Author: Ben Jackson

Ben Jackson

Director, Prepaid Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group

Governor Cordray? It Looks More Like CFPB Director Will Run

Speculation has abounded that Richard Cordray, the direct of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will run for governor of Ohio. Now, Cleveland.com has added more grist to the rumor mill,…

Prepaid Cards Open New Options for Square and Venmo

Fintech companies are finding prepaid cards are the way to connect digital systems to real world payments. Square has opened up its prepaid card program that draws on funds in…

The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese: There Is Still Opportunity in Prepaid Cards

An old adage goes: The early bird gets the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese. Companies interested in the prepaid industry can benefit from this line…

Was MCX too Merchant-Focused?

The failure of the MCX digital wallet CurrncyC came about because the product was trying to solve a problem for merchants instead of customers, according to an article in the…

CFPB Reopens the Prepaid Rules; The Saga Continues

In 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the final Prepaid Rule that it had begun working on in 2012. This seemed like it would be the end of the…

Visa Equipping FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 for Cards Everywhere

Visa is bringing payments innovations to soccer fans at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 in Russia later this month. The company said in a press release that it would equip…

Criminals Hacking Gift Card Systems in Search of Unspent Cards

Security publication CSO reports that retailers are seeing attacks against their gift card systems as criminals look to find unspent cards and make a quick buck. Traditionally, gift cards have…

Payments in the Gig Economy Determine the Business Model

A wide-ranging article in the Financial Times describes how the payments process can determine the business model for products and services using Uber and the gig economy as an example….

Will Cashless, Less Cash, or Something Else Be the Future of Payments?

Should the United States get rid of all cash, most of its cash, or just keep going as it is? This is the question explored in an article in the…

Amazon Cash Brings Buzz and Skepticism

Earlier this month Amazon launched its “Amazon Cash” program that allows customers to download a bar code that they can scan at participating retailers to load cash into their accounts….

State Attorney Generals Ask Congress to Maintain the CFPB Prepaid Rules

Attorneys general from multiple states have asked the Congress not to use the Congressional Review Act to get rid of the prepaid rules finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…

Amazon Cash Lets Shoppers Buy Online Without Cards

Internet retailer giant Amazon.com announced that it has launched Amazon Cash, which enables customers to load cash into an Amazon account, TechCrunch reports. Amazon this morning announced the launch of…

Georgia Power Customers Can Pay Their Bills in Cash at Retail

Customers of Georgia Power can now get a barcode that will enable them to pay their bills in cash at retail stores. PayGo Utilities, a company that specializes in utility…

Samsung Wants to Add Prepaid Wearables to Its Product Line

Samsung announced the launch of a new product line in conjunction with Ingenico and Smartlink, that it is calling the “Contactless Companion Platform” to enable users to load contactless devices…

Retailers Continue to Launch New Mobile Apps, Will Shoppers Use Them?

Retailers are following Starbucks Corp.’s lead by developing their own apps for customer engagement and payments, but questions remain over how many apps customers will actually use. For one thing,…

Trump Wants to be Able to Fire CFPB Head

The Trump Administration wants to get the ability to fire the head of the CFPB for any reason, according to an article in Forbes. If the courts agree that there…

Indian Government Proposes Multifactor Authentication Rules for E-Wallets

The Indian Government has proposed rules to require multi-factor authentication for digital wallet payments, which providers say could hurt the industry. The draft titled Information Technology (Security of Prepaid Payment…

Enter your email Address

Author: Ben Jackson