PARTNER NEWS: Raiffeisen Bank has launched an Android NFC mobile payments service in Romania and the Czech Republic that uses Antelop Solutions’ digital payments and tokenization platform... More
UK-based neobank Revolut has implemented a Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) system that lets customers use their mobile banking app to authenticate their contactless card as they get close to reaching the new contactless transaction limit, avoiding the risk of having their card declined when they next attempt to make an in-store purchase... More
UK-based neobank Monzo is to use app notifications to provide customers who have a contactless card transaction declined due to new Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements with the information needed for them to successfully complete their transaction... More
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has agreed to give card issuers and merchants an extra 18 months to implement Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), the new customer identity verification regulation which forms part of the EU’s revised Payment Services Directive II (PSD2)... More
EPSM recommends harmonised migration plans on PSD2-SCA — EPSM — “To avoid significant acceptance disruptions, EPSM recommends that all regions should agree an additional timeframe of 18 months for standard applications, as well as up to 36 months for challenging applications, such as those in the travel and hospitality sector. This will deliver an EU-wide harmonised migration approach by the EBA and the 28 national regulators for remote card payments.”
PARTNER NEWS: Antelop Solutions has launched an integrated onboarding, authentication and mobile payments platform for Android and iOS devices that lets both traditional and challenger banks combine “best-in-class” end-to-end security with a user friendly, PSD2-compliant, mobile-first consumer experience... More
Despite greater than ever use of smart devices for banking and payments and a desire for the latest technologies, Europeans are some of the most cautious adopters, according to a survey of 15,000 consumers in Europe, America and Australia... More
Alipay granted Luxembourg license to serve European market — Luxembourg for Finance — “Already present with a licensed entity in London, Alipay’s new PSD2 license in Luxembourg will allow the group to leverage the EU passport to serve its customers across Europe in the future and connect Chinese users with merchants in EU countries.”
New payment method for air tickets successfully demonstrated — International Air Transport Association — “IATA Pay is an industry-supported initiative to develop a new payment option for consumers when purchasing a ticket directly from an airline website. It is made possible by the European Commission’s second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), and the UK’s Open Banking regulation. For airlines, the advantages of IATA Pay are: Cheaper payment option compared to other alternatives; Highly secure; Faster cashflow with instant/near instant payment to the merchant; Simpler payment process resulting in fewer lost sales.”
Google gets go-ahead from Central Bank for payments — The Irish Times — “Google has been authorised as a payment institution in the Republic, paving the way for the technology giant to begin providing new financial services to consumers and businesses both here and further afield. The Central Bank granted authorisation to Google Payment Ireland under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) regulation on Christmas Eve. Having obtained authorisation, the company will be allowed to issue and acquire payments across the European Union under passporting rights.”
Opinion of the European Banking Authority on the implementation of the RTS on SCA and CSC — European Banking Authority — “The regulatory technical standards (RTS) on strong customer authentication (SCA) and common and secure communication (CSC) underpin the new security requirements under PSD2… The EBA has decided to issue an opinion in order to respond to a number of the numerous queries the EBA and competent authorities have received from market participants and aims to provide clarity on the implementation of certain aspects of the RTS that were published.”
Mastercard unveils solutions to underpin open banking transformation — Mastercard — “Mastercard announced today that it is developing a new suite of services to underpin the transformation taking place in the industry as partners ready themselves to take advantage of Europe’s PSD2 legislation… They will incorporate a pan-European directory of third party providers to help banks to ensure that parties seeking access to a customer’s account are legitimate… They will also feature a connectivity hub that will help third parties establish and maintain communication with banks.”
Deutsche Bank pilots game-changing payments solution with IATA — Deutsche Bank — “Deutsche Bank will collect customer payments directly from consumer accounts in line with the newly revised EU Payments Services Directive, PSD2. Currently, payments are mainly processed via credit and debit transactions… With direct payments being processed and received in near-real time, IATA’s member airlines will benefit from the acceleration of their funds. This will generate significant working capital and liquidity benefits — reducing days sales outstanding and the cost of funding for these airlines.”
Google says it is looking to partner with banks, not be their rival — The Irish Times — “Florence Diss, head of commerce partnerships for Google in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said the company is actively working with a number of banks to explore opportunities arising from the payments services directive 2 (PSD2)… Ms Diss’s comments come as Google joined with KBC Bank Ireland at Finovate to demonstrate the latter’s mobile app, which allows users to open a current account in less than five minutes using a selfie for identification purposes.”
Mastercard establishes biometrics as the new normal for safer online shopping — Mastercard — “Consumers will have the capability to use biometrics, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, as a way to identify themselves when they shop and pay with Mastercard as of April 2019… This shift to biometrics is part of Mastercard’s new action plan to help banks, retailers and partners to prevent fraud and improve the consumer experience in the new digital environment. It also meets new regulatory requirements around Strong Customer Authentication set out by PSD2 and is aimed at ensuring a smoother consumer experience and reducing unjustified declines.”
Nordea Open Banking is live — Nordea — “Together with fintechs and other external developers we aim to create new products and services for our customers at a faster pace than we could do by ourselves, while keeping customers firmly in control of what data they wish to expose and which products they wish to use, says Claus Richter, head of cash management solutions at Nordea.”
NCR research highlights consumer desire for innovative banking services in the UK — NCR — “Nearly half of respondents (47%) with personal bank accounts would only feel comfortable with banks collecting the bare minimum of data required to run their accounts… 49% were interested in banking loyalty programs in partnership with retailers requiring third-party data sharing. 46% were open to financial advice services that keep track of their spending information to help save money.”
Payment Services Directive (PSD2): Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) enabling consumers to benefit from safer and more innovative electronic payments — European Commission — “The RTS makes strong customer authentication (SCA) the basis for accessing one’s payment account, as well as for making payments online. This means that to prove their identity users will have to provide at least two separate elements out of these three: something they know (a password or PIN code); something they own (a card, a mobile phone); and something they are (biometrics, eg fingerprint or iris scan)… The use of SCA will become mandatory 18 months after the entry into force of the RTS, ie once the RTS is published in the Official Journal of the EU, scheduled for September 2019.”
UK’s Open Banking project expanded — Open Banking — “The OBIE [Open Banking Implementation Entity] has now been asked by the CMA9 and Her Majesty’s Treasury to create open banking standards for all payment account types covered by the European Union’s second Payments Services Directive (PSD2). This means customers using credit cards, e-wallets and prepaid cards will also be able to take advantage of open banking services.”
ABN Amro launches its developer portal — ABN Amro — “Besides providing APIs that allow commercial clients easy access to their checking accounts, the bank also offers use of building blocks for sending Tikkie payment requests and sending bulk payment orders. This is also part of ABN Amro’s preparations for the European Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) laws, which – starting in 2018 – will allow regulated third parties to access the checking accounts of clients that have granted permission.”
