Mandates and payments roundup, May 31

Logica wins mandate from MCB Bank

Pakistan’s MCB Bank has implemented the payments filtering solution offered by business and technology services company Logica. According to Logica, the product called HotScan will help MCB Bank comply with new regulations and allows operations and compliance employees to focus on addressing other potential threats which will reduce operational costs.

“Levels of filtering required of banks will only increase further, due to more stringent regulatory requirements and increasing payments volumes,” said John Evans, director of financial crime solutions at Logica, in a statement. “This is our second customer within Pakistan which proves that out innovative filtering software can help banks worldwide minimise risks and maximise potential resources.”

MCB Bank is Pakistan’s fourth largest bank. It has a network of more than 1,100 branches in the country and serves more than four million customers.

SmartPay and Alipay receive payment licences from PBoC

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has issued a payment licence to Shanghai SmartPay Information Technology (SmartPay) which allows the Chinese mobile payment company to engage in mobile, internet and network payment services, prepaid card issuance and acceptance and bank card acquisition through the country. SmartPay is one of 27 companies that have been issued the licence and is the only electronic payment company within the group of approved companies.

“SmartPay is well positioned to assume more responsibilities and lead the development, market cultivation and promotion of the mobile payment business in China,” said Edward Wu, president of SmartPay, in a statement. “With the inherent advantages of being ‘anywhere and anytime’, SmartPay mobile payment services provide a safe and convenient alternative for payments while reducing time, travel and social costs.”

Alipay, a third-party online payment platform in China which is affiliated with online business-to-business internet company the Alibaba Group, has also received a licence from China’s central bank to operate an electronic payment system in the country. With the licence, Alipay can handle foreign exchange transactions, internet and mobile payments and debit card services.

Alipay was originally owned by the Alibaba Group, but became an independent business in December 2004 which gave owner Jack Ma ownership control of the payment business.