June, 2022

• 1 June

  What U.S. Banks Need to Know About FedNow

  

  Questions abound about factors like adoption and technical requirements. But staying on the sidelines is not a wise option. Bringing the U.S. payments industry into line with that of other advanced economies such as the United Kingdom and Europe has been a priority for the Federal Reserve, and next year …
• 1 June

  How Fast Do Payments Have To Be?

  

  When it comes to real time or same day, there are advocates in each camp. But which option is better? The answer is far more nuanced than the question. For a number of years now, the payments industry has talked about so-called faster payments. But what does this term really …

April, 2022

• 1 April

  The Never-Ending War

  

  With rate increases expected this month, it’s time for the annual confrontation over interchange. Can this issuer-retailer argument ever be resolved? In the payments business, nothing gets the attention of the entire industry as effectively as the topic of fees. And no fee wins that attention as much as the …

December, 2021

• 1 December

  The Price of Stability

  

  And you thought stablecoins were all about ‘set it and forget it.’ Some—including the government—think otherwise. It is one of the ironies of the payments business these days that there seems to be little that’s stable about the news surrounding stablecoins. For a concept that came on the scene a …

October, 2021

• 1 October

  Debit Card Pricing at Full Boil

  

  Ten years on, the Fed is mulling changes to its interpretation of the Durbin Amendment’s debit-routing rules. It’s not likely to make anyone happy. Of the many consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps the biggest one for the payments business is how it has thrown into stark relief the long-festering …

September, 2021

• 1 September

  The Key to the Future of Financial Services

  

  Here’s why the collection and sharing of data is in a second—and far better—phase. In today’s interconnected world, consumers want to be able to access information when, where, and how they want. Financial information is no exception. Given its nature and importance, however, the sharing of financial data comes with …

September, 2020

• 1 September

  Fast Thinking for Faster Payments

  

  For financial institu­tions of all sizes, real-time transfers are likely to be a competitive necessity. But small banks must work out how to balance operational headaches with potential advantages. It has been generally acknowledged that real-time payments can provide some significant benefits to financial institutions. But for smaller FIs, they …

March, 2020

• 1 March

  Routing Rumble

  

  The Federal Trade Commission once again is looking into debit card transaction routing, and the focus is mostly on online payments. Here we go again: federal regulators are probing the seemingly arcane issue of how debit card transactions are routed. Anybody care for some caffeine? Abstruse as it may seem, …

February, 2020

• 1 February

  The Case That Won’t End

  

  A push by big retailers to have certain payment-network rules scuttled in court is keeping one of the biggest cases in the history of the payments business alive. What will happen now? If you thought the massive—and massively complex—payments litigation known officially as In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and …

January, 2020

• 1 January

  Can You Deliver on Instant Payouts?

  

  Across multiple industries, workers and consumers are increasingly looking for right-now funding. Businesses that want to thrive will have to meet that expectation. In a world where instant gratification is king, Freddie Mercury’s famous lyrics have never rung truer: “I want it all, I want it all, I want it …