1 4 January 2007

News:

Speaking at the Prepaid Card Expo, which took place 26-28 February, Las Vegas, Visa USA's chief executive, Philip Coghlan, called for the prepaid card industry to play an active role in informing the US government about its needs and concerns.

The German Presidency of the European Union will present the 'final' text of the Payment Services Directive (PSD) to Member State ambassadors on 14 March, E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy has learned.

The UK Government has invited industry feedback following the publication of draft regulations implementing the latest EU Money Laundering Directive.

Features:

There is little doubt as to potential growth and current interest in the European prepaid card market. PSE Consulting, in its recent report 'Making Sense of Prepaid: who will win?', have commented that growth rates for European prepaid cards are likely to exceed 110% per annum for the next five years, lifting the card base by the end of 2010 to over 360 million cards, generating 2.3 billion transactions and €75 billion in turnover. PSE also comments that a significant proportion of large retail banks now have a strategy that will get them involved with the European prepaid card market over the next 12 to 18 months.

The subject of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has dominated the agenda of the European payment card sector for many months and it is set to be the single most important topic for the foreseeable future.

E-invoicing has the potential to replace paper invoicing because of reduced cost to businesses. Stefan Engel-Flechsig, legal counsel and chairman of the Committee for European Standardization's (CEN) Information Society Standardization System (ISSS) workshop, explains current European legislation regarding e-invoicing and moves to harmonise practices across Europe, including the CEN/ISSS' ten consensus documents proposing amendments to European Union legislation regarding e-invoices and VAT, approved in June 2006.

The European prepaid cards market is poised for a period of rapid growth before stabilisation, according to latest research. Media interest has focussed on the consumer side of the market, ignoring the corporate and public opportunities of prepaid. Chris Jones, a senior consultant with PSE Consulting, explains how the market will grow, highlights issues of which both banks and non-banks need to be aware, as well as warning that what appears profitable in the short term may turn out differently as the market matures.

Mobile financial services are finally gaining traction, partly due to the growth in the number of global mobile users, but also due to new technologies enabling fast and secure data access, providing greater consumer convenience and ease of use. In this article, Ginger Schmeltzer, manager, and Samee Zafar, director, of Edgar Dunn & Company look at current developments and the issues to be addressed to succeed in the mobile marketplace.

The Australian Security and Investment Commission is awaiting final submissions in relation to its recent consultation paper for its review of the Electronic Funds Transfer Code of Practice. Scott Coulthart, principal with Legal IT Lawyers, Brisbane, examines whether the Code and the underlying legislation and regulations go far enough to protect e-payments from fraud.