News


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.

The Monday mindset: 13 March 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week we welcome the views of our editor, Tanya Andreasyan, as she gives us the lowdown on going digital.

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.

New global fintech group for standardisation launches

The International Standards Organisation (ISO) Financial Services Committee (TC/68) has unveiled its new global committee, the Fintech Technical Advisory Group (TAG), to act as a sounding board for data and technology standards. The group’s goal is to establish a “proactive dialogue” with financial institutions, their regulators, and supply chain and fintech firm. TAG’s objectives are […]

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.

Misys goes gaming for banking tech

Misys is introducing gamification capabilities into its FusionBanking Essence Digital platform with Moroku’s GameSystem (also known as Gameo).

Verifone Investigates Breach that Targeted U.S. Merchants

Terminal maker Verifone says it’s investigating a breach that involved an attempt to get into its corporate network and targeted U.S. merchants. The company, which sells point-of-sale technology, says the Jan. 17 incident has not resulted in any misuse of data.

People on the Move: Nathan Dudek, Payveris

Payveris, a provider of API-based payment and money transfer solutions for banks and credit unions, has hired Nathan Dudek to serve as chief technology officer.

People on the Move: Simon Moran, Yoyo

London-based mobile payment and customer engagement startup Yoyo has hired former PayPal General Manager Simon Moran as its first vice president of commercial.

Mobile wallet users want more incentives, new study says

Payments pundits for years have been saying consumers need incentives to use mobile wallets, and a new survey report from Auriemma Consulting Group has numbers to back up the claim. Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that a survey of 1,505 consumers found that 25% of those who have an eligible smartphone use mobile pay services.Those […]

As Gifting Evolves, First Data, FLEETCOR Combine Gift Card Operations

With gifting loads hitting nearly $300 billion annually in the U.S. according to Mercator Advisory Group, First Data and FLEETCOR Technologies are banding together in a new joint venture that will consolidate each company’s gift card operations into a new, single entity, in a bid to give clients a “broader international reach and a more robust end-to-end offering.”

Emerging payments hot topic on social media, Mastercard study finds

Consumers are expressing interest in and enthusiasm for emerging payment methods in their social media conversations, according to a new Mastercard report. Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that Mastercard’s fifth annual Digital Payments Study analysed more than 3.5 million public interactions in 2016 between consumers on social media channels – including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter […]

Symantec ventures into cybersecurity start-up space

Symantec has created a venture capital arm, Symantec Ventures, as it looks to work with cybersecurity start-ups. Its plan is to get start-ups to build on its Integrated Cyber Defence Platform and save them time. It will also talk to start-ups and academic communities through sponsorship of activities such as innovation challenges and hackathons. These […]

IBM and Maersk first for cross-border supply chain on blockchain

Maersk and IBM have unveiled the “first industry-wide” cross-border supply chain solution on blockchain. According to IBM, 90% of goods in global trade are carried by the ocean shipping industry each year. Their new blockchain solution will do the usual things – help manage and track the paper trail of shipping containers across the world […]

Emerging Payments a Hot Topic on Social Media, Study Finds

Consumers are expressing interest in and enthusiasm for emerging payment methods in their social media conversations, according to a new report. Mastercard’s fifth annual Digital Payments Study analyzed more than 3.5 million public interactions in 2016 between consumers on social media channels—including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter—to glean insight about consumer attitudes toward new payment technologies worldwide.

Financial services consulting firm Arthur Andersen is back

Accounting and consulting firm Arthur Andersen, the folks who audited Enron, is back with 26 offices in 16 countries on five continents. In case you had forgotten; back in 2002, the company voluntarily surrendered its licences to practice as Certified Public Accountants in the US after being found guilty of criminal charges relating to the […]

Hellenic Bank to launch open APIs

Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank is readying the first project by its recently unveiled innovation lab – open application programming interfaces (APIs).

Banks not fine with $321bn paid in fines

Banks are stumbling along amidst the cumulative financial penalties of $321 billion handed out to them since the financial crisis. In a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – “Global Risk 2017:  Staying the Course in Banking” – it says “prudent operations will be required to avoid the errors of the past” and […]