In the face of approximately 67 million unbanked or underbanked U.S. adults, and 90 percent of households saving less than 2 percent of their disposable incomes, according to the Center for Financial Services Innovation and the Fed, respectively, Walmart and Green Dot are helping prepaid cardholders shore up their finances through a prize-based savings program.
Over the next two years, closed-loop prepaid loads are on the way up, store returns on the way down—and most other prepaid numbers could go either way depending on a host of factors. Those were among the main takeaways from Mercator Advisory Group’s 13th Annual U.S. Prepaid Cards Market Forecasts, 2016–2019. The report examines load, growth and market dynamics in the U.S. across all prepaid segments.
Tapping into two expanding markets, BNP Paribas said Dec. 21 it had completed its first cross-border B2B payments between corporate clients using blockchain, the technology that underlies bitcoin transactions. The move comes as other major financial institutions seek to invest in blockchain and there’s a rush of providers trying to displace checks in the corporate payments space, particularly for cross-border payments.
Mobile banking app Varo Money is brining to market a chatbot and “money coach”, Val. Val is powered by Kasisto’s KAI Banking bot and “delivers insights into spending, savings, borrowing and helps people set goals as well as offer updates and encouragement about their progress”.
BNP Paribas has processed “several live payments” using blockchain technology for two of its corporate clients, Amcor and Panini Group.
With so many payment options available, it’s vital for merchants to have reliable technology and networks in place to ensure that transactions run properly and declines are kept to a minimum. But what are the most important steps for increasing the quality of acceptance across card types and brands? Discover Global Network offers some answers.
After a year that saw activist stockholders call for more accountability and a shakeup in company leadership, Green Dot Corp. has unveiled a plan to make each member of its board of directors subject to annual re-election. The initiative calls for a change to the company’s certificate of incorporation to declassify all board seats. Currently, the board consists of three classes, with members of each class elected for three-year terms on a staggered basis, such that the terms of each class expire in successive years, according to the company.
Wirecard is using prepaid as a bridge to online payments for its boon mobile app.
Fraud and fintech partnerships; big data and blockchain—all are among the hottest topics in payments—and will continue to be major forces shaping the industry in 2017, according to a new report from Vantiv Inc. The first installment of the payment processor and technology solutions provider’s Trends to Watch in 2017—focused on financial institutions—tabbed those four areas as especially important points of emphasis for banks in the New Year.
While digital payments providers have enjoyed significant boosts in transaction volume—some as much as triple-digits—since the government banned two popular currency notes, the uptick in digital payments also has led to online traffic jams and fraud, according to several news outlets.
Because you’ve all been so good this year, here’s a fintech funding round-up to save you time… so you can eat and drink more over Christmas. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and a group of other financial institutions including ICAP’s venture arm are finalising an investment in blockchain start-up Axoni, according to Reuters. New York-based […]
Mastercard and Visa have joined forces in a bid to help fast-track the adoption of tokenization for mobile and online payments—and, eventually, payments via connected devices within the Internet of Things (IoT). A new partnership between the rival networks enables tokenized Mastercard payment credentials to be provisioned into Visa Checkout, and, in turn, tokenized Visa credentials to be provisioned into Masterpass.
MetaBank has finalised its purchase of a tax refund loan company.
A plethora of mobile wallets and payment apps are expected to flood the market in the next two years, and the sheer number of choices are likely to “confuse” many consumers, who ultimately might look to their financial institutions to be their mobile wallet provider, according to a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research.
Token, a Silicon Valley-based crypto-payment software provider, and digital bank Fidor have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for digital payments. The MoU will see Token’s software made available within Fidor OS, its digital banking and open community middleware solution. Steve Kirsch, founder and CEO of Token, says its software enables banks to “call the […]
You can design your Website to be mobile-friendly, engage the right search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to attract eyeballs and create compelling content to engage consumers. But if your checkout process has inefficiencies, you could lose sales from customers who abandon their shopping carts—an outcome that is more common than one may think, and for reasons that could easily be avoidable.
ICAP, a UK-based financial services firm, is jumping on the bandwagon and getting ready to process foreign exchange (FX) trades on blockchain, according to the Financial Times. As Banking Technology reported earlier this year, ICAP’s post trade risk and information division completed a proof of technology test case for blockchain – so its interest is […]
Citi and FIS have formed separate agreements with PayPal for Citi cardmembers and FIS linking payment cards. For Citi, its customers will be able to use their Citi Cards with PayPal – online, in-app and in store – in 2017. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. With this agreement, Citi says it is […]
Five months after Department of Education rules regulating financial aid disbursements went into effect, the CFPB released a report on Dec. 14 claiming that marketing deals between banks and colleges often promote financial products that lead to high overdraft and other fees. Meanwhile, industry observers note that overdraft—when permitted—requires students to opt-in and there are other ways to avoid fees.
After reaching deals earlier this year with Mastercard and Visa to stop steering users away from paying with cards in favor of ACH, PayPal Inc. has struck pacts with Citi and FIS that will enable U.S. consumers to pay with bank-issued cards and accounts within the PayPal app for in-store and mobile purchases.
Atlanta-based prepaid product and transaction services company InComm is expanding its partnership with Target Australia from offering gift cards at Target’s online gift card store to launching point-of-sale technology in all 306 Target stores in the country.
The expanded capability enables U.S. consumers and small businesses with OPEN cards, to add American Express card and billing information to their Facebook accounts. Once the information is added, cardholders can make in-game purchases and shop on business’ Facebook pages.
A recent study from VocaLink polled more than 5,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 35 on their payments behavior and preferences. And while the survey found that cash has lost ground to cards for most types of payments, it’s stubbornly clinging to the No. 1 spot when it comes to P2P.
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
JN Fund Managers (JNFM) has chosen Objectway’s Conectus solution for digital communication and reporting on clients’ investments. JNFM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), will use interactive collaboration tools such as chat, video call and screen-sharing. Investors will also be able to make requests digitally and place trade orders. Sharon Whitelocke, […]
A New York State law setting fee and expiration date restrictions on “gift certificates” could spell big trouble for providers of several types of open-loop prepaid products in the state, and may even render certain types of products impossible to offer in New York, according to industry experts.
President Obama signed a health care bill into law on Dec. 13 after the U.S. Senate—despite its lame-duck status—overwhelmingly approved legislation that’s been called the largest health care reform since the Affordable Care Act.
On Dec. 1, retailers involved in long-standing litigation against Visa and Mastercard asked the Supreme Court to reconsider a landmark $7.25 billion settlement that was rejected by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year.
Home Depot has scored a victory in the legal fight that followed the retail chain’s 2014 data breach. The retailer’s investors cannot sue its board of directors via a shareholder derivative suit, ruled a federal judge in Georgia, the home state of the chain.
At last week’s RegTech Futures summit in Amsterdam, organised by FinTech Futures and supported by Banking Technology, the potential of regtech innovators to re-imagine compliance – reducing the cost, creating more robust systems and creating new opportunities for deeper digitisation – was discussed in depth.
The European Banking Authority working with the European Central Bank has released a consultation paper on guidelines for payment service providers to follow in the event of security breaches. Among the suggested mandates is notifying authorities of an incident within two hours from the moment the breach is detected—that’s significantly faster than the breach notification requirements set to go into force next year, which mandate notice within 72 hours and applies to some U.S. companies.
More than 138 million Europeans do not have access to formal banking services, says Mastercard in a new report—news that could present an opportunity to prepaid providers and so-called “challenger banks.”
Financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Online Banking Solutions Inc. (OBS), in a deal Fiserv said will bolster its cash management and digital business banking capabilities—and continues the firm’s recent focus on driving customer engagement via notifications.
South Africa’s Standard Bank has acquired a majority stake in Firepay, the maker of mobile payments service SnapScan, which is used to make in-store and online payments at more than 32,000 merchants across South Africa.
An “extremely strong” November for holiday shopping concluded with a “solid start” over Thanksgiving weekend, according to Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of Market Insights for Mastercard. Although final holiday shopping data won’t be available until the end of the month, Quinlan spoke with Paybefore about how the shopping season is shaping up for retailers.
Facebook has received a key license that would enable the social media giant to bring its Messenger P2P service to Europe. The Central Bank of Ireland quietly granted an e-money license to Facebook Payments International Ltd. in late October, the company confirmed in a statement to TechCrunch, paving the way for the potential launch of Facebook’s Messenger-based money transfer service throughout the EU’s 28 member nations under passporting rules.
Consumers with Chase Pay mobile wallets can now order and preemptively pay for their meals at quick service restaurants thanks to a deal with Boston-based LevelUp, Chase said. The deal, which comes as Chase expands its mobile wallet, promises to help make that payment technology more important for consumers, as the deal eventually will involve thousands of eateries.
Some of the biggest players in the mobile payments space have announced deals that could bring digital payments and gifting to more consumers around the globe. Starbucks will provide “social gifting” and payments to users of China’s WeChat messaging service, while Square will integrate its digital debit cards with Apple Pay, two recent developments that could boost the popularity of mobile payments.
With so much fintech funding activity going on, we’ve summarised the latest fundraising efforts of start-ups. Featuring Lunar Way, FXCH and Polychain Capital.
BNY Mellon experienced problems with processing clients’ payments instructions – it blamed the issue on its connection to Swift. The problems were subsequently resolved.
