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NF Edition #530 - 11/04/16
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Highlights this week...


Frictionless Payments - The Open Frontier
The best and the brightest in payments technology come to TRANSACT Tech San Francisco to network, and learn what others are doing to push frictionless payments forward in an omnichannel world.
 
For education and networking, there's no better one-day event in payments technology right now. Hear from DotDashPay, Talech, Allpago, Microsoft, Google, PayPal, Commerce Ventures, ControlScan, Square, Turo and many more. Learn more and register today!

TSG eReport - Political Organization/Campaign ISV Directory
As we approach the U.S. election, what better time to evaluate the political software space for integration. Every merchant vertical is a snowflake, and payment providers that specialize their offerings to specific industries will see growth and increased profitability.

TSG’s latest eReport is a directory of independent software vendors that serve the political organization & campaign space. A main service that these software companies often provide is donation management for political elections. TSG’s directory covers 29 players and includes the following insights (as available):

  • Market Share
  • Number Of Users
  • Payment Processing Partnerships
  • Number Of Employees
  • Marketed Clients
  • Affiliations
The report also provides payments performance metrics for MCC 8651, Political Organizations. These metrics are sourced from TSG’s AIM database of 3.5 million merchants and cover a sample of ~2,000 merchants. The following performance metrics are provided for January 2012 through July 2016:
  • Average Monthly Dollar Volume Per Merchant
  • Average Ticket
  • Gross Amount Charged to Merchant (Effective Rate)

Preview  |  Purchase - priced at $895

Jack Dorsey Gets Another Break With A Strong Q3 from Square
TechCrunch | 11.02.16

While Jack Dorsey’s other company Twitter might be struggling, Square continues on a roll that’s keeping Wall Street happy. There’s going to, as always, be a big question mark for Square because of Dorsey’s tenure at Twitter — which is hardly going well. While the company’s latest quarter showed a flash of optimism, the company’s efforts to close a sale with Salesforce and other potential bidders fell through for a number of reasons (trolls included). There are questions of Dorsey’s ability to navigate Twitter’s complex problems, and that could easily extend to Square.


Related

Clocks Fall Back This Weekend. U.S. Consumer Spending May Too
Bloomberg | 11.03.16

The clocks turn back this weekend, giving most Americans an extra hour to cash in on sleep. But new research finds they tend to spend less money with fewer hours of daily sunlight. A study by JPMorgan Chase Institute compared purchases by credit and debit card users with its parent bank in two southwest U.S. cities: Los Angeles, which adjusts in and out of daylight saving time, and Phoneix, which follows mountain time year round.

America Isn’t Ready for a Cyberattack
The Wall Street Journal | 10.31.16

The recent cyberattack that rendered more than 1,200 websites unreachable was a warning. Experts say a similar, or larger, attack could be launched tomorrow, and we’d be powerless to prevent it. No one seems to know who was behind the attack, launched by a “botnet” of thousands of internet-connected devices. The Department of Homeland Security believes it wasn’t another nation. That sounds reassuring, but is scary: It doesn’t take a government or even a skillful hacker to make much of the internet inaccessible to millions. Anyone can buy similar capability for less than $1,000.

Related: Here's How Your Refrigerator Broke the Internet

Google’s Payments Chief Gives A Glimpse of What’s Coming for the Android Pay App
Digital Transactions | 10.31.16

Alphabet Inc.’s Android Pay mobile wallet made some headlines recently with the company’s announcement that the app would be available to Masterpass and Visa Checkout users for online payments. But Google, the Alphabet unit that manages Android Pay, has quite a bit more planned for the 13-month-old service, and last week a top Google executive pulled back the curtain just slightly. One technology Google is beginning to exploit allows users to transfer other credentials beyond payment cards as part of a single tap transaction. These could include rewards cards and ID cards, said Pali Bhat, Google's global head of payment products.

J.P. Morgan Sets Up Chase Pay Digital Wallet at Walmart
Fortune | 11.03.16

J.P. Morgan Chase is putting its “Chase Pay” digital wallet on Walmart’s website and in the retailer’s Walmart Pay app, hoping to give customers more ways to make purchases without cash, a bank executive said on Thursday. Kevin Watters, chief executive officer for cards at J.P. Morgan, said at a conference the bank is trying to make sure its Chase cards are an option for customers who want to make digital payments.

‘Brexit’ Will Require a Vote in Parliament, U.K. Court Rules
The New York Times | 11.03.16

The British government’s plan for leaving the European Union was thrown into uncertainty on Thursday after the High Court ruled that Parliament must give its approval before the process can begin. The court’s decision seemed likely to slow — but not halt — the British withdrawal from the bloc, a step approved by nearly 52 percent of voters in a June referendum. Nevertheless, the decision on Thursday was a significant blow to Prime Minister Theresa May, who had planned to invoke Article 50, the mechanism for leaving the European Union, no later than the end of March and to prepare for the negotiations mostly behind closed doors.

Americans Are Finally About to Get Online Banking Features That Brazil Has Enjoyed for Years
Quartz | 11.01.16

Electronic bill paying. Instant cash transfers between friends. Same-day check clearing. Digital banking is entering a new age in the US—but it’s an age that many developed and developing countries have been living in for some time already. Previously repressed by US regulations, industry inertia, and American consumer wariness, digital banking is about to finally become commonplace thanks to the money-transfer service Zelle.

How P2P Payment App Cookies Imploded
TechCrunch | 11.04.16

This summer, around the product launch, there were a bunch of internal issues at the company. The launch was late, the company was running out of money and investment discussions weren’t going anywhere. It put a lot of pressure on the founding team, with investors urging the team to ship so the company could raise another round. And it led to a big fight between the co-founders. The board, including co-founder and head of product Lamine Cheloufi, and activist investor Ehssan Dariani, teamed up to fire other co-founder and head of business Garry Krugljakow. This is when things got ugly.

A Cashless Economy in Zimbabwe? With Little Cash, There’s Little Choice
The New York Times | 11.03.16

The time came for worshipers to surrender their tithes on Sunday morning. But instead of dropping bills into a collection plate, the congregants at a large Pentecostal church rose and filed toward the deacons clutching hand-held card-reading machines. With a swipe, they were done. “Yes, it looks like shoppers in a supermarket,” said Mercy Chihota, 33, a member of the church, the United Family International Ministries, in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. “It feels good, but strange at the moment, because it’s very new.”

Starbucks Mobile Payments Now 25% Of All Transactions
Investor's Business Daily | 11.03.16

Starbucks touted its mobile-payment gains late Wednesday, after topping Street forecasts on both the top and bottom line but issuing profit guidance for 2017 that was a little light. Helped by an extra week, fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share rose 30% to 56 cents, beating by a penny, as revenue climbed 16% to $5.71 billion, slightly topping views of $5.68 billion. Same-store sales in the U.S. rose 4%. The broader Americas segment comps rose 5%, in line with consensus and better than Q3's 4% gain. Globally, the company recorded 4% in same-store sales growth in Q4. It also announced a 25% quarterly dividend boost to 25 cents a share.

European Millennials Waiting for the 'Uber Moment' of Mobile Payments 
Finextra | 11.02.16

Only a quarter of UK millennials are using mobile payments technology, according to research from VocaLink, the latest in a long line of tech firms trying to figure out how young people want to pay. The survey of more than 4000 18 to 35 year olds across four European countries suggests that while there is an appetite for innovation in the payments sector, millennials have yet to find an Uber or Snapchat equivalent - something which meets their needs and is a significant upgrade on existing tools.

Related: British Shoppers Crave In-store Technology Like VR

Instagram is Finally Going to Make it Easier to Shop for the Products You See in Your Feed
Recode | 11.01.16

The knock on traditional e-commerce sites has long been that they take the serendipity out of shopping — that is, they’re good for transacting when you know what you want, but not so good when you don’t. On Tuesday, Instagram will become the latest internet company to try to capitalize on this perceived flaw — and perhaps the only real weakness in Amazon’s core business. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing app introduced a series of new features designed to help people identify, and eventually purchase, products they may come across in photos from brands in their feeds.

Credit Card Giant MasterCard Releases 'Experimental' Blockchain APIs
CoinDesk | 10.31.16

Visa isn't the only credit card issuer moving fast on blockchain. But while Visa is going it alone in releasing a B2B blockchain, MasterCard it seems is quietly developing a set of new blockchain APIs with more collaborative goals. The credit card giant’s development site now features three APIs connected to its internal blockchain work, including offerings focused on smart contracts and payment settlement. The APIs were released by MasterCard Labs, its innovation outfit.

Samsung Adds Local Deals to Mobile Payment App
Mobile Commerce Daily | 11.02.16

In the middle of a tumultuous period, facing problems both financial and optical, Samsung is quietly plugging away at revamping its Samsung Pay system with a new local deals option. The phone manufacturer added a few new features to its mobile payments application, expanding coverage to three new countries, integrating with more merchants and adding a local Deals section. The new feature helps consumers find nearby deals and lets them redeem those promotions in-app.

P2P Mobile Payments Platform Paym Reports 5.8M Transactions
NFC World | 10.31.16

More than £300m (US$364m) has now been processed through peer-to-peer mobile payments platform Paym since its launch in April 2014, accounting for more than 5.8m transactions. Some 3.5m mobile numbers are currently registered with the service across the UK, up from 3.2m in February 2016. “The August bank holiday in particular proved to be a very busy day for Paym this year, as the holiday coincided with an end-of-month pay day which encouraged people to send a record £1m in a single day,” the company says.

With a Sharp Rise Already in Online Fraud Attacks, Look for a Worrisome Holiday Season
Digital Transactions | 11.01.16

If the payments industry is expecting a sharp rise in online fraud, it can stop holding its breath. It’s already happening, and with the official holiday-shopping season getting under way, it’s going to get a lot worse. Yet, just as attacks are growing more numerous, funding for firms that combat online fraud is slowing down. Fraudsters are attacking online merchants and financial-services firms at ever-rising rates both to steal goods and services and to test stolen identity data for future attacks. Increasingly, criminals are flooding their targets with sophisticated bot attacks to place illicit orders or to complete stolen identities.

Android Malware Targets Bank and Social Media Apps
Finextra | 11.04.16

Cybersecurity experts are warning about new Android malware that can steal the login credentials from 94 different mobile banking apps around the world. The malware masquerades as a Flash Player app that, once installed, appears in a phone launcher, says Fortinet. If a phone owner launches the app they see a fake Google Play screen asking for permissions that grant the malware administrator rights. Then, when a banking app is opened, the malware creates a fake overlay, tricking victims into entering their login credentials.

Wells Fargo Under Investigation by Securities and Exchange Commission
ABC News | 11.03.16

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has joined a cast of other authorities investigating Wells Fargo sales practices, the bank disclosed in its regulatory filings on Thursday.The investigation adds another layer of scrutiny on the bank, which has faced near-constant criticism since early September allegations that employees had opened as many as two million credit and deposit accounts without customers’ knowledge or permission. In its standard filings made with the SEC, the bank detailed all of the regulatory and law enforcement agencies that had their eyes on its practices.

UK Government Vows to Sink $2.3B Into New Cybersecurity Plan
Ars Technica | 11.01.16

The UK government has promised to spend nearly £2 billion over the next five years to try to tackle the growing problem of cyber attacks in the country. Recent research suggested that Britain is particularly susceptible to data breaches involving compromised employee account data. Nonetheless, chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond claimed on Tuesday that the country is "an acknowledged global leader in cyber security."

Economy Adds 161,000 Jobs in Last Pre-Election Report
TheStreet | 11.04.16

The last jobs report before the election is in -- and it's pretty darn good. The economy added 161,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, the Labor Department said Friday. But the details get better: A big jump in wages brought year-over-year gains to a very healthy 2.8%, and upward revisions of 44,000 to the hiring pace of the prior two months more than make up for an initial estimate of October hiring that falls about 14,000 short of the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones & Co.


Related: These Jobs Numbers Show an Economy That Is Basically Healthy

Americans to Spread Holiday Cheer by Spending More Money and Shopping on Mobile This Year
American Express | 11.03.16

The holidays may still seem a distant way out, but Americans are already crossing items off of their shopping lists. In fact, as of end-of-September, one-third (33%) of consumers say they have already started their holiday shopping, up significantly from 25% in 2015, according to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. When it comes to gifts, Americans expect to spend an average of $908, an 8% increase from last year ($839 in 2015), and among affluent consumers, the expected gift spend increases to an average of $1,513.

One Million Consumers Dish On The Holiday Shopping Season
PYMNTS | 11.01.16

Super Saturday May Outshine Black Friday -- Consumer procrastination is a driving force behind shopping trips being made later in the season, which could help Super Saturday (Dec. 17) surpass Black Friday. Last year, Super Saturday saw an increase of 12 percent in shopping trips than the prior year, while Black Friday trips remained flat. “Black Friday has become an increasingly artificial phenomenon, driven as much by retailer promotion as by its date on the calendar,” Jared Schrieber, InfoScout’s cofounder and CEO, explained. “Super Saturday, by contrast, offers a more practical reason for primacy in shopping trips — it’s the last weekend to shop before the holiday.”

Visa Slashes Hundreds of Jobs As It Digests European Acquisition
San Francisco Business Times | 11.01.16

Layoffs are roiling San Francisco-based Visa, with the card giant eliminating an undislosed number of positions around the globe as it digests its purchase of Visa Europe and adjusts to the rapidly shifting payments landscape that sparked a proliferation of fintech startups eager to eat Visa's lunch. Visa issued a statement Tuesday acknowledging "a variety" of job cuts, but offered no details on the size and scope. Several Visa employees and former employees tell the San Francisco Business Times that Visa recently cut 800 to 1,500 jobs, with the company's former headquarters campus in Foster City especially hard hit.

Masterpass Enables In-car Payments Through General Motors' OnStar
NFC World | 10.31.16

Drivers will soon be able to make purchases from within vehicles using their Masterpass account through OnStar — a subscription-based, in-car communications service and General Motors (GM) subsidiary. The Masterpass-enabled service, designed in collaboration with IBM, is to be embedded in “many GM vehicles” in 2017.

Shift4 Enables Merchants to Process EMV Chip Cards Through Global Payments
Shift4 | 11.01.16

Shift4 Corporation, provider of the world’s largest independent payment gateway, announced it has certified for U.S. EMV with Global Payments. This certification enables merchants using Shift4’s DOLLARS ON THE NET payment gateway to process chip-embedded credit and debit card payments through Global Payments with layered security as well as flexible payment processing options not available from competing payment service providers. “We’re proud to announce Shift4’s latest certification for U.S. EMV in a series of certifications with all of the major processors."

CardFlight and Security Card Services Enter Into Mobile Payments Partnership
PR Newswire | 11.02.16

CardFlight, a mobile point of sale (POS) technology provider and Security Card Services (SCS), a bank-focused merchant services provider based in the southeast, today announced their partnership to offer CardFlight's SwipeSimple solution to SCS merchants, enabling them to accept EMV chip card payments on the go. SwipeSimple is a turnkey mobile payment acceptance platform that includes an EMV-enabled mobile chip card reader, a mobile application for iOS and Android, and a back office reporting portal for business owners to take payments and manage their business. 

FIS Empowers Digital and Commercial Growth for Customers Bank, BankMobile with Technology Transformation
FIS | 10.31.16

Customers Bank and its BankMobile division have selected FIS, a global leader in financial services technology, to provide leading financial technology support that will assist the bank in its strategic digital and commercial growth. Customers Bank is a community-based, full-service bank with assets of approximately $9.6 billion

Ex-AOL, Yahoo Executive Appointed Ripple CEO
Reuters | 11.01.16

U.S.-based financial technology start-up Ripple announced on Tuesday its Chief Executive Officer Chris Larsen has decided to step down and will become the company's executive chair. Larsen said Brad Garlinghouse, the firm's current chief operating officer, will become the new CEO effective Jan. 1. San Francisco-based Ripple is a provider of blockchain-based cross-border payments technology for banks and has raised more than $90 million in funding from a whole range of investors.

MetaBank Completes Acquisition of EPS Financial, LLC
Nasdaq | 11.02.16

Meta Financial Group, Inc. announced that on November 1, 2016, its bank subsidiary, MetaBank, completed the previously announced acquisition of substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of EPS Financial, LLC (“EPS”) from privately-held Drake Enterprises, Ltd. (“Drake”). The assets acquired by MetaBank in the EPS acquisition include the EPS trade name, operating platform, and other assets. The EPS management team and other employees have been hired by MetaBank and EPS operations will continue to be based out of Easton, PA.

Vantiv Becomes a Leader in United Way Giving
Vantiv | 10.31.16

Vantiv, Inc., a leading provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions for merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, announced  that the company has exceeded both participation and financial goals for its 2016 United Way campaign. More than 1,500 Vantiv employees contributed to the campaign raising more than $420,000.

The Bancorp, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results
BusinessWire | 10.27.16

The Bancorp reported a net loss of $25.5 million, or $0.54 loss per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 compared to net loss of $5.6 million, or $0.15 loss per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. Net loss from continuing operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 was $1.5 million or a loss of $0.03 per diluted share compared to net loss from continuing operations of $7.6 million or a loss of $0.20 per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Evertec Reports Third Quarter 2016 Results
Evertec | 11.02.16

Mac Schuessler, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Our third quarter results reflect the resilient performance of our Puerto Rican business in challenging conditions and the continued performance of our Latin America business. We generated significant operating cash flow and returned $22 million to shareholders through our share repurchases and dividends. Schuessler continued, “Additionally, we are waiting for Federal Reserve Board approval for a tuck-in acquisition in Puerto Rico. The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, leverages the scale of our business solutions segment to drive attractive returns to shareholders.”

ACI Worldwide, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2016
ACI | 11.03.16

“ACI is seeing growing interest in our Universal Payments solution and significant momentum in our SaaS and platform delivery.  With success booking net new customers, our new bookings in Q3 grew 9% and our SaaS-specific bookings grew 24%.  Also in the quarter we went live with our new state-of-the-art data center in Europe and signed an important partnership with VocaLink,” commented Phil Heasley, President and CEO, ACI Worldwide.

Discover Credit Scorecard Named to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance 2016 “The Best List”
Discover | 11.01.16

Discover Credit Scorecard was named to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance 2016 The Best List as one of the best Free Credit Sites. Launched in May, Credit Scorecard is an online service that gives consumers their FICO® Credit Score for free, even if they are not Discover customers. “With the launch of Credit Scorecard earlier this year, Discover provided all U.S. consumers with free and easy access to their FICO® Credit Score,” said Julie Loeger, Discover’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Fifth Third Taps TD Exec as Chief Technology Officer
American Banker | 11.01.16

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has named Aravind Immaneni chief operations and technology officer. Immaneni is currently head of retail distribution strategy and operations at TD Bank Group, where he oversees infrastructure and technology for the Toronto company's 1,280 U.S. branches. He joined TD in 2011 and previously held senior-level roles at Capital One Financial.

Club Med Improves Customer Experience Thanks to Ingenico’s Omni-channel Payment Solution
Ingenico | 11.02.16

Ingenico Group , the global leader in seamless payment, is bolstering its partnership with Club Med, the world’s leading premium all-inclusive company, by rolling out an omni-channel payment solution, which will complement the payment solutions online and on fixed and portable terminals that are already being used on site in France, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland, thereby improving the customer experience.

Fiserv Names Jim Grech Chief Information Officer
Fiserv | 11.01.16

Fiserv, Inc, a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced that Jim Grech has been named chief information officer, effective November 7, 2016. Grech succeeds Clifford (Cliff) Skelton, who will move into a new role after nearly five years in key leadership positions at Fiserv. Grech, who has spent the majority of his career in financial services technology, joins Fiserv from BNY Mellon, where he was responsible for the firm's global technology infrastructure.

Global Payments Refinances Debt Facilities
Global Payments | 11.01.16

Global Payments Inc., a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services, successfully closed an amendment to its credit facility agreement on October 31, 2016. Under the terms of the amendment, the company increased its aggregate term loan A facilities by $750 million with the proceeds being used to reduce a portion of the term loan B facility and outstanding revolving credit facility borrowings. The company's total borrowings remain unchanged as a result of the amendment.

Elan and Capital Bank Sign Exclusive Deal on Credit Products
BusinessWire | 11.01.16

Elan Financial Services, a payment services provider, and Capital Bank Financial Corp., a leading southeastern regional bank, have signed an agreement that will provide Capital Bank business and consumer customers with Elan’s suite of credit card products and services. As part of the multi-year agreement, Elan will provide credit card products that Capital Bank will brand as its own, including cards that offer a variety of cash, travel and merchandise reward options.

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