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 …

February, 2018

• 1 February

  PayPal Reimagines the Point of Sale

  

  A series of partnerships with the card networks and now individual banks have positioned the online-checkout kingpin to make the leap to a mainstream digital-payments platform. Ever since PayPal Holdings Inc. was spun off from eBay Inc. in 2015, its chief executive, Dan Schulman, has not been shy about warning …

October, 2017

• 1 October

  When the Music Stops

  

  Bitcoin’s wild ride has enriched early investors but left payments geeks asking whether the cryptocurrency can ever be used to buy anything. Let’s say you were an early Bitcoin enthusiast, but not too early. Bitcoin appeared on the scene in 2010, but you, ever cautious about unproven stuff like this, …

September, 2017

• 1 September

  Electronic Billing’s Mobile Moment

  

  Popular with billers, but less so with consumers, electronic bill payment and presentment is enjoying a new lease on life thanks to mobile users. Since its introduction more than a decade ago, electronic bill presentment has been popular with billers eager to take advantage of the cost savings the technology …

January, 2017

• 1 January

  Interesting Times

  

  With Republicans now in full control of Washington, big changes could be in the offing for laws and regulations affecting electronic payments. But then again, maybe not. Some say he’s a nominal one, but incoming President Donald Trump officially is a Republican, and when he’s inaugurated Jan. 20 he’ll be …