All articles by EPI editorial
EPI editorial
India’s payments revolution continues
This year, India looked back at completion of Vision 2005-08, the second ambitious payment systems development programme spearheaded by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
AmEx grabs Revolution Money
Setting the scene for intensified competition in the hotly contested online payments market, American Express (AmEx) is to acquire US-based Revolution Money for $300 million. AmExs outlay brings with it Revolution MoneyExchange, a free online person-to-person (P2P) and micro-merchant payments service with some 400,000 users, and RevolutionCard which offers a PIN credit card accepted at some 650,000 merchant locations and 85 percent of ATMs in the US
NETS FlashPay revs up competition in Singapore
Raising the bar in a market well versed in the use of contactless payments, Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore (NETS) has launched NETS FlashPay, a contactless stored-value card for use on Singapores rail and bus services, for public parking and for retail purchases. The public transport application is particularly significant as it marks Singapores dominant retail payments players first move into the city-states public transport market, which has until now been monopolised by EZ-Link. A unit of Singapores public transport regulator the Land Transport Authority (LTA), EZ-Link launched the ez-link contactless payments card in April 2002
Dealing with post-fraud demands key to satisfaction
The most important factor to ensure customers remain happy with their bank after being hit by fraud is the rapidity with which any stolen money is reimbursed, highlights an international survey conducted by US payments technology vendor ACI Worldwide For example, just under a third of consumers surveyed also judged their banks customer service by how quickly they identified a fraudulent transaction while for a quarter of respondents it was most important that the bank identified the fraud before they did. In general ACI found banks are doing a reasonable job when it comes to post-fraud services, with 74 percent of respondents happy with the treatment they received after becoming a card fraud victim
Amazon takes 1-Click mobile
Reinforcing the significance of mobile payments as a mainstream channel, Amazon.com has launched Amazon Mobile Payments Service (Amazon MPS), a mobile web service incorporating the internet retail giants 1-Click checkout functionality. When using the 1-Click checkout, an order is automatically charged to the customers default payment method on his or her Amazon account and shipped to the default address, thus eliminating the need to input details required when going via the shopping cart. Developers and merchants who already offer Amazon Payments on their website can easily add the new mobile payment option for their customers without any additional back-end technology development.
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Widespread PCI-DSS compliance an illusive goal
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, an old saying that has relevance in Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance being driven by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council but achieving far from optimum results This unfortunate picture emerges from a study based on a survey of 517 IT security practitioners which found compliance efforts at almost three-quarters of the multinational companies for which they work to be sadly wanting. The study was conducted by the Ponemon Institute, a non-profit organisation focused on data protection practices, and sponsored by data security specialist Imperva to determine if PCI-DSS compliance improves organisational security.
Mi-Pay enthuses over prospects
Marking its fifth anniversary, UK-based mobile payments services provider Mi-Pay has put out a strong positive message on the mobile channels future, emphasising that, while global recession has left its mark on many industries, it has also acted as a catalyst for mobile-based financial service adoption As banks, service providers and mobile operators seek to overcome economic challenges, drive more efficient infrastructure and create stickier services for larger groups of customers, many are now turning to mobile payments, remittances and top-up to boost reach, fuel demand and renew customer loyalty, said CEO Norman Frankel As a result we predict that the next five years will see mobile money shift from being a niche service to a viable mass market proposition with widespread global adoption.
GSMA starts development grant ball rolling
Putting its commitment to expanding mobile payments in developing regions into financial action, mobile network operator (MNO) body the GSM Association (GSMA) has awarded the first four grants from its Mobile Money for the Unbanked fund (MMU) A geographically diverse disbursement, the unspecified grants have been made to the AXIS mDUIT project in Indonesia, MNO Oi in Brazil, Roshan in Afghanistan and SMART Communications in the Philippines The grants are being funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which in February this year announced it had committed $12.5 million to the GSMA in support of its MMU initiative
Western Union feels the pinch
A global economy on the back foot was reflected in Western Unions third-quarter results which saw revenue fall 5 percent compared with the same period in 2008 to $1.3 billion The decline was led by Western Unions major market, consumer-to-consumer payments, which saw revenue fall 5 percent to $1.1 billion despite a 3 percent rise in transactions to 50 million. The hardest hit region was the Americas which contributed $403 billion (31 percent) of Western Unions revenue in the third quarter, down 10 percent compared with the third quarter of 2008
First Data flexes its muscles in Africa
Already a well-established player in South Africas retail cards sector, First Data has now set its sights on the countrys ATM market with the acquisition of CashAxcess First Data executives provided EPI with insight to the processing giants ATM strategy in South Africa and ambitions in the retail sector. First Data believes opportunity beckons in South Africas ATM market, and the company has just acted on this belief with the acquisition of CashAxcess, a small ATM outsourcing specialist established in 2005