November, 2018

• 1 November

  Security Notes: The Real Key to Frictionless Payments

  

  A payor either owns the money he pays or is commissioned to pay on someone’s behalf. There is no other honest option, right? Well, Alice could hand money over to an escrow agent and instruct her to make the money available to her grandson, Bob, to buy a nice jacket …
• 1 November

  Acquirers Can Anticipate a Nice Volume Increase Over the Holidays

  

  Merchant acquirers, especially those in the e-commerce and mobile-commerce space, can look forward to strong holiday payment card volumes this year, according to online-commerce analytics firm eMarketer Inc. New York City-based eMarketer’s “Holiday Shopping 2018: A Strong Economy Sets the Stage for a Spending Surge” report released last month predicts …
• 1 November

  Getting Contactless Right Means Just Doing the Work

  

  It’s no secret contactless payments have struggled in the United States, but less discussed is what needs to be done to boost usage. A paucity of dual-interface cards—EMV plastic that can either be inserted into terminals or tapped on them—is much to blame, but it turns out the answer goes …

September, 2018

• 30 September

  Security Notes: Danger: Hidden Digital Money

  

  Imagine that privacy concerns were to triumph over the Fourth Amendment, disallowing court-sanctioned search and seizure. Terrorists and criminals alike would be secure in their abode, safely preparing their misdeeds. Passengers boarding planes could pack heat, and robbers could pile up their plunder without fear of discovery. Society would collapse …
• 30 September

  As Volume Grows, NACHA Smooths Out the Same-Day ACH Road

  With same-day automated clearing house transaction volumes building, the governing body of the big network that links virtually all U.S. financial institutions last month announced a trio of enhancements. The changes are aimed at, among other things, raising the dollar limit on same-day transfers and making credit funds available faster …
• 30 September

  Gateways Cut Transaction Times While Boosting Up-Times

  

  Speed is of the essence in e-commerce, which is why a recent report is welcome news for gateway providers. Omaha, Neb.-based research and consulting firm The Strawhecker Group says U.S. gateway operators have cut the average transaction time in half, to 1.6 seconds from 3.2 seconds only a year ago. …
• 2 September

  With a Push From the Government, Canada’s Credit Card Interchange Is Going Down Again

  

  Canada’s finance ministry last month issued its latest merchant-friendly announcement regarding payment cards, this one disclosing agreements with Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. for an average 10-basis-point reduction in credit card interchange for small and mid-size businesses to take effect in 2020. The Department of Finance Canada also said American …
• 2 September

  Security Notes: Making Uninterrupted Payments a Reality

  

  Payment technology has kept pace with living technology, and thereby has kept payment as the widely accepted means for moving people to do things they otherwise would not do. In other words, humanity runs on payment. Our civil order is maintained through the ability of people to get others to …
• 2 September

  Another Big Merchant Challenges Visa Over Acceptance Costs

  

  There’s nothing payments executives love more than watching a fight pitting a leading retailer against a big payment card network over credit or debit card acceptance costs and terms. That’s what they’re getting with the current spat between supermarket giant The Kroger Co. and Visa Inc. Citing what it calls …

June, 2018

• 29 June

  Payments 3.0: Deep Trends in Banking And Payments

  

  As this is my last Payments 3.0 column, I thought I’d share some of what I call deep trends that will, I expect, affect the banking and payments industry in the coming years. Banking and payments will always be more about trust than technology. Most people aren’t paying for things …