4 7 July 2010

News:

The Sultanate of Oman is going to link e-payment options to national ID Cards, the Oman Information Technology Authority (ITA) has announced. On 29 June, the ITA launched the Oman e-Government Architecture Framework (OeGAF).

Western Union is the first non-bank money transfer provider to obtain a licence to provide money transfer services in Japan as of July, under the Financial Settlement Act 2009.

The US Senate passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 on 15 July, giving final approval to a major overhaul of the US financial system.

Features:

Payment fraud - including card fraud and online banking fraud - continues to cause significant losses for the financial services industry. As part of an effort to address fraud, the UK Payments Administration (formally known as APACS) launched Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA), in July 2009, to coordinate industry activities against financial and payments fraud. The FFA has recently published a report giving an overview of payment industry fraud and measures to prevent it¹. The work of the FFA complements other initiatives to prevent fraud such as those of the National Fraud Authority² which was established in 2008 to coordinate the fight against fraud in the UK.

Online sales in the US have been boosted by a combination of more consumer-focused legislation, new payment methods and new sales channels. Michelle Cohen, Partner at Thompson Hine LLP, examines how the internet has contributed to encourage US consumers to buy, even in a context of economic recession.

Financial services are increasingly offered online in emerging markets, where the number of payment methods is growing rapidly. Paul Davis, Managing Director at the Counting House (IOM), examines which payment methods are on the rise and what to expect in emerging economies.

Mobile payments depend on complex technical processes and require the right infrastructure. Trevor La Fleche, Senior Research Analyst at IDC Financial Insights, discusses the different mobile payment models and processes, and explains why mobile payments have not been as successful as other payment methods have been so far.

Time has passed since the introduction of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which intended to harmonise electronic payments across the EU. However, the success of the SEPA scheme is debatable as many obstacles still appear to be in the way. Jelle-Frodo Huisman, Consultant at Innopay, evaluates why EU Member States are so slow in introducing harmonised payments.

International merchants conducting business online need access to local payment systems as well as alternative payment options. Tricia Lines Hill, Vice-President of Marketing & Corporate Communications at First Atlantic Commerce, explains why choosing a service provider to process payments for an online business is not an easy process and why the task can be daunting, at best.

Digital currencies have operated, for some time, beyond the realm of any governmental banking regulation however, they have been the subject of increasing scrutiny in the US and in the EU. Mark Herpel, Editor of DGC Magazine, a publication focusing on gold as a currency, analyses how digital currencies backed by gold can no longer go unregulated and undetected.