ANNOUNCEMENTSAmerican Express Company agreed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to resolve issues that grew out of a previously disclosed internal review of its card product offerings in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific Territories. A consent order was signed by the parties and the CFPB acknowledged that AmEx took responsibility for its errors and independently provided restitution to its customers.
In collaboration with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense office, Bank of America Merchant Services signed a Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve pledging to honor the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employement Rights Act, provide tools for managing employees in service, and recognize service members and their families.
Cayan LLC achieved chip card certification with Worldpay US. The new certification marks the latest in a series of EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) certifications for Cayan, which include Chase, Vantiv, First Data, and Elavon. The Cayan Genius Platform will provide Worldpay merchants with chip card gateway capabilities and the ability to manage the entire customer experience across all locations while also protecting cardholder data, Cayan stated.
The Emerging Payments Association welcomed Clearsettle as a new member and lead sponsor of the association's annual awards. Clearsettle, based in London, offers a global white label payment gateway that enables payment service providers to offer hundreds of payment methods in countries around the world. Through membership in the EPA, Clearsettle joins a community of innovators who aim to improve payments worldwide.
Douugh initiated beta pilot registrations for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered financial platform guided by Sophie, a 24/7 digital personal assistant. Sophie's role will be to offer organizational, coaching, financial fitness and personal transaction assistance based on the user's unique situation. "We believe the future of banking is about platform, data and identity," said Andy Taylor, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Douugh.
FuturePay Inc. was honored with four awards at this year's Golden Bridge Awards recognizing leading companies across major industries globally. FuturePay took home a gold award for Milestone of the Year, silver for Company Growth of the Year, and bronze awards for Company of the Year and FuturePay CEO Bobbi Leach as Executive of the Year in the Accounting, Banking, Financial, and Insurance category.
GreenMed launched a cryptocurrency-based app that enables users to pre-purchase legal marijuana for pickup at dispensaries. The app utilizes electronic payment processing technology in conjunction with Ethereum blockchain to execute credit and debit card, and digital currency transactions. GreenMed-issued debit cards will also enable merchants to securely withdraw accumulated funds directly from an ATM, or make online and POS purchases.
iPayment Holdings Inc. and iPayment Inc. voluntarily dismissed the New York state litigation against Carl and Jessica Grimstad for alleged expense abuses without demanding any payment by the couple. As part of the settlement, the company has agreed to retain Mr. Grimstad, its founder and former CEO, as special advisor. Both sides agreed that it is in the best interests of all parties, and the company's numerous stakeholders and employees, to put the matter behind them.
The New England ACH Association launched a faster payments education campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to get into the habit of checking account balances at the close of business each day. According to NEACH, "Check@5"supports financial institutions in making sure their customers keep apprised of account balances as the speed of payments improves. The campaign includes a comprehensive toolkit for banks and credit unions to leverage with their customers.
PayTabs secured a $20 million investment to support its products and global expansion into 20 plus markets over the next two years. The payments processor, founded in Saudi Arabia, plans to use the investment to fund product development, including digital payments, and engage in key strategic acquisitions to further expand its portfolio, as well as add 4,000 jobs globally.
Qualpay Inc. launched Qualpay for Developers, a portal offering comprehensive resources to the developer community. Developers looking for easy-to-implement payment application program interfaces (APIs) can leverage the portal to evaluate and deploy multiple payment solutions or work with Qualpay to tailor the platform for specific environments, including building apps to support one-time, repeat and recurring payments, as well as invoice and aggregated payments.
RESEARCHAs fraudsters become more sophisticated, retailers need to adapt new security tactics to protect customer payment card and personal data. In Payment Security Update: What's Next After EMV, BRP explores practical tips to enhance data security practices. "It is imperative that retailers have the right strategies and controls in place to thwart the ever-increasing advances made by fraudsters," said Perry Kramer, Vice President and Practice Lead at BRP.
Juniper Research Ltd. revealed the top 10 technologies set to disrupt the global fintech industry through 2018. The top three disrupters identified were the revised PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) and Open API legislation in Europe, the rise of regtech adoption and its associated efficiencies, and the significant cost savings expected from chatbots - automated (script or AI-based) programs – which Juniper predicted will as a market reach $4.4 billion annually by 2022.
A Mercator Advisory Group report, In Search of a Profit: As Return on Credit Card Assets Slip, Issuers Must Position for 2018, analyzes a Federal Reserve report on the profitability of credit card companies and projects 2018 return on credit card assets (ROA) will be 3.49 percent, down 30 percent from 2014. It also covers reconcilement of interest and non-interest net revenue, compares retail banking and credit card bank return on assets, and offers steps to improve ROA.
A U.S. Bank cash behavior survey found 47 percent of consumers surveyed prefer to use digital apps to make payments versus cash. It also revealed consumers are carrying less cash and using it less often.
Overall, 50 percent of respondents said they carry cash less than half the time, and when they did nearly half carried less than $20, and 76 percent under $50. The survey also uncovered behaviors related to person-to-person app usage and where people spend cash.
PARTNERSHIPSAccountingSuite released a Stripe integration that allows users to sync online payment revenue with their accounting file. The integration enables users to accept pre-payments on sales orders in real-time as well as collect cash receipts on open invoices via email or phone. Additionally, the integration allows businesses to process daily transfers that match individual invoices and cash receipts for automated reconciliation, the companies stated.
Comodo Group Inc. partnered with 3dcart, a global e-commerce platform provider, to offer 3dcart customers Comodo extended validation digital certificates. The partnership will enable 3dcart to diversify and strengthen its online payment security offerings, the companies noted. "We're pleased to offer Comodo's SSL certificates, which protect our customers' businesses – in both profit and reputation," said Gonzalo Gil, CEO of 3dcart.
eHealth Inc. now provides Square small business customers access to a range of health insurance solutions as well as eHealth's plan comparison tools and customer support. By accessing eHealth through the Square dashboard, small businesses can compare health insurance plans online, get customized quotes, and in some cases apply online. According to eHealth, small business owners also receive personalized help and useful advice from its licensed agents at no cost.
First Data Corp. partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing, Kyle Larson and the No. 42 Chevrolet SS team for two NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway. Additionally, First Data returns this year as a sponsor of Jamie McMurray at Martinsville as an associate sponsor and will be the entitlement sponsor for the Martinsville track's fall MENCS race, starting with the First Data 500 on October 29.
FIS and Equifax Inc. collaborated to bring new levels of convenience and security to consumers challenged with maintaining multiple usernames and passwords to protect against fraud and identify theft. The companies co-launched OnlyID, a dual-verification solution that offers identity and account protection through a single, secure digital log-in. The solution will be made available through financial institutions and e-retailers who participate in the OnlyID Network.
American Express Co. and InComm entered an agreement whereby InComm will become the exclusive distributor for AmEx prepaid reloadable and gift card products in the United States. InComm will also become the exclusive program manager and processor, and AmEx will remain the issuer and network for all products involved in the transaction. Subject to approval, InComm will acquire the Serve technology platform and other American Express prepaid assets.
JotForm integrated with Payeezy, a First Data platform that enables merchants to establish an ecommerce business. With JotForm, Payeezy merchants can accept payments and donations via online forms and create payment forms using JotForm's drag-and-drop form builder. With JotForm, users can start collecting payments online after they create a form, select the Payeezy option and link it to their Payeezy account, the partners noted.
NCR Corp. and Performance Food Group Co. formed a strategic referral relationship to bring the NCR Silver POS to more U.S. restaurants. PFG will introduce NCR Silver to its distribution centers nationwide allowing restaurateurs to purchase NCR Silver software and hardware under a subscription-service model. NCR Silver will deliver mobile payment, loyalty, sales, inventory, employee scheduling and other features to restaurant subscribers in collaboration with PFG.
Revel Systems partnered with DSYNC to empower business owners to gather data enterprise wide, map disparate systems together and aggregate information into a user-friendly package for a seamless omnichannel solution, the partners noted. The partnership expands Revel's suite by allowing customers to connect multiple apps for ecommerce, accounting, enterprise resource planning, and inventory systems, as well as email, shipping and other business functions.
ACQUISITIONSFiserv Inc. acquired Dovetail Group Ltd., a bank payments and liquidity management solutions provider, further expanding services that assist financial institutions in meeting the evolving needs of wholesale, commercial and retail customers. Fiserv plans to combine Dovetail's real-time payments platform, modular services and configurable business processing rules with its own payment capabilities, enabling financial institutions to unify discrete solutions into a fully integrated payments infrastructure.
APPOINTMENTSMoneris Solutions Corp. promoted Malcolm Fowler to Chief Product and Partnership Officer. Fowler moves from his prior role as Vice President of Financial Institutions and Partner Management to lead the team responsible for the identification and commercialization of new product opportunities, growth of third-party partnerships and enhancement of existing products.
The National ATM Council, Inc. welcomed Kenneth Gilbert, President of CORD Financial Services to the NAC Board of Directors. "NAC and the NAC Directors are honored to welcome Kenneth Gilbert to the NAC Board. Kenneth's proven leadership and deep understanding of the U.S. retail ATM marketplace will be invaluable assets to the vital work of NAC", said NAC Chair George Sarantopoulos.
ScanSource Inc. appointed Gerald "Gerry" Lyons as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Since November 2016, Lyons has served as ScanSource's Senior Vice President and Interim Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for leading ScanSource's worldwide finance teams. "Gerry's proven leadership and deep knowledge of ScanSource will serve ScanSource well as we continue to grow our business and deliver profitable growth," said Mike Baur, CEO of ScanSource.
The Federal Reserve tapped Dave Sapenaro as Payments Strategy Director with responsibility for leading payment system improvement initiatives described in its Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System paper published in January 2015. Sapenaro, First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will succeed recently retired Gordon Werkema. Sapenaro will assume this new responsibility and also continue to serve in his current role at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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