All articles by EPI editorial
EPI editorial
Global Payplus excels in benchmark test
Utilising a combination of batch and real time input, the test demonstrated Global Paypluss ability to process more than 7 million transactions per hour and in doing so set new throughput and performance records, said Fundtech.The company added that the test also confirmed Global Paypluss ability to support high volumes of high-value and low-value transactions on the same integrated platform In addition, Fundtech said, results demonstrated the linear scalability of Global Payplus as additional hardware was added and no limitations were identified that would prevent scaling to even larger volumes.The test was requested by a large finan-cial institution to demonstrate that Global Payplus meets the requirements of the new UK Faster Payments scheme
Alternative internet payment services are gaining ground
Alternative internet payment services are gaining groundAlternative payments service providers in the internet commerce arena, such as PayPal and Bill Me Later, will continue to gain ground at the expense of branded credit cards, believes Bruce Cundiff, a senior analyst at US consultancy Javelin Strategy & Research Cundiff forecasts that alternatives to bank cards will account for 30 percent of a $355.3 billion US retail internet commerce market in 2012, up from 14 percent of a $150.4 billion market this year
US payments industry launches campaign to save the environment
Spearheading the initiative is a coalition formed under the auspices of payments industry body the National Automated Clearing House Association to educate consumers about the positive environmental impacts of choosing electronic bills, statements and payments over paper.Leadership partners of the coalition include Bank of America, CheckFree, Citi, Citizens Bank, the Federal Reserve Banks, Fiserv, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, Wells Fargo and US Bank.This strategic industry initiative will educate consumers about the real positives for their households and for the environment that choosing electronic solutions over paper will have, said Stuart Williams, bill-pay service provider CheckFrees manager of payment services and co-chairman of the coalition.Although consumer use of electronic bills, statements and payments is growing, many consumers do not realise the full impact their household could make by simply asking to turn off paper bills and statements once they have adopted online banking.Craig Vaream, a vice-president of investment bank JPMorgan Chase and co-chair of the coalition, said: Recent studies find that the consumer use of the online channel for banking and bill payment, along with electronic invoicing, can have a positive impact on the environment.Indicative of the huge environmental benefits that would result from all US households receiving and paying their bills electronically, he cited a study undertaken earlier this year by consultancy Javelin Strategy and Research
Monitise steps up service levels
The enhancements cover Monitises UK service MoniLink and US service Monitise Americas, a recently launched joint venture with US banking and payments technology vendor Metavante. Enhancements being introduced include: the ability to manage multiple accounts including bank accounts, credit and pre-paid cards and loyalty cards from a single application; a full range of payment services including inter-account and peer-to-peer transfers, bill payment and international remittances; secure messaging services, allowing customers to send or receive messages from their financial services provider such as requests for credit limit increases or card activations; two-factor authentication for internet banking, providing an additional layer of security through the use of unique passcodes and instruction confirmation; and ATM and branch locators.Monitises service connects to financial institutions using their payment processing connections and is compatible with any bank or mobile network. Major client for Monitise AmericasMonitise Americas has scored an important success, gaining as its first major US client NYCE Payments Network (NYCE), a debit card payments network that connects the accounts of more than 74 million cards
Still room for growth in UK ATM market
The number of ATMs in the UK will reach about 65,00 this year, up from 60,428 at the end of 2006 and about 25,000 in 1998. Does this indicate an over-supplied market? Not at all, believes Graham Mott, head of scheme planning and development at Link Interchange Network, the inter-bank ATM transaction switching unit of UK payments processor VocaLink. We are seeing steady growth; I feel theres room for 75,000 to 80,000 ATMs in the UK, Mott told EPI. VocaLinks platform links the entire UK ATM network, which is the worlds busiest.
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Pulse deploys neural network technology
Pulse deploys neural network technologyFollowing a beta development programme involving several financial institutions, US electronic funds network provider Pulse EFT Association has launched DebitProtect, a neural network debit card-based fraud detection system. In essence, DebitProtect assesses risk for all PIN, signature and PIN-less debit transactions on the Pulse network and notifies financial institutions via e-mail of possible fraudulent transactions.Pulses president, Dave Schneider, explained that because debit cards are used in a different manner from credit cards, DebitProtects design is based on a data model developed for debit portfolios.This neural model will be continuously refined utilising fraud data obtained from Pulse issuers, said Schneider.DebitProtect uses neural network technology which, in practical terms, is an artificial system that performs intelligent tasks similar to those performed by the human brain
DoCoMo’s mobile credit card’s a roaring success in Japan
DoCoMo’s mobile credit card’s a roaring success in JapanIn April 2006 Japans largest mobile phone service provider, DoCoMo, became the worlds first mobile phone operator to offer its own branded platform for mobile phones incorporating a credit card and a contactless payment capability Eighteen months on and DoCoMos DCMX mobile-phone credit cards running on its iD platform have made significant headway in Japan.In October DoCoMo reported that subscribers to the DCMX service exceeded 3 million and forecast that subscriber numbers would reach 4 million by March 2008. The number of iD contactless payments terminals stands at 190,000 and, predicted DoCoMo, should exceed 250,000 by March 2008.For contactless payments using the DCMX, maximum transaction value is 10,000 ($86)
Swedes still infatuated with cash
Electronic payments have made impressive strides in Sweden, driven in particular by the Bankgirocentralen and PlusGirot payment services and more recently by the rise in popularity of payment cards, especially debit cards. Despite this, breaking Swedens fondness for cash remains an uphill battle.
Yodlee PayItAll forges ahead
Yodlee PayItAll forges aheadIn September, Peter Hazelhurst, senior vice-president of product development for Yodlee, the US payments solutions provider, told EPI that in the payments processing market we are finding a great deal of receptivity, and we are moving quickly to capture market share In a significant development to this strategy, global money transfer services provider Western Union has opted to partner with Yodlee to offer payment services to online bill-paying users.The new service is hosted on Yodlees BillPay PayItAll plat- form launched in September, and, according to the partners, is the first capable of linking financial institutions online bill-payment services directly to Western Unions billers
ICBC internet banking bonanza
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Chinas largest bank, continued to attract new customers to its internet banking services in droves during the first half of 2008.