All articles by Sara Perria
Sara Perria
MoneyGram partners with Gemalto to tap into mobile transfers
MoneyGram has partnered with digital security company Gemalto to enable its customers transfer money through their mobile phones Customers will thus be able to send international transfers from a mobile phone to one of MoneyGrams 284,000 locations worldwide or receive transfers to their mobile wallet
Square brings in $200m in funding
Mobile payments companySquare said it has closed a funding round joined by Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company. The funding is thought to be worth a total of $200m, according to US media reports Last month Starbucks announced it invested USD 25m as part of a deal to replace transaction systems in the US and use Squares payer app
iSend extends retail presence
iSend provides cross-border consumer-to-business payments, enabling foreign immigrants in the US, Canada and the UK to pay bills and top up mobile phones in their country of origin
ACI Worldwide acquires payments switch Distra
US payments system provider ACI Worldwide has acquired Australia-based payments switch Distra for USD49m.Distras platform is known for its speed and flexibility, and ACI hopes to enhance its own platform across old and new technologies.
VocaLink partners with First Data and Accenture to roll out real-time payments in Australia
Vocalink has partnered with e-commerce payments processor First Data and consultancy Accenture to introduce in Australia the technology for a real-time payments system. The Immediate Payments software solution will enable users to transfer funds between bank accounts in real time instead of one-to-three days, along the lines of UKs Faster Payments, launched by VocaLink in 2008 Todays mobile, digital consumer is increasingly likely to require services including payments to be delivered reliably, securely and instantly, 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year, said VocaLink chief executive officer David Yates
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A standard dream
Cross-border payments continue to grow, as companies choose international expansion as a successful mean to fight the negative effects of the global financial crisis. Stakeholders seek ways to make transactions cheaper and more efficient. Would a single set of regulations be a correct and possible answer? Sara Perria reports
Hong Kong authority opens to NFC m-payments infrastructure
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is considering the creation of an NFC mobile payments infrastructure, as part of a wider focus on retail payment initiatives The implementation of an e-bill system is also part of the plan, announced by HKMA deputy chief executive Peter Pang during a speech last week
No continent for old regulation
Last month, the EPC abandoned its SEPA e-payments framework draft, citing the need to allow the inclusion of old and new stakeholders in the dialogue. But as the e-commerce landscape changes, there is a risk that the market will leapfrog political and standards-setting procedures. Sara Perria reports
Ogone acquires m-payment firm Tunz.com
Online payment service provider Ogone has acquired mobile payment firm Tunz.com, while partnering with IT & media specialist Belgacom to expand its electronic and mobile services The acquisition of Tunz.com provides the Ogone platform with a regulated e-money institution, enabling the company to offer an end-to-end mobile payment cross-border service Ogone already serves some 35,000 e-merchant clients, who will now be able to handle cross border payments without opening of foreign accounts or having to deal with different acquirers
Adyen partners with SoundCloud
Dutch payments processorAdyen has partnered with social sound platform SoundCloud to provide it with a single-click payment solution SoundCloud is growing rapidly so we were looking for a multi-currency payment solution with an integrated checkout process and fraud management system that could scale easily across the globe, said, SoundCloud Product manager of payments Moritz Knigsbscher. Adyen chief commercial officer Roelant Prins said: SoundCloud is a rapidly expanding global platform and we are keen to support its growth with our payments expertise.