February 2013 By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor With less than three years to go before U.S. EMV liability-shift deadlines begin to take effect, payment industry participants beginning to make their plans are facing their first obstacle, as the U.S. debit networks wrestle with options for choosing a technology approach for routing chip-based debit transactions under […]
European exchanges Eurex and NYSE Liffe are soon to list a host of new derivatives, based on MSCI indices. From March, market participants will be able to trade futures and options based on the MSCI World, MSCI Europe, MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex-Japan and futures on the MSCI Frontier Markets.
February 2013 By Adam Perrotta, Assistant Editor Dozens of prepaid program managers are scrambling to find a new bank issuer with First California Bank (FCB) exiting the issuing business ahead of its acquisition by PacWest Bancorp. In November, PacWest agreed to pay $231 million for FCB’s parent company, Westlake Village, Calif.-based First California Financial […]
Information company Experian has improved its Hunter anti-fraud software to help banks and other financial services firms keep track of fraud.
The Alternative Investment Management Association, which serves hedge funds, has chosen two deputy chairmen from its existing directors and an investor appointee to the AIMA Council.
Infosys has formally announced its BigDataEdge platform, designed to allow banks to bring together Big Data analytics onto one platform. “There have been several point solutions, but it is important to have a platform,” said Vishnu Bhat, vice president and global head for cloud at Infosys. Customers that have already deployed the platform – some […]
By Aleia Van Dyke, Javelin Strategy & Research The slow economic recovery from the Great Recession has forced young Americans to confront a dismal financial reality marked by unprecedented student loan debt and soaring unemployment. But the financial industry cannot afford to ignore Gen Y, the generation of consumers born from 1979 to 1999. By […]
Feb. 20, 2013 In a deal that could alter the competitive landscape of the prepaid industry, payments processor TSYS yesterday announced plans to acquire GPR and payroll card provider NetSpend Corp. for $1.4 billion in cash. The purchase—characterized by TSYS as a “transformational event”—enhances the Columbus, Ga.-based firm’s role in the prepaid processing arena and […]
Feb. 20, 2013 Sweden-based mobile payments player iZettle this week announced the launch of a new smartphone-based card reader for small-business merchants that uses chip-and-PIN technology and Bluetooth to accept all major card brands, resolving iZettle’s six-month impasse with Visa Europe over a security issue. iZettle in 2011 began offering its card reader to merchants […]
Feb. 20, 2013 Australian supermarket giant Wesfarmers Ltd.’s Coles is conducting a small pilot of a MasterCard mobile wallet that enables customers to pay using NFC-equipped phones through an app that automatically links to the store’s loyalty program. The three-month pilot, conducted in partnership with GE Capital Australia, Vodafone and Gemalto, involves 60 Coles supermarket […]
Feb. 20, 2013 As more companies work to combine the power of social media with the popularity of gift cards, Melville, N.Y.-based GroupGifting.com has added a card scanning feature to its eGifter Web and mobile social gifting app. The scanning feature enables consumers to add plastic gift cards to their digital wallets in the eGifter app […]
February 2013 By Bill Grabarek, Senior Editor What started in late 2008 as a reseller operation, consisting of two people in an office offering payroll and corporate cards to small and midsize firms, London-based Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) has evolved into a program manager, e-money issuer, acquirer and provider of turnkey, white-label solutions. PFS […]
High frequency trading specialist Rapid Addition has partnered with IBM to provide an ultra-low latency service for financial firms that are very sensitive to speed.
Barclays has appointed Nicki Thomson as head of business services for corporate banking. In her new role, Thomson will lead a team of relationship directors tasked with providing lending and banking support to the business services sector.
The National Bank of Canada is to use algorithmic trading tools and market access from Nordic technology company Orc, through its subsidiary National Bank Financial.
Feb. 19, 2013 Payments processor TSYS has agreed to purchase GPR card provider NetSpend for $1.4 billion in cash. The deal, which TSYS chairman and CEO Philip W. Tomlinson calls “a transformational event for TSYS and consumers,” brings 2.4 million prepaid card accounts and 500 retail distributors under the TSYS umbrella. TSYS is conducting a conference call […]
February 2013 VeriFone Systems Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based payment solutions provider, has appointed Marc E. Rothman to executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Jay Parsons to senior vice president, digital media and taxi operations. Rothman joined Motorola Inc. through the acquisition of General Instrument in 2000, and eventually rose to become worldwide […]
February 2013 TSYS has promoted Tony Hodge to executive vice president of application systems for its North America segment. A 30-year TSYS veteran, Hodge has held numerous IT leadership positions, and currently is responsible for more than 1,000 IT professionals. During his tenure at TSYS, he has received numerous leadership awards, including the James H. […]
February 2013 Smart Card Alliance Payments Council has announced its committee members for 2013-2014. The council is managed by a steering committee composed of financial payments industry and smart chip technology vendors. Steering committee officers include: Jack Jania, Gemalto, and Oliver Manahan, MasterCard, co-chairs; Troy Bernard, Discover Financial Services, vice chair; and Deborah Baxley, Capgemini, secretary. […]
February 2013 North American Bancard, a Troy, Mich.-based provider of the PayAnywhere mobile POS payment solution, announced that Robert Seward has joined the company as vice president of product management. He oversees the company’s product strategy, planning, management and the delivery technology solutions to merchant customers. Seward joins NAB after leading ACI Worldwide’s merchant retail […]
February 2013 GiftCards.com, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Wolfe LLC, has hired Dana Vento, aka “Pittsburgh Frugal Mom” and founder of PittsburghFrugalMom.com, as social media manager. She will be part of a growing team responsible for broadening the company’s social media platform. Vento spent the last several years creating a successful consumer education blog, focusing on […]
February 2013 Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz stepped down Feb. 15, 2013, to pursue work in the private sector. He has served as chairman since March 2009, and as a commissioner since September 2004. While the FTC regulates anticompetitive, deceptive and unfair practices in general, Leibowitz’s tenure has been recognized for aggressive consumer and […]
February 2013 Contis Group, a U.K.-based provider of online banking and prepaid card technologies and services, has enhanced its domestic and international capabilities with the addition of five hires. Chris Cresswell joins Contis as sales and business development director. Formerly with LaSer UK, Cresswell has experience in the cards and loyalty sector and will be […]
February 2013 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that Steve Antonakes will serve as acting deputy director while the agency searches for a replacement for Raj Date. As Antonakes assumes this temporary role, he will maintain responsibility for his current duties as associate director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending, which he began […]
Feb. 19, 2013 Sightline Interactive, a provider of payment services to the gaming industry, and its partner Vantiv have inked a deal with Northern California’s Colusa Casino to create a GPR prepaid card that works in tandem with the casino’s closed-loop loyatly card. The open-loop Discover-branded Loyalty Card Plus initially will be distributed to the casino’s “best […]
Feb. 19, 2013 Citigroup Inc. plans to expand a mobile payments service it has developed for its small-business customers to replace large cash payments in underbanked regions into Latin America. Citi recently launched a pilot of Mobile Collect in the Dominican Republic, targeting approximately 80,000 cash-based grocery stores and other small businesses and their suppliers. […]
Feb. 19, 2013 The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has issued guidance to educate merchants on the factors and risks they need to address to protect card data when using mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to accept payments. Because consumer mobile devices are not solely used as point-of-sale tools, but also carry […]
Feb. 19, 2013 Chase Bank (Kenya) and the University Students Community Organization (UNISCOO) have teamed up to launch a new MasterCard-branded prepaid card for Kenya’s college students. The UNISCOO card will enable students to shop in stores and online anywhere MasterCard is accepted and receive specially targeted discounts and promotional offers from merchants. Available at […]
Feb. 19, 2013 Buck Corp. is introducing a new mobile invoice service for small businesses that it touts as “dongle-free,” enabling businesses to send electronic invoices to any mobile phone and receive credit card payment without swiping a card. Buck Mobile Invoice is free to businesses using it, but participants must already have a merchant […]
Consulting and IT specialist Rule Financial has hired Emily Cates as a principal consultant. Based in the London office, Cates joins Rule Financial with over 18 years of experience.
Rival FX platforms EBS and Thomson Reuters have agreed that they will cooperate to combine the sources for their FX pricing, in a bid to increase transparency for FX market participants.
Banks may have a poor reputation with the public, but the majority of people in the UK would be more likely to adopt mobile payment services if they are provided by a bank.
Market participants using NYSE Technologies’ market data feed SuperFeed and SFTI network will soon be able to get social media sentiment statistics, following a deal between NYSE and specialist company Social Market Analytics.
For an event that is based around the idea of introducing new players and new concepts to the financial technology world, this year’s Finovate Europe was heavy on familiar faces and some increasingly familiar concepts.
Senior market participants have expressed outrage that exchanges continue to charge high fees for market data, while MTFs still lack the means to compete on auctions and are not represented on international indices.
Feb. 14, 2013 Pressure is mounting for U.S. debit networks to find a suitable technology for routing chip-based debit transactions under the Durbin Amendment network non-exclusivity rules, but a unified plan is not yet within sight, industry executives say after a new round of meetings this week to digest last week’s developments. MasterCard Inc. and […]
Feb. 14, 2013 A new “plug-and-play” mobile money platform from Visa Inc. is aimed at enabling financial institutions and mobile network operators in developing nations around the world to offer mobile financial services. The program—built on technology Visa acquired via its 2011 purchase of mobile financial services provider Fundamo—enables the payment network to host and […]
Social media and mobile now are intertwined, according to panelists who participated in Tuesday’s panel on The Power of Social Media in Business at the InComm Partner Alliance in Miami.
Feb. 14, 2013 Three members of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday demanded that Republicans “end unprecedented obstruction” of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s nomination as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) assert that several Senate Republicans have stalled Cordray’s confirmation in […]
Feb. 14, 2013 Needham, Mass.-based Enservio, which provides software and services to property insurers, has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on what the company claims is the industry’s first co-party activation debit card for insurance claims payments. Since its debut three years ago, Enservio’s ReStore Card debit card has been utilized for some […]
