This from Chris on Finextra, notes the growing competition in online payments.  We have become accustomed to seeing Paypal at online checkouts.  But competition is here not just from Google, but Amazon, Banking consortia, and others. Chris notes this announcement from Amazon. First PayPal, then Google, now Amazon and the Banks “You can use the extensive feature set of Amazon FPS to conduct a wide variety of transactions under virtually any set of constraints. Key features include: Send and receive money using credit card, bank account or Amazon Payments balance transfer as payment methods …. Technorati Tags: payments, transaction+acquiring Continue reading Online payment transaction acquiring heats up …

Thanks to Bruce at Javelin, for this tip.  While his point is the end of the prospective merchant centric debit system, I also see here the opening for new services from Banks.  Tempo | News & Events SAN MATEO, CA — July 17, 2007 — Tempo Payments, Inc., today announced the availability of Tempo™ Debit, the first debit solution that enables financial institutions and other issuers to rapidly deploy comprehensive ACH-based debit card programs. Shattering long-standing barriers to increased debit card use, Tempo Debit allows institutions to establish debit card relationships with consumers other than their own checking account customers. … Continue reading Tempo Debit allows institutions to establish debit card relationships with consumers other than their own checking account customers

I have to update something that I missed earlier in June.  The event was the CapitalOne debit card, and I realised I had missed a significant nuance while chatting to Jason from Wesabe later in June.  The significance began to sink in.  CapitalOne do not have or even need a checking account as I wrongly wrote here. CapitalOne becomes a Bank with checking accounts « The Bankwatch This makes Capital One a bank with a checking account. From my reading of their site, which does have lots of words, they are oferring credit card type protection for debit card purchases. … Continue reading CapitalOne attack Banks with standalone debit card

Capital One introduce a new product that appears to link a MasterCard with a bank account – a debit card / credit card in one? Hat tip Javelin No more check writing with a go-anywhere Capital One® Platinum Debit Card that is tied to your Capital One checking account This makes Capital One a bank with a checking account. From my reading of their site, which does have lots of words, they are oferring credit card type protection for debit card purchases. # Use your card instead of checks and cash anywhere you see the debit MasterCard logo # No … Continue reading CapitalOne becomes a Bank with checking accounts

This is huge – Paypal is a Bank! Person-to-person payments firm PayPal has been granted a banking licence in Luxembourg and is relocating its European headquarters to the country from London, in a move that will see it escape FSA oversight and multiply the number of Web sites that can offer its service. Source: Finextra Five years ago, Paypal successfully argued with the New York State Banking Department, that they were not a Bank, and then similar success with the FDIC. But now in Europe they are a Bank. An institution with no branches, deposit taking institution, with worldwide payment … Continue reading PayPal gets banking licence in Europe

 Chris does a fantastic job of outlining Paypal’s history from inception in Dec 1998 (100 months ago).  In particular, the reason it succeeded so rapidly is what struck me here. In fact, although many of us think PayPal displaces banks, it actually enhances banking services as demonstrated by the bank services behind PayPal. For example, PayPal runs through Wells Fargo and JPMorgan’s infrastructures and generates payment transactions through Visa and MasterCard. As a result, the US backers of PayPal from the banking industry are making a mint through the massive volumes of payments that PayPal generates, as are the bank … Continue reading Celebrating PayPal’s ‘centenary’ – Paypal business model analysis

Interesting development in Belgium, reported by Donald, that might well be a forerunner to similar actions elsewhere, as the real issues & costs associated with SEPA ( Single Euro Payments Area ) are flushed out. The main issue is whether all brave and tough speeches by cartel-busters are merely gallery-play fr the public or a reflection of a serious determination to end interchange fees in Europe Source: Linkdump on Payments: Belgians reconsider rolling out Maestro for domestic payments   Technorati tags: SEPA, Belgium, Payments Continue reading Belgians reconsider rolling out Maestro for domestic payments

 EBay who own both these companies comes up with a real industry disruption winner, offerring mobile payments via Skype. SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) – Web telephone calling service Skype will shortly begin allowing users to send money to other Skype users via the PayPal online payments system, Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom said on Tuesday. Speaking at a technology conference in Silicon Valley, Skype Chief Executive Zennstrom said the company is working with PayPal, but declined to say exactly when the service would be made available to Skype’s tens of millions of global users. Source: Skype to offer money-transfer system via … Continue reading Skype to offer money-transfer system via PayPal

 Since the advent of Check 21 regulations in the US, requiring Banks to use cheque images to settle, the introduction of remote deposit capture has taken off.  This capability allows for merchants to scan the cheque, send it off for credit, and the paper cheque is destroyed. Overall, there has been strong growth. According to remotedepositcapture.com, the number of Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) locations was expected to top 181,000 at the end of 2006. That’s up from 41,000 at the end of 2005 and only 6,500 in 2004. Not surprisingly, there also has been substantial growth in the total number … Continue reading Remote deposit capture shows exponential growth