Ohio Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Add Congressional Oversight to CFPB (Feb. 17, 2015)
Lawmakers last week reintroduced a bill to add congressional oversight for the CFPB, which currently operates independently.
News
Cyberattack Hits 100 Banks, up to $1 Billion Stolen (Feb. 17, 2015)
Hackers may have made off with as much as $1 billion in a series of attacks on more than 100 banks and financial institutions in 30 nations.
Banks warned to brace for the coming storm as Carbanak malware steals $1 billion
Financial institutions are being urged to revisit their cyber-security following revelations that an online gang using the Carbanak malware stole up to $1 billion from banks in 30 countries around the world in a series of highly-sophisticated attacks over the last two years.
Capital markets firms must do more to protect IP
Capital markets firms are losing their intellectual property too easily to competitors, business partners and third parties. Most companies could benefit from a tougher approach to IP, including licencing agreements and more use of patents, according to a new report by analyst firm Aite.
Customer segmentation central to success in digital banking
Banks have been struggling to work out the balance between the potential of new technologies, and the propensity (or otherwise) of customers to use them. After years of standardisation between platforms, the answer may actually be to carefully analyse and categorise customers based on their digital propensity and level of financial engagement – and to make sure that each kind of customer is handled differently, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
Blockbuster Move: Green Dot Buys AccountNow, AchieveCard (Feb. 12, 2015)
Green Dot has acquired AccountNow and AchieveCard to expand its active cardholder base and distribution outside traditional retail, the company tells Paybefore.
Industry Veteran Creates CFPB NPRM Word Cloud
Wondering what the CFPB’s NPRM emphasizes?
Aite: 60% of U.S. POS Locations to Be EMV-Compliant by Year-End (Feb. 12, 2015)
About 60 percent of U.S. POS locations will accept EMV chip transactions by yearend, according to a recent Aite Group survey. The results suggest the push to upgrade terminals in advance of the October 2015 liability shift is “accelerating,” but serious gaps in awareness and planning still exist, especially among small and midsize merchants.
ICICI Bank Launches ‘Pockets’ Digital Wallet Targeting Youth (Feb. 12, 2015)
India’s second-largest bank ICICI Bank this week launched “Pockets,” a mobile wallet targeting younger consumers powered by a Visa prepaid card, enabling smartphone users to send and request funds, shop online and pay bills, whether or not they are an ICICI bank customer.
People on the Move: Stephen Rudner, Mark Westmoreland, Treliant Risk Advisors
Compliance advisory firm Treliant Risk Advisors has named Steve Rudner and Mark Westmoreland as principals of the firm.
People on the Move: Vasant Prabhu, Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. has announced the appointment of Vasant Prabhu as executive vice president and CFO.
Carl Williams, Planet Payment Inc.
Planet Payment Inc. announced that company president and CEO Carl Williams has been named chairman of its board of directors, effective immediately.
People on the Move: Mark Moore, Silicon Valley Bank
Mark Moore is now assistant general counsel for Silicon Valley Bank.
Companies on the Move: Meta Payment Systems Client Spotlight Awards
Meta Payment Systems, a division of MetaBank, has announced the recipients of its 2014 Client Spotlight Awards, honoring high-performing prepaid clients for the 2014 calendar year.
People on the Move: Pete Pouridis, Merchant Risk Council Board
The Merchant Risk Council (MRC), an association for professionals within ecommerce payments and fraud, announced that Pete Pouridis, vice president, loss prevention, The Neiman Marcus Group, has been appointed chairman of the MRC’s global board of directors.
People on the Move: Stefano Diemmi, Svyatoslav Garal, Alyson Grosshandler, goSwiff
Singapore-based goSwiff, a provider of mobile commerce, marketing and professional services, added three executives to its global team over the past several months.
People on the Move: Julia Cheney, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has promoted Julia Cheney to assistant vice president and assistant director in the Payment Cards Center (PCC).
People on the Move: Linda Rossetti, W.net
The Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (W.net), has announced that Linda Rossetti, founder and president of ISO Bluestone Payments LLC, has been elected its 2015 national president.
People on the Move: Scott Pearson, Ballard Spahr LLP
Attorney Scott Pearson has joined law firm Ballard Spahr LLP as a partner in the firm’s consumer financial services group, which defends financial institutions in class actions, government enforcement proceedings and other complex litigation.
People on the Move: Jay Shipowitz, Back on My Feet Board
Back on My Feet, a nonprofit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of people experiencing homelessness by engaging them in running, has named Jay Shipowitz, CEO of ACE Cash Express, as the new chairman of its national board of directors.
Avox offers API connections to legal entity data
Avox, the DTCC’s legal entity reference data subsidiary, has launched a series of web-based application programming interfaces designed to support faster access to data, including legal entity identifiers, legal names, addresses, industry classifications and corporate hierarchies.
Mozido Leaps into China with PayEase Acquisition (Feb. 10, 2015)
Mozido today announced it’s acquiring PayEase Corp., a Beijing-based payments gateway and processor with direct connections to 23 Chinese banks.
PayPal and Shell Enable Payment at the Pump Via Smartphone (Feb. 10, 2015)
PayPal and Shell are partnering to enable motorists in the U.K. to pay for gasoline at the pump via a smartphone app.
Amazon Adds Gift Cards to E-Commerce Portal (Feb. 10, 2015)
Amazon India’s Junglee e-commerce portal is now selling gift cards, the retail giant’s latest move in India, a market the company has described as a focal point for growth.
Deutsche Börse connects commodities traders with new platform
Deutsche Börse has signed a trio of commodities trading entities to use its new M7 trading platform, developed as part of a complete renewal of its trading infrastructure. Singapore-based regulated futures exchange Cleartrade Exchange, London-based Freight Investor Services Ltd., a broker of freight and commodity derivatives, and Norexeco ASA, a commodities exchange for pulp and paper based in Norway, will start to use the M7 trading platform in the next few months.
U.K. Contactless Payments Triple; Amex Rolls out Contactless EMV Cards in U.S. (Feb. 9, 2015)
Contactless payments surged in popularity in the U.K. within the past year, with contactless card spending volume tripling to £2.32 billion (US$3.53 billion) from £653.4 million in 2013, while total contactless transactions rose more than 200 percent to 319.2 million in 2014 from 100.4 million a year earlier, the UK Cards Association announced last week.
Fed Exec Floats Idea for Government-Backed Virtual Currency (Feb. 9, 2015)
As bitcoin and other virtual currencies remain subject to heavy scrutiny—and proposed regulation—by various government agencies, a senior Federal Reserve researcher is raising the possibility of the government creating a virtual currency of its own.
House Passes Bipartisan Bill Curbing CFPB Budget; Veto Expected
he House of Representatives on Feb. 4 passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) that she says would require greater transparency in government and would cap the CFPB budget for FY2016 at $550 million, $36 million below its expected funding.
Top African payments and banking experts to convene in Johannesburg
Top African payments and banking experts to convene in Johannesburg In the face of constant payment changes, Cards and Payments Africa is the place to drive business growth and keep up with the latest trends. Join the traditional players, the emerging disruptors and risk-taking visionaries of payments as you check-in to our destination of innovation […]
Gov. Christie Signs ZIP Code Repeal Bill (Feb. 6, 2015)
N.J. Governor Chris Christie (R) signed into law a bill that eliminates the collection of consumer ZIP code information for gift cards purchased at the POS, putting an end to a protracted legal battle over unclaimed property rules in the state.
Capgemini and First Data forge payments development alliance
Technology consultancy Capgemini has formed a global alliance with First Data to develop payment software based on First Data’s VisionPlus and AccessPlus solutions. The pair say that they expect to begin delivering new solutions in the second quarter of this year.
Analyst: Apple Pay’s Success Likely to Spark M-Payments with Android, HCE (Feb. 4, 2015)
Apple Pay is a huge catalyst, not only for Apple but also for Android and host card emulation (HCE), First Annapolis’ Lee Manfred said during a keynote at the Smart Card Alliance Payments Summit. He urged issuers and merchants to view Apple Pay as a tool to build their own customized mobile strategies.
MasterCard Opens India Tech Hub, Largest outside U.S. (Feb. 4, 2015)
MasterCard continued its expansion in India today, with the official opening of the payment network’s new Technology Hub in the city of Pune.
U.S. EMV Card Shipments up 500% over Last Year, Association Reports (Feb. 4, 2015)
The U.S. migration to EMV is well underway in advance of the October 2015 EMV network liability shift, with EMV card manufacturers shipping 185 million EMV cards last year, up more than 500 percent from 30 million in 2013, the Europe-based cross-industry Smart Payment Association announced today.
Green Dot Gets Serious about Credit (Feb. 4, 2015)
Green Dot is considering expanding the financial services it provides to include what Chairman and CEO Steve Streit describes as “modern credit,” with an eye toward using transactional data for underwriting.
Value of cryptocurrency transactions ‘to half this year’
The value of all cryptocurrency transactions will more than half this year, falling from $71 billion in 2014 to just over $30 billion. The decline was attributable to the combined impact of exchange collapses, Bitcoin theft and regulatory concerns.
SmartStream acquires Algo Collateral business from IBM
SmartStream Technologies has acquired the assets of IBM’s Algorithmics Collateral solution and will add it to its existing solutions for the automation of the end-to-end post trade lifecycle, rebranding it as TLM Collateral Management. The system provides collateral lifecycle automation for buy- and sell-side institutions, custodians and asset servicers, large and small.
Visa Exec: EMV Migration on ‘Critical Path’ (Feb. 3, 2015)
The U.S. payments card industry is on a “critical path” to EMV card migration over the next eight months but several challenges remain, Kimberly Lawrence, Visa’s senior vice president, global corporate initiatives, said today during the kickoff presentation at the Smart Card Alliance’s Payments Summit in Salt Lake City.
Prepaid Loads Nearly Double with Ingo’s MDC (Feb. 3, 2015)
A new report from Ingo Money offers evidence to support what many industry observers have long maintained: Offering cardholders robust reload capability is key to driving loads and retention.
NYAG Widens Access to Bank Accounts, But Still Plenty of Room for Prepaid (Feb. 3, 2015)
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wants to increase access to traditional banking services by getting banks to change their account-opening criteria. But broader access to checking and savings accounts doesn’t mean consumers won’t continue to seek out alternatives, including prepaid cards, which may have more features and fewer fees, according to industry observers.
