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The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web. In today's briefing:
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Visa may have a strong succession plan in place after CEO Charles Scharf resigned, but the company would have done well to find a way to keep him. According to Forbes, Scharf's four-year tenure was a success by almost any tangible measure. Visa's stock grew 130% and the card brand's operating income rose 26% between the end of 2013 and 2015, both better than the S&P 500 Index and rivals such as American Express. In 2013, the company was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and it also completed several big deals including the acquisition of Visa Europe to cement the brand's global reach, a data-sharing detente with PayPal and winning the Costco card business after Costco's long relationship with Amex ended. Scharf's replacement, Alfred F. Kelly, is currently the CEO of Manhattan-based Intersection Co. and the former president of American Express.
Charles Scharf, chief executive officer of Visa Inc., speaks during the Institute of International Finance G-20 Conference in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. The conference runs through Feb. 26. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Charles Scharf
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Speaking of Amex, the financial institution is getting on the sandbox train, launching Amex for Developers, a new portal that's a single point of access to APIs and developer resources such as payment services, customized experiences, data intelligence and fraud prevention. The portal has a set of tools that enables developers to create and test new products without accessing consumer or merchant data. Mastercard and Visa have also both opened their technology tools to external developers, and PayPal has gone as far as to open offices in a technology developers' compound in Toronto.
Lofty goals, or even boasts, have long been part of Apple's DNA, and Apple Pay is no exception. CEO Tim Cook told the Japanese news service Nikkei that Apple Pay will be catalyst that gets people to stop using cash in favor of mobile payments. Cook, who gave the interview to mark the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, also said Apple would open a development center in Japan to focus on artificial intelligence and other web innovation. Apple earlier this summer detailed its plans for Japan, which includes support for the FeliCa wireless technology used in the area. It will also support FeliCa in the newest versions of the Apple Watch.
It's now OK for the cops to swipe payment or gift cards during an investigation. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Texas has ruled it's reasonable for cops to scan about 100 gift cards at a traffic stop to obtain information that can help solve a crime. The defendants had challenged the searches as unreasonable. In this case, police found an outstanding warrant for a passenger after pulling over the car. Upon searching the car, the police found a plastic bag that had been pushed under the front passenger seat, as if to "keep it hidden." The bag had gift cards that the car's driver had allegedly purchased illegally.
From the Web (powered by Wiser) How incentives are key to driving mobile wallet use BetaNews • Ian Barker Mobile wallets are gaining in popularity, according to a new survey by loyalty platform Points almost 64 percent of consumers say they've used a mobile wallet in the past year. However, some consumers are still reluctant to make mobile payments for a...
Online skimming poses a new danger Business Insider • B.I. Intelligence This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. New data from Dutch developer William De Groot indicates a rise in online skimming, a new form of e-commerce-related card fraud, according to Finextra....
A Credit Card, Disguised as Debit, Attracts InvestmentMany startups have taken shots at traditional banking, but few have succeeded in changing the way consumers handle their money. However, there is plenty of promise in this model, according to investor Tim Young.
Rhode Island Gives London's WorldRemit a Key Market in U.S.WorldRemit inched closer to its goal of obtaining its own money transmitter license in all available U.S. states with the announcement that it’s added a proprietary license in Rhode Island.
Ingo Money, MoneyGram Partner on Credit Card Bill Pay ServiceBusinesses and consumers using Ingo Money to transfer funds to bank or PayPal accounts will also be able to pay credit card bills through the Ingo platform at U.S. MoneyGram locations.
Customer Service Is Overlooked in Chargeback ReductionAn often overlooked impact of customer service is the role it plays in chargebacks. The policies and processes that a company has in place can either help them avoid chargebacks or deplete bottom line revenue.
John Adams is executive editor of payments for American Banker. John interviews top executives in the payments, cryptocurrency and fintech... Read full bio
Australia's national Payments Systems Board has decided to remove surcharges on prepaid, debit and credit cards for electronic funds transfers, while lowering the cap on interchange fees. Also, Wells Fargo is seeking banks for its international payment network, and more in American Banker's global payments and fintech roundup.
Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said Wednesday that his dissents over the past year on proposed regulatory changes reflect concern that oversight of banks could be significantly weakened.
