All articles by EPI editorial
EPI editorial
Another big win for Clear2Pay
Adding to an impressive line-up of big-name customers, Belgian payment processing technology vendor Clear2Pay has secured a contract to supply Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australias largest bank, with its Open Payment Framework (OPF) solution Clear2Pays solution will be a key element in CBAs Unified Payments Capability (UPC) programme which aims to consolidate payment processing into one central technology The programme covers retail and wholesale payments with the initial focus on online card related transactions.
Secure Trading’s big bet on US reform
Online gambling has been banned in the US, in the process placing a daunting policing burden on the payments industry Payments processor Secure Tradings CEO Gerald Kitchen provided EPI with insight into efforts to overturn the ban and the significant potential such a development holds for his company The precise size of the global online gambling market is subject to a number of estimates, all of which indicate that it is substantial and growing at a cracking pace.
Heartland pummelled
Since the announcement on 20 January 2009 that it had fallen victim to a potentially massive data breach, problems have kept mounting at a staggering pace for Heartland Payments Systems, the US sixth-largest payments processor (see EPI 260) In the latest blow Visa has announced that it has removed Heartland from its published list of service providers compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) until it is recertified as compliant. Heartland was certified as PCI-DSS compliant in April 2008 and is currently undergoing recertification.
Alarming rise in card ID theft in UK
Although payment card fraud in the UK was on the increase in 2008, card identity theft displayed the most dramatic rise and prompted the greatest concern among security experts Fortunately, banks are harnessing cutting-edge technology to counter the tough challenge this type of theft represents Notching up its second double-digit increase in two years, payment card fraud in the UK jumped by 14 percent in 2008, data released by payments industry body APACS reveals.
Absa hits magical 1 million mark
Credited with being the first South African bank to exceed 1 million internet banking users, Absa has reached another key milestone by becoming the countrys first bank to register 1 million mobile banking customers In addition, over 40,000 small businesses are using Absas mobile banking service, noted Absa Digital Channels managing executive Christo Very. He added that uptake of Absas mobile banking service is growing apace with up to 5,000 new clients registering for the service each day.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
A history of admirable progress
Belgiums electronic payments system has a reputation for being one of the worlds most efficient But there is always room for improvement, reveals a study highlighting the significant benefits a real-time payments system would bring in terms of increased efficiency and substantial cost savings One of the worlds most mature electronic payments markets, Belgium began the transition to a centralised electronic payment system in 1974 with the establishment of the Centre for Exchange and Clearing (CEC) a not-for-profit unit of the countrys central bank, the National Bank of Belgium (NBB).
Barclays and Orange join forces
Few doubt that the paper cheque is heading down the road to extinction, a fate that could ultimately also await plastic payments cards as mobile communications and banking continue to converge Convergence is strikingly evident in a strategic alliance between UK bank Barclays Barclaycard unit and mobile network operator Orange UK which the partners believe heralds the biggest revolution in payments since plastic cards were introduced over 40 years ago. The partners leave no doubt that the mobile phone will play a key role in what they promise will be new jointly-developed, co-branded products and services.
UATP still flying high
Airline-owned payment services provider Universal Air Travel Plans (UATP) payments processing unit bucked the weak trend in air travel in 2008 by achieving a record volume of $12 billion, up 20 percent compared with 2007 UATPs alternate form of payment processing business has taken off in 2008, commented UATPs CEO Ralph Kaiser. Initiated in late-2005, UATPs payments processing service complements its UATP Settlement Service (USS), an in-house, proprietary settlement system which enables travel agency and low-cost air carrier payment processing to be conducted outside of normal channels.
MTN brings banking to millions
Almost 100 million people stand to benefit from South African-based mobile network operator (MNO) MTN Groups decision to make mobile phone banking and payments services available to subscribers in all 21 countries in which it operates. The rollout, the most ambitious yet by a MNO, also represents a major coup for South African mobile banking technology developer Fundamo which has been selected by MTN as its technology partner, awarding it a contract worth $9.7 million
Cuba’s flawed remittance market
There are many cross-border remittance routes in need of increased competition, not least of these being those to Cuba which are lagging behind the rest of the region This is highlighted by a study undertaken by nonprofit body the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), which revealed that via formal money transfer operators serving Cuba the average cost is 15 percent of the amount remitted, three times the average in the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean. Unsurprisingly, a survey of Cuban expatriates by the IAD revealed that the most significant cause of dissatisfaction among respondents is the high cost of remitting funds to their families in Cuba