All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Kenya goes cashless
Debit card spending in Kenya has grown 83% year on year according to the latest figures from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reaching KES386 bn (USD4.6 bn). The values of card transactions and m-payments in Kenya increased by 65% and 41% respectively in the first half of 2012 on the same period last year.
PayPal partners with Discover to tap into US stores
PayPal is to partner with US card network Discover, entering into a potential 7 million retail-outlet market linked with the network from 2013.The deal will enable the eBay payments subsidiary to expand its reach further beyond the web and represents a major industry milestone according to Discover payment services president Diane Offereins.PayPals vice president of retail Don Kingsborough said the relationship will deliver a truly seamless digital wallet, available most places consumers shop offline, which offers the speed, simplicity and security already enjoyed by 113 million active PayPal customers online. Offereins said: This deal will help shape the emerging payments landscape by bringing together an established direct banking and payments company with a leading commerce enabler to create an alternative payments option for consumers at the point of sale. The deal marks another step into the brick and mortar world for PayPal. Last week the company started a trial programme to test a payment app in 30 French McDonalds restaurants. In the UK, PayPal has already entered the retail landscape with the launch in June 2012 of its PayPal app, which enables customers to debit purchases made at selected POS on their PayPal account. A partnership with MasterCard announced in February 2012 also enables PayPal to launch a prepaid card.
Prepaid Summit Europe 2012
The programme for this years Prepaid Summit Europe brings together the leading figures in European prepaid in Prague, Czech Republic. The event includes keynote presentations from MasterCards Matthew Lanford and Visa Europes Caroline Birchinall, and exclusive research into prepaid and mobile payments in Central & Eastern Europe. The day will be broken up by debates and question and answer sessions on a number of important topics, including revenue generation strategies for prepaid and how to structure products effectively.
Park platform launches on UK cashback website
Cashback website TopCashBack is to offer flexecash prepaid cards to their UK customers The flexecash platform is run by UK gift and voucher provider Park Group TopCashBack will use flexecash as a reward delivery options, alongside BACS and PayPal, for its 1.5m-members
CashFlows moves into prepaid card issuing
Voice Commerce Groups merchant acquiring arm CashFlows has expanded its financial services to include the issuing of prepaid cards in Europe The company says it now offers a one stop solution, consolidating businesses card acceptance and issuing capabilities. The integrated solution complements CashFlows existing contactless card programme for businesses using the CashFlows Account, an integrated business account that brings together business account and merchant account facilities.
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RBA backs Eftpos claims against MasterCard and Visa
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has backed anti-competitive claims by Efpos against Visa and MasterCard, encouraging the parties to reach a voluntary agreement.
Visa to enter Myanmar
Visa has announced it is promoting the development of an electronic payments system in Myanmar by holding training workshops in local banks.
Discover incorporates Google Wallet
US cards network Discover has partnered with Google Wallet and will now incorporate the application. Cardholders will be able to link their cards to the e-wallet directly from Discover website and the owners of NFC compatible devices will be able to use their phones to make contactless payments. Discover director of mobile Sanjay Gosalia said the partnership respond to changing consumer habits.Our cardholders regularly use their Discover card to make purchases and payments online, in-store and now more frequently through their mobile devices, he said.Discover is the latest card provider to join the e-wallet, after earlier this month Google upgraded the app to support all major credit and debit cards.
Going for gold
As the sporting world comes down from the high of the Olympics Games, Sara Perria asks whether the proud to accept only Visa campaign, and the focus on contactless payments earned the network a place on the podium
Visa pleased with contactless numbers
Contactless payments accounted for one in six sub-£20 transactions across Olympic venues, according to Visa Europe assessment of its London-event sponsorship. Visa Europe head of contactless Mark Austin said the operator installed contactless terminals throughout the venues at the London 2012 Olympic and Para-Olympic Games to demonstrate the value and potential of contactless payments. With contactless accounting for one in six sub-£20 transactions across Olympic venues, were pleased with consumers response to the technology and have gained many useful insights that will help make contactless a commonplace payment method, he said. Austin added the response has been extremely positive and Visa priority now is on turning that enthusiasm into commercial mobile payment deployments across Europe. Working with our fellow Olympic sponsor Samsung to demonstrate live mobile payments on the Samsung Galaxy SIII smartphone has increased awareness and enthusiasm for mobile payments among retailers and financial institutions, he said. “We believe strongly in the value of mobile and contactless payments. By 2020 we expect that half of all transactions over our network will be through a mobile device, he concluded.