Fighting Techniques to U.S. Senate (Nov. 20, 2014)
Prepaid industry leaders, which included representatives from InComm, Blackhawk Network and Green Dot, met with members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging during a hearing yesterday to outline how they’re working to prevent fraudsters from using prepaid debit cards to swindle consumers, particularly phone scams perpetrated against the elderly.
EU Debate on Payments Package Starts Nov. 19 (Nov. 18, 2014)
Debate over revised European payments legislation, including interchange reforms, is set to begin in Brussels tomorrow.
A movement for change
Fintech innovation gets a lot of press, but there is a lack of co-ordination. Innovate Finance’s Claire Cockerton tells David Bannister how her organisation aims to change that
Banking and biometrics – a whirlwind romance?
As Bob Dylan, famously sang, The Times, They Are A-Changin’. Once, the tools required to carry out a bank raid usually comprised a shotgun, old stockings and a bag labelled “swag”. Today, it’s a laptop, computer programming skills and patience. And the nature of the crime is changing too – previously, the goal was often to get away with a few thousand pounds, before lying low for a while. Now, the “prize” sought may be the theft of millions or the personal details of thousands, to be then sold on.
CFPB Issues Prepaid Account NPRM: Converging Prepaid into Bank Regulation Mainstream
My original intent, based on attending the field hearing in Wilmington, Del., this morning, was to summarize the key elements for publication today. But, that won’t happen. The 870 pages that comprise the NPRM suggest why it took the CFPB extra time to create and why it will take industry time to understand everything the NPRM covers and, of course, the implications of the proposed rules.
Viewpoint: All I Want for Christmas Is a Gift Card
Blackhawk Network research reveals the reasons consumers selected gift cards as No. 1 on their wishlists for the eighth year in a row, and why gift givers are catching up to what recipients really want.
Viewpoint: Must-Have Features to Drive M-Banking Adoption and Usage
Consumers who use digital channels for their banking conduct more transactions per month than those who don’t but are less expensive to service. Maximize your m-banking adoption and usage with features that move the needle.
Letter from the Editor: Back in Action
It’s an odd juxtaposition that the day before our nominations are due for the 2015 Paybefore Awards, the CFPB is holding a field hearing on prepaid. My hope is that the visionaries that make Paybefore Awards a remarkable annual event also make their voices—and those of their customers—heard, as the rules go from proposal to regulation.
CFPB Field Hearing: Responding to NPRMs Is Everyone’s Business
We have the opportunity to make a difference, to be part of the process and to influence the outcome of prepaid regulations.
Consumer Reports Names Best Prepaid Cards (Nov. 12, 2014)
On the eve of the CFPB’s field hearing on GPR cards (and the rumored release of its GPR notice of proposed rulemaking), Consumer Reports has named the “best” GPR prepaid cards.
CFPB Field Hearing: Reg. E Error Resolution Is Everyone’s Business
If you’re a third-party service provider to prepaid issuers, don’t overlook your Regulation E error resolution
responsibilities. Here are five topics to think about.
The Bancorp Opens Office to Industry Reps Attending CFPB Field Hearing (Nov. 11, 2014)
The Bancorp is inviting all industry representatives traveling to the CFPB field hearing on Thursday to use its complimentary workspace, which it created to make the trip more convenient and collaborative.
Treasury, FinCEN Seek Balance between Doing Business and Compliance (Nov. 11, 2014)
The U.S. Treasury and FinCen are addressing the importance of money services businesses (MSBs) to the financial system in the wake of reports that banks are refusing to do business with categories of companies, such as remittance companies and check cashers, because of the perceived risk of doing business with them following government agencies’ aggressive efforts in fighting money laundering.
Banking on a holistic approach to combating financial crime
Fraud and financial crime are growing substantially in their nature and complexity as we continue to evolve into an ever more connected world. New technologies, particularly the spread of mobile devices, have opened up different avenues of attack for technically sophisticated and well organised gangs of fraudsters and criminals. The social and economic costs of organised crime in the UK alone are estimated to be £24bn, of which £8.9bn are associated with fraud.
Money20/20 Keynote: Lawsky Floats ‘Transitional’ BitLicense for Startups (Nov. 3, 2014)
During a Money20/20 keynote, New York State Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin M. Lawsky raised the possibility of a new addition in the proposed rules; licensing specially designed for virtual currency startups.
CFPB Field Hearing Announced: Is the GPR NPRM on Its Way? (Oct. 30, 2014)
Yesterday the CFPB posted on its Website the announcement of its next field hearing, 11 a.m. EST, Thursday, Nov. 13, in Wilmington, Del.
Study: Rate of Un/Underbanked U.S. Households Still Hovers around 28% (Oct. 30, 2014)
While more than a quarter of American households still were either unbanked or underbanked last year, as was the case in 2011, the proportion of unbanked households declined to 7.7 percent or 9.6 million households, compared with 8.2 percent in 2011, according to the latest report from the FDIC.
Financial Services for the non-wealthy
The hypothesis that seems to be gaining ground is that banks have a wider responsibility in society. If we believe that, then part of their responsibility must clearly be to provide banking products and services that serve the financial needs of the less affulent.
Blog: One Apple Pay User Takes a Bite
Those of us immersed in payments may have a unique perspective on Apple Pay, but what about other folks? I asked one self-proclaimed Apple “fan boy” to give the mobile wallet a test drive.
Blog: Unlocking the Real Value of Mobile Payments
Giving consumers what they really need and want from mobile payments will require making payments as invisible as possible.
Blog: India’s E-Commerce Boom Paves Way for Digital Money
India is on the brink of a huge economic transformation and making money digital is a crucial part of the solution.
Why bank branches are here to stay
In the rush towards digital banking, are banks in danger of abandoning one of their best ways to engage with customers – their branches?
U.S. Treasury Selects Banking Up to Help Consumers Build Credit (Oct. 23, 2014)
Finding ways to use GPR prepaid card usage data as a tool to help thin- and no-file consumers build credit has been an enticing yet elusive goal for the industry for years.
High frequency traders under the regulatory spotlight
The regulatory spotlight is shining on high frequency traders and dark pools, but the technological changes that have driven down trading costs for everyone will not be reversed. With market making increasingly the preserve of profit maximising algorithmic traders, there is a growing responsibility on institutions to control where their trades are going and how they are being executed. Those that do not are writing checks to HFTs with clients’ money
Viewpoint: Prepaid Program Managers Must Be Exam-Ready Bank Partners
In light of the intense regulatory focus and pressure on prepaid cards, it’s time for program managers to step up and manage their own compliance to the point of being “exam-ready.”
Groups Appeal to Pres. Obama on Data Security Responsibility
Retailers and financial institutions struggle with costs of data breaches.
TD Bank Reaches Breach Settlement with Nine States (Oct. 20, 2014)
TD Bank has reached a settlement over a 2012 data breach that compromised customers’ personal information.
How to fight cyber crime
The recent nomination of the British Banker’s Association as an intelligence node and source of benchmarks and practices in the UK’s financial infrastructure, via CBEST, has pushed the role of the banking sector in detecting and remediating breaches into the spotlight. So what can banks do to ensure their cyber defences are up to the task?
Why security strategies must adapt to the retail banking revolution
As banks develop new retail styles, they face new security challenges as the changing use of space in-store means surveillance and alarm systems must evolve in tandem.
Innovators’ Spotlight: Cachet Financial Solutions
RDC specialist’s busy year includes an IPO and a fast-growing prepaid platform.
Finance made social
The social contract between the banking system and society is fundamentally broken. We deserve a financial system that we can all be proud of, one that is fairer and more sustainable than the current iteration.
Money laundering: rapid development is creating new risks
The internet has opened the door to purchase almost anything from any part of the world through electronic payments. As globalisation continues to flourish – especially in the banking industry – it’s now possible to transfer money across different countries with ease and speed. While this has increased the opportunity for businesses to extend their reach globally, it also creates an appealing opportunity for criminals.
