Industry

Your Used Car May Soon Come With Subscription Fees

WIRED

"News reports often get people angry, but wow, did people get mad over an article published last summer about BMW. It described how the German automaker now sold some features of its vehicles as subscriptions, including an offering in South Korea that charged $18 for things that drivers are accustomed to coming standard, such as heated seats. Subscription-weary consumers reacted with outrage."

Industry

Kasheesh’s Payment Splitting Platform Generates One-Time Use Card for In-Store Shopping

Businesswire

"Today Kasheesh, the first to market digital payment platform that allows anyone to split payment for online purchases across multiple combinations of debit and credit cards for free, introduces Mobile Wallet Dashboard, its first mobile wallet feature. The Mobile Wallet Dashboard allows anyone with a Kasheesh account to generate a one-time use VISA card to use anywhere at brick and mortar retailers that accept mobile payments."

Industry

Banks, Fintechs, and Regulators Must Step in to Make BNPL Safer

Business & Finance

"Over the past few years, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has gained significant popularity for retail purchases. While the concept itself isn’t particularly new, it has come into prominence as the growing availability of fintechs and banks with real-time analytics for credit assessment, open APIs and cloud, has made it easier for retailers and e-commerce platforms to offer various payment plans for customers. Typically, in BNPL transactions, the service provider, whether it is a bank or a fintech pays the merchant and subsequently collects it from the customer over a pre-determined period with interest."

Industry

FedNow Could Outcompete Almost Every Crypto Project in Existence

Protos

"The US Federal Reserve created FedNow to make USD settlement faster and cheaper between financial institutions. The system will offer 24/7 operating hours plus a full-featured back-office suite. Scheduled to launch by July 2023, FedNow vastly improves upon traditional interbank settlement systems like FedWire or ACH systems. It offers superior costs, scale, features, and intraday finality. Put simply, FedNow almost completely obviates the need for a US central bank digital currency (CBDC). Here’s how FedNow will accomplish almost everything a digital dollar could accomplish — and how it will outcompete most digital assets, including stablecoins. What’s more, it will accomplish all of this without any blockchain."

Industry Regulation

Italy Bans ChatGPT Over Personal Data Risk

Silicon UK

"Italy’s data regulator has blocked ChatGPT in the country and launched an investigation into the Microsoft-backed chatbot’s use of personal data. The Garante regulator said there was concern about the massive amounts of data collected by ChatGPT from its users. It said there was no legal basis to justify “the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of ‘training’ the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform”. Italy is the first Western country to ban OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is blocked in countries including China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.  The regulator noted a 20 March software bug in the chatbot that exposed portions of users’ conversations and payment information to other users for about nine hours."

Tags: GDPR Privacy regulation

Industry

API Standardisation Will Help Leapfrog Innovation Across All Sectors

Bizcommunity

"The growth of application programming interfaces (APIs) continues unabated. However, as new regulations like PSD3 gather momentum, the call for API standardisation could be the next catalyst for an innovation leapfrog. And South African businesses who place designing for developers at the heart of their API projects are the ones most likely to reap the rewards...In June 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its response to the proposed updated regulations of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2). In the draft PSD3 comments were several references to the difficulties created by API fragmentation."

Industry

NetDirector Collaborates with Mend to Create Fully Integrated Automated Patient Payment Solution for Healthcare

EIN News

"NetDirector, the cloud-based data exchange and integration-as-a-service, has teamed up with leading telehealth platform Mend to create a platform agnostic, seamless patient payment experience called Automated Patient Payments (APP). The new APP service provides powerful and configurable end-to-end payment options to complete patient payments in a modern, accessible way."

Industry

Goodbye Passwords, Hello Fingerprint – G+D Simplifies Access to Digital Services for Bank Customers

GI-DE

"Although banks have mastered the use of passwords, customers increasingly look for more seamless but still secure ways to access their digital services. Banks recognizing this need can leverage the G+D Convego® AUTH-U solution, offering banks biometrics-based ways to authenticate their customers for banking and transaction approvals in a fast, easy, and reliable way. A fingerprint or facial scan is all that is needed for secure, two-factor authenticated access across all channels, be it mobile apps or in a web browser."

Industry

EMVCo, FIDO Alliance and W3C Extend Collaboration to Promote Seamless and Secure Web Payments

EMVCo

"EMVCo, the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have renewed the charter for the Web Payments Security Interest Group (WPSIG) for a further two years.  Formed in 2019, the charter renewal will enable the organisations to continue collaborating to enhance the security and interoperability of web payments to support seamless e-commerce checkout experiences. The renewal follows the recent publication of an updated version of the ‘How EMVCo, FIDO and W3C Technologies Relate’ document to meet the evolving needs of the payments industry."

Industry

MyFloc Sets Financial Management as ‘Tapestry’ Experience

AJC

"When Elizabeth Clubb found herself helping with financial caregiving toward the end of her father’s life, she saw that, as a former professor, he was surrounded by lots of people — caregivers, family, past students. “His solution for, really, expenses … when he couldn’t do those things himself was to give whoever was there in his life his checkbook,” she said. “That is not a good solution.”"

Companies Industry

Click to Cancel: FTC Proposes Rule to Help Consumers Ditch Subscriptions

NBC News

"A new rule proposed by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday would make it easier for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions. The so-called click to cancel provision would require companies to simplify the cancellation process by allowing consumers to terminate services the same way they signed up for them — so if a consumer signed up for a subscription on a website, for example, they would need to be able to cancel it online rather than having to do it by phone or in person."

Industry

PrimePay Unveils New Payroll-Connected On-Demand Pay

PR Newswire

"PrimePay, LLC., a national human capital management (HCM) technology leader, today announced the launch of its Payroll-Connected On-Demand Pay in partnership with Clair, an embedded financial wellness solution that helps employees cover expenses in the moment. Clair is connected to PrimePay's payroll and HR technology, streamlining earned wage advance loans without disrupting working capital or payroll administration."

Industry

White House Takes Aim at Crypto in Scathing Economic Report

Yahoo Finance

"The White House took aim at cryptocurrencies in a new report arguing that many aspects of the digital asset ecosystem are creating issues for consumers, the financial system and the environment. The Economic Report of the President, published on Monday, is an annual publication by the Council of Economic Advisers aimed at explaining the President's economic priorities and policies. The March 2023 issue included an entire chapter on digital assets and "economic principles."

Industry

US Merchant Processing Fees Top $160 Billion

GlobeNewswire News Room

"In 2022, US merchants paid a record $160.70 billion in processing fees to accept $10.589 trillion in payments from credit, debit and prepaid cards, according to the Nilson Report. The total value of fees was up 16.7% from 2021, even though purchases for goods and services tied to all card payments grew by only 12.3% year-over-year."

Industry

How QR Code Menus and Other Tech Solutions Help Restaurants Future-Proof Their Businesses

Restaurant Technology News

"We’re not getting ahead of ourselves when we say this is the start of a post-pandemic renaissance for the hospitality industry. More businesses are now seeing the benefits of investing in technology, reinventing themselves with out-of-the-box innovations to stay resilient. Sixty-nine percent of restaurants are willing to continue online ordering, and 36% more owners are investing in restaurant software. It’s all about selling convenience to remain competitive. So now it’s just a matter of finding which technologies are actually worth investing in...Tabit POS users also found an 8-15% increase in spending per customer, and that tips are usually higher when customers pay at the table."

Industry

Startup Partners to Bring Machine Learning, Facial Recognition to IoT Developers

Biometric Update

"A partnership has been formed between Useful Sensors, which supports the addition of AI interfaces to consumer electronics, and OKdo, a subsidiary of RS Group which makes and sells single board computers, to increase the availability of machine learning capabilities like biometrics, presence detection, hand gesture recognition and voice interaction. The partners plan to bring small, low-cost machine learning hardware modules to market through the global manufacturing and distribution deal."

Industry

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Buying Crypto With Your Credit Card

Coincodex

"Amid surging inflation and rising prices, more and more ordinary Americans are dipping into their savings and relying on their credit cards to pay for everyday goods and services. Late last year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noticed a steep increase in credit card balances, as personal savings rates sank to an all-time low. At the time, credit card balances jumped by 15%, the biggest increase in more than two decades."

Industry

Eurasian Bank Onboards 1 Million Clients Using Oz Forensics’ Biometrics

Biometric Update

"Kazakhstan-based Eurasian Bank onboarded over 1 million clients in 2022, with biometric technology provided by Oz Forensics, according to a joint announcement. Another financial services company has signed up for Oz Forensics technology to try and replicate that kind of success with a POS system...The same three tools deployed by Eurasian for selfie biometrics, identity verification and liveness detection have been adopted by Eurocapital as its digital transformation reaches credit processes."

Industry

Coinbase Opens Local Bank Transfers for Singapore Users at No Cost

Reuters

"Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will let customers in Singapore move funds to and from accounts via local banks, smoothing one path to investing in digital assets at a time when markets are on edge over financial stability and crypto banking. Transfers, in Singapore dollars, are facilitated by a traditional bank, Standard Chartered, and carry no fee, the company said in a statement. Previously, users could only purchase crypto via a Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card, or transfer crypto in and out of their Coinbase account."

Industry

Mouser Debuts NXP Facial Recognition and 3D Liveness Detection Kit

Biometric Update

"Mouser Electronics, a global distributor of electronic and chip components, has announced it is selling NXP Semiconductors’ SLN-VIZN3D-IOT development kit for facial recognition with 3D liveness detection. “The SLN-VIZNAS-IOT enables developers to quickly and easily add facial recognition with 3D liveness detection to their products, particularly in the smart home and security markets,” says Mouser Electronics in a statement."

Industry

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Says Don’t Expect a CBDC Soon: ‘We’re Not at the Stage of Making Any Real Decisions’

Yahoo Finance

"President Joe Biden issued an executive order last year calling for “the highest urgency on research and development efforts” of a U.S. central bank digital currency, but in a hearing on Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it still could take years. Speaking before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said that the Fed and the recently formed Treasury Department interagency working group have not made a decision on whether a CBDC, or digital dollar, is something that the financial system and U.S. citizens want or need."

Industry

Binance Announces Suspension Of UK Deposits, Withdrawals After Losing Partner Bank

International Business Times

"Binance, the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange platform by trading volume, informed its users in the United Kingdom that deposits and withdrawals will be suspended in the coming months after it lost its partner bank."

Industry

How Virtual Cards Are Improving T&E Management

Total Retail

It’s hard to imagine companies funding employee travel and expenses (T&E) without plastic credit cards. They offer the ultimate flexibility for employees to get whatever they need when they’re away on company business. However, these cards aren't always the best — or most lucrative — option. The biggest challenge with physical cards is that companies don't want every employee to have a corporate credit card. When you have plastic walking around, it can be lost, stolen or used fraudulently. The majority of employees don't make enough corporate purchases to warrant that risk.

Industry

Noda Chooses ThetaRay AI Solution to Monitor Open Banking Services

Businesswire

"Noda, an open banking fintech, and ThetaRay, a leading provider of AI-powered transaction monitoring technology, today announced they will collaborate to enhance payment monitoring and compliance capabilities on Noda’s growing platform that is supporting the new digital economy in Europe."

Industry

Retailers Applaud Fed’s Clarification Regarding Competitive Routing on Debit Transactions

Progressive Grocer

"The food retail industry was heartened by the Federal Reserve’s approval yesterday of new rules clarifying that merchants’ right to choose which payment networks process trillions of dollars in debit card transactions each year applies online as well as in stores and must be honored by banks and card companies. According to the Fed, “The final rule will encourage competition between networks and incentivize them to improve their fraud-prevention capabilities.”"

Industry

Mercedes Lets Drivers in Germany Authenticate In-Car Payments with Their Fingerprint

NFCW

"Mercedes drivers in Germany can now authorise in-car payments for digital services and on-demand hardware upgrades using a fingerprint sensor on their vehicle’s dashboard without needing to enter a PIN or use an additional mobile device to verify a transaction. Mercedes has integrated fingerprint sensors into the MBUX head unit and infotainment centre of vehicles in its EQS and EQE series, its S-Class and C-Class and the recently launched GLC, enabling owners to complete strong customer authentication (SCA) compliant transactions from an eligible Visa debit or credit card using the Mercedes Pay+ platform."

Industry

Transact Campus and Amazon Collaborate to Bring Just Walk Out Technology to College Campuses for Fast and Frictionless Shopping

Transact Campus

"Transact Campus, the award-winning leader in innovative mobile credential and payment solutions for a connected campus, today announced the company will integrate its solutions with Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, enabling a fast and frictionless way to make payments with vendors on and off campus. The parties anticipate stores powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology will be deployed across campuses via an integrated solution combining Transact’s card system for payments, mobile ordering app for store entry, and Cloud POS for product catalogs, inventory, and reporting."

Industry

Project Icebreaker Concludes Experiment for a New Architecture for Cross-Border Retail CBDCs

BIS

"The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden have concluded Project Icebreaker, which studied the potential benefits and challenges of using retail central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in international payments.  A collaboration between the BIS Innovation Hub Nordic Centre, Bank of Israel, Norges Bank, and Sveriges Riksbank, the project tested the technical feasibility of conducting cross-border and cross-currency transactions between different experimental retail CBDC systems."

Industry

Elo Partners with Felix to Make Mobile Payments a Reality

PR Newswire

Felix, the global leader in contactless cloud EMV payment technology, and Elo, a leading global provider of interactive solutions announced the integration of the Felix.Terminal Tap to Pay cloud-based solution with Elo's M50 Mobile Computer. The move aims to provide a seamless contactless payment experience to retailers across various industries, including retail, hospitality, sports stadiums, and quick-service restaurants.

Industry

Facial Recognition Algorithms Hit New Accuracy Highs in Latest NIST Test

Biometric Update

"Idemia correctly matched 99.88 percent of 12 million faces in the mugshot category of the latest 1:N test by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Other developers topping individual performance categories include CloudWalk (mugshot profile, visa border, visa kiosk, border at 10+ years, Sensetime (mugshot n=16 million, mugshot webcam), NEC (mugshot at 12+ years). Algorithms from those developers and Paravision make up the top 12 in the corresponding leaderboard update."