We’re getting into the final weeks of 2014, with only 15 days left before the start of the new year and nine days until Christmas. This doesn’t mean the news is slowing down though. The global financial situation took some interesting turns since this time a week ago: France unveiled some new reforms to kick-start the domestic labor market in order to avoid sanctions from the European Union, while oil prices on the stock market took a turn to new lows on fears about a glut in the market. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve ponders the prospect of interest-rate hikes, which would bring to an end the era of easy money.
The situation in the accounts payable and cash management world was a bit more stable though. Iron Mountain put in a bid for an Australian competitor, while MasterCard inked a deal with a startup to begin offering interactive payment cards. Check out the rest of the roundup below for some of the most interesting articles from last week.
Iron Mountain lobs $2bn bid for Recall
The Australian Business Review reported Sunday that Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) put forth a $2 billion takeover bid for Australian competitor Recall on Friday. The bid breaks down to $7 per share for Recall, a data management company spun off in July from a wood pallet manufacturer. According to The Australian, the $7 per share bid is likely to be rejected as too low an offer. Read the full article at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mergers-acquisitions/iron-mountain-lobs-2bn-bid-for-recall/story-fn91vdzj-1227155773554?nk=c290b6394867e4d50b5dae127b851e76.
MasterCard to offer interactive payment cards to its issuers around the world
MasterCard (NYSE: MA) has inked an exclusive deal with payments technology startup Dynamics to offer the latter’s interactive payment card technology to its payment card issuers worldwide. The companies said that their new, joint offering will utilize the current card infrastructure and will feature buttons, displays, and LEDs that enable greater payment capabilities and flexibility than what is found in a standard card today. While the consumer technology market has generally outpaced the B2B one across the full P2P spectrum, the gap is much closer when it comes to card technology. We think there is a use case for many of these new capabilities in a corporate commercial card program and will be inquiring to see if any of the Dynamics features make it onto MasterCard’s commercial card roadmap. Read the full announcement at http://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-dynamics-inc-partner-drive-innovation-within-interactive-payment-card-market/
UK Faster Payments scheme sets out to expand reach
Elliot Holley at Banking Technology has the story that the United Kingdom’s Faster Payments service plans to add more payment service providers to its ranks over the next year. Faster Payments is exploring numerous different options, including partnering with the Bank of England, to develop new settlement options for non-bank payment service providers. “By the end of next year,” Holley writes, “the scheme’s goals are to have FinTech vendors poised to launch the new access model, each vendor to have an anchor tenant, accreditation service for vendors to be launched, and a pipeline of additional payment service providers working with vendors.” Read the full article at http://www.bankingtech.com/268411/uk-faster-payments-scheme-sets-out-to-expand-reach/.
Jet Airways, American Express launch co-branded card for SMEs
India’s Economic Times reported last week that American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Jet Airways, an Indian carrier, launched a co-branded corporate travel card targeted toward Indian small and mid-sized enterprises. The card could be a significant driver of savings, according to The Economic Times, given that India is due for an economic expansion wherein business travel could play a huge role. According to American Express’s president for South Asia, Sanjay Rishi, the Jet Airways co-branded card is the first of its kind in India. Read the full article at http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-12-11/news/56955316_1_jet-airways-cramer-ball-jpmiles.
How the e-invoice mandate helps drive supply chain finance
Scott Lewin of Invoiceware International blogged last week about the benefits of mandated eInvoicing in Brazil and Mexico. The short version is that forcing enterprises to only submit invoices electronically takes significant angst out of the process. Lewin writes that Brazil and Mexico, by virtue of creating government-mandated eInvoicing systems, have allowed enterprises to stop wringing their hands over technology and focus instead on the strategic value of electronic invoicing. This includes driving a possible increase in supply chain financing, in addition to other strategic benefits. Read the full blog post at http://www.invoicewareint.com/blog/in-the-news/how_the_e-invoice_mandate_helps_drive_supply.
GSA: What’s new in payment cards?
According to The Federal Times, the United States General Services Administration posted a request for information (RFI) on December 9 asking industry about the latest trends and technology in payment and charge cards. The GSA manages purchasing, travel, and fleet cards for 350 agencies and organizations, which combined spent about $26 billion on cards in 2014. The RFI comes ahead of the launch of the third iteration of GSA’s SmartPay initiative. Read the full article at http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20141210/ACQ/312100015/GSA-What-s-new-payment-cards.
