![\"\"](\"https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Picture1.jpg\")
Source: PYMNTS Intelligence
Direct debits have been popular through the decades \u2014 across a variety of use cases \u2014 especially when it comes to bill payments and subscriptions. Enterprises withdraw money from accounts according to set parameters. Those parameters span dates, or dollar amounts, and tend to be a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d type of experience.
\nBut as Mehret Habteab, SVP and head of products at Visa Europe, told Karen Webster, there\u2019s been no easy path toward making changes during the process, to redefine what a consumer might be paying, or when, and the digital path that governs communicating with those merchants is a friction-filled one. In the U.K., the rise of open banking has led to heightened consumer expectations of choice and power over their transactions, said Habteab. The ability to manage and control how they set up their \u201cmandates\u201d with their service providers is one of the key aspects of Visa\u2019s new A2A offering, an open system that seeks to bolster the use of, and protect account-to-account payments.
\nDigital account-to-account payments have been a hallmark of open banking but are not limited to that format. Faster payments in the U.K. have grown 15% over the past year, driven by consumer demand for speed and convenience.\u00a0However,\u00a0this growth has been accompanied by a rise in fraud. As Habteab told Webster, open banking initiatives have shown promise in enhancing security,\u00a0but newer payment methods like variable recurring payments have yet to reach their full potential.\u00a0Visa\u2019s new A2A service aims to address these challenges,\u00a0leveraging the company\u2019s brand,\u00a0capabilities\u00a0and expertise to secure payments between accounts.
\nAccording to Visa, the new A2A framework will be based on an open system available for all eligible banks and other industry partners to join. It introduces standards, rules and a dispute management service to help protect consumers and further modernize open banking-based payments. It is being designed in partnership with leading FinTechs in the U.K., including Banked, Modulr, Moneyhub, Salt Edge, Vyne and Yaspa, and will be delivered by key U.K. industry players working with Visa.
\nVisa A2A also benefits businesses, as near real-time settlement through Pay.UK\u2019s Faster Payment System gives them greater visibility over payments and makes cash flow management simpler. Businesses can also take advantage of\u00a0digital messaging capabilities, including notifications if a consumer changes or cancels payment permissions. It also provides them with the ability to include more transaction data for reconciliation.
\n\n\n
From early next year, banks and businesses in the U.K. will be able to offer Visa A2A to consumers making bill payments such as utilities, rent and childcare fees. In the future, it will expand to managing subscriptions of products and services including digital streaming, gym memberships and food delivery services.
\nAt a high level, said Habteab of the Thursday (Sept. 5) announcement, the payments network is standardizing APIs and connectivity, and by extension is transforming the user experience as individuals interact with merchants and billers. Any payment method \u2014 in this case bank-to-bank fund flows \u2014 needs guardrails, protections and easy connectivity, said Habteab.
\nThe greenfield opportunity is significant. \u201cBut the speed \u2014 and the benefits that speed brings,\u201d said Habteab, \u201chave been outweighed by the fraud that we see in the faster payments space.\u201d
\nThere are efforts to make consumers feel more at ease with these payments. In the U.K., for example, regulators have notched the liability for payment service providers and banks for push payments fraud at tens of thousands of pounds. Banks are tasked with safeguarding consumers\u2019 data and vetting merchants and billers.
\n\u201cWhat the regulators have done is a great first step,\u201d said Habteab, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t take us where we need to be in order to conduct secure commerce with confidence.\u201d Value needs to be unlocked for all players on all sides of the commerce equations, she told Webster.
\nThese concerns are being integrated into the existing Visa infrastructure, said Habteab, including tokenization and biometrics, to offer account to account functionality when making bill payments via one click options, as consumers can also set spending limit amounts. There\u2019s also a formal dispute resolution process to provide transparency in the merchant/consumer relationship, with a clear delineation of liability.
\nThe natural progression, said Habteab, will be for Visa to roll out A2A to billers already in its network, and then to make the service more broadly available to open banking providers. Along the way, she said, issuers and merchants improve their payments collections, with a minimization of the costs tied to those payments via a more direct relationship.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s something in this for everybody,\u201d said Habteab, who added that \u201cconsumers need to feel safe and confident that they have choice and control surrounding their payments.\u201d
\nThe post Visa\u2019s New A2A Offering \u2018Opens\u2019 Choice and Security Via Direct Bank Transfers in the UK appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Direct debits have been popular through the decades \u2014 across a variety of use cases \u2014 especially when it comes to bill payments and subscriptions. Enterprises withdraw money from accounts according to set parameters. Those parameters span dates, or dollar amounts, and tend to be a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d type of experience.\nBut as Mehret Habteab, SVP and head of products at Visa Europe, told Karen Webster, there\u2019s been no easy path toward making changes during the process, to redefine what a consumer might be paying, or when, and the digital path that governs communicating with those merchants is a friction-filled one. In the U.K., the rise of open banking has led to heightened consumer expectations of choice and power over their transactions, said Habteab. The ability to manage and control how they set up their \u201cmandates\u201d with their service providers is one of the key aspects of Visa\u2019s new A2A offering, an open system that seeks to bolster the use of, and protect account-to-account payments.\nDigital account-to-account payments have been a hallmark of open banking but are not limited to that format. Faster payments in the U.K. have grown 15% over the past year, driven by consumer demand for speed and convenience.\u00a0However,\u00a0this growth has been accompanied by a rise in fraud. As Habteab told Webster, open banking initiatives have shown promise in enhancing security,\u00a0but newer payment methods like variable recurring payments have yet to reach their full potential.\u00a0Visa\u2019s new A2A service aims to address these challenges,\u00a0leveraging the company\u2019s brand,\u00a0capabilities\u00a0and expertise to secure payments between accounts.\nAccording to Visa, the new A2A framework will be based on an open system available for all eligible banks and other industry partners to join. It introduces standards, rules and a dispute management service to help protect consumers and further modernize open banking-based payments. It is being designed in partnership with leading FinTechs in the U.K., including Banked, Modulr, Moneyhub, Salt Edge, Vyne and Yaspa, and will be delivered by key U.K. industry players working with Visa.\nVisa A2A also benefits businesses, as near real-time settlement through Pay.UK\u2019s Faster Payment System gives them greater visibility over payments and makes cash flow management simpler. Businesses can also take advantage of\u00a0digital messaging capabilities, including notifications if a consumer changes or cancels payment permissions. It also provides them with the ability to include more transaction data for reconciliation.\n\n \nFrom early next year, banks and businesses in the U.K. will be able to offer Visa A2A to consumers making bill payments such as utilities, rent and childcare fees. In the future, it will expand to managing subscriptions of products and services including digital streaming, gym memberships and food delivery services.\n\u2018A Great First Step\u2019\nAt a high level, said Habteab of the Thursday (Sept. 5) announcement, the payments network is standardizing APIs and connectivity, and by extension is transforming the user experience as individuals interact with merchants and billers. Any payment method \u2014 in this case bank-to-bank fund flows \u2014 needs guardrails, protections and easy connectivity, said Habteab.\nThe greenfield opportunity is significant. \u201cBut the speed \u2014 and the benefits that speed brings,\u201d said Habteab, \u201chave been outweighed by the fraud that we see in the faster payments space.\u201d\nThere are efforts to make consumers feel more at ease with these payments. In the U.K., for example, regulators have notched the liability for payment service providers and banks for push payments fraud at tens of thousands of pounds. Banks are tasked with safeguarding consumers\u2019 data and vetting merchants and billers.\n\u201cWhat the regulators have done is a great first step,\u201d said Habteab, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t take us where we need to be in order to conduct secure commerce with confidence.\u201d Value needs to be unlocked for all players on all sides of the commerce equations, she told Webster.\nThese concerns are being integrated into the existing Visa infrastructure, said Habteab, including tokenization and biometrics, to offer account to account functionality when making bill payments via one click options, as consumers can also set spending limit amounts. There\u2019s also a formal dispute resolution process to provide transparency in the merchant/consumer relationship, with a clear delineation of liability.\nThe natural progression, said Habteab, will be for Visa to roll out A2A to billers already in its network, and then to make the service more broadly available to open banking providers. Along the way, she said, issuers and merchants improve their payments collections, with a minimization of the costs tied to those payments via a more direct relationship.\n\u201cThere\u2019s something in this for everybody,\u201d said Habteab, who added that \u201cconsumers need to feel safe and confident that they have choice and control surrounding their payments.\u201d\nThe post Visa\u2019s New A2A Offering \u2018Opens\u2019 Choice and Security Via Direct Bank Transfers in the UK appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-09-05T09:27:48-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-05T17:03:43-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Visa-FinTech.jpg", "tags": [ "A2A", "Account-To-Account Payments", "bank transfers", "credit cards", "debit", "EMEA", "faster payments", "FinTech", "fraud", "Main Feature", "Mehret Habteab", "News", "PYMNTS News", "pymnts tv", "Security", "video", "Visa", "Visa Europe", "Payments Innovation" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2079217", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/nine-things-payments-execs-need-to-know-for-their-2025-business-plans/", "title": "Nine Things Payments Execs Need to Know for Their 2025 Business Plans", "content_html": "Summer should get a speeding ticket, a wise person once said, and that\u2019s a reality that all of us living in the Northern Hemisphere came to grips with last weekend. The Labor Day weekend marked the unofficial end of summer, and the start of the four-month sprint to the end of the year.
\nAlong with the rituals of putting away the summer wardrobe and sending kids back to school comes the strategic reflection: what\u2019s now, what\u2019s next and what becomes part of the 2025 business plan.
\nAnd the onramp to the second half of the decade.
\nThose plans have rich context to consider.
\nNew data from PYMNTS Intelligence finds that consumers in the U.S. engage in an average of 14 different digital activities each month: paying bills online, conducting telehealth visits, streaming music and videos, and shopping and paying for groceries and retail products using digital payments and apps.
\nThe U.S. may not be as digitally-forward as Brazil, according to our 11-nation study about How the World Does Digital, but its consumers are embracing a digital-first economy. Digital-native generations like Gen Z and Zillennials will fast-track that reality for the businesses they shop with and work at \u2014 bringing their parents, grandparents and corporate colleagues along for the ride.
\n| Success won\u2019t be measured by the products a business makes or sells, but how well they create and monetize ecosystems that connect activities across traditional industry sectors. \n | \n
New cutting-edge technologies are a part of those\u00a0plans, especially GenAI, and innovations in digital payments change where and how consumers and businesses find each other and do business; making those transactions faster and more efficient. Our connected, soon smart voice-enabled, digital economy is moving commerce to any internet-enabled endpoint, anywhere in the world. That will force business models to change and foster an adapt-or-die subtext in strategic plans.
\nAs digital becomes the DNA of business, success won\u2019t be measured by the products a business makes or sells, but how well they create and monetize ecosystems that connect activities across traditional industry sectors.
\nAs I have written many times, payments is the cornerstone for this digital transformation.
\nNetworks will become the catalyst for growth, profits and scale because they have the power to connect stakeholders and simplify and monetize value exchange. Networks give innovators a way to enrich their value. Those themes run through the PYMNTS Intelligence findings we\u2019ve reached based on tens of thousands of surveys and millions of data points.
\nThis is not an altogether new story, but the combination of cutting-edge technologies and payments makes it a different one.
\nWe see evidence of new networks being formed or contemplated as businesses take stock of their customer assets. Payments introduce new ways to create and monetize engagement.
\nTechnology paves that path.
\nBusiness models become the source of competitive differentiation, scale and platform ignition in a timeframe that works for customers, investors and the network operators. It\u2019s the challenge that has vexed platform businesses for millennia. It remains the siren song that beckons business executives and innovators to try anyway.
\nLooking back at the summer of 2024, and the strategic plans that will soon grace the pages of a thousand PowerPoint decks, here are nine trends that businesses should consider as cornerstones for planning for success in an economy undergoing intense disruption from new technologies.
\nEmbedded is the prefix for most of the innovations we talk about now in payments. We embed payments into software (something we\u2019ve been doing ever since the dawn of eCommerce), identity into payments, lending into checkout flows, banking into virtual accounts, point solutions inside of tech stacks, GenAI into software, offers into banking apps, and networks into networks.
\nAccording to PYMNTS Intelligence, nearly all software platforms, PayFacs and marketplaces have plans to either embed or enable embedded solutions inside of their ecosystems either this year or next.
\n\n
\nA lot of what was called invisible at the dawn of the 2010s with the introduction of Uber is now described as embedded. I guess we\u2019ve evolved. Embedded is a given, tablestakes, the key to conversion. But it\u2019s not enough to just \u201cembed\u201d something into something else. Embedding should be almost invisible and frictionless.
Looking ahead, embedding is the beginning, not the end \u2014 making the application of embedded about the how and the what instead of just the why.
\nPayments processing is a commodity \u2014 a low-margin race to the bottom. Regulators in the U.S. and worldwide want to see it commoditized further, threatening the economics of the traditional four-party model. At the same time, banks and corporates watch every day as payments are a one-way ticket out of their customer\u2019s bank accounts and into someone else\u2019s \u2014 billions, and even trillions of dollars a year.
\n| Non-banks will become issuers of virtual accounts with feature-rich functions that go well beyond a one-time-use virtual card that is just another transaction. \n | \n
Those dynamics should force a shift in the conversation about payments towards a strategic source of value, an opportunity to create and monetize new account relationships, turning a one-way ticket out of one bank account into an opportunity to create a new account relationship with added value. Non-banks will become issuers of virtual accounts with feature-rich functions that go well beyond a one-time-use virtual card that is just a way to complete a transaction.
\nNew payments economics beyond interchange \u2014 and new ways to incent the right behaviors and stickiness \u2014 will matter as much as the technology that makes all this possible. That will shift the power to the issuer, who holds the deposits and can monetize them inside of these closed-loop ecosystems. And the business models that bring it to life.
\nWe live in an on-demand economy: What we want, we want right now. And when it comes to money, right now means in an instant.
\nYet there is an assumption that, when it comes to money, \u201cright now\u201d also means free \u2014 even though consumers pay for \u201cright now\u201d in almost every other part of the on-demand world.
\nIt costs money to order food from Uber Eats or aspirin from Door Dash to get it delivered in 30 minutes. Amazon\u2019s same day or overnight delivery isn\u2019t free \u2014 there is an annual subscription fee and often a minimum basket size. Consumers can binge watch movies or TV shows on Netflix, on demand, provided they are a subscriber.
\nFor consumers and small businesses, instant payments become much needed cash flow. We have plenty of evidence that both will pay for speed because it is cheaper and more predictable (and safer) than filling cash flow gaps any other way.
\nMaybe they won’t pay for instant all the time, but they will when it is most necessary or when it gives the receiver peace of mind that the money is there just in case; PYMNTS Intelligence finds that to be the case for medium-size small businesses as well as parents who are constantly juggling the expenses of raising a family, to take two examples.
\nInstant is offered to consumers and small businesses much less often than they\u2019d like, according to our research. Nearly 80% of consumers and SMBs would pick instant if they could, it\u2019s offered less often than receivers say they\u2019d like. \u00a0Finding ways for payors to monetize instant could change that.
\n\n\nTen years ago next month, Apple Pay was launched. It was hailed as a digital payments innovation, a new form factor that would make plastic cards irrelevant.
\nIt hasn\u2019t.
\nFar more important than turning a phone into a form factor was the tokenization of card credentials, the mobile wallet superpower that transcends using the mobile \u201cPays\u201d to complete a transaction at the physical point of sale.
\n| Tokenization creates a more inclusive environment for distributed commerce. \n | \n
Tokenization makes online checkout easy, secure and customer-friendly and recurring payments reliable. It expands payments acceptance to all end points that accept cards, overcoming wallet POS acceptance barriers.
\nTokenization breaks the consumer, issuer and merchant dependence on wallet acceptance and wallet fees, creating a more inclusive environment for distributed commerce \u2014 cross-channel, cross-platform, cross-operating system.
\nWe see innovators using tokens to reinvent user journey and flows, making it one-click, and sometimes no-click. And embedding shopper identity and preferences into those credentials to make them smart, personalized and relevant.
\nThe shift from cards to credentials isn\u2019t just a consumer play. It is also a powerful B2B innovation that creates frictionless commerce opportunities between trading partners. It is already changing the utility of wallets and how they are used, making them less about payments and more about the digital hub for doing business in a digital world, giving corporates new ways to engage their stakeholders across complex financial supply chains.
\n\n\nGood data delivers new insights that help businesses see around the corner. Here is one of them. The fear of \u201cgetting it wrong\u201d slows company growth for businesses of all sizes, when getting it wrong means deciding not to enter new markets or segments for fear of fraud.
\nBusinesses have every reason to be wary.
\nAI-powered fraudsters create sophisticated schemes to trick consumers and businesses into funneling money their way. The risk of getting it wrong is now very high, and unless something is done, it could get worse as AI rapidly improves.
\nThe battle lines are being drawn over the source of truth: what is it and who has it?\u00a0 Businesses want answers.
\nWhat is the source of truth for consumer and business identity? The UnitedHealthcare hack, combined with the hack of background check database National Public Data, gives fraudsters nearly everything necessary to create an identical, digital twin of sorts on the web.
\nFor customer data, what is the source of truth about preferences and use cases? The water is muddied by ad blockers and far too many paper-based records and data silos in businesses.
\nFor lenders, what is the source of truth for assessing the risk of a consumer or a business? Credit scores for consumers are a rear-view mirror look, and for businesses there is a lack of standardization for business credit reporting.
\nNetworks and consortia are emerging to create certainty about people, businesses and transactions in a world where onboarding speed is critical and face-to-face is either impractical or illusive. For the nearly half of businesses that turn away new business, solving that problem will help them drive top-line performance.
\n\n\nPYMNTS Intelligence has studied roughly 450 C-Suite executives since January to get a read on GenAI sentiment across the enterprise, its application, and the ROI of those efforts. CFOs, especially, say that GenAI is the most significant technology innovation of their lifetime. That\u2019s pretty good news, since they ultimately sign the checks for those investments across the business.
\nMore interesting is how the enterprise uses GenAI. Here we find that large corporates apply it to more strategic areas of the business \u2013 moving from GPT-ing emails and reports to fraud (where AI has been a force for many years), product innovations and process improvements.
\nSource: PYMNTS Intelligence
These execs are committed even though we\u2019ve seen a shift over those eight months in the importance of ROI when making those investments. We\u2019ve observed a simultaneous increase in investment and application of GenAI to the business in support of more strategic initiatives, and the decrease in expectations for a more immediate payback.
\nThe C-Suite recognizes that GenAI and AI more broadly will change their business and the competitive landscape. Not being able to measure outcomes right now, or estimate ROI reliably, isn\u2019t stopping them from using it, and investing in it, and rethinking how their own business will do business in the years ahead.
\nBased on the conversations I\u2019ve had with C-Suite execs, they believe that the return on not-investing \u2014 waiting to get all the answers first \u2014 could be highly negative, maybe fatal, to their business.
\nUber\u2019s biggest innovation in 2009 wasn\u2019t making payments invisible, it was monetizing certainty. Not knowing how long it might take to find an empty taxi during rush hour, or any hour, or wondering whether one would show up at 5 AM for a ride to the airport was its central value proposition \u2014 eliminating the uncertainty that defined the taxi industry for decades. Certainty (and invisible payments) is the foundation for the $154 billion business that is Uber today.
\nMore generally, not knowing costs businesses money, opportunity and confident decision making. Data in real time creates certainty, but getting data ready is complex; data silos are hard to crack. Decision makers devolve into \u201canalysis/paralysis\u201d \u2013 as they pore over incomplete data and make risky assumptions to fill in the gaps.
\nThe PYMNTS Intelligence team has been running The Certainty Project study since January to size the cost of uncertainty for middle market companies.
\nIt\u2019s not nothing.
\n| CFOs will invest in workflows and tools to reduce uncertainty, giving them visibility in data and payments flows. \n | \n
We estimate that uncertainty costs about 4% of annual sales and 8% of sales for the middle market firms on the smaller end of the sales spectrum. Waiting, not knowing, cost middle market firms opportunities, clients and staff.
\nNot surprisingly, uncertainty\u2019s ripple effect can be felt up and down the financial supply chain. Companies with higher degrees of uncertainty pay slowly \u2014 creating cash flow issues for receivers that then create cash flow for their suppliers.
\nCFOs will invest in workflows and tools to reduce uncertainty, giving them visibility in the data and payments flows that offer a clear line of sight into their business and market dynamics, and the tools to help them fill the gaps.
\nFor most businesses, the greatest source of uncertainty is not knowing when they\u2019ll be paid, when the money will hit their bank account. Knowing, with certainty, when money will arrive is almost, with the emphasis on almost, as good as getting it. At least those CFOs know when and can plan.
\n\n\nLegacy is a funny word. When the world lost Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s Charlie Munger at the age of 99 earlier this year, the media spoke of the rich legacy that he left behind. His writings, his investment theses and his authentic called-it-like-he-saw-it approach are all part of \u00a0Munger\u2019s indelible imprint on business strategy and investing.
\nHis legacy.
\n| FinTechs are embracing their inner legacy to help legacy tech innovate outside of their core. \n | \n
When we talk about legacy in payments and financial services, it isn\u2019t usually that flattering. The conversation is about tech debt and slow movers, systems that are out of step with the times. The expiration date for legacy is also getting shorter. Tech that is 60 years is prehistoric. Tech that is 20 years old might as well take its final victory lap right now before riding off into the sunset.
\nWhat\u2019s missing in the conversation about legacy is the part that isn\u2019t about the tech. It\u2019s the part about the rules of the game. The regulatory and compliance part. It\u2019s the unit economics of the business part. It\u2019s the complexity of building a financial network part, and coloring within the lines that regulators have drawn and keep redrawing part.
\nWe were forced to take another look at legacy as the payments and financial services industry melted down over the antics of several bad actors playing in the Banking-as-a-Service sector.
\n\nDurbin-exempt banks could be part of the cool FinTech ecosystem, get those deposits and change their business. FinTechs could work with those banks, offer banking services to consumers and businesses, share in the interchange fees, without being one. Everyone could live happily ever after.
\nA few really didn\u2019t. And the happily-ever-after story is looking less happy for a large swath of BaaS innovators forced to change their models and hope for the best. Even more fallout is expected. Consolidation is inevitable.
\nRegulators aren\u2019t shy now about aggressively examining and sanctioning FinTechs and FinTech models. Banks and payments ecosystem reassess FinTech partnerships. Sponsor banks turn down more deals and take longer to look at the ones that they\u2019ll green light in the end.
\nLegacy is starting to look like the wise elders \u2014 but now with better tech and rock-solid compliance. And more heavily-regulated FinTechs aspire to look like the best parts of legacy \u2014 with better tech and buttoned-up compliance. There is a new happily-ever-after-story in the making, as FinTechs are embracing their inner legacy to help those wise elders innovate outside of their core.
\nInertia remains a seemingly incurable disease in many pockets of business today.
\nTake checks. In 2023, there were 3.1 billion commercial checks written and cleared in the U.S., according to the Federal Reserve, worth about $8.4 trillion. The average check amount was $2,662. That\u2019s about 7% fewer than the 3.3 billion checks written in 2023 and the $8.9 trillion in value they represented.
\nHere\u2019s the stunner.
\nBusinesses in the U.S. are writing half as many checks as they did in 2012, but the average value of the checks has more than doubled. The average value of a check then was $1,273; in 2023 it was $2,652. That\u2019s been the trendline ever since: smaller numbers of checks, higher value of the checks being sent.
\nWhat?
\nWell, mobile deposit and mobile check cashing makes depositing a check easier for consumers and businesses. They may not want to get them, but it\u2019s money all the same. \u00a0Corporates need a better reason to kill the check, and a less complicated way to do that without killing their payments workflow in the process.
\nComplexity powers the status quo.
\nWhen something is too hard or takes too long or has an uncertain payoff, it\u2019s easy for a business executive to say no, not now. Easier for a customer to find an alternative that\u2019s easier to do business with.
\nSimplicity is the appeal of embedded everything \u2014 making four steps into one drives conversion, satisfaction, trust and preference. It\u2019s the value proposition of everything from payments orchestration to PayFacs, neobanks to new payments flows.
\nIntermediaries will use new technology and business models to make complexity invisible to the user and to the bank or business that wants to make it possible for their customers. Digital economy winners will make commerce a one-touch experience that abstracts the complexity of identity, eligibility and payments for key stakeholders. Millennials and Gen Z will force that change.
\nKPIs are the linga franca of the board room and strategy decks. They measure every aspect of business performance. Except one.
\nHow easy is it for people and businesses to do business with me?
\nAnswering that comes back to an understanding of the frictions that get in the way of \u201cdoing business,\u201d which becomes an opportunity to make it easier. And an assessment of the capabilities that exist or could make yours an attractive option to consider.
\nCool tech and embedded everything are one part of the answer. Keeping it simple is ultimately the one that will get you the business.
\nC-Suites and Boards that account for these nine trends in their 2025 plans can ride through the turbulence caused by disruptive innovation and the emergence of new critical technologies in the second half of decade. They stand a chance of coming out on top. Those who don\u2019t may not have much to celebrate in 2030.
\nThe post Nine Things Payments Execs Need to Know for Their 2025 Business Plans appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Summer should get a speeding ticket, a wise person once said, and that\u2019s a reality that all of us living in the Northern Hemisphere came to grips with last weekend. The Labor Day weekend marked the unofficial end of summer, and the start of the four-month sprint to the end of the year.\nAlong with the rituals of putting away the summer wardrobe and sending kids back to school comes the strategic reflection: what\u2019s now, what\u2019s next and what becomes part of the 2025 business plan.\nAnd the onramp to the second half of the decade.\nThose plans have rich context to consider.\nNew data from PYMNTS Intelligence finds that consumers in the U.S. engage in an average of 14 different digital activities each month: paying bills online, conducting telehealth visits, streaming music and videos, and shopping and paying for groceries and retail products using digital payments and apps.\nThe U.S. may not be as digitally-forward as Brazil, according to our 11-nation study about How the World Does Digital, but its consumers are embracing a digital-first economy. Digital-native generations like Gen Z and Zillennials will fast-track that reality for the businesses they shop with and work at \u2014 bringing their parents, grandparents and corporate colleagues along for the ride.\n\n\n\n Success won\u2019t be measured by the products a business makes or sells, but how well they create and monetize ecosystems that connect activities across traditional industry sectors.\n\n\n\n\nNew cutting-edge technologies are a part of those\u00a0plans, especially GenAI, and innovations in digital payments change where and how consumers and businesses find each other and do business; making those transactions faster and more efficient. Our connected, soon smart voice-enabled, digital economy is moving commerce to any internet-enabled endpoint, anywhere in the world. That will force business models to change and foster an adapt-or-die subtext in strategic plans.\nAs digital becomes the DNA of business, success won\u2019t be measured by the products a business makes or sells, but how well they create and monetize ecosystems that connect activities across traditional industry sectors.\nAs I have written many times, payments is the cornerstone for this digital transformation.\nNetworks will become the catalyst for growth, profits and scale because they have the power to connect stakeholders and simplify and monetize value exchange. Networks give innovators a way to enrich their value. Those themes run through the PYMNTS Intelligence findings we\u2019ve reached based on tens of thousands of surveys and millions of data points.\nThis is not an altogether new story, but the combination of cutting-edge technologies and payments makes it a different one.\nWe see evidence of new networks being formed or contemplated as businesses take stock of their customer assets. Payments introduce new ways to create and monetize engagement.\nTechnology paves that path.\nBusiness models become the source of competitive differentiation, scale and platform ignition in a timeframe that works for customers, investors and the network operators. It\u2019s the challenge that has vexed platform businesses for millennia. It remains the siren song that beckons business executives and innovators to try anyway.\nLooking back at the summer of 2024, and the strategic plans that will soon grace the pages of a thousand PowerPoint decks, here are nine trends that businesses should consider as cornerstones for planning for success in an economy undergoing intense disruption from new technologies.\nOne: Embedded Everything \nEmbedded is the prefix for most of the innovations we talk about now in payments. We embed payments into software (something we\u2019ve been doing ever since the dawn of eCommerce), identity into payments, lending into checkout flows, banking into virtual accounts, point solutions inside of tech stacks, GenAI into software, offers into banking apps, and networks into networks.\nAccording to PYMNTS Intelligence, nearly all software platforms, PayFacs and marketplaces have plans to either embed or enable embedded solutions inside of their ecosystems either this year or next.\n\n\nA lot of what was called invisible at the dawn of the 2010s with the introduction of Uber is now described as embedded. I guess we\u2019ve evolved. Embedded is a given, tablestakes, the key to conversion. But it\u2019s not enough to just \u201cembed\u201d something into something else. Embedding should be almost invisible and frictionless.\nLooking ahead, embedding is the beginning, not the end \u2014 making the application of embedded about the how and the what instead of just the why.\nTwo: Power Shifts to Issuers\n\nPayments processing is a commodity \u2014 a low-margin race to the bottom. Regulators in the U.S. and worldwide want to see it commoditized further, threatening the economics of the traditional four-party model. At the same time, banks and corporates watch every day as payments are a one-way ticket out of their customer\u2019s bank accounts and into someone else\u2019s \u2014 billions, and even trillions of dollars a year.\n\n\n\n Non-banks will become issuers of virtual accounts with feature-rich functions that go well beyond a one-time-use virtual card that is just another transaction.\n\n\n\n\nThose dynamics should force a shift in the conversation about payments towards a strategic source of value, an opportunity to create and monetize new account relationships, turning a one-way ticket out of one bank account into an opportunity to create a new account relationship with added value. Non-banks will become issuers of virtual accounts with feature-rich functions that go well beyond a one-time-use virtual card that is just a way to complete a transaction.\nNew payments economics beyond interchange \u2014 and new ways to incent the right behaviors and stickiness \u2014 will matter as much as the technology that makes all this possible. That will shift the power to the issuer, who holds the deposits and can monetize them inside of these closed-loop ecosystems. And the business models that bring it to life.\nThree: The Monetization of Instant \nWe live in an on-demand economy: What we want, we want right now. And when it comes to money, right now means in an instant.\nYet there is an assumption that, when it comes to money, \u201cright now\u201d also means free \u2014 even though consumers pay for \u201cright now\u201d in almost every other part of the on-demand world.\nIt costs money to order food from Uber Eats or aspirin from Door Dash to get it delivered in 30 minutes. Amazon\u2019s same day or overnight delivery isn\u2019t free \u2014 there is an annual subscription fee and often a minimum basket size. Consumers can binge watch movies or TV shows on Netflix, on demand, provided they are a subscriber.\nFor consumers and small businesses, instant payments become much needed cash flow. We have plenty of evidence that both will pay for speed because it is cheaper and more predictable (and safer) than filling cash flow gaps any other way.\nMaybe they won’t pay for instant all the time, but they will when it is most necessary or when it gives the receiver peace of mind that the money is there just in case; PYMNTS Intelligence finds that to be the case for medium-size small businesses as well as parents who are constantly juggling the expenses of raising a family, to take two examples.\nInstant is offered to consumers and small businesses much less often than they\u2019d like, according to our research. Nearly 80% of consumers and SMBs would pick instant if they could, it\u2019s offered less often than receivers say they\u2019d like. \u00a0Finding ways for payors to monetize instant could change that.\n\n\n\u00a0Four: From Cards to Credentials\nTen years ago next month, Apple Pay was launched. It was hailed as a digital payments innovation, a new form factor that would make plastic cards irrelevant.\nIt hasn\u2019t.\nFar more important than turning a phone into a form factor was the tokenization of card credentials, the mobile wallet superpower that transcends using the mobile \u201cPays\u201d to complete a transaction at the physical point of sale.\n\n\n\n Tokenization creates a more inclusive environment for distributed commerce.\n\n\n\n\nTokenization makes online checkout easy, secure and customer-friendly and recurring payments reliable. It expands payments acceptance to all end points that accept cards, overcoming wallet POS acceptance barriers.\nTokenization breaks the consumer, issuer and merchant dependence on wallet acceptance and wallet fees, creating a more inclusive environment for distributed commerce \u2014 cross-channel, cross-platform, cross-operating system.\nWe see innovators using tokens to reinvent user journey and flows, making it one-click, and sometimes no-click. And embedding shopper identity and preferences into those credentials to make them smart, personalized and relevant.\nThe shift from cards to credentials isn\u2019t just a consumer play. It is also a powerful B2B innovation that creates frictionless commerce opportunities between trading partners. It is already changing the utility of wallets and how they are used, making them less about payments and more about the digital hub for doing business in a digital world, giving corporates new ways to engage their stakeholders across complex financial supply chains.\n\n\n\u00a0Five: Fraud Forces Focus on Finding Source of Truth\nGood data delivers new insights that help businesses see around the corner. Here is one of them. The fear of \u201cgetting it wrong\u201d slows company growth for businesses of all sizes, when getting it wrong means deciding not to enter new markets or segments for fear of fraud.\nBusinesses have every reason to be wary.\nAI-powered fraudsters create sophisticated schemes to trick consumers and businesses into funneling money their way. The risk of getting it wrong is now very high, and unless something is done, it could get worse as AI rapidly improves.\nThe battle lines are being drawn over the source of truth: what is it and who has it?\u00a0 Businesses want answers.\nWhat is the source of truth for consumer and business identity? The UnitedHealthcare hack, combined with the hack of background check database National Public Data, gives fraudsters nearly everything necessary to create an identical, digital twin of sorts on the web.\nFor customer data, what is the source of truth about preferences and use cases? The water is muddied by ad blockers and far too many paper-based records and data silos in businesses.\nFor lenders, what is the source of truth for assessing the risk of a consumer or a business? Credit scores for consumers are a rear-view mirror look, and for businesses there is a lack of standardization for business credit reporting.\nNetworks and consortia are emerging to create certainty about people, businesses and transactions in a world where onboarding speed is critical and face-to-face is either impractical or illusive. For the nearly half of businesses that turn away new business, solving that problem will help them drive top-line performance.\n\n\nSix: GenAI Moves Up and to the Right, Even Without Knowing the ROI \nPYMNTS Intelligence has studied roughly 450 C-Suite executives since January to get a read on GenAI sentiment across the enterprise, its application, and the ROI of those efforts. CFOs, especially, say that GenAI is the most significant technology innovation of their lifetime. That\u2019s pretty good news, since they ultimately sign the checks for those investments across the business.\nMore interesting is how the enterprise uses GenAI. Here we find that large corporates apply it to more strategic areas of the business \u2013 moving from GPT-ing emails and reports to fraud (where AI has been a force for many years), product innovations and process improvements.\nSource: PYMNTS Intelligence\nThese execs are committed even though we\u2019ve seen a shift over those eight months in the importance of ROI when making those investments. We\u2019ve observed a simultaneous increase in investment and application of GenAI to the business in support of more strategic initiatives, and the decrease in expectations for a more immediate payback.\nThe C-Suite recognizes that GenAI and AI more broadly will change their business and the competitive landscape. Not being able to measure outcomes right now, or estimate ROI reliably, isn\u2019t stopping them from using it, and investing in it, and rethinking how their own business will do business in the years ahead.\nBased on the conversations I\u2019ve had with C-Suite execs, they believe that the return on not-investing \u2014 waiting to get all the answers first \u2014 could be highly negative, maybe fatal, to their business.\nSeven: Uncertainty Is the Invisible Tax on Business \nUber\u2019s biggest innovation in 2009 wasn\u2019t making payments invisible, it was monetizing certainty. Not knowing how long it might take to find an empty taxi during rush hour, or any hour, or wondering whether one would show up at 5 AM for a ride to the airport was its central value proposition \u2014 eliminating the uncertainty that defined the taxi industry for decades. Certainty (and invisible payments) is the foundation for the $154 billion business that is Uber today.\nMore generally, not knowing costs businesses money, opportunity and confident decision making. Data in real time creates certainty, but getting data ready is complex; data silos are hard to crack. Decision makers devolve into \u201canalysis/paralysis\u201d \u2013 as they pore over incomplete data and make risky assumptions to fill in the gaps.\nThe PYMNTS Intelligence team has been running The Certainty Project study since January to size the cost of uncertainty for middle market companies.\nIt\u2019s not nothing.\n\n\n\n CFOs will invest in workflows and tools to reduce uncertainty, giving them visibility in data and payments flows.\n\n\n\n\nWe estimate that uncertainty costs about 4% of annual sales and 8% of sales for the middle market firms on the smaller end of the sales spectrum. Waiting, not knowing, cost middle market firms opportunities, clients and staff.\nNot surprisingly, uncertainty\u2019s ripple effect can be felt up and down the financial supply chain. Companies with higher degrees of uncertainty pay slowly \u2014 creating cash flow issues for receivers that then create cash flow for their suppliers.\nCFOs will invest in workflows and tools to reduce uncertainty, giving them visibility in the data and payments flows that offer a clear line of sight into their business and market dynamics, and the tools to help them fill the gaps.\nFor most businesses, the greatest source of uncertainty is not knowing when they\u2019ll be paid, when the money will hit their bank account. Knowing, with certainty, when money will arrive is almost, with the emphasis on almost, as good as getting it. At least those CFOs know when and can plan.\n\n\nEight: Legacy Has a Renaissance \u00a0\nLegacy is a funny word. When the world lost Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s Charlie Munger at the age of 99 earlier this year, the media spoke of the rich legacy that he left behind. His writings, his investment theses and his authentic called-it-like-he-saw-it approach are all part of \u00a0Munger\u2019s indelible imprint on business strategy and investing.\nHis legacy.\n\n\n\n FinTechs are embracing their inner legacy to help legacy tech innovate outside of their core.\n\n\n\n\nWhen we talk about legacy in payments and financial services, it isn\u2019t usually that flattering. The conversation is about tech debt and slow movers, systems that are out of step with the times. The expiration date for legacy is also getting shorter. Tech that is 60 years is prehistoric. Tech that is 20 years old might as well take its final victory lap right now before riding off into the sunset.\nWhat\u2019s missing in the conversation about legacy is the part that isn\u2019t about the tech. It\u2019s the part about the rules of the game. The regulatory and compliance part. It\u2019s the unit economics of the business part. It\u2019s the complexity of building a financial network part, and coloring within the lines that regulators have drawn and keep redrawing part.\nWe were forced to take another look at legacy as the payments and financial services industry melted down over the antics of several bad actors playing in the Banking-as-a-Service sector.\nYou all know the story.\nDurbin-exempt banks could be part of the cool FinTech ecosystem, get those deposits and change their business. FinTechs could work with those banks, offer banking services to consumers and businesses, share in the interchange fees, without being one. Everyone could live happily ever after.\nA few really didn\u2019t. And the happily-ever-after story is looking less happy for a large swath of BaaS innovators forced to change their models and hope for the best. Even more fallout is expected. Consolidation is inevitable.\nRegulators aren\u2019t shy now about aggressively examining and sanctioning FinTechs and FinTech models. Banks and payments ecosystem reassess FinTech partnerships. Sponsor banks turn down more deals and take longer to look at the ones that they\u2019ll green light in the end.\nLegacy is starting to look like the wise elders \u2014 but now with better tech and rock-solid compliance. And more heavily-regulated FinTechs aspire to look like the best parts of legacy \u2014 with better tech and buttoned-up compliance. There is a new happily-ever-after-story in the making, as FinTechs are embracing their inner legacy to help those wise elders innovate outside of their core.\nNine: Simplicity Is the New Business KPI\nInertia remains a seemingly incurable disease in many pockets of business today.\nTake checks. In 2023, there were 3.1 billion commercial checks written and cleared in the U.S., according to the Federal Reserve, worth about $8.4 trillion. The average check amount was $2,662. That\u2019s about 7% fewer than the 3.3 billion checks written in 2023 and the $8.9 trillion in value they represented.\nHere\u2019s the stunner.\nBusinesses in the U.S. are writing half as many checks as they did in 2012, but the average value of the checks has more than doubled. The average value of a check then was $1,273; in 2023 it was $2,652. That\u2019s been the trendline ever since: smaller numbers of checks, higher value of the checks being sent.\nWhat?\nWell, mobile deposit and mobile check cashing makes depositing a check easier for consumers and businesses. They may not want to get them, but it\u2019s money all the same. \u00a0Corporates need a better reason to kill the check, and a less complicated way to do that without killing their payments workflow in the process.\nComplexity powers the status quo.\nWhen something is too hard or takes too long or has an uncertain payoff, it\u2019s easy for a business executive to say no, not now. Easier for a customer to find an alternative that\u2019s easier to do business with.\nSimplicity is the appeal of embedded everything \u2014 making four steps into one drives conversion, satisfaction, trust and preference. It\u2019s the value proposition of everything from payments orchestration to PayFacs, neobanks to new payments flows.\nIntermediaries will use new technology and business models to make complexity invisible to the user and to the bank or business that wants to make it possible for their customers. Digital economy winners will make commerce a one-touch experience that abstracts the complexity of identity, eligibility and payments for key stakeholders. Millennials and Gen Z will force that change.\nKPIs are the linga franca of the board room and strategy decks. They measure every aspect of business performance. Except one.\nHow easy is it for people and businesses to do business with me?\nAnswering that comes back to an understanding of the frictions that get in the way of \u201cdoing business,\u201d which becomes an opportunity to make it easier. And an assessment of the capabilities that exist or could make yours an attractive option to consider.\nCool tech and embedded everything are one part of the answer. Keeping it simple is ultimately the one that will get you the business.\nA Final Thought\nC-Suites and Boards that account for these nine trends in their 2025 plans can ride through the turbulence caused by disruptive innovation and the emergence of new critical technologies in the second half of decade. They stand a chance of coming out on top. Those who don\u2019t may not have much to celebrate in 2030.\nThe post Nine Things Payments Execs Need to Know for Their 2025 Business Plans appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-09-03T06:58:20-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-03T06:58:25-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Karen Webster", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/karen-webster/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5b27788b9b2e77749b3dc9da766486d8?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Karen Webster", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/karen-webster/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5b27788b9b2e77749b3dc9da766486d8?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/karen-image.jpg", "tags": [ "Connected Economy", "Digital Payments", "digital transformation", "Embedded Payments", "FinTechs", "gen AI", "instant payments", "Karen Webster", "Main Feature", "Mobile Wallets", "News", "payment innovations", "Payments Processing", "PYMNTS News", "Payments Innovation" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2072378", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/trustly-cro-says-pay-by-bank-solutions-benefit-from-regulation-and-shifting-consumer-preferences/", "title": "Trustly CRO Says Pay-by-Bank Solutions Benefit From Regulation and Shifting Consumer Preferences", "content_html": "Within an open banking environment, advances like pay by bank are transforming money movement.
\nAt its core, pay by bank allows consumers to make payments directly from their bank accounts, bypassing traditional intermediaries such as credit card networks, Trustly Chief Revenue Officer Frederick Crosby told PYMNTS. The process could transform the payment landscape by reducing friction for consumers and merchants.
\n\u201cIntroducing open banking payments removes the friction that exists in a very card-heavy world online and allows people to cut through all the middlemen and use their bank to make payments,\u201d Crosby said.
\nThis direct payment method uses the open-banking framework, where consumers can authorize third-party providers to access their bank information securely.
\nHowever, while the conversation \u2014 and convenience \u2014 around open banking in the United States has evolved over the past few years, driven by both technological advancements and regulatory developments, the path toward widespread adoption has not been straightforward.
\nFor consumers, pay by bank offers a more streamlined payment process, eliminating the need to manage multiple payment methods such as credit cards or digital wallets. It provides a direct link from their financial accounts to the merchants they trust, ensuring transactions are both secure and straightforward.
\nOn the other side of the equation, Crosby explained that merchants benefit from lower transaction costs, as they avoid the fees typically associated with credit card payments. In an increasingly competitive market, where margins are often thin, this fee reduction can be a game-changer.
\nAs with any new technology, the adoption of pay by bank will likely follow a gradual path, beginning with specific use cases where the benefits are most evident. Crosby highlighted subscription services as a prime example. For recurring payments \u2014 such as utilities, media subscriptions or government services \u2014 pay by bank offers a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d solution that simplifies the consumer experience and reduces costs for merchants.
\n\u201cCards allow commerce to happen that never could happen before,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cAnd to do that, they put this interchange rate, this 2% to 3% tax to protect people from fraud \u2026 But do you always need that beyond the first transaction? No, particularly when it comes to subscriptions \u2026 We see these repeat use cases as the perfect spot for open banking payments, whether it\u2019s utilities, media services, even things like taxes.\u201d
\nUnlike credit cards, which can expire or get misplaced, bank account details remain consistent, providing a more reliable method for ongoing payments. This reliability is particularly valuable in scenarios where interruptions in service due to payment issues can lead to customer dissatisfaction. By adopting open banking payments, consumers can avoid the hassle of updating payment information, and merchants can reduce the administrative burden associated with managing failed transactions.
\nAs consumers become more comfortable with this payment method, Crosby said he anticipates its expansion into other sectors, such as retail, where the appeal lies in the potential cost savings for merchants who operate on thin margins and are eager to reduce their reliance on credit card networks. For retailers with established customer accounts or loyalty programs, integrating pay by bank could provide a seamless and cost-effective payment option.
\nCrosby pointed out that unlike across Europe, the success of open banking payments in the U.S. will depend on consumer comfort with sharing their financial data and their trust in the security of these transactions. While younger generations, such as millennials and Generation Z, have shown a greater willingness to adopt open banking solutions, there is still a portion of the population that may need more reassurance before fully embracing the technology.
\nThe regulatory environment in the U.S. is also evolving to support open banking, with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) playing a role. As Crosby explained, the CFPB is working on standardizing the rules for open banking, which is critical for the widespread adoption of pay by bank.
\nEnsuring that open banking solutions are secure, user-friendly and aligned with consumer expectations will be key to achieving broader adoption, he added. If these hurdles can be overcome, the U.S. could see a shift in how payments are made, with pay by bank emerging as a viable alternative to traditional payment methods.
\nThe post Trustly CRO Says Pay-by-Bank Solutions Benefit From Regulation and Shifting Consumer Preferences appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Within an open banking environment, advances like pay by bank are transforming money movement.\nAt its core, pay by bank allows consumers to make payments directly from their bank accounts, bypassing traditional intermediaries such as credit card networks, Trustly Chief Revenue Officer Frederick Crosby told PYMNTS. The process could transform the payment landscape by reducing friction for consumers and merchants.\n\u201cIntroducing open banking payments removes the friction that exists in a very card-heavy world online and allows people to cut through all the middlemen and use their bank to make payments,\u201d Crosby said.\nThis direct payment method uses the open-banking framework, where consumers can authorize third-party providers to access their bank information securely.\nHowever, while the conversation \u2014 and convenience \u2014 around open banking in the United States has evolved over the past few years, driven by both technological advancements and regulatory developments, the path toward widespread adoption has not been straightforward.\nUnderstanding Pay by Bank in an Open Banking Ecosystem\nFor consumers, pay by bank offers a more streamlined payment process, eliminating the need to manage multiple payment methods such as credit cards or digital wallets. It provides a direct link from their financial accounts to the merchants they trust, ensuring transactions are both secure and straightforward.\nOn the other side of the equation, Crosby explained that merchants benefit from lower transaction costs, as they avoid the fees typically associated with credit card payments. In an increasingly competitive market, where margins are often thin, this fee reduction can be a game-changer.\nAs with any new technology, the adoption of pay by bank will likely follow a gradual path, beginning with specific use cases where the benefits are most evident. Crosby highlighted subscription services as a prime example. For recurring payments \u2014 such as utilities, media subscriptions or government services \u2014 pay by bank offers a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d solution that simplifies the consumer experience and reduces costs for merchants.\n\u201cCards allow commerce to happen that never could happen before,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cAnd to do that, they put this interchange rate, this 2% to 3% tax to protect people from fraud \u2026 But do you always need that beyond the first transaction? No, particularly when it comes to subscriptions \u2026 We see these repeat use cases as the perfect spot for open banking payments, whether it\u2019s utilities, media services, even things like taxes.\u201d\nUnlike credit cards, which can expire or get misplaced, bank account details remain consistent, providing a more reliable method for ongoing payments. This reliability is particularly valuable in scenarios where interruptions in service due to payment issues can lead to customer dissatisfaction. By adopting open banking payments, consumers can avoid the hassle of updating payment information, and merchants can reduce the administrative burden associated with managing failed transactions.\nLooking Ahead: The Future of Open Banking in the US\nAs consumers become more comfortable with this payment method, Crosby said he anticipates its expansion into other sectors, such as retail, where the appeal lies in the potential cost savings for merchants who operate on thin margins and are eager to reduce their reliance on credit card networks. For retailers with established customer accounts or loyalty programs, integrating pay by bank could provide a seamless and cost-effective payment option.\nCrosby pointed out that unlike across Europe, the success of open banking payments in the U.S. will depend on consumer comfort with sharing their financial data and their trust in the security of these transactions. While younger generations, such as millennials and Generation Z, have shown a greater willingness to adopt open banking solutions, there is still a portion of the population that may need more reassurance before fully embracing the technology.\nThe regulatory environment in the U.S. is also evolving to support open banking, with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) playing a role. As Crosby explained, the CFPB is working on standardizing the rules for open banking, which is critical for the widespread adoption of pay by bank.\nEnsuring that open banking solutions are secure, user-friendly and aligned with consumer expectations will be key to achieving broader adoption, he added. If these hurdles can be overcome, the U.S. could see a shift in how payments are made, with pay by bank emerging as a viable alternative to traditional payment methods.\nThe post Trustly CRO Says Pay-by-Bank Solutions Benefit From Regulation and Shifting Consumer Preferences appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-29T04:01:55-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-28T21:26:33-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TRustly-pay-by-bank.jpg", "tags": [ "Featured News", "Frederick Crosby", "News", "Open Banking", "Pay By Bank", "PYMNTS News", "pymnts tv", "regulations", "Retail", "subscriptions", "Technology", "Trustly", "video", "Payments Innovation" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?post_type=tracker_posts&p=2051845", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/tracker_posts/open-for-business-unlocking-the-power-of-open-payments/", "title": "Open for Business: Unlocking the Power of Open Payments", "content_html": "Consumers now have a vast array of payment options at their disposal, with new methods emerging rapidly and preferences evolving just as quickly. Merchants and merchant aggregators also have no lack of choice when it comes to payment service providers, gateways, fraud tools, etc., to integrate with to support their payments stacks. Merchants lacking the ability to accommodate these shifts risk losing ground to competitors that can.
\nOpen payments platforms could be the key to managing this diversity of payment options and preferences, offering access to a broad spectrum of transaction tools through a single platform. By adopting such platforms, merchants and aggregators can connect with the right mix of providers for their needs and improve the performance of their payments. Moreover, this approach allows them to achieve these benefits with minimal investment and faster time to market.
\nOpen payments platforms are fast becoming a necessity for merchants as customer payment preferences diversify. Unifying payment protocols through a single API allows merchants to use the right mix of tools without having to build separate integrations for each.
\nOnce simple, one-on-one transactions between customers and merchants, payments have quickly progressed into a complicated process involving both parties\u2019 banks as well as third-party FinTechs and payment companies acting as facilitators. Despite this complexity, customers still expect their payments to be as seamless as ever, which often leaves merchants and aggregators unprepared to meet these demands.
\nOpen payments platforms allow merchants to seamlessly connect to any number of services, not just for payments but also for services to help manage their payment operations and back-office teams. This, in turn, enables merchants to scale their payment offerings and provide every customer with access to their preferred transaction methods while improving transaction success rates and lowering costs.
\nCustomers expect their transactions to be smooth and intuitive, regardless of payment type.
\nOlo, a leading restaurant digital ordering and delivery platform, recently adopted Spreedly as its open payments solution. This integration enables customers to use mobile wallets and other third-party payment options at restaurant brands on Olo\u2019s platform. For Olo, partnering with Spreedly simplifies the development of new digital offerings because payment options are managed through the open payments platform, which eliminates the need for complex integrations. The collaboration serves as a prime example of open payments\u2019 ability to facilitate rapid scalability and growth for aggregators.
\nOne of the most frustrating experiences for customers and merchants alike is a declined payment, especially when it stems from a failed back-end connection that is challenging to resolve. Adopting an open payments platform can alleviate this friction and dramatically improve authorization rates.
\n56%
\nof U.S. customers have experienced a false payment decline in the past three months.
\nA recent survey revealed that 40% of global consumers and 56% in the United States experienced a false payment decline in the last three months. Moreover, more than three-quarters of consumers have abandoned a purchase due to a less-than-perfect checkout experience \u2014 with payment failures certainly qualifying as such. Additionally, 79% of consumers consider having varied payment options essential for building confidence and trust in the brands they shop with. Merchants and aggregators understand that lacking these options can lead to an unsatisfactory customer experience, directly resulting in lost customers and revenue.
\nThe expanded partnership between payments company FlexPay and Spreedly aims to improve authorization rates by recovering failed transactions and reducing involuntary churn for subscription customers. In subscription-based businesses, a single failed transaction can quickly spiral into lost business if the subscriber is unaware that their subscription is not renewing. This collaboration will allow Spreedly customers to access FlexPay\u2019s Advanced Vault, a solution designed to increase transaction success rates, lower payment vault management costs and enhance the customer experience.
\nOpen payments platforms represent the next level of payments orchestration, providing firms with all the back-end efficiencies they need to optimize eCommerce.
\n\n[Open payments are] an evolution of payments orchestration. As eCommerce has evolved over the last 10 to 15 years, consumer expectations have grown around how seamless their embedded payments experiences are. The best payment experience is one that a customer doesn\u2019t even notice.\u201d
\n
In a recent interview with PYMNTS Intelligence, Spreedly Senior Director of Product and Market Strategy Andy McHale explained that open payments platforms represent the next step along a continuum from payments orchestration. These platforms offer a more flexible, secure and efficient approach to managing transactions by seamlessly connecting and facilitating merchants\u2019 payment flows. This flexibility is especially advantageous for subscription services, streaming content providers and marketplaces, enabling them to adapt and scale their operations with ease.
\nThe evolution of payments orchestration to open payments, McHale continued, is driven by the need for solutions that not only handle payments but also offer support tools for merchants and enhance the overall payment flow. While orchestration focuses on facilitating transactions from point A to point B, open payments platforms aim to integrate additional value-added services and provide a more seamless experience for consumers and merchants alike. For example, open payments platforms provide enhanced security and fraud protection capabilities by integrating tools for payment card industry (PCI) compliance, tokenization and secure payment method management. This not only minimizes merchants\u2019 exposure to sensitive data but also connects them to third-party fraud prevention vendors.
\nMcHale advised that most firms would benefit from taking a \u201ccrawl, walk, run\u201d approach to integrating open payments capabilities. Even small integrations can have a significant impact.
\n\u201cYou can start small and grow into other things,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to go get another integration to add the next piece; you can do it through the existing platform. [Often,] it\u2019s a low-code, perhaps a toggle, or something very simple to add to a workflow. If a merchant starts as a U.S. business and wants to expand to another region, they can very easily add a second provider through their existing platform.\u201d
\nMcHale noted that as these platforms continue to evolve, they will likely play a crucial role in optimizing authorization rates, reducing loss rates and accelerating time to market for businesses expanding into new regions.
\nOpen payments platforms provide merchants and aggregators with a flexible and scalable infrastructure that can quickly adapt to changing business needs. Connecting to multiple banks and payment services through a single, unified API, these platforms enable merchants and aggregators to expand their payment offerings rapidly, without the complexity of managing numerous separate integrations.
\nOne critical benefit of adopting open payments platforms is improved authorization rates. With advanced routing capabilities and access to multiple payment processors, merchants and aggregators can optimize transaction flows and increase the likelihood of successful authorizations. By utilizing real-time data, these platforms can intelligently route transactions to the most suitable processor, thereby reducing decline rates and maximizing revenue.
\nOpen payments platforms also enhance eCommerce efficiency by featuring robust fraud prevention tools, real-time reporting and automated reconciliation processes. This streamlines operations and reduces manual workloads while supporting various payment methods and currencies, eliminating the need for multiple integrations or complex setups.
\nFurthermore, built-in compliance and security features help merchants and aggregators meet regulatory requirements and protect sensitive customer data. This reduces the burden of developing and maintaining a comprehensive security infrastructure.
\nBy embracing these technologies, merchants and aggregators can focus on growing their businesses and delivering superior services, rather than getting bogged down in complex payment infrastructure management.
\nThe post Open for Business: Unlocking the Power of Open Payments appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Consumers now have a vast array of payment options at their disposal, with new methods emerging rapidly and preferences evolving just as quickly. Merchants and merchant aggregators also have no lack of choice when it comes to payment service providers, gateways, fraud tools, etc., to integrate with to support their payments stacks. Merchants lacking the ability to accommodate these shifts risk losing ground to competitors that can.\nOpen payments platforms could be the key to managing this diversity of payment options and preferences, offering access to a broad spectrum of transaction tools through a single platform. By adopting such platforms, merchants and aggregators can connect with the right mix of providers for their needs and improve the performance of their payments. Moreover, this approach allows them to achieve these benefits with minimal investment and faster time to market.\n\n Merchants Require Open Payments for Rapid Scaling\n Open Payments Improve Authorization Rates\n Payments Orchestrators Become Open Payments Platforms to Facilitate eCommerce\n Harnessing the Benefits of Open Payments\n\nMerchants Require Open Payments for Rapid Scaling\nOpen payments platforms are fast becoming a necessity for merchants as customer payment preferences diversify. Unifying payment protocols through a single API allows merchants to use the right mix of tools without having to build separate integrations for each.\nOpen payments platforms enable merchants to meet customer payment preferences.\n\n\nOnce simple, one-on-one transactions between customers and merchants, payments have quickly progressed into a complicated process involving both parties\u2019 banks as well as third-party FinTechs and payment companies acting as facilitators. Despite this complexity, customers still expect their payments to be as seamless as ever, which often leaves merchants and aggregators unprepared to meet these demands.\nOpen payments platforms allow merchants to seamlessly connect to any number of services, not just for payments but also for services to help manage their payment operations and back-office teams. This, in turn, enables merchants to scale their payment offerings and provide every customer with access to their preferred transaction methods while improving transaction success rates and lowering costs.\n\n\n\nOpen payments platforms\n\n\nCustomers expect their transactions to be smooth and intuitive, regardless of payment type.\n\n\n\nRestaurants are serving up open payments benefits to their customers.\nOlo, a leading restaurant digital ordering and delivery platform, recently adopted Spreedly as its open payments solution. This integration enables customers to use mobile wallets and other third-party payment options at restaurant brands on Olo\u2019s platform. For Olo, partnering with Spreedly simplifies the development of new digital offerings because payment options are managed through the open payments platform, which eliminates the need for complex integrations. The collaboration serves as a prime example of open payments\u2019 ability to facilitate rapid scalability and growth for aggregators.\nOpen Payments Improve Authorization Rates\nOne of the most frustrating experiences for customers and merchants alike is a declined payment, especially when it stems from a failed back-end connection that is challenging to resolve. Adopting an open payments platform can alleviate this friction and dramatically improve authorization rates.\nCustomers will abandon purchases if payments fail.\n\n\n\n56%\nof U.S. customers have experienced a false payment decline in the past three months.\n\n\nA recent survey revealed that 40% of global consumers and 56% in the United States experienced a false payment decline in the last three months. Moreover, more than three-quarters of consumers have abandoned a purchase due to a less-than-perfect checkout experience \u2014 with payment failures certainly qualifying as such. Additionally, 79% of consumers consider having varied payment options essential for building confidence and trust in the brands they shop with. Merchants and aggregators understand that lacking these options can lead to an unsatisfactory customer experience, directly resulting in lost customers and revenue.\n\n\n\nFlexPay\u2019s collaboration with Spreedly addresses authorization rates.\nThe expanded partnership between payments company FlexPay and Spreedly aims to improve authorization rates by recovering failed transactions and reducing involuntary churn for subscription customers. In subscription-based businesses, a single failed transaction can quickly spiral into lost business if the subscriber is unaware that their subscription is not renewing. This collaboration will allow Spreedly customers to access FlexPay\u2019s Advanced Vault, a solution designed to increase transaction success rates, lower payment vault management costs and enhance the customer experience.\nPayments Orchestrators Become Open Payments Platforms to Facilitate eCommerce\nOpen payments platforms represent the next level of payments orchestration, providing firms with all the back-end efficiencies they need to optimize eCommerce.\n\n\n\n\n\n [Open payments are] an evolution of payments orchestration. As eCommerce has evolved over the last 10 to 15 years, consumer expectations have grown around how seamless their embedded payments experiences are. The best payment experience is one that a customer doesn\u2019t even notice.\u201d\nAndy McHale\nSenior Director of Product and Market Strategy\n\n\n\nOpen payments platforms can help improve digital commerce firms\u2019 operational efficiencies.\nIn a recent interview with PYMNTS Intelligence, Spreedly Senior Director of Product and Market Strategy Andy McHale explained that open payments platforms represent the next step along a continuum from payments orchestration. These platforms offer a more flexible, secure and efficient approach to managing transactions by seamlessly connecting and facilitating merchants\u2019 payment flows. This flexibility is especially advantageous for subscription services, streaming content providers and marketplaces, enabling them to adapt and scale their operations with ease.\nThe evolution of payments orchestration to open payments, McHale continued, is driven by the need for solutions that not only handle payments but also offer support tools for merchants and enhance the overall payment flow. While orchestration focuses on facilitating transactions from point A to point B, open payments platforms aim to integrate additional value-added services and provide a more seamless experience for consumers and merchants alike. For example, open payments platforms provide enhanced security and fraud protection capabilities by integrating tools for payment card industry (PCI) compliance, tokenization and secure payment method management. This not only minimizes merchants\u2019 exposure to sensitive data but also connects them to third-party fraud prevention vendors.\nMcHale advised that most firms would benefit from taking a \u201ccrawl, walk, run\u201d approach to integrating open payments capabilities. Even small integrations can have a significant impact.\n\u201cYou can start small and grow into other things,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to go get another integration to add the next piece; you can do it through the existing platform. [Often,] it\u2019s a low-code, perhaps a toggle, or something very simple to add to a workflow. If a merchant starts as a U.S. business and wants to expand to another region, they can very easily add a second provider through their existing platform.\u201d\nMcHale noted that as these platforms continue to evolve, they will likely play a crucial role in optimizing authorization rates, reducing loss rates and accelerating time to market for businesses expanding into new regions.\nHarnessing the Benefits of Open Payments\nOpen payments platforms provide merchants and aggregators with a flexible and scalable infrastructure that can quickly adapt to changing business needs. Connecting to multiple banks and payment services through a single, unified API, these platforms enable merchants and aggregators to expand their payment offerings rapidly, without the complexity of managing numerous separate integrations.\nOne critical benefit of adopting open payments platforms is improved authorization rates. With advanced routing capabilities and access to multiple payment processors, merchants and aggregators can optimize transaction flows and increase the likelihood of successful authorizations. By utilizing real-time data, these platforms can intelligently route transactions to the most suitable processor, thereby reducing decline rates and maximizing revenue.\nOpen payments platforms also enhance eCommerce efficiency by featuring robust fraud prevention tools, real-time reporting and automated reconciliation processes. This streamlines operations and reduces manual workloads while supporting various payment methods and currencies, eliminating the need for multiple integrations or complex setups.\nFurthermore, built-in compliance and security features help merchants and aggregators meet regulatory requirements and protect sensitive customer data. This reduces the burden of developing and maintaining a comprehensive security infrastructure.\nBy embracing these technologies, merchants and aggregators can focus on growing their businesses and delivering superior services, rather than getting bogged down in complex payment infrastructure management.\nThe post Open for Business: Unlocking the Power of Open Payments appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-22T04:00:42-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-22T09:03:40-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Ashley McLeod", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/amcleod/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5fcbfee0fc4dc81613187d709d661036?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Ashley McLeod", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/amcleod/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5fcbfee0fc4dc81613187d709d661036?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/open-payments-orchestration-business.jpg", "tags": [ "APIs", "consumer payments", "ecommerce", "FlexPay", "Main Feature", "Merchant Aggregators", "merchants", "Open Payments", "Open Payments Platforms", "Payment Methods", "Payments Innovation", "Payments Orchestration", "PSPs", "PYMNTS Intelligence", "PYMNTS News", "Spreedly", "Tracker Series" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2053112", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/the-hidden-cost-of-inefficient-cash-application/", "title": "The Hidden Cost of Inefficient Cash Application", "content_html": "The key to success for many businesses lies within their finance departments. And the key to success within many finance departments is the embrace of efficient cash application processes.
\nTraditionally, cash application \u2014 the process of matching incoming payments to outstanding invoices \u2014 was relatively straightforward.
\n\u201cFifteen years ago, most payments in the U.S. were made by check, which would be sent to lockboxes or directly to offices,\u201d Aaron LeHew, director of invoice-to-cash at Esker, told PYMNTS.
\nHowever, organizations face a complex landscape filled with challenges that can hinder financial efficiency.
\n\u201cOver the years, cash application has become more and more complex, more labor intensive, and more prone to error,\u201d LeHew explained, noting that organizations are transitioning to more diverse payment methods, including ACH transfers, wires, credit cards and virtual cards, and that this shift has added layers of complexity to the cash application process.
\nPayments now come from multiple sources in various formats and are often decoupled from remittance details.
\nAs a result, businesses must deal with data scattered across bank portals, payment platforms and email inboxes, making it difficult to reconcile payments accurately and promptly. This complexity can lead to several issues, including unapplied cash, delayed payment posting, and reduced customer satisfaction due to improper credit holds and faulty collection calls, LeHew said.
\nThe inefficiencies in cash application have a direct impact on finance teams and their key performance indicators, such as days sales outstanding (DSO). LeHew explained that if payments are not posted the same day or by the next business day, it can artificially extend DSO, affecting the company\u2019s financial metrics and cash flow management.
\nAt the same time, delayed or incorrect payment postings can strain customer relationships.
\n\u201cCustomers expect their payments to be applied correctly and on time,\u201d LeHew said.
\nWhen this doesn\u2019t happen, it can result in disputes, short payments, and other complications that affect the finance team and the customer experience.
\nGiven these challenges, businesses are turning to cloud-based applications to streamline their cash application processes. According to LeHew, Esker\u2019s own platform aggregates data from various sources, including enterprise resource planning software, banks and remittance platforms, to create a unified view of payment information. This consolidation enables straight-through processing, where payments are posted quickly and accurately, reducing the need for manual intervention.
\n\u201cOrganizations are seeing better [key performance indicators (KPIs)] and overall results by automating cash application,\u201d he added.
\nOne of the key benefits of turning to an automated cash application solution is the ability for firms to minimize unapplied cash. By automating the matching process and handling exceptions more efficiently, businesses can reduce unapplied cash by 70% to 80% within six months, LeHew said. This not only improves financial metrics like DSO but also enhances overall workflow efficiency.
\nArtificial intelligence is another component in modernizing the cash application process. Esker\u2019s platform, which LeHew cited as an example, uses AI to predict and resolve payment discrepancies. In scenarios where remittance details are missing, AI algorithms can analyze customer payment behaviors to suggest likely matches, which can then be validated by the finance team. This reduces the manual effort required to reconcile payments and allows teams to focus on more strategic tasks, such as analyzing disputes and identifying upstream issues that may be causing payment discrepancies.
\nLeHew added that unlike older template-based systems that require manual coding, AI systems can adapt to changing document layouts, ensuring that payment data is captured accurately even when formats change. This flexibility speeds up the onboarding process for new customers and reduces the time and effort required to maintain the system.
\nFor finance teams, the key to success lies in adopting a proactive approach to cash application, using technology to handle routine tasks and focusing their efforts on strategic analysis and decision-making.
\nFor businesses looking to assess the effectiveness of their cash application processes, LeHew suggested focusing on key metrics such as the speed of payment posting and the amount of unapplied cash. If payments are not being applied on the same day or next day, or if unapplied cash levels are consistently high, it may be a sign that a firm\u2019s system is not working efficiently.
\nAnother area to examine is how the company handles disputes and short payments, he added. By coding these issues correctly and analyzing their root causes, businesses can identify upstream problems, such as pricing or delivery issues, and make necessary corrections to prevent future discrepancies.
\nFinally, LeHew highlighted the importance of flexibility in payment acceptance. Some companies resist accepting certain payment methods, such as virtual cards, due to the perceived complexity. However, embracing a wider range of payment options can improve working capital and increase customer wallet share by allowing businesses to operate on terms that are more favorable to their clients.
\nFor all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.
\nThe post The Hidden Cost of Inefficient Cash Application appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "The key to success for many businesses lies within their finance departments. And the key to success within many finance departments is the embrace of efficient cash application processes.\nTraditionally, cash application \u2014 the process of matching incoming payments to outstanding invoices \u2014 was relatively straightforward.\n\u201cFifteen years ago, most payments in the U.S. were made by check, which would be sent to lockboxes or directly to offices,\u201d Aaron LeHew, director of invoice-to-cash at Esker, told PYMNTS.\nHowever, organizations face a complex landscape filled with challenges that can hinder financial efficiency.\n\u201cOver the years, cash application has become more and more complex, more labor intensive, and more prone to error,\u201d LeHew explained, noting that organizations are transitioning to more diverse payment methods, including ACH transfers, wires, credit cards and virtual cards, and that this shift has added layers of complexity to the cash application process.\nPayments now come from multiple sources in various formats and are often decoupled from remittance details.\nAs a result, businesses must deal with data scattered across bank portals, payment platforms and email inboxes, making it difficult to reconcile payments accurately and promptly. This complexity can lead to several issues, including unapplied cash, delayed payment posting, and reduced customer satisfaction due to improper credit holds and faulty collection calls, LeHew said.\nStreamlining Cash Application\nThe inefficiencies in cash application have a direct impact on finance teams and their key performance indicators, such as days sales outstanding (DSO). LeHew explained that if payments are not posted the same day or by the next business day, it can artificially extend DSO, affecting the company\u2019s financial metrics and cash flow management.\nAt the same time, delayed or incorrect payment postings can strain customer relationships.\n\u201cCustomers expect their payments to be applied correctly and on time,\u201d LeHew said.\nWhen this doesn\u2019t happen, it can result in disputes, short payments, and other complications that affect the finance team and the customer experience.\nGiven these challenges, businesses are turning to cloud-based applications to streamline their cash application processes. According to LeHew, Esker\u2019s own platform aggregates data from various sources, including enterprise resource planning software, banks and remittance platforms, to create a unified view of payment information. This consolidation enables straight-through processing, where payments are posted quickly and accurately, reducing the need for manual intervention.\n\u201cOrganizations are seeing better [key performance indicators (KPIs)] and overall results by automating cash application,\u201d he added.\nOne of the key benefits of turning to an automated cash application solution is the ability for firms to minimize unapplied cash. By automating the matching process and handling exceptions more efficiently, businesses can reduce unapplied cash by 70% to 80% within six months, LeHew said. This not only improves financial metrics like DSO but also enhances overall workflow efficiency.\nArtificial intelligence is another component in modernizing the cash application process. Esker\u2019s platform, which LeHew cited as an example, uses AI to predict and resolve payment discrepancies. In scenarios where remittance details are missing, AI algorithms can analyze customer payment behaviors to suggest likely matches, which can then be validated by the finance team. This reduces the manual effort required to reconcile payments and allows teams to focus on more strategic tasks, such as analyzing disputes and identifying upstream issues that may be causing payment discrepancies.\nLeHew added that unlike older template-based systems that require manual coding, AI systems can adapt to changing document layouts, ensuring that payment data is captured accurately even when formats change. This flexibility speeds up the onboarding process for new customers and reduces the time and effort required to maintain the system.\nFinance\u2019s Impact on Business\nFor finance teams, the key to success lies in adopting a proactive approach to cash application, using technology to handle routine tasks and focusing their efforts on strategic analysis and decision-making.\nFor businesses looking to assess the effectiveness of their cash application processes, LeHew suggested focusing on key metrics such as the speed of payment posting and the amount of unapplied cash. If payments are not being applied on the same day or next day, or if unapplied cash levels are consistently high, it may be a sign that a firm\u2019s system is not working efficiently.\nAnother area to examine is how the company handles disputes and short payments, he added. By coding these issues correctly and analyzing their root causes, businesses can identify upstream problems, such as pricing or delivery issues, and make necessary corrections to prevent future discrepancies.\nFinally, LeHew highlighted the importance of flexibility in payment acceptance. Some companies resist accepting certain payment methods, such as virtual cards, due to the perceived complexity. However, embracing a wider range of payment options can improve working capital and increase customer wallet share by allowing businesses to operate on terms that are more favorable to their clients.\nFor all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.\nThe post The Hidden Cost of Inefficient Cash Application appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-16T04:01:54-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-15T22:34:09-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Esker-cash-app.jpg", "tags": [ "Aaron LeHew", "accounts payable", "accounts receivable", "artificial intelligence", "automation", "B2B", "B2B Payments", "cash application", "commercial payments", "Digital Payments", "esker", "Featured News", "GenAI", "Innovation", "News", "PYMNTS News", "pymnts tv", "Technology", "video", "Payments Innovation" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2052380", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/unified-commerce-emerges-as-key-factor-in-customer-experience/", "title": "Unified Commerce Emerges as Key Factor in Customer Experience", "content_html": "Advances in banking and payments are transforming business operations. Taken together, the integration of these two functions is changing, well, everything.
\n\u201cCustomers are looking for financial operations that work in concert with their business needs, combining the latest technology with legacy systems in a way that\u2019s both seamless and secure,\u201d Albert Acevedo, senior vice president of treasury services at Priority, told PYMNTS.
\nThe concept of integrated payments is not just a force reshaping how businesses operate, but also a new paradigm to unlock efficiencies, enhance security and drive strategic decision-making.
\nIn today\u2019s data-rich environment, the ability to integrate and use data across various business functions is a game-changer. For chief financial officers and treasurers, having real-time access to financial data is critical for making informed decisions and strategic planning. Acevedo highlighted the importance of integrating data within a native platform like Priority\u2019s own Passport solution.
\n\u201cWith integrated data, you have real-time information at your fingertips,\u201d Acevedo explained. \u201cThis means you don\u2019t have to wait for batch processes or worry about delays. It\u2019s all about turning that data into something useful \u2014 whether that\u2019s real-time reporting on deposit usability or managing investments on an intraday basis.\u201d
\nAcevedo explained that Priority has coined the term \u201cunified commerce\u201d to encapsulate its approach to integrating payments and banking.
\nThis integration is not just about streamlining processes, he said, but about providing businesses with the tools they need to thrive.
\n\u201cOur tech stack connects with APIs and automates processes like reconciliation, funds flow and even account opening,\u201d Acevedo said. \u201cThis allows us to offer a solution that\u2019s unique in the marketplace, with real-time capabilities that can make a significant difference for our customers.\u201d
\nCustom real-time dashboards can provide a single source of truth, allowing businesses to track revenue, manage investments and monitor fraud across their operations.
\n\u201cThe real power here is in the business intelligence we provide,\u201d Acevedo explained. \u201cCustomers can create dashboards that reflect their specific needs, whether that\u2019s tracking revenue by store location or managing risks across their entire portfolio.\u201d
\nAs consumer expectations evolve, so too must the strategies of businesses aiming to meet these demands. Unified commerce is not just about integrating payments and banking; it\u2019s about creating a customer experience that\u2019s fast, seamless and personalized.
\n\u201cCustomers today expect a curated and unique experience,\u201d Acevedo said. \u201cThey want to be empowered to manage their cash flow with tools that work in concert, whether that\u2019s receivables, payables or investments. \u2026 It\u2019s about offering a holistic solution that\u2019s seamless and integrated.\u201d
\nAcevedo stressed that he sees the concept of integrated payments and banking only growing in importance.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about being quick and easy to use while offering a comprehensive suite of tools,\u201d he said. \u201cCustomers want one window into their entire financial world, and that\u2019s what we aim to provide.\u201d
\nLooking ahead, Acevedo emphasized the importance of partnerships and modularity in the future of integrated payments and banking.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not about being a one-stop shop for everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about giving customers the flexibility to choose the tools they need and integrating them in a way that\u2019s seamless and efficient.\u201d
\nOne of the most significant advancements in this area is Priority\u2019s ability to provide visibility into financial information in a way that\u2019s tailored to the needs of each customer.
\n\u201cWe control our own [know your customer (KYC)] processes and can open accounts organized the way our customers want them,\u201d Acevedo explained. \u201cThis allows us to offer unique automation and ledger capabilities that make managing money more efficient and effective. \u2026 That\u2019s the future of integrated payments and banking, and we\u2019re excited to be at the forefront of it.\u201d
\nThe post Unified Commerce Emerges as Key Factor in Customer Experience appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Advances in banking and payments are transforming business operations. Taken together, the integration of these two functions is changing, well, everything.\n\u201cCustomers are looking for financial operations that work in concert with their business needs, combining the latest technology with legacy systems in a way that\u2019s both seamless and secure,\u201d Albert Acevedo, senior vice president of treasury services at Priority, told PYMNTS.\nThe concept of integrated payments is not just a force reshaping how businesses operate, but also a new paradigm to unlock efficiencies, enhance security and drive strategic decision-making.\nIn today\u2019s data-rich environment, the ability to integrate and use data across various business functions is a game-changer. For chief financial officers and treasurers, having real-time access to financial data is critical for making informed decisions and strategic planning. Acevedo highlighted the importance of integrating data within a native platform like Priority\u2019s own Passport solution.\n\u201cWith integrated data, you have real-time information at your fingertips,\u201d Acevedo explained. \u201cThis means you don\u2019t have to wait for batch processes or worry about delays. It\u2019s all about turning that data into something useful \u2014 whether that\u2019s real-time reporting on deposit usability or managing investments on an intraday basis.\u201d\nUnified Approach Through Integrated Payments\nAcevedo explained that Priority has coined the term \u201cunified commerce\u201d to encapsulate its approach to integrating payments and banking.\nThis integration is not just about streamlining processes, he said, but about providing businesses with the tools they need to thrive.\n\u201cOur tech stack connects with APIs and automates processes like reconciliation, funds flow and even account opening,\u201d Acevedo said. \u201cThis allows us to offer a solution that\u2019s unique in the marketplace, with real-time capabilities that can make a significant difference for our customers.\u201d\nCustom real-time dashboards can provide a single source of truth, allowing businesses to track revenue, manage investments and monitor fraud across their operations.\n\u201cThe real power here is in the business intelligence we provide,\u201d Acevedo explained. \u201cCustomers can create dashboards that reflect their specific needs, whether that\u2019s tracking revenue by store location or managing risks across their entire portfolio.\u201d\nAs consumer expectations evolve, so too must the strategies of businesses aiming to meet these demands. Unified commerce is not just about integrating payments and banking; it\u2019s about creating a customer experience that\u2019s fast, seamless and personalized.\n\u201cCustomers today expect a curated and unique experience,\u201d Acevedo said. \u201cThey want to be empowered to manage their cash flow with tools that work in concert, whether that\u2019s receivables, payables or investments. \u2026 It\u2019s about offering a holistic solution that\u2019s seamless and integrated.\u201d\nFuture of Integrated Payments and Banking\nAcevedo stressed that he sees the concept of integrated payments and banking only growing in importance.\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about being quick and easy to use while offering a comprehensive suite of tools,\u201d he said. \u201cCustomers want one window into their entire financial world, and that\u2019s what we aim to provide.\u201d\nLooking ahead, Acevedo emphasized the importance of partnerships and modularity in the future of integrated payments and banking.\n\u201cIt\u2019s not about being a one-stop shop for everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about giving customers the flexibility to choose the tools they need and integrating them in a way that\u2019s seamless and efficient.\u201d\nOne of the most significant advancements in this area is Priority\u2019s ability to provide visibility into financial information in a way that\u2019s tailored to the needs of each customer.\n\u201cWe control our own [know your customer (KYC)] processes and can open accounts organized the way our customers want them,\u201d Acevedo explained. \u201cThis allows us to offer unique automation and ledger capabilities that make managing money more efficient and effective. \u2026 That\u2019s the future of integrated payments and banking, and we\u2019re excited to be at the forefront of it.\u201d\nThe post Unified Commerce Emerges as Key Factor in Customer Experience appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-15T04:02:13-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-19T21:11:41-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Priority-payments.jpg", "tags": [ "Albert Acevedo", "automation", "B2B", "B2B Payments", "banking", "commercial payments", "faster payments", "Featured News", "FinTech", "Innovation", "integrated payments", "News", "partnerships", "Priority", "PYMNTS News", "pymnts tv", "video", "Payments Innovation" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2052084", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/gain-without-the-pain-nuvei-head-of-ecomm-on-whats-driving-payments-optimization/", "title": "Gain Without the Pain: Nuvei Head of eComm on What\u2019s Driving Payments Optimization", "content_html": "Payments represent the lifeblood of business success. And business success, like payments, is inherently complex.
\nThis inherent complexity, arising because today\u2019s payments sit at the intersection of technology, finance, regulation, and end-user behavior, can impede businesses\u2019 ability to maximize revenue.
\n\u201cThe payments industry has moved faster, technology has changed, consumer needs and experiences, and innovation have all changed significantly, not just along the last 20 years, but in the last three to five years,\u201d Laura Miller, chief revenue officer at Nuvei, told PYMNTS.
\nMiller said the complexity of payments, payment analytics and risk management represent the three \u201cmost significant\u201d pain points that businesses must overcome to unlock revenue potential through payments optimization.
\nBut navigating the labyrinth of options, regulations and risks composing today\u2019s payments landscape is far from easy, even for the most sophisticated and forward-thinking firms.
\nOne of the most significant hurdles in payment optimization is the sheer complexity of the payments industry. Over the past few years, particularly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer expectations have evolved. Customers now demand the ability to pay anywhere, anytime, in a safe and secure manner. However, with this convenience comes a host of challenges.
\n\u201cThe payment experience can be daunting for consumers,\u201d Miller said. \u201cFrom error messages to internet stability, and the vast array of payment options, each of these factors can either enhance or hinder the customer experience.\u201d The proliferation of global payment methods adds another layer of complexity, making it imperative for businesses to approach the payment process holistically.
\nNuvei recognizes these challenges, Miller said, noting the company has developed pretransaction tools such as smart routing and adaptive approvals to streamline payment transactions. These tools not only reduce complexity but also improve transaction success rates, with some clients seeing a 5% increase in successful transactions.
\nAt the same time, the vast array of payment options available today presents a double-edged sword for businesses. While offering multiple payment methods can attract a broader customer base, it can also lead to confusion and inefficiencies. Striking the right balance between choice and operational efficiency is crucial.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s always a trade-off,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe more choice, the more confusing it can be for consumers.\u201d
\nShe added that by embracing a localized approach and identifying the optimal alternative payment methods for their specific markets, businesses can present the right payment options to the right consumers, enhancing the overall customer experience.
\nIn the digital age, data is abundant, but leveraging this data effectively remains a critical issue for many businesses. According to Miller, nearly a third of businesses report that limited data visibility is a missed opportunity to boost revenue. The key lies in using this data to improve payment processes and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.
\nRisk management remains a cornerstone of payment processing. As the industry evolves, so do the risks, particularly in the form of fraud. \u201cBusinesses face substantial financial losses due to fraud, which can amount to billions of dollars annually,\u201d Miller warned, noting that fraud not only impacts the bottom line but also erodes customer trust and loyalty.
\nLooking ahead, Miller highlighted three key trends that are set to revolutionize payment optimization: artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, biometrics and contextual payments.
\nAI and machine learning are already playing a role in enhancing fraud detection and personalizing payment experiences. By automating processes, these technologies enable businesses to realize revenue faster and with greater accuracy. Meanwhile, biometrics, particularly in authentication, promises to simplify and speed up payment processes while enhancing security.
\nPerhaps the most exciting development is the rise of contextual payments, which Miller described as a way to enable and automate payments during personal moments.
\n\u201cContextual payments create an emotional connection for consumers, making them feel confident in their purchases,\u201d Miller said, citing as an example an end user watching their favorite show and instantly purchasing items featured on screen, or seamlessly paying for services through a mobile device while on the go. This trend has the potential to transform the way consumers interact with businesses, she added, making payments a more integrated and intuitive part of everyday life.
\nThe post Gain Without the Pain: Nuvei Head of eComm on What\u2019s Driving Payments Optimization appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Payments represent the lifeblood of business success. And business success, like payments, is inherently complex. \nThis inherent complexity, arising because today\u2019s payments sit at the intersection of technology, finance, regulation, and end-user behavior, can impede businesses\u2019 ability to maximize revenue.\n\u201cThe payments industry has moved faster, technology has changed, consumer needs and experiences, and innovation have all changed significantly, not just along the last 20 years, but in the last three to five years,\u201d Laura Miller, chief revenue officer at Nuvei, told PYMNTS. \nMiller said the complexity of payments, payment analytics and risk management represent the three \u201cmost significant\u201d pain points that businesses must overcome to unlock revenue potential through payments optimization. \nBut navigating the labyrinth of options, regulations and risks composing today\u2019s payments landscape is far from easy, even for the most sophisticated and forward-thinking firms. \nManaging the Complexity of Payments\nOne of the most significant hurdles in payment optimization is the sheer complexity of the payments industry. Over the past few years, particularly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer expectations have evolved. Customers now demand the ability to pay anywhere, anytime, in a safe and secure manner. However, with this convenience comes a host of challenges.\n\u201cThe payment experience can be daunting for consumers,\u201d Miller said. \u201cFrom error messages to internet stability, and the vast array of payment options, each of these factors can either enhance or hinder the customer experience.\u201d The proliferation of global payment methods adds another layer of complexity, making it imperative for businesses to approach the payment process holistically.\nNuvei recognizes these challenges, Miller said, noting the company has developed pretransaction tools such as smart routing and adaptive approvals to streamline payment transactions. These tools not only reduce complexity but also improve transaction success rates, with some clients seeing a 5% increase in successful transactions.\nAt the same time, the vast array of payment options available today presents a double-edged sword for businesses. While offering multiple payment methods can attract a broader customer base, it can also lead to confusion and inefficiencies. Striking the right balance between choice and operational efficiency is crucial.\n\u201cThere\u2019s always a trade-off,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe more choice, the more confusing it can be for consumers.\u201d \nShe added that by embracing a localized approach and identifying the optimal alternative payment methods for their specific markets, businesses can present the right payment options to the right consumers, enhancing the overall customer experience.\nPower of Payment Analytics\nIn the digital age, data is abundant, but leveraging this data effectively remains a critical issue for many businesses. According to Miller, nearly a third of businesses report that limited data visibility is a missed opportunity to boost revenue. The key lies in using this data to improve payment processes and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.\nRisk management remains a cornerstone of payment processing. As the industry evolves, so do the risks, particularly in the form of fraud. \u201cBusinesses face substantial financial losses due to fraud, which can amount to billions of dollars annually,\u201d Miller warned, noting that fraud not only impacts the bottom line but also erodes customer trust and loyalty.\nLooking ahead, Miller highlighted three key trends that are set to revolutionize payment optimization: artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, biometrics and contextual payments.\nAI and machine learning are already playing a role in enhancing fraud detection and personalizing payment experiences. By automating processes, these technologies enable businesses to realize revenue faster and with greater accuracy. Meanwhile, biometrics, particularly in authentication, promises to simplify and speed up payment processes while enhancing security.\nPerhaps the most exciting development is the rise of contextual payments, which Miller described as a way to enable and automate payments during personal moments. \n\u201cContextual payments create an emotional connection for consumers, making them feel confident in their purchases,\u201d Miller said, citing as an example an end user watching their favorite show and instantly purchasing items featured on screen, or seamlessly paying for services through a mobile device while on the go. This trend has the potential to transform the way consumers interact with businesses, she added, making payments a more integrated and intuitive part of everyday life.\nThe post Gain Without the Pain: Nuvei Head of eComm on What\u2019s Driving Payments Optimization appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-14T04:02:28-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-03T12:41:14-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Nuvei-payments-orchestration.jpg", "tags": [ "AI", "artificial intelligence", "Contextual Payments", "data analytics", "Featured News", "Laura Miller", "machine learning", "News", "Nuvei", "payment options", "Payments Innovation", "payments optimization", "Payments Processing", "personalization", "PYMNTS News", "pymnts tv", "risk management", "video" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2043207", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/stripe-offers-adaptive-pricing-to-apac-latam-merchants/", "title": "Stripe Offers Adaptive Pricing to APAC/LatAm Merchants", "content_html": "Stripe says it wants to help merchants show their buyers prices in local currencies.
\nTo that end, the payments company announced Wednesday (Aug. 7) that it is introducing adaptive pricing for businesses in Asia Pacific and Latin America, letting businesses automatically show pricing in local currencies for buyers in more than 150 countries.
\n\u201cOnline shoppers are purchasing more goods internationally, but it\u2019s difficult for them to pay how they want and are often in the dark about how much they\u2019ll be charged,\u201d the company said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.
\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s complicated for merchants to show their customers how much they\u2019d be paying in their local currency and with their preferred payment method. For example, to enable some local payment methods for their buyers, merchants must show prices in those buyers\u2019 local currencies.\u201d
\nStripe said it has tested the effectiveness of adaptive pricing in the U.S., U.K., Canada and the European Union, and found that it led to an average 17.8% increase in cross-border revenue for businesses. And 90% of customers checked out in their local currency when given the choice.
\nOffering people more choices when it comes time to pay can help cultivate relationships with consumers, research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found.\u00a0
\nAccording to last year\u2019s \u201cConsumer Inflation Sentiment: The False Appeal of Deal-Chasing Consumers,\u201d 16% of consumers cited the ability to use their preferred payment methods as a factor influencing their decision on where to make their most recent purchase.
\n\u201cWhatever calculus the user performs to determine the payment methods that they want to use, they want more options across more merchants,\u201d Drew Olson, senior director at Google Pay, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in December.
\nAnd that calculus isn\u2019t just happening online. In another 2023 interview, George Hanson, then chief digital officer at Panera Bread, said the fast-casual eatery\u2019s addition of biometric payments was critical to meeting diners\u2019 demand for frictionless transactions.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re leveraging what the guests have told us and what they continue to show us, which is that they\u2019ve increased their digital adoption,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cThey expect their phone to be a part of every interaction at every access point. We\u2019re looking at all the areas that traditionally have been offline and adding value to the experience, leveraging our digital capabilities, and the guest is responding very favorably.\u201d
\nThe post Stripe Offers Adaptive Pricing to APAC/LatAm Merchants appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Stripe says it wants to help merchants show their buyers prices in local currencies.\nTo that end, the payments company announced Wednesday (Aug. 7) that it is introducing adaptive pricing for businesses in Asia Pacific and Latin America, letting businesses automatically show pricing in local currencies for buyers in more than 150 countries.\n\u201cOnline shoppers are purchasing more goods internationally, but it\u2019s difficult for them to pay how they want and are often in the dark about how much they\u2019ll be charged,\u201d the company said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s complicated for merchants to show their customers how much they\u2019d be paying in their local currency and with their preferred payment method. For example, to enable some local payment methods for their buyers, merchants must show prices in those buyers\u2019 local currencies.\u201d \nStripe said it has tested the effectiveness of adaptive pricing in the U.S., U.K., Canada and the European Union, and found that it led to an average 17.8% increase in cross-border revenue for businesses. And 90% of customers checked out in their local currency when given the choice.\nOffering people more choices when it comes time to pay can help cultivate relationships with consumers, research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found.\u00a0\nAccording to last year\u2019s \u201cConsumer Inflation Sentiment: The False Appeal of Deal-Chasing Consumers,\u201d 16% of consumers cited the ability to use their preferred payment methods as a factor influencing their decision on where to make their most recent purchase.\n\u201cWhatever calculus the user performs to determine the payment methods that they want to use, they want more options across more merchants,\u201d Drew Olson, senior director at Google Pay, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in December.\nAnd that calculus isn\u2019t just happening online. In another 2023 interview, George Hanson, then chief digital officer at Panera Bread, said the fast-casual eatery\u2019s addition of biometric payments was critical to meeting diners\u2019 demand for frictionless transactions.\n\u201cWe\u2019re leveraging what the guests have told us and what they continue to show us, which is that they\u2019ve increased their digital adoption,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cThey expect their phone to be a part of every interaction at every access point. We\u2019re looking at all the areas that traditionally have been offline and adding value to the experience, leveraging our digital capabilities, and the guest is responding very favorably.\u201d\nThe post Stripe Offers Adaptive Pricing to APAC/LatAm Merchants appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-07T17:39:27-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-07T17:39:27-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Stripe-adaptive-pricing.jpg", "tags": [ "adaptive pricing", "cross-border commerce", "cross-border payments", "local currencies", "local currency", "News", "Payment Choice", "Payments Innovation", "Payments Methods", "PYMNTS News", "Stripe", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2021321", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/they-said-that-notable-quotables-week-july-29/", "title": "They Said That: Notable Quotables for the Week of July 29", "content_html": "It was the thick of earnings season this week, but that didn\u2019t mean PYMNTS\u2019 interviews with key executives took a break.
\nHere are some of the most notable quotables for the week ending Aug. 2 in case you missed them.
\nWe started the week with the latest installment in our \u201cA Day in the Life of a CFO\u201d series featuring an interview with CSG Chief Financial Officer Hai Tran, who told PYMNTS in \u201cCSG CFO: \u2018True Decision Support\u2019 Is Digital Transformation\u2019s Holy Grail\u201d that the digital transformation sweeping across industries has impacted the finance function.
\n\u201cThe holy grail for digital transformation is to get to true decision support, where we\u2019re really providing data-driven optionality and information and choices; where we fully analyze the implications of the path that we select,\u201d Tran said, noting that \u201cmost companies don\u2019t get there \u2026 you have to bring institutional knowledge to bear, and that\u2019s where experience matters.\u201d
\nThen we went for a deep dive into our \u201cWhat\u2019s Next in Payments\u201d series with
\nIn an interview for \u201cMaverick COO Says Embedded Finance Drives Growth and Personalization in Digital Ecosystems,\u201d Maverick Payments Chief Operating Officer Ben Griefer told PYMNTS that the integration of financial products and services into digital ecosystems is transforming commerce.
\n\u201cWith the advancements of technology and the platforms businesses rely on to run their operations, they are looking to integrate financial products to give their customer base more value,\u201d Griefer said.
\n\u201cOn the flip side, it ultimately drives more revenue,\u201d he added.
\nData found its way into our series as well. In \u201cAll Signal, No Noise: How Item-Level Data Brings Retail and Banking Intelligence Together,\u201d we found that unification is the key to unlocking maximum data potential, according to Banyan Chief Commercial Officer Mike Minelli.
\n\u201cUnifying data views starts with recognizing that both banks and merchants are dealing with the same customer, but from different perspectives,\u201d Minelli said. \u201cThe key is that they\u2019re starting to realize they can help each other by providing signals.\u201d
\nEmbedded finance is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about trends of the year so far. In \u201cMastercard Sees Embedded Finance as Revolutionizing Digital Payments,\u201d Jennifer Marriner, executive vice president, Global Acceptance Solutions, at Mastercard, said: \u201cEmbedding [payments and financial products] across the value chain and within all of the experiences that a customer is going through in that commerce environment is incredibly important.\u201d
\n\u201cB2B transactions have traditionally had a slower approval process, and B2B players have been slower to adopt new technology,\u201d she added. \u201cBut what we\u2019re seeing with a shift to digital is that there is now more data, more controls, stronger authentication coming into that B2B space, all the while bringing down the cost and improving the risk models. We\u2019re definitely seeing on the B2B side a realization that there\u2019s a way they can streamline their business through embedded finance.\u201d
\nWe picked up the international action later in the week with Debo Sen, head of payments at Citi Services. In \u201cCiti Services Head of Payments Says Instant Is In as Global Dynamics Shift,\u201d Sen highlighted the rapid adoption of these new payment rails in regions like Asia-Pacific and Latin America, with India and Brazil leading the charge.
\nIn India, about 85% of all payments are made in real time, thanks to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, a testament to the country\u2019s leap in digital payments infrastructure. Brazil follows closely with nearly 80% adoption. But this trend is not limited to emerging markets, she added, noting that the United States and the European Union are also advancing regulations and infrastructure to support real-time payments.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been tracking the momentum in instant payments, or real-time payments, for a long time,\u201d Sen said.
\n\u201cThe interesting thing is there is always a lot of conversation as to whether instant payments will cannibalize other methods of payment \u2014 but in fact, it is digitizing cash in those economies and eliminating cash in many cases,\u201d she added.
\nAnd we ended the week with taxes. In \u201cMind Your B\u2019s and P\u2019s: IRS Notices and Penalties Loom for Unprepared Firms This Fall,\u201d Wendy Walker, vice president of Regulatory Affairs at Sovos, said when information is missing or doesn\u2019t match IRS records, hefty fines can accrue \u2014 and the administrative burden of keeping track of all those details is considerable. A proactive approach can help head errors off at the pass.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re in a company that does anti-money laundering practices or know your customer and you\u2019re collecting a bunch of that information, unless you are actually verifying that TIN to the IRS database, verifying to [any] other database doesn\u2019t matter from an IRS perspective,\u201d Walker said.
\nThe post They Said That: Notable Quotables for the Week of July 29 appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "It was the thick of earnings season this week, but that didn\u2019t mean PYMNTS\u2019 interviews with key executives took a break.\nHere are some of the most notable quotables for the week ending Aug. 2 in case you missed them.\nWe started the week with the latest installment in our \u201cA Day in the Life of a CFO\u201d series featuring an interview with CSG Chief Financial Officer Hai Tran, who told PYMNTS in \u201cCSG CFO: \u2018True Decision Support\u2019 Is Digital Transformation\u2019s Holy Grail\u201d that the digital transformation sweeping across industries has impacted the finance function.\n\u201cThe holy grail for digital transformation is to get to true decision support, where we\u2019re really providing data-driven optionality and information and choices; where we fully analyze the implications of the path that we select,\u201d Tran said, noting that \u201cmost companies don\u2019t get there \u2026 you have to bring institutional knowledge to bear, and that\u2019s where experience matters.\u201d\nThen we went for a deep dive into our \u201cWhat\u2019s Next in Payments\u201d series with\nIn an interview for \u201cMaverick COO Says Embedded Finance Drives Growth and Personalization in Digital Ecosystems,\u201d Maverick Payments Chief Operating Officer Ben Griefer told PYMNTS that the integration of financial products and services into digital ecosystems is transforming commerce.\n\u201cWith the advancements of technology and the platforms businesses rely on to run their operations, they are looking to integrate financial products to give their customer base more value,\u201d Griefer said.\n\u201cOn the flip side, it ultimately drives more revenue,\u201d he added.\nData found its way into our series as well. In \u201cAll Signal, No Noise: How Item-Level Data Brings Retail and Banking Intelligence Together,\u201d we found that unification is the key to unlocking maximum data potential, according to Banyan Chief Commercial Officer Mike Minelli.\n\u201cUnifying data views starts with recognizing that both banks and merchants are dealing with the same customer, but from different perspectives,\u201d Minelli said. \u201cThe key is that they\u2019re starting to realize they can help each other by providing signals.\u201d\nEmbedded finance is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about trends of the year so far. In \u201cMastercard Sees Embedded Finance as Revolutionizing Digital Payments,\u201d Jennifer Marriner, executive vice president, Global Acceptance Solutions, at Mastercard, said: \u201cEmbedding [payments and financial products] across the value chain and within all of the experiences that a customer is going through in that commerce environment is incredibly important.\u201d\n\u201cB2B transactions have traditionally had a slower approval process, and B2B players have been slower to adopt new technology,\u201d she added. \u201cBut what we\u2019re seeing with a shift to digital is that there is now more data, more controls, stronger authentication coming into that B2B space, all the while bringing down the cost and improving the risk models. We\u2019re definitely seeing on the B2B side a realization that there\u2019s a way they can streamline their business through embedded finance.\u201d\nWe picked up the international action later in the week with Debo Sen, head of payments at Citi Services. In \u201cCiti Services Head of Payments Says Instant Is In as Global Dynamics Shift,\u201d Sen highlighted the rapid adoption of these new payment rails in regions like Asia-Pacific and Latin America, with India and Brazil leading the charge.\nIn India, about 85% of all payments are made in real time, thanks to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, a testament to the country\u2019s leap in digital payments infrastructure. Brazil follows closely with nearly 80% adoption. But this trend is not limited to emerging markets, she added, noting that the United States and the European Union are also advancing regulations and infrastructure to support real-time payments.\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been tracking the momentum in instant payments, or real-time payments, for a long time,\u201d Sen said.\n\u201cThe interesting thing is there is always a lot of conversation as to whether instant payments will cannibalize other methods of payment \u2014 but in fact, it is digitizing cash in those economies and eliminating cash in many cases,\u201d she added.\nAnd we ended the week with taxes. In \u201cMind Your B\u2019s and P\u2019s: IRS Notices and Penalties Loom for Unprepared Firms This Fall,\u201d Wendy Walker, vice president of Regulatory Affairs at Sovos, said when information is missing or doesn\u2019t match IRS records, hefty fines can accrue \u2014 and the administrative burden of keeping track of all those details is considerable. A proactive approach can help head errors off at the pass.\n\u201cIf you\u2019re in a company that does anti-money laundering practices or know your customer and you\u2019re collecting a bunch of that information, unless you are actually verifying that TIN to the IRS database, verifying to [any] other database doesn\u2019t matter from an IRS perspective,\u201d Walker said.\nThe post They Said That: Notable Quotables for the Week of July 29 appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-02T16:08:12-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-02T16:08:12-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/payments-innovation-digital-transformation.jpg", "tags": [ "B2B", "Banyan", "Ben Griefer", "CFO", "Citi Services", "CSG", "data", "Debo Sen", "Digital Payments", "digital transformation", "embedded finance", "Hai Tran", "Jennifer Marriner", "MasterCard", "Maverick Payments", "Mike Minelli", "News", "PYMNTS News", "real time payments", "Sovos", "taxes", "Technology", "Wendy Walker", "Payments Innovation" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2020605", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2024/tokenization-rise-offers-new-ways-monetize-data-real-world-assets/", "title": "Tokenization\u2019s Rise Offers New Ways to Monetize Data and Real World Assets", "content_html": "The concept behind tokenization is simple.
\nTokenization is a tech-enabled way to safeguard sensitive information by replacing it with non-sensitive, scrambled strings of information.
\nThe practice of tokenization within the financial services realm might be most readily apparent with the tens of billions of tokens issued by payments networks, where progress is charted in announcements, as well as management commentary on quarterly earnings calls.
\nVisa crossed the 10 billion token mark in June. The company noted that replacing sensitive consumer-level data with a cryptographic key, or token, saved $650 million in fraud in the prior year while driving over $40 billion in incremental eCommerce revenue for businesses globally.
\nIn terms of being a business driver, \u201cin Acceptance Solutions, third-quarter growth was driven by increasing utilization across both token and eCommerce-related services,\u201d Visa CEO Ryan McInerney noted on an earnings call.
\nMastercard, for its part, notched its own milestones. During an earnings call, CEO Michael Miebach told listeners that replacing payment credentials with a digitally secure token has had a positive impact on commerce.
\n\u201cWhen deployed, fraud rates decrease, and approval rates improve,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, launching a decade ago, the technology has been broadly adopted around the world. In fact, we surpassed 22 billion tokenized transactions in the first half of 2024, up 49% versus a year ago.\u201d
\nTokenization, Miebach said, also \u201cmakes checkout more secure\u2026 We are working with our merchants and bank partners to drive adoption. Click-to-Pay transactions more than doubled year over year in the first half of 2024.\u201d
\nThe advent of tokenization, he said, gives Mastercard \u201can opportunity to build a whole set of services on top of the basic token that we can price for, and that we feel we should price for, because they drive a better outcome in terms of better approval rates, lower fraud and so forth for our customers.\u201d
\nThredd CEO Jim McCarthy told PYMNTS last month that tokens, once device-specific or wallet-specific (as had been the case with Apple Pay) have evolved \u201cinto not just the digital credential, but the programmable one.\u201d The token can now take on different \u201ccharacteristics,\u201d depending on where and how it\u2019s being used \u2014 as a credit, debit, or buy now, pay later (BNPL) option.
\nThe programmable nature of tokens, underpinned by blockchain and smart technologies, means that data, assets and even payments can be executed with improved security and sets of rules governing what\u2019s changing hands and when across verticals as diverse as real estate, gaming and commodities markets.
\nLast summer, Mastercard launched its Mastercard Multi-Token Network to help foster the creation of these tokens (and conduct screening and transaction monitoring) to support new business models across various sectors using tokenized bank deposits.
\nTokenization platform OpenEden announced in a Thursday (Aug. 1) press release that it will bring tokenized U.S. Treasury bills to the XRP Ledger. Ripple is investing $10 million into OpenEden\u2019s TBILL tokens as part of a larger fund that will allocate the Treasury bills provided by OpenEden and other issuers.
\nThe ledger offers automated market maker functions, which improve the liquidity of the trading itself, and simplify, in general, the exchange of assets, which in turn can open new revenue streams for financial services firms.
\nEarlier this year, the Bank for International Settlements announced its joint efforts with seven central banks \u2014 including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York \u2014 to test tokenization to improve cross-border payments.
\nJ.P. Morgan Chase is one of the largest financial institutions making forays into the tokenized space. It said last year that its tokenized collateral network facilitated its first collateral settlement for a live client over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transaction. The company said in a paper issued jointly with Oliver Wyman that \u201cdeposit tokens could further support economic activity in the digital space, including in a \u2018Web3 economy\u2019 where significant economic activity happens on shared ledgers, with tokenized asset transfers settled via deposit tokens. This digital economy would be facilitated by direct, instant and atomic exchanges between peers.\u201d
\nFor payments networks in particular, tokenized deposits represent an opportunity. Visa said the tokens in this case are \u201cthe digital representation of bank deposits where money deposited with a bank is minted on that institution\u2019s own blockchain ledger with the backing of that financial institution\u2019s balance sheet.\u201d
\nIn tandem with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank, Visa embarked on a tokenized deposit trial to settle a high-value real estate transaction and merchant/acquirer fund flows.
\nThe post Tokenization\u2019s Rise Offers New Ways to Monetize Data and Real World Assets appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "The concept behind tokenization is simple.\nTokenization is a tech-enabled way to safeguard sensitive information by replacing it with non-sensitive, scrambled strings of information.\nThe practice of tokenization within the financial services realm might be most readily apparent with the tens of billions of tokens issued by payments networks, where progress is charted in announcements, as well as management commentary on quarterly earnings calls.\nVisa crossed the 10 billion token mark in June. The company noted that replacing sensitive consumer-level data with a cryptographic key, or token, saved $650 million in fraud in the prior year while driving over $40 billion in incremental eCommerce revenue for businesses globally.\nIn terms of being a business driver, \u201cin Acceptance Solutions, third-quarter growth was driven by increasing utilization across both token and eCommerce-related services,\u201d Visa CEO Ryan McInerney noted on an earnings call.\nMastercard, for its part, notched its own milestones. During an earnings call, CEO Michael Miebach told listeners that replacing payment credentials with a digitally secure token has had a positive impact on commerce.\n\u201cWhen deployed, fraud rates decrease, and approval rates improve,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, launching a decade ago, the technology has been broadly adopted around the world. In fact, we surpassed 22 billion tokenized transactions in the first half of 2024, up 49% versus a year ago.\u201d\nThe Monetization Potential\nTokenization, Miebach said, also \u201cmakes checkout more secure\u2026 We are working with our merchants and bank partners to drive adoption. Click-to-Pay transactions more than doubled year over year in the first half of 2024.\u201d\nThe advent of tokenization, he said, gives Mastercard \u201can opportunity to build a whole set of services on top of the basic token that we can price for, and that we feel we should price for, because they drive a better outcome in terms of better approval rates, lower fraud and so forth for our customers.\u201d\nThredd CEO Jim McCarthy told PYMNTS last month that tokens, once device-specific or wallet-specific (as had been the case with Apple Pay) have evolved \u201cinto not just the digital credential, but the programmable one.\u201d The token can now take on different \u201ccharacteristics,\u201d depending on where and how it\u2019s being used \u2014 as a credit, debit, or buy now, pay later (BNPL) option.\nThe programmable nature of tokens, underpinned by blockchain and smart technologies, means that data, assets and even payments can be executed with improved security and sets of rules governing what\u2019s changing hands and when across verticals as diverse as real estate, gaming and commodities markets.\nLast summer, Mastercard launched its Mastercard Multi-Token Network to help foster the creation of these tokens (and conduct screening and transaction monitoring) to support new business models across various sectors using tokenized bank deposits.\nTokenization platform OpenEden announced in a Thursday (Aug. 1) press release that it will bring tokenized U.S. Treasury bills to the XRP Ledger. Ripple is investing $10 million into OpenEden\u2019s TBILL tokens as part of a larger fund that will allocate the Treasury bills provided by OpenEden and other issuers.\nThe ledger offers automated market maker functions, which improve the liquidity of the trading itself, and simplify, in general, the exchange of assets, which in turn can open new revenue streams for financial services firms.\nEarlier this year, the Bank for International Settlements announced its joint efforts with seven central banks \u2014 including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York \u2014 to test tokenization to improve cross-border payments.\nJ.P. Morgan Chase is one of the largest financial institutions making forays into the tokenized space. It said last year that its tokenized collateral network facilitated its first collateral settlement for a live client over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transaction. The company said in a paper issued jointly with Oliver Wyman that \u201cdeposit tokens could further support economic activity in the digital space, including in a \u2018Web3 economy\u2019 where significant economic activity happens on shared ledgers, with tokenized asset transfers settled via deposit tokens. This digital economy would be facilitated by direct, instant and atomic exchanges between peers.\u201d\nFor payments networks in particular, tokenized deposits represent an opportunity. Visa said the tokens in this case are \u201cthe digital representation of bank deposits where money deposited with a bank is minted on that institution\u2019s own blockchain ledger with the backing of that financial institution\u2019s balance sheet.\u201d\nIn tandem with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank, Visa embarked on a tokenized deposit trial to settle a high-value real estate transaction and merchant/acquirer fund flows.\nThe post Tokenization\u2019s Rise Offers New Ways to Monetize Data and Real World Assets appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-08-01T15:54:48-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-01T15:54:48-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/tokenization-blockchain-data-assets.jpg", "tags": [ "Bank for International Settlements", "BIS", "Blockchain", "digital transformation", "fraud", "jpmorgan", "MasterCard", "News", "OpenEden", "PYMNTS News", "Security", "Technology", "tokenization", "Visa", "Payments Innovation" ] } ] }