Aug. 19, 2013 The taxicab industry is serving as a laboratory for new mobile payment technologies, with VeriFone Systems Inc.’s new cloud-based Way2ride app the latest example. VeriFone this month in New York City is launching a mobile app in 7,000 cabs enabling riders to tap to pay using any iOS or Android smartphone. Users […]
Aug. 19, 2013 San Francisco-based online payment startup Stripe has expanded its services to the U.K. The company’s platform enables merchants to accept network branded payment cards online by integrating a few lines of code on their Websites. Already active in the U.S. and Canada, Stripe’s client list includes Foursquare and Redditt. The company has […]
Aug. 15, 2013 Is Facebook ready to take another stab at payments—this time using mobile apps? The social media giant reportedly is about to test a new mobile payments feature that would enable users who have stored credit card information with Facebook to make purchases directly from e-commerce mobile apps using only Facebook login credentials. The […]
Aug. 15, 2013 Blackhawk Network has released a new line of travel insurance cards that will enable customers to purchase coverage with cash at Canadian Safeway grocery locations. Known as SmartAssure, the cards are being launched in partnership with issuer Jones Deslauriers Blevins Insurance Group, one of Canada’s largest insurance brokerages. Available in multiple denominations […]
Aug. 15, 2013 A mobile commerce partnership between Spanish telecom provider Telefónica and two Spanish banks has been given the green light by the European Commission (EC), paving the way forward for what the companies are calling Europe’s first full joint venture between financial institutions and telecom operators. In its ruling, the EC said there […]
Aug. 15, 2013 A new mobile app from Heartland School Solutions, a division of Princeton, N.J.-based merchant processor Heartland Payment Systems, aims to make it easier for parents to manage their children’s school related expenses, such as meals, tuition, lab fees and sporting events. The app, launched this week for Apple iOS and Android smartphones […]
As the world’s banks continue to struggle with severe regulatory change, economic turbulence and technological evolution, a new report by analyst firm Tabb Group says that financial institutions will have to provide immediate, friction-free access to content, community and execution, or face extinction.
Former Alpha ATS chief Jos Schmitt is planning a new stock exchange for Canada, to be called Aequitas Exchange, which will take on incumbent TMX Group.
Aug. 14, 2013 A judge has given the Federal Reserve another week to answer questions about rewriting the agency’s rule on implementing debit interchange fees and network routing regulations under the Durbin Amendment. The agency’s existing rule was thrown out last month when the district court ruled in favor of merchants in a lawsuit filed […]
Aug. 14, 2013 Travelex has teamed up again with MasterCard and its subsidiary Access Prepaid for what the companies say is the first-ever multicurrency prepaid travel card specifically developed for U.S. travelers. The Multi-Currency Cash Passport Prepaid MasterCard, equipped for both magnetic-stripe and EMV chip transactions, enables customers to preload funds in five currencies simultaneously, […]
Aug. 14, 2013 PayPal Inc. has struck deal with mobile in-app commerce provider Lotaris that will add PayPal acceptance to the Lotaris platform. The pact enables commercial app developers using Lotaris’ in-appCommerce service—which providers licensing and payment solutions for purchases made within mobile apps—to offer users the option to pay with a PayPal account. The […]
Aug. 14, 2013 EnStream, the mobile payments joint venture between Canadian telecom providers Rogers Communications, Bell Corp. and TELUS Corp., has inked a deal with credit union association Desjardins Group to enable Desjardins’ banking customers to add payment cards to NFC-enabled smartphones. Under the partnership, Desjardins can offer its own branded banking app that’s compatible […]
Aug. 14, 2013 Less than a week after a U.S. federal judge ruled that Bitcoin is real currency, New York State’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced it has launched an investigation into virtual currencies. “The emergence of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies has presented a number of unique opportunities and challenges,” DFS Superintendent Benjamin […]
Canada is seeing a fresh push to promote near field communication (NFC) services after Canadian cooperative financial group Desjardin signed a deal with mobile money solutions provider Monitise and a joint venture with the nation’s three largest mobile operators.
Aug. 13, 2013 A hearing scheduled for tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., will be the next step in the legal wrangling over the Federal Reserve’s debit interchange rule. The hearing follows the ruling late last month by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon that the Fed’s Board of Governors overreached in its […]
Aug. 13, 2013 Chase today jumped into the mPOS race, offering a free mobile card reader for small business customers that has a few frills but a somewhat more traditional pricing plan, according to an announcement from Chase Paymentech, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s acquiring and processing subsidiary. Like Square, which galvanized the mobile payments market […]
Aug. 13, 2013 Another mobile wallet provider has entered the fray in the U.K. British startup CloudZync has launched its Zync Wallet app for iOS and Windows phones, with an Android version to follow soon. Thus far, 280 merchants in London have signed on to accept Zync Wallet, which works by generating a QR code […]
Aug. 13, 2013 PerkStreet Financial, a Boston-based cash-back debit rewards provider, has announced it will shutter its services next month, citing a lack of financing along with regulatory restrictions that limited its ability to compete. In a notice posted on the company’s Website, PerkStreet said it will cease business operations on Sept. 26 and will […]
One recent study shows encouraging signs about prepaid adoption, while another reveals surprisingly low usage among minority populations, including Latinos, African- and Asian-Americans, suggesting that the industry has some work to do in further penetrating these demographic markets.
Aug. 13, 2013 Although Generation Y consumers, ages 18 to 34 years old, pay bills using a mobile device more than other generations, Gen Y consumers still prefer to have other bill payment options, according to a recent Western Union Co. study. More than 30 percent of Gen Y respondents reported paying a bill using […]
By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor Acxiom consumer data shed light on current and future prepaid customers. Industry experts estimate that prepaid—despite its exponential growth—has barely made a dent in reaching underbanked consumers. And evidence suggests that targeting younger consumers also might be fertile ground for providers looking to grow their portfolios. To help providers better […]
An international derivatives market called Global Markets Exchange Group International has been launched by co-founders Hirander Misra and Vj Angelo, in a bid to target new business opportunities created by changing financial regulation.
Aug. 12, 2013 American Express Co.’s prepaid brand Serve will get a slot in the Isis mobile wallet when the mobile commerce venture rolls out nationally later this year, which could boost Serve’s awareness among its intended audience of underbanked consumers. Today JPMorgan Chase & Co. also said it plans to expand its relationship with […]
Aug. 12, 2013 Shoppers in the London borough of Richmond now can use their photos to verify their identity when making in-store purchases with PayPal’s mobile app. A new pilot in the company’s U.K. home base enables a user to find nearby shops and restaurants that accept PayPal, then check in by clicking on the […]
Aug. 12, 2013 Google is discontinuing NFC redemption for gift and loyalty cards stored in Google Wallet. Late last week, the company sent an email to users who had added gift or loyalty cards to their Wallet app, saying NFC redemption of such cards will end on Aug. 21. Cardholders have until that date to […]
Aug. 12, 2013 A long Fourth of July weekend and warm, dry weather throughout much of the U.S., among other factors, contributed to strong consumer spending last month, according to the latest SpendTrend data released by First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based payments processor. Dollar volume growth in July increased 7.7 percent year over year, compared […]
Banks need to embrace video banking if they are going to compete effectively and retain customers, according to a new report released by analyst firm Celent.
Industry experts air their opinions in the ongoing debate about whether NFC will dominate mobile payments. By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor From the moment near field communication (NFC) popped onto the payments industry radar about a decade ago, debate has sizzled around if, when and how it could revolutionize payments—adding a powerful stream of […]
Aug. 8, 2013 Visa Inc. this week announced the deployment in Botswana of Visa Mobile Prepaid, its product designed to convert closed-loop mobile payment ventures in emerging nations to open-loop capabilities. Through Visa’s partnership with mobile network operator Orange, Botswana’s Orange Money subscribers now may withdraw funds at ATMs and make POS or online purchases, […]
Aug. 8, 2013 Houston-based ATM operator Cardtronics Inc. is expanding its presence in the U.K. and entering the German market with the $153 million purchase of British ATM operator Cardpoint Ltd. In the U.K., Cardpoint operates more than 7,100 ATM locations under the name Cashzone, while the company’s German ATM network numbers 800 machines. Combined […]
Aug. 8, 2013 A federal judge ruled that Bitcoin, a decentralized virtual currency, is a form of money. U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzant’s decision this week is part of a charge levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Trendon Shavers for allegedly defrauding investors of approximately $150,000 worth of bitcoins in a […]
Aug. 8, 2013 Payments processor PreCash has unveiled a new virtual payments platform the Houston company says will help fix the “broken” consumer online and mobile bill payment experience. Dubbed PreCash PayConnect, the new platform is built on PreCash’s cloud-based processing system and offers mobile and online payment for more than 10,000 service providers, including […]
A U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Federal Reserve Board overreached in its interchange and network routing rulemaking. If upheld, the decision will have huge consequences for issuers, program managers and other payments stakeholders.
Aug. 6, 2013 Online payments titan PayPal continues its march into the brick-and-mortar world, striking a deal that will enable its 55 million U.S. account holders to withdraw funds at MoneyGram locations across the country. Later this month, customers in Dallas, New York and San Francisco also will be able to load money into their […]
Aug. 6, 2013 Although many senior citizens use prepaid cards, such as those issued for Social Security benefits delivery or the AARP Card, there’s a new card on the market that’s using fraud mitigation tools to help protect seniors from financial scams. i2c Inc., a Silicon Valley-based provider of cloud payment processing, today announced that […]
Aug. 6, 2013 Norwegian telecom provider Telenor and DNB, the country’s largest bank, are teaming up to launch an NFC-based mobile wallet. Dubbed Valyou, the wallet is managed through a smartphone app that enables users to make purchases up to NOK200 (US$33.76) via contactless tap; for higher amounts, users must enter a PIN. After a […]
Aug. 6, 2013 A growing number of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are using m-payments and social networks to improve efficiencies and increase customer traffic. Forty percent of businesses surveyed accept POS payments using a mobile card reader attached to a smartphone or tablet, and 16 percent of respondents plan to add this capability within […]
Aug. 5, 2013 A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of portions of the Dodd-Frank Act, including the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the appointment of its director, Richard Cordray. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle last week determined that the claims in State National Bank of Big […]
Aug. 5, 2013 Online cash payment provider Ukash has struck a deal that will expand its retail network across Italy. The London-based company’s new partnership with prepaid distributor and producer Epipoli gives Ukash entry to the 145 locations of grocery retailer Esselunga in which Epipoli is already present, along with the firm’s other retail partners. […]
Aug. 5, 2013 Telecom and payment services provider IDT Corp. has added a new international money transfer service to its Boss Revolution payment platform. The remittance service currently is live for recipients in Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. IDT Payment Services—the IDT Corp. subsidiary that runs Boss Revolution—said within […]
