Visa (VS) and MasterCard (MC) debit card activity ramped up in the second quarter, as Purchase Dollar Volume (PDV) on U.S.-issued debit cards jumped 8.3% year-on-year (Y/Y) in the second quarter of 2014 (2Q/2014) to $457 billion, according to CardData.
One out of two U.S. payment cards will be EMV cards by the end of next year. The implementation is being driven the members of the Payments Security Task Force.
Tapit digital wallets get more versatility to not only make payments, collect loyalty points and open doors but now used for employee ID for building access. G&D is providing the highly secure SIM card platform.
The National Retail Federation told the U.S. Supreme Court that the debate over debit card swipe fees is “of staggering importance” and asked the justices to review a ruling that left the Federal Reserve’s cap on the billions of transactions conducted each year at 21 cents rather than reducing it to a lower level. A petition asking the Supreme Court to consider the case was filed today by NRF, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Restaurant Association, NRF member Boscov’s Department Store, and NACS member Miller Oil Co., all of whom were plaintiffs in the original lawsuit. While lower than the average of 45 cents before the cap was set, NRF argued that the 21-cent figure included costs that went beyond those allowed under the legislation and filed suit against the Fed in U.S. District Court in 2011 along with other retail groups. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned Leon’s ruling, citing “ambiguity” in the 2010 law and saying the Fed based the cap on a “reasonable interpretation” of the measure.
Univision MasterCard Prepaid Card to make major updates via a new multiyear deal with FIS. The card is a reloadable prepaid card that was developed from its inception with Hispanic consumer insights.
Allied Wallet recently streamlined their set up process to take merchants live quicker and simpler. Allied Wallet worked to develop a payment solution that’s integrated in any programming language with plugins to all major e-commerce shopping cart solutions. It’s clear that merchants are appreciating this speed and ease because Allied Wallet reported record spikes in business for Quarter 2 of 2014. With merchant sign up showing an increase of about 27% and a significant spike in transaction volume, Allied Wallet is growing at record highs.
Prepaid card malls are growing significantly this year. A new report examines the size and diversity of prepaid loads through card malls hosted in third-party retailers’ locations.
FreedomPay unveiled the PCI certified fully-functional, point-to-point encryption (P2PE) payment technology as part of its cloud-based FreedomPay Commerce Platform. With the certification of its P2PE technology by the PCI Security Standards Council – and through key alliances with hardware vendors and validated secure distribution channels – FreedomPay offers a streamlined, cost-effective way for merchants to put their point-of-sale systems (POS) and networks 100 percent out of scope for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance. It ensures against breaches through PCI certified P2PE, complete with EMV technology. It also processes payments using NFC, Magnetic Stripe and PIN Debit. It’s ultimately designed as a one-stop solution for merchants who need secure POS transactions and want the capability to expand their commerce options today or in the future.
Bank of America appoints a new head of Commercial Cards for the EMEA region. Melissa Gargagliano is moving to London to handle the assignment.
Simple is announcing major updates to both its iOS and Android apps. The Simple 2.0 release makes it even easier to stay on top of your financial life. Simple Instant on Mobile lets you exchange money with any Simple customer instantly. Sending money to another Simple customer is as easy as adding them as a contact and transferring funds. Now, you can send money to other Simple customers on the go. Your friend lent you cash? Pay them back immediately. You forgot to pay rent before taking off for a week-long trip? Get money to your roommates on the road, right from the mobile app. They also updated the look and feel of Goals on the web. The updated design of our Android and iOS apps is a key feature of Simple 2.0.
Top Image Systems and BPM (Business Process Management) solutions and MIP (Mobile Imaging Platform) provider, announced a long-term transaction-based deal with Allied Payment Network to implement MobiPAY, TIS’ self-service mobile bill payment application, within PicturePay, Allied’s mobile photo bill pay solution. TIS will work with Allied, its customers and partners to enhance their user experience and continue to automate the bill payment workflow with our advanced MobiFLOW platform for end-to-end processing of bills and related documents.
HomeSend becomes the first international remittance provider to give users access to Indosat’s 24,000 locations and 60 million users. HomeSend is a joint venture created by MasterCard, eServGlobal and BICS.