APEX: How to Win the Hearts of Regulators
A U.S. Treasury Department lawyer gives tips about how to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to regulatory rulemaking.
Features
Myth-Busting on Expanding into Europe
Craig James, CEO of London-based compliance consultancy Neopay, delivered a talk at the All Payments Expo in New Orleans on March 22 to help companies eyeing Europe as an international expansion market.
Federal Agencies Issue Guidance on Prepaid CIP
Federal financial institution regulatory agencies on March 21 issued guidance clarifying the applicability of the Customer Identification Program (CIP) rule to prepaid cards issued by banks.
Infographics: the most exciting thing about bitcoin isn’t bitcoin
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, but the blockchain protocol behind it can be used for a variety of non-currency purposes. People are using the blockchain to develop everything from ride-sharing services to voting applications to cloud storage. This nifty infographics sums up how the blockchain protocol works and how it’s being used. Source: Who is hosting this?
Industry: Report on Tax Refund Delays Misses Mark
A recent report claiming that heightened anti-tax fraud efforts have led to taxpayers suffering delays in receiving refunds via prepaid cards mischaracterizes the situation, industry observers say.
Cordray Testifies before House; Rep. Hensarling Plans for Regulatory Reform
The hearing followed an announcement from Committee Chairman Reb. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) of Republican committee members’ plans to reform financial reform in Washington, including demanding that regulatory agencies undergo a cost-benefit analysis of every regulation.
Viewpoint: What’s the Best Route to Market in Europe?
Europe is the largest single market in the world and an attractive proposition for most payments businesses looking to expand, but you do need to look at the different options available and determine the best route to market for your own firm.
Viewpoint: No-Action Letters from the CFPB: What to Consider Before You Ask for One
The CFPB’s new no-action letter policy is designed to alleviate regulatory uncertainty for innovative financial services businesses, but asking for one could be a double-edged sword.
Retailer Sues Insurance Company over Data Breach Defense Costs
This suit between a retailer and its insurance carrier highlights the importance of ensuring that any insurance coverage meant to account for costs and assessments stemming from a data breach is adequate.
Viewpoint: Ensuring a Level Playing Field for Federal Virtual Currency Regulation
FinCEN’s virtual currency guidance creates different AML standards for virtual currency and traditional funds, but with a slight modification the agency can “re-level” the playing field without compromising its AML policy goals.
Fuchs Joins List of High-Ranking CFPB Staffers Who Flee to Private Sector
Meredith Fuchs joins at least 45 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees who have left the bureau for the private sector since 2011.
Fed: Small Banks Not Feeling the Hurt from Debit Interchange Limits
Despite some claims from the banking industry that small banks may be at a competitive disadvantage in a post-Durbin Amendment interchange environment, a new Philadelphia Fed report suggests that banks with less than $10 billion in assets have not suffered from the Durbin Amendment, which capped debit card interchange for larger financial institutions.
Infographics: the state of fintech industry as we know it
Who, what, where, when of the fintech industry today – this excellent infographics pulls together plenty of useful data, from top specialists, unicorns and start-ups to geographies and M&As. Created by Savvy Beaver and Call Levels.
CFPB Makes First Data Security Enforcement against Dwolla
The CFPB has hit online payments provider Dwolla with an enforcement action over what the agency describes as misleading claims the company made about customers’ data security and the risks of using Dwolla’s online system. The action is the CFPB’s first enforcement related to a data security issue, the agency said.
Turkish Man Pleads Guilty in $55 Million Global ATM Heist Scheme
A Turkish man pled guilty Tuesday in a federal court in Brooklyn to planning and leading cyber-attacks that swiped $55 million from ATMs around the world.
Digitising risk data architecture reporting
Can applying semantics make BCBS 239 reporting consistent and comparable across all regulatory bodies? Rupert Brown explores the options when best practice isn’t good enough… Regulatory vagaries and the punitive fines make these tense times for bank risk officers. On the one hand, regulators are asking for a whole lot of architectural work to be […]
CFPB’s Latest Complaint Report Spotlights Prepaid
The CFPB’s latest consumer complaint report is out, and this month the agency took a closer look at prepaid-related complaints. Even though the agency says prepaid complaints “spiked in recent months,” such complaints continue to comprise a small fraction of the issues brought to the bureau’s attention.
Sen. Rounds Calls on CFPB for Cost-Benefit Analysis for Benefits Cards
As the CFPB prepares to release its final rule on prepaid accounts—expected this month—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) is urging the agency to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on how the rule would affect government benefits cards and potentially increase taxpayer costs.
Privacy Shield Roils Critics, Muddying U.S.-EU Data Sharing Picture
The recently proposed data-transfer pact between the U.S. and European Union has come under fire from critics, including privacy activists and some EU lawmakers, who claim the deal fails to adequately protect EU citizens from surveillance by American intelligence agencies.
A whistle-stop tour of the regulatory calendar
As financial institutions across the board gear up for 2016, the year ahead poses some notably regulatory challenges. Not least among these is the impending Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from the European Commission; there will also be further progress on MiFID II. On 3 July this year, an event will take place which will mark […]
Apple to Testify in House Committee Hearing on Encryption
Apple will testify tomorrow before the House Judiciary Committee on encryption amid its fight with the FBI over creating software to hack an iPhone of one of the terrorists responsible for the December attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. Fellow tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter, are expected to file amicus briefs in support of Apple’s decision not to comply with a court order demanding that Apple comply with the FBI’s request.
Distributed ledger identity: misplaced trust
Distributed ledgers have a role to play in identity verifications, but there are potential pitfalls, state Professor Michael Mainelli and Vinay Gupta. They are increasingly touted as the answer to the identity problems plaguing finance and government. They may well be part of the answer, but more important is recognising they are only tools to help […]
U.K. Regulator Calls for More Bank Innovation, Competition
The Payment System Regulator (PSR), a government body created to oversee the payment systems industry in the U.K., is calling for the major banks to sell a part of their stakes in U.K.-based payments provider VocaLink, which it claims will create more fertile ground for innovation and competition.
Viewpoint: A Bright Spot for Prepaid Card Issuers
The CFPB wants the nation’s top banks to offer consumers more lower-risk account choices. That could be good news for the prepaid card industry even as some might grumble about the agency meddling in their affairs.
FinCEN Stresses Importance of Cyberdata in SARs
With recent legislation calling for increased cooperation between companies and government agencies to combat potential cyberthreats, officials are asking financial institutions to include information such as IP and bitcoin wallet addresses in suspicious activity reports (SARs).
European Supervisor Wants to Tighten up EU-U.S. Agreement
Following a new privacy shield agreement, which upon approval will replace an expired Safe Harbor pact between the U.S. and the EU Commission, European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli last week said he supported the agreement.
Wendy’s Faces Lawsuit over Stolen Debit Card Data
A Wendy’s customer has filed a class action complaint against the fast food chain for its alleged failure to protect consumers’ credit and debit card information.
MoneyGram Settles Claims that it Transferred Money to Fraudsters
MoneyGram agrees to pay $13 million to settle claims that criminals used its network for fraudulent transactions. The company also will increase its anti-fraud activities.
A Year In, Progress for Fed’s Payments Improvement Plan
A year after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to enhance the speed, safety and efficiency of payments in the U.S., the program has made substantial progress, the Fed reports.
Innovators’ Spotlight: PaySwag
Retailers have long recognized the importance of customer engagement to drive sales and retain customers. But Reno, Nev.-based PaySwag is proving the power of engagement to improve results in a somewhat unexpected sector—bill payments.
IRS Thwarts Hack; Obama Calls for More Cybersecurity
Oh the irony. On the same day President Barack Obama and his administration presented plans to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity, the IRS announced an attack on its Website.
U.K. Gov’t Group Calls for Open Banking Standard
A U.K. government panel is calling for the development of an open banking standard that will enable banking data to be shared and used securely, giving consumers access to tailored financial solutions and an easier way to compare products and services.
Russian Lawmakers Want to Ban Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues to encounter hurdles as its supporters try to facilitate the digital currency’s mainstream acceptance. Though certain states and countries are welcoming bitcoin, or permitting it with certain provisos, Russia is considering a ban.
Innovators’ Spotlight: Poynt
Electronic payment options for consumers are proliferating, and shoppers expect merchants to accept the full gamut of form factors. But for retailers—especially small and midsize enterprises (SMEs)—it can be tough to keep up. That’s where Poynt comes in.
CFPB Takes Aim at Lack of Checking Account Options for Consumers
The CFPB announced today a three-prong approach to ensure consumers are receiving a fair shake regarding checking account access. But what may surprise many in the prepaid industry is that the agency also is providing information to consumers about the prepaid option.
Report: Fraudsters’ Test Runs Surged in Q4 2015
Cybercriminals could be ramping up their attacks on financial services providers, according to a new study. The fourth quarter of 2015 saw a tenfold increase in “bot attacks”—essentially test attacks meant to gauge the security of targeted systems—according to the report by ThreatMatrix, a San Jose, Calif., cybersecurity company.
Washington State Proposes Problematic Payroll Card Rules (Jan. 21, 2016)
Add another state in play regarding proposed restrictions on payroll cards. Washington state representatives introduced a bill making it unlawful for payroll card providers to charge certain fees.
Viewpoint: Terrorist Financing and Prepaid Cards: Ban Them!
When a terrorist spends cash, there is no trace, no history of where it came from, where or how it was spent. But using a prepaid card leaves a trail to follow.
CFPB Complaint Report: Prepaid, Money Transfers Less than 2% and 1% of Consumer Complaints (Jan. 12, 2016)
The CFPB recently released its November complaint report or “snapshot” of consumer complaints it received through its Website for the three month average between September 2014 and November 2015. Although prepaid saw a jump of 215 in complaint volume, prepaid complaints still represented only 2 percent of all complaints the CFPB received during the period.
FinCEN Seeks Comment on Cost Analysis of CDD Proposal (Jan. 12, 2016)
A proposed rule that would place new Customer Due Diligence requirements on financial institutions—including prepaid issuers—has taken a step forward with the release of two new documents estimating the impact and cost the proposed rule would have on regulated institutions and seeking comment from stakeholders by Jan. 25.
