Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

IZettle ships chip and PIN reader

IZettle has launched a chip and PIN version of its dongle for turning mobile phones into card payment terminals and inked a partnership deal with Spain's Banco Santander.

20 February 2013

News/Cards

Debit cards usurp cash but mobile will soon rule

The debit card may have usurped cash in the UK over the last decade but it could be supplanted itself within years by the mobile phone, predicts the Payments Council.

20 February 2013

News/Cards

Tsys agrees $1.4bn NetSpend acquisition

Payments processor Tsys has agreed to buy NetSpend, a provider of pre-paid debit cards to America's underbanked, for around $1.4 billion in cash.

20 February 2013

News/Cards

Google and payments firms discuss blocking funds to illegal download sites - Telegraph

Google is in talks with Visa, MasterCard and PayPal about cutting off funding to illegal downloading Web Sites, according to the Telegraph.

19 February 2013

News/Cards

Wells Fargo overhauls ATMs for personalised service

US bank Wells Fargo has revamped its ATM interface to give customers a more personalised and simplified experience.

19 February 2013

News/Cards

Contactless m-payments come to Mobile World Congress

CaixaBank, Gemalto, Telefónica and Visa Europe have joined forces to show off mobile contactless payments to delegates at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

18 February 2013

News/Cards

BBVA Compass launches NBA-branded online account

BBVA Compass has set its sights on basketball fans with an NBA-branded online account built on its new core technology platform.

15 February 2013

News/Cards

Business case for US migration to EMV called into question

A senior staffer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has queried the business case for a mass market migration to EMV-based Chip and PIN technology in the US.

15 February 2013

News/Cards

After six weeks, credit card payments return to the Vatican

Visitors to the Vatican City can once more use their credit cards for purchases and ATM withdrawals, following the end of a six week ban over money laundering concerns.

13 February 2013

News/Cards

AmEx lets users tweet to buy

American Express is enabling customers to sync cards with their Twitter accounts and then make select purchases by tweeting hashtags.

12 February 2013

News/Cards

MasterCard buys stake in data analytics firm Mu Sigma

MasterCard is stepping up its interest in transactional big data, forming a partnership with, and acquiring a stake in, analytics firm Mu Sigma. Financial terms were not disclosed.

07 February 2013

News/Cards

ERN unveils Looop big data platform for banks and merchants

A new big data platform from a group of banking IT veterans is set to launch next week, promising to close the transactional loop that is currently broken every time a customer leaves a store with a paper receipt.

07 February 2013

News/Cards

Oz watchdog sues Visa over currency conversion services

Visa is being sued by Australia's competition watchdog, accused of misusing its market power to thwart competing currency conversion services.

06 February 2013

News/Cards

Crooks steal $11m in ATM heists; 18 accused of £200m card fraud

Cyber-crooks managed to take over financial accounts late last year and withdraw nearly $11 million from ATMs around the world using pre-paid cards.

06 February 2013

News/Cards

RBS and NatWest ride contactless wave

RBS and NatWest have announced plans to issue over two milion contactless Visa cards to customers in the UK over the next year.

05 February 2013

News/Cards

MPowa signs white label deal with Portugal Telecom

mPowa has signed a white label deal with Portugal Telecom for the carrrier to resell its mobile card reading dongle to local merchants and financial institutions.

05 February 2013

News/Cards

Anonymous allegedly leaks bank executive account information during US Super Bowl

In the latest round of attacks, Hacktivist group Anonymous claims to have leaked the names, addresses and other personal information on around 4,000 bank executives.

04 February 2013

News/Cards

Visa to offer "some" of its EMV technology free of charge

Visa has annouced an expansion of its previously announced roadmap for EMV chip card adoption in the United States to include a migration path for ATM transactions.

04 February 2013

News/Cards

Bank of America hit by website crash in the US

Bank of America's online banking website crashed on Friday, February 1st in the US leaving customers temporarily unable to access their accounts.

04 February 2013

News/Cards

Retail banking IT spend to hit $118.6bn in 2013 according to Ovum

IT spending will grow by 3.4 percent at global retail banks reaching US$118.6bn in 2013. The Ovum Business Trends report also finds that European banks are lagging behind their North American and Asia-Pacific counterparts, with just 1.8 percent growth expected, compared to 3.3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.

04 February 2013