The latest social media message from deep south-based CompareCards is Americans recognized they were spending a lot of money on food and considered it a problem as they had less to spend in other areas. Most of the individuals who stated this is a problem said they would prefer to spend money on other things (as opposed to saving).
PSI-Pay account and card-based payment solutions companies, is proud to announce that Craig James has joined the board of Directors.Craig is a highly Experienced FCA (FSA)/E-Money and PrePaid Compliance/Regulatory and Anti Money Laundering specialist. He has held Controlled Functions 1, 2, 10 and 11 for both UK and International Financial Services companies. Having overseen the compliance / MLRO functions of organisations such as Firepay (Optimal Payments) and Paysafecard he brings considerable business experience and knowledge, along with a full understanding of balancing risk management, regulation and performance. Craig’s experience within the regulatory and risk management environment will ensure that PSI-Pay are ‘ahead of the game’ with the proposed new EU regulations, particularly as they expand into other EU territories
MasterCard announced today that, over a one year period ending December 2013, it has grown its contactless footprint in Europe by expanding the number of countries where contactless cards are accepted: contactless is now available in 63 countries worldwide, and in 34 countries in Europe including 7 new countries in 2013: Azerbaijan, Finland, Ireland, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and the Netherlands. MasterCard® and Maestro® contactless cards or devices have been issued by more than 220 financial institutions in Europe and can be used at almost 2 million merchant locations worldwide, representing more than a 180% year-on-year increase.
Heartland payment processor hired branding and strategic marketing expert, Michael McMillan, as chief branding officer to lead branding and marketing initiatives to drive business objectives and build brand preference and equity for Heartland products and services. For 20 years, McMillan was chief executive officer of McMillan Associates, a visual communications firm he founded in 1984. More recently, he has toured globally as an inspirational speaker and was president of McMillan Media, where he focused on thought leadership and consulting engagements on the topics of creative thinking, innovation and making positive change. McMillan’s clients have spanned Fortune 100 corporations, small entrepreneurs, sports and music legends, and non-profit organizations and institutions.
Online identity proofing service miiCard launched Certified Digital Bank Statements as part of its verified online identity service at Finovate Fall 2013. Financial and professional service companies can now use miiCard Certified Digital Bank Statements for underwriting, risk assessment and responsible lending decisions. Certified Digital Bank Statements are user-controlled components of a verified miiCard identity. Upon request, miiCard members can authorize financial institutions or professional service companies to access one of two different levels of information. With miiCard’s Identity as a Service (IDaaS) platform and Certified Digital Bank Statements, businesses can quickly verify an individual can afford a loan or qualify for a service.
Retailers across Europe predict the mobile phone will overtake the physical store, website and call centre, as the single most important communication channel with customers by 2020, according to new research from MasterCard. Only 3% believe the industry is currently keeping pace with consumer demands for multi-channel retail. This research, conducted amongst 300 leading retailers across Europe, forms part of a new industry report sponsored by MasterCard and written by the Economist Intelligence Unit: “The I Factor: how consumer demand is driving retail innovation”. It heralds the era of the “I-Con” – the smart, omnichannel, omnipotent consumer – and looks at how retailers are innovating to retain competitive edge in a rapidly revolutionised market, whilst setting out a vision of how that market will continue to evolve. It concludes the customer is in the driving seat: One in three retailers cited a more empowered customer (32%), alongside increased choice (competition from other retailers – 37%), as amongst the top causes of change in the retail sector in the past five years.
MiiCard announced a move to target the US market following increased market traction globally for miiCard’s online identity verification service in direct response to increasing issues of online trust. miiCard lets users prove their identity on a federated identity verification service. miiCard’s innovative use of Yodlee’s patented, Personalized Finance Platform, enables miiCard to establish a consumer’s identity by linking their financial accounts with their online identity. Along with a number of additional security measures, including email verification and 2-factor authentication via sms, miiCard can validate a consumer’s identity to the fullest extent of applicable anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer standards (KYC).
Point electronic payment solutions has acquired TS3 Services secure transaction solutions. TS3 provides of secure transaction solutions for electronic payment and other electronic transactions of value to a wide range of clients from multi-national card payment acquirers, retailers and payment network operators through to individual retail and mobile traders. The merger with Point will provide TS3 with the backing to enhance its existing development and investment capabilities. For Point, the acquisition further strengthens its market leading UK position and TS3’s solutions and expertise will complement those of its existing UK business, Commidea.
PayPal announced 150 new jobs at its European operations and customer service headquarters in Blanchardstown, Dublin. The new roles will support PayPal’s fast growing European business, which achieved $1 billion in revenues for the first time in 2010. More than 1,200 people already work at PayPal’s European Center of Excellence in Blanchardstown, providing operational and customer support to consumers and businesses across Europe. PayPal’s European operation center opened in Dublin in 2003. Since then the number of staff has increased from just 25 to more than 1,200 today. The Dublin center manages all direct customer contact for PayPal’s businesses across Europe.
At the Smart Card Alliance annual conference, the United Nations
Federal Credit Union (UNFCU), explained how it is responding to the
needs of its international travelers with EMV and Wal-Mart, the largest U.S.
company, strongly advocated a move to chip and PIN.
Worldwide nearly one billion EMV cards have been issued and over half of these
are now non-European, due to the
phenomenal growth in the Americas and Asia over the last few years.
EMVCo is focused on preparing contactless and mobile EMV standards, he
reported. In his view, there is an excellent opportunity in the U.S.
market to utilize contactless technology online to improve security.
Wal-Mart is also interested in moving to EMV for security reasons.
Wal-Mart already has 100% of its payment system hardware equipped
to accept EMV chip and PIN, and is finalizing the software programs for
these devices.
The Australia experience in regulating interchange fees is being cited
as an example of the potential U.S. impact if retailers are successful
in getting the government to cut payment card fees. The Electronic
Payments Coalition says consumers would be hurt by interchange
regulation in the form of higher fees, fewer benefits, and zero savings
at the cash register. The EPA says there is no evidence that losses to
consumers have been offset by reductions in retail prices in Australia.
Neither merchants nor the Reserve Bank of Australia has
presented any empirical evidence showing the extent to which the
benefits of interchange fee reductions were passed onto consumers.
Rather, one of the main effects of the RBA’s interventions has been a
redistribution of wealth in favor of merchants. Since 2003,
when that regulation was implemented, cardholder fees have risen by 22%
for standard cards, between 47% to 77% for rewards cards, and
cardholders now pay A$480 more in credit card fees each year. The value
of rewards also fell 23% during that period. The EPA notes that since
Australia’s regulators acted in 2003, total merchant discount fees paid
by merchants have declined, but no conclusive evidence exists that lower
interchange fees led merchants to reduce retail prices for goods;
further, some costs for card users, such as annual and other fees, have
increased.
A new analysis finds that rather than calling on more service providers, credit issuers are beginning to reduce their number of collection agencies they work with, requiring the remaining companies to take on more accounts. The same type of shift is also taking place within the debt buying market, according to the Kaulkin Ginsberg. Rather than call on more debt buyers, as credit issuers did in the boom years before the recession began, some credit issuers are reducing the number of companies they approach for portfolio sales, preferring to negotiate directly with a specific buyer rather than conduct a broader auction process. Kaulkin Ginsberg concludes that as the poorest performers are removed from these collection networks, certain collection agencies will lose their most important clients. Creditors will also have less reason to work with companies that pose reputational risks. The financial performance of these companies will suffer, and company value will fall as well, with some owners forced to sell their companies in distress.