December, 2019

• 1 December

  Merchants’ Double Whammy

  

  Merchants have been skirmishing with networks and issuers over acceptance costs since the days of cardboard cards. As 2020 approaches, interchange rates are stable, but merchants are seeing more sales on high-cost rewards cards while paying more network fees. Not so long ago, if you wanted to get a card-accepting …

October, 2019

• 1 October

  How Libra Is a Spark for Blockchain Technology

  

  It faces formidable challenges, but Facebook’s cryptocurrency initiative has the potential to rewire the underpinnings of the entire payments system. Libra, a new stablecoin powered by blockchain technology from Facebook, is a bold, forward-thinking concept and a potential game-changer for blockchain and the payments realm. While it remains to be …

September, 2019

• 3 September

  The New Reality in Real-Time Payments

  

  Now that the Fed’s so-called public option is no longer a matter of speculation, the race is on to dominate a crucial payments market. But in real-time transactions, will the race go to the swift? After 10 months of playing it coy, the Federal Reserve early last month finally jumped …

July, 2019

• 1 July

  2020 Vision

  

  Will the U.S. payments industry reach its goal of ubiquitous real-time payment capability by 2020? In part, the answer may depend on how “ubiquitous” is defined. When the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payments Task Force wrapped up its work in July 2017, it set what seemed to be a challenging but …

May, 2019

• 1 May

  Debit Dynamics

  

  The Fed’s latest probe into debit card costs and revenues has merchants clamoring for lower regulated interchange. Merchants have said it before, and they’re saying it again: It’s high time the Federal Reserve lowers its regulated debit card interchange rate. The call by the Retail Industry Leaders Association came shortly …

April, 2019

• 1 April

  Pressure Points

  

  Lyft’s efforts to lower its costs may be emblematic of a broader initiative among so-called gig-economy firms to tame nettlesome factors like card-acceptance costs. It’s every merchant’s dream to chop card-acceptance costs to the bone. Historically, some sellers, especially those with very large credit and debit card payment volumes, purportedly …
• 1 April

  Behind the ACH’s Sizzling Growth

  

  The big untold story in payments is how the lumbering ACH network has been posting impressive growth rates quarter after quarter. Is there more than same-day settlement to keep the party going? Let’s face it, generating anything beyond low-single-digit growth rates can be a challenge when you’re a 45-year-old payment …

December, 2018

• 1 December

  The Promise—And Threat—of Real-Time Payments

  

  Three years ago, Mastercard shelled out big money for a U.K. technology firm. As faster payments take hold in the States, the rationale for that deal will soon be put to the test. Back in July 2017, the Federal Reserve issued a challenge to the U.S. payments industry: create a …

September, 2018

• 30 September

  When Collaboration Makes Sense—And When It Doesn’t

  

  Through the years, the network game hasn’t changed. Payment systems need volume, and that means interoperability with other networks. The key is to be smart about it. The payments world is a patchwork of overlapping and interdependent networks. For success, networks need a path or paths to critical mass. For …
• 2 September

  Still Unsettled

  

  A divided Supreme Court says American Express Co.’s anti-steering rules for merchants don’t violate antitrust law. What does that mean for card payments, especially with another big card-related court case heading for a settlement? The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 decision upholding American Express Co.’s anti-steering rules for merchants has …