People on the Move: Raja Rajamannar, MasterCard (September 2013)
MasterCard has named Raja Rajamannar chief marketing officer, effective Sept. 9, 2013.
News
Companies on the Move: FIS, Forbes Magazine’s “World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies” (September 2013)
FIS, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based payments technology provider, has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the most innovative companies in the world.
People on the Move: Kathleen Ryan, Cheryl Parker Rose, Christopher Carroll and Elizabeth Ellis, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (September 2013)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently named new senior staff in four divisions.
Reports: Open- and Closed-Loop Markets Slow to Single-Digit Growth (Aug. 29, 2013)
Aug. 29, 2013 Following double-digit growth a year earlier, market growth for open- and closed-loop prepaid cards, as measured by total dollars loaded, slowed from 2011 to 2012, according to recently released annual reports by Mercator Advisory Group. Total dollars loaded in the open-loop prepaid market grew by only 6 percent to $194.5 billion year […]
MasterCard, C-SAM Continue Global Wallet Initiative with Japan Launch (Aug. 29, 2013)
Aug. 29, 2013 MasterCard is joining with mobile payment technology provider C-SAM and mobile wallet service provider DNP to bring a white-label NFC-based mobile wallet service to Japan. The service will integrate MasterCard’s PayPass Wallet Services contactless payment technology with C-SAM’s mobile transaction platform and DNP’s mobile wallet services, enabling merchants to offer their customers […]
Report: India’s Prepaid Card Market to Grow 40 Percent Through 2017 (Aug. 29, 2013)
Aug. 29, 2013 Prepaid cards are booming in India, where the prepaid card market is on track to grow 40 percent over the next four years, according to a new report from the Noida, India-based firm RNCOS Research. In its Indian Prepaid Card Market Outlook to 2017 report released this month, the consulting firm said […]
Fiserv Banks on Rise of Tablets with New Mobile Banking Service (Aug. 29, 2013)
Aug. 29, 2013 Financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. is seeking to capitalize on the recent boom in tablet-based banking with a new turnkey mobile banking app specifically for tablet users. The Mobiliti: Tablet service is being offered to banks and credit unions, which can use the system to offer their tablet banking customers a […]
eGifter Deal Enables Consumers to Buy Gift Cards with Bitcoin (Aug. 29, 2013)
Aug. 29, 2013 eGifter, a social and mobile gifting company and subsidiary of Melville, N.Y.-based GroupGifting.com, has partnered with Bitcoin wallet and platform provider Coinbase, enabling users of the eGifter Web and mobile apps to use Bitcoin virtual currency to purchase eGift cards from more than 100 brands, including GameStop, Home Depot and CVS. Coinbase enables its […]
Fed, Merchants File Motion to Extend Stay of Interchange Ruling (Aug. 27, 2013)
Aug. 27, 2013 The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has filed a motion to extend the stay of a July 31 court decision that invalidated the agency’s rules implementing debit interchange and network routing requirements under the Durbin Amendment. The consent order, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., requests that Judge Richard […]
Facebook Commits to Gift Cards, Facebook Card (Aug. 27, 2013)
Aug. 27, 2013 After several months of experimentation, Facebook has made the decision to focus on gift cards and eliminate the gift service in which it sold and shipped physical gifts to recipients. Since launching its Gifts service in September 2012, 80 percent of the gifts users chose to send to other Facebook users were […]
Bitcoin Group Discusses ‘Safe and Sane’ Regulations with Feds (Aug. 27, 2013)
Aug. 27, 2013 Bitcoin Foundation, an advocacy group whose stated objectives include Bitcoin standardization, promotion and protection from counterfeiters and thieves, met yesterday with several federal agencies to provide information about the decentralized virtual currency. “The meeting was educational in nature,” says Jinyoung Englund, spokesperson for Bitcoin Foundation and director of communications and marketing at […]
Nigerian Prepaid Card Aims to Reduce Unclaimed Dividends (Aug. 27, 2013)
Aug. 27, 2013 A new prepaid card in Nigeria enables shareholders to receive dividend payments directly onto the card. The First Dividend Plus Prepaid Card is being billed as a “revolutionary product” by Verve International, the payment card provider that is releasing the card in partnership with stock registrar service First Registrars Nigeria. The card […]
TSYS Inks Deal with Discover to Process In-Store PayPal Transactions (Aug. 26, 2013)
Aug. 26, 2013 Another element of PayPal Inc.’s in-store payments strategy fell into place today with the announcement that TSYS has inked an agreement with Discover Network to process PayPal transactions at U.S. brick-and-mortar locations as part of the PayPal in-store payment acceptance partnership announced last year with Discover. TSYS’s involvement will provide an expanded […]
Shell Canada Taps StoreFinancial for Gift Card Program (Aug. 26, 2013)
Aug. 26, 2013 Shell Canada has launched a gift card program with StoreFinancial, which is providing processing and program management services. StoreFinancial is providing Shell with a restricted authorization network (RAN) card, along with its RASER card activation technology, which enables client retailers to sell and activate gift cards without a third-party distributor, regardless of […]
Report: Canada’s Employers Embrace Corporate Incentives (Aug. 26, 2013)
Aug. 26, 2013 A growing number of Canadian companies are using corporate incentive programs to motivate and reward employees and customers—and to greater effect, according to a recent report by Berkeley Payment Solutions, a Toronto-based provider of MasterCard and Visa prepaid card programs for corporations, governments and financial institutions. Slightly more than three-quarters of respondents […]
Vodafone Expands Availability of M-Pesa (Aug. 26, 2013)
Aug. 26, 2013 Vodafone continues to expand availability of M-Pesa throughout India as it readies the launch of the money service in at least two other countries by the end of this year. As an expansion of its partnership with ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, M-Pesa is now available to consumers in Delhi, […]
Nasdaq OMX connectivity disaster highlights stumbling markets
A three-hour trading crash at Nasdaq OMX caused by a connectivity issue has once again put the spotlight on trading technology and the resilience of financial markets, which have been sorely tested in recent months and years.
Diverse Reactions on Interchange Appeal; Judge Requests Briefs on Possible Interim Rule (Aug. 22, 2013)
Aug. 22, 2013 Financial industry groups are applauding yesterday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors that it will appeal a court ruling invalidating the agency’s debit interchange and network routing rules. Though the Fed’s rules setting debit interchange fee limits under the Durbin Amendment are “far from perfect,” the court’s July 31 decision […]
PayPal Inks Deals with MICROS, Mercury Payment Systems (Aug. 22, 2013)
Aug. 22, 2013 MICROS Systems Inc. and PayPal Inc. this week announced a strategic global collaboration that will pave the way for thousands of restaurants and other hospitality industry businesses using MICROS’s payment platforms to add PayPal as a POS and mobile app payment option. MICROS, used in more than half a million businesses around the […]
Prepaid Card Facilitates Exchange of Traditional Currency to Bitcoins (Aug. 22, 2013)
Aug. 22, 2013 Bitcoin Ventures Inc. is aiming to make it easier for consumers to obtain and make transactions with Bitcoin virtual currency. The Calgary, Alberta-based software development company and provider of Bitcoin e-commerce solutions has announced CoinTap, a prepaid card the company says streamlines “an otherwise tricky and time-consuming process” of exchanging traditional currency […]
GiftCard.com Launches Affiliate Program for Online Publishers (Aug. 22, 2013)
Aug. 22, 2013 Online gift card provider GiftCard.com has announced a new affiliate program that will enable online publishers and bloggers to earn revenue for referrals to the company’s gift and incentive card Websites. Affiliate e-publishers and bloggers will have access to banner graphics and text links for both GiftCard.com and IncentiveCardLab.com to help direct […]
MCX Picks FIS to Develop M-Commerce Platform (August 2013)
July 11, 2013 Another major piece of MCX’s jigsaw puzzle fell into place today with the announcement that payments technology provider FIS will provide the payments processing platform, including transaction routing and settlement, for the retail consortium’s evolving mobile commerce system. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FIS will execute mobile payments at participating retailer outlets in combination with […]
Isis Tightens Mobile Wallet Race with Serve Integration, Chase Commitment (August 2013)
By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor Isis, the mobile wallet system backed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, Verizon and three major card networks, is gathering steam as it nears its national rollout, with a new co-branding effort with American Express Co.’s Serve payments platform providing the latest push forward. Amex earlier this month announced plans to […]
Breaking News: Fed to Appeal Interchange Ruling (Aug. 21, 2013)
Aug. 21, 2013 Certainty on debit interchange and network routing regulation isn’t likely any time soon. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has decided to appeal a judge’s ruling requiring the agency to rewrite those rules. During a hearing today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Fed’s lead attorney, Scott Alvarez, said the […]
Groupon Gets Physical, Adding Traditional POS to Merchant Offering (Aug. 20, 2013)
Aug. 20, 2013 Groupon bucked the mPOS system from the outset with its unique merchant pricing strategy, and its latest move to embrace traditional payment terminals seems equally novel as mainstream acquirers like Chase Paymentech are now getting into dongles. Groupon last week said it will add traditional credit card terminals to its merchant payments […]
MasterPass Adds 16 Australian Payment Providers (Aug. 20, 2013)
Aug. 20, 2013 Sixteen Australian payment service providers have added MasterCard’s MasterPass as a payment option for their electronic merchant clients. Announced at the Online Retailers and E-Commerce Expo in Sydney, the agreements brings MasterPass to thousands of online merchants, who will add a MasterPass button to their online checkout, enabling shoppers to make purchases […]
M-Payment Platform Targets Colombia’s Unbanked Mobile Users (Aug. 20, 2013)
Aug. 20, 2013 A mobile payments network aims to bring financial services to Colombia’s unbanked consumers and move the country’s economy away from cash. The Miami-based network, known as YellowPepper, thus far has signed up 12 Colombian banks for its system, which includes a virtual payment card, P2P and mPOS capability, according to a report […]
Payteller, IntelliVoice Sign Deal Expanding Prepaid Products at Self-Serve Kiosks (Aug. 20, 2013)
Aug. 20, 2013 IntelliVoice Networks Inc., a provider of prepaid phone services, is broadening its array of offerings through a deal with Payteller LLC, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based provider of self-service kiosks offering financial services. Payteller will install its kiosks in high-traffic retail locations throughout the Midwest and in Texas, according to an announcement. Payteller […]
People on the Move: David Yates, Peter Keenan, Ian Sayers and Justin Basini, Zapp (August 2013)
Zapp, a U.K.-based provider of mobile payment technology, recently announced several senior-level appointments.
People on the Move: Stephen R. Crowley, WEX Inc. (August 2013)
WEX Inc., a South Portland, Maine-based provider of corporate payment solutions (formerly Wright Express), announced that Stephen R. Crowley has joined the company as chief information officer and senior vice president, shared services.
People on the Move: Nicolas Huss, Visa Europe (August 2013)
Visa Europe has named Nicolas Huss president and CEO.
People on the Move: Ryan Anderson, The Members Group (August 2013)
The Members Group, a Des Moines, Iowa-based card processing and payment solutions provider, has chosen Ryan Anderson to fill the newly created position of vice president of product.
People on the Move: Rory Smith, Ovation Incentives (August 2013)
Ovation Incentives, a U.K.-based B2B incentive program provider, has appointed Rory Smith head of its U.S. office in Chicago.
People on the Move: Ezediashi Ofili and Marcus Mak, MasterCard (August 2013)
MasterCard has appointed Ezediashi Ofili vice president and business leader to drive growth of its prepaid business in sub-Saharan Africa. MasterCard also appointed Marcus Mak head of merchant marketing for the company’s Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa region.
Companies on the Move: InComm Digital Solutions, formerly Giftango (August 2013)
Giftango, a digital gifting solutions provider and wholly owned subsidiary of InComm, announced it now operates under the name InComm Digital Solutions.
People on the Move: Gilles Coccoli and Antoine Dumurgier, Edenred (August 2013)
France-based prepaid card provider Edenred recently announced two appointments to its executive committee.
People on the Move: Amit Parikh, Discover (August 2013)
Discover Financial Services has a new head of prepaid, Amit Parikh, who is responsible for overseeing prepaid sales and relationship management.
People on the Move: Neil Peretz, BillFloat (August 2013)
San Francisco-based BillFloat, which provides small-dollar loans to customers for electronic bill payments, recently announced that Neil Peretz has joined the company as general counsel.
Equity Firm Shells out EUR600 million for Majority Stake in Skrill (Aug. 19, 2013)
Aug. 19, 2013 One of Europe’s largest private equity firms has acquired a controlling stake in U.K.-based online payment system Skrill. Funds advised by CVC Capital Partners doled out EUR 600 million (US$801 million) to nab a 75 percent stake in Skrill from Bahrain-based Investcorp. Founded in 2001 as Moneybookers, Skrill is among the world’s […]
Enacomm: Predicting Customer Behavior Is Key to Cutting Churn, Costs (Aug. 19, 2013)
Aug. 19, 2013 Customer relationship management (CRM) tools, which previously came with multimillion-dollar implementation costs, are becoming more affordable for companies of all sizes because of software-as-a-service (SAAS) models, according to Enacomm Inc., which last week unveiled 4Cast. The CRM application, which is now available as an SAAS release, analyzes past and current user data […]
