Visa and MoneyGram Partner on Debit Card Cross Border Transactions

P2P

Visa and MoneyGram Partner on Debit Card Cross Border Transactions

December 6, 2019

MoneyGram announced a new route for sending cross border payments between individuals. MoneyGram is enhancing its debit card solution with the...

Starbucks Brews AI-Based Mobile Ordering Enhancement

Artificial Intelligence

Starbucks Brews Up AI-Based Mobile Ordering Enhancement

by Raymond Pucci

December 5, 2019

Add Starbucks to the list of QSRs/Fast Casual shops using artificial intelligence systems to expand customized ordering for its customers....

Analysts Coverage

Payment Instrument Trends: How Does Your Household Stack Up Against the Fed Survey?

by Brian Riley

December 5, 2019

Woodrow Wilson established the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) in 1913 when he signed the Federal Reserve Act. The Fed conducts...

The Use of Wearables Is on the Rise, New Mastercard Report Finds

Contactless

The Use of Wearables to Make Payments Is on the Rise, New Mastercard Report Finds

by Peter Reville

December 4, 2019

While we were busy giving thanks here in the U.S. last week, Mastercard Europe was busy publishing some interesting data...

Citing Inertia to Keep Manual B2B Payments Is a Cliche

B2B

Manual B2B Payments Aren’t Broken, but It’s Time to Move On

by Steve Murphy

December 4, 2019

This PaymentsSource blog offers a prescription of sorts for payables folks who are challenged with obtaining CFO approval to invest...

PayPal Plans In-Store Presence Via Mobile

Banking

Retailers and Payments Apps Moving into Banking in India

by Sarah Grotta

December 4, 2019

You likely saw the announcement recently in the Wall Street Journal that Google would be getting into the business of...

Merchant

Black Friday No Longer The Pivotal Day For Retailers

by Raymond Pucci

December 3, 2019

Black Friday ain’t what it used to be. Winners will be big merchants with finely tuned e-commerce channels and mega-marketing...

As the CEO of Clarus Merchant Services and a member of the merchant service and processing industry for over 20 years, I’ve seen a lot of emerging technologies and payment solutions that were going to revolutionize how consumers buy and sell goods. I deliberately moved into the electronic payment industry after personally owning thousands of ATM machines. I saw an incredible opportunity for the future of cashless payments, which would solve the need for better transparency for merchants who were working in a convoluted system wrought with hidden fees. I knew this from personal experience as I was once a merchant myself with several restaurants. Today, the big question that I am consistently asked is, “How is Cryptocurrency going to disrupt the mainstream electronic payment industry?” The transfer of assets has always been based on trust. Like the early years of crypto, the early years of banking in the U.S. was like the Wild West, as there was little regulation over banks and how they conducted business. That lack of trust led to the Great Depression of 1929. Trust was restored to the money system after the government reorganized its federal oversight of banks and added FDIC insurance for deposits. Trust in private financial institutions also played an important role in the mass adoption of credit cards. The first credit card – the Diner’s Club Card – was created in 1950. But the adoption of this new method of payment didn’t take off until Bank of America and other financial institutions issued the cards that established the Visa and MasterCard systems. Today, cryptocurrency is at a similar crossroads. Less than a year ago, it remained in the fringes and even went through its “Crypto Winter.” But last fall, crypto’s image began to change as major organizations began to announce their own venture into issuing digital coins. It started with JP Morgan’s announcement that it would issue a coin. But it was Facebook that brought crypto into focus as the mainstream and digital media pushed the news of Libra. With the U.S Senate Banking Committee recently holding hearings, it’s clear that if Crypto is going to take mainstream transacting adoption it must have the regulatory oversight that credit cards do so all of us can feel safe in trusting those transactions. “Crypto is a new asset class and should be regulated as such,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said. Regulation of cryptocurrencies is a challenging issue that is slowly being addressed on global and national levels in varying degrees. In some countries, such as Germany, bitcoin is recognized as a “unit of account” which citizens may trade freely. Other countries including Switzerland have taken a similar stance in recognizing cryptocurrencies as assets, but are also adopting laws to determine the status of the digital coins as securities and their taxability. The U.S. Government has yet to issue regulations specific to digital currencies and continues to proceed cautiously. “Although cryptocurrencies are innovative and may provide benefits related to automation and validation, they also pose challenges associated with speculative dynamics, investor and consumer protections, money-laundering risks, and governance,” the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System recently said. The Federal Reserve staff continues to “monitor and analyze developments across the spectrum of digital currencies to understand tradeoffs and to consider further these developments in the broader context of widespread payment innovations.” Specific relations to digital assets aside, all cryptocurrencies must comply with Federal regulations regarding money and banking, such as the Bank Secrecy Act, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Cryptocurrencies must also meet anti-money laundering and counterfeiting standards, and must register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In addition, many states have adopted their own wide-ranging regulations, such as California, Texas and New York, where its controversial BitLicense regulates companies or persons residing in the state and using cryptocurrencies. Looking at crypto from the merchant side of the equation, the adoption of Federal Reserve Standards specific to cryptocurrencies will provide a framework that can open the door for digital coins to be readily accepted and processed at the point of sale. The Fed’s standards will set precedents and parameters on what form of cryptocurrency (such as a stablecoin, which is not meant to be speculative and is tied to traditional assets such as the U.S. dollar or gold) can be exchanged for goods and services.

Digital Banking

The Fed Doesn’t Appreciate Digital Currency

by Tim Sloane

December 3, 2019

This article in Modern Consensus indicates that Fed Chairman Powell dislikes the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC)...

Credit

JD Power Survey Puts Discover Small Business Card at the Top in the U.S. Market

by Brian Riley

December 3, 2019

JD Power’s recent survey indicates that Discover Card is back in the U.S. market in a large way. The issuer’s...

Merchant

Shopify Steps Up Merchant Online Order Fulfillment By Bringing In The Robots

by Raymond Pucci

December 2, 2019

Online ordering continues to be a growth channel for merchants of all sizes. While this is good news for retailers,...

Analysts Coverage

Visa and MoneyGram Partner on Debit Card Cross Border Transactions

Starbucks Brews Up AI-Based Mobile Ordering Enhancement

Payment Instrument Trends: How Does Your Household Stack Up Against the Fed Survey?

The Use of Wearables to Make Payments Is on the Rise, New Mastercard Report Finds

Manual B2B Payments Aren’t Broken, but It’s Time to Move On

Retailers and Payments Apps Moving into Banking in India

Black Friday No Longer The Pivotal Day For Retailers

The Fed Doesn’t Appreciate Digital Currency

JD Power Survey Puts Discover Small Business Card at the Top in the U.S. Market

Shopify Steps Up Merchant Online Order Fulfillment By Bringing In The Robots

Must Reads

Unpacking the ACH Network’s Significant Growth

Mastercard Leverages Active Biometrics to Secure More than Just Payments

Hey Issuers, Big Tech Is Coming. Here’s How to Compete

Understanding Mastercard’s Approach to Real-Time Payments

How Volante Technologies and The Clearing House Are Making It Easier to Benefit From Real-Time Payments

Why Risk Management In Finance Is A Tech Matter

‘Tis the Season for Holiday Cheer and… Fraud?

Blurring the Lines between Tech and Banking

Connect With Us