“Speedchain Inc., a fintech focused on revolutionizing business to business commerce via its connected data platform, today announced a multifaceted partnership with Mastercard. Leveraging Mastercard’s network and innovative payments technology, Speedchain member organizations of all sizes can experience modernized ways to pay by connecting virtual purchasing cards to the Speedchain platform and leveraging Mastercard rails for vendor payments. Speedchain members can now connect Mastercard virtual cards to the Speedchain B2B SuperApp, which is designed to offer improved payment security, enriched data, and enhanced user experience for vendors through its reporting, cash management and threat detection capabilities.     Speedchain helps public and private sector enterprises pay in real time, detect and prevent fraud, and manage efficiencies for a streamlined payment process. This partnership with Mastercard is a part of Speedchain’s journey to accelerate and add capacity to its platform, which has distributed over $1.6 Billion in both corporate and government sector transactions since 2021.”

“Lithic, the leading card issuing API company, today announced Lithic Send, a new suite of products designed for companies that need a faster, more flexible way to build out card disbursement programs such as incentives, payouts, rebates, and rewards. These products include built-in tools that limit the number of integrations and custom development needed to bring these card programs to market, reducing implementation times from months to weeks or even days. Until now, companies had two options for building card programs. They could choose a turnkey offering that covered a narrow set of use cases, or they could choose a completely customized, very expensive, and time intensive offering. Lithic Send breaks this “either/or” model with flexible build options.”

“Inswitch, a fintech technology company with focus on embedded solutions for banking and payments, and Mastercard International Incorporated have partnered to design and deliver digital payment solutions and issuing programs starting with selected countries across LAC. Inswitch will start issuing cards as a Mastercard principal member in Mexico, with plans to expand quickly to key markets in LAC and other regions in the future. This collaboration will allow the company to extend its value proposition by offering digital and physical Mastercard branded cards for a broad range of applications across industries: “Now our clients can issue branded cards to support different use cases: digital wallets, Buy now pay later, supplier payments, working capital for corporate expenses or cash management necessities; among others,” said Ronald Alvarenga, Inswitch’s CEO.”

“On stage at Converge22 today, Circle announced an accelerated crypto payments roadmap enhanced by the recent acquisition of Elements, a merchant and developer-first payments orchestration platform. The announcement includes plans to quickly scale payment offerings to unlock utility value for crypto and lower the barrier of entry for merchants to access next-gen payments and financial services. The new payment offerings make it simple for merchants to integrate their existing PSP relationships with Circle’s crypto payment offerings.”

“Deutsche Bank and Visa are entering into a new collaboration to help prevent online retail fraud. Merchants who process their e-commerce payments via Deutsche Bank can now use “Decision Manager”, an automated fraud detection system from Visa-owned company Cybersource. The solution works like a risk management system and calculates a risk value for each individual transaction using artificial intelligence and specified rules. The application uses advanced risk models and global data intelligence from billions of data points of the Visa network, allowing good transactions to be accelerated and suspected fraudulent transactions to be blocked. The offer is aimed at small, medium-sized and large companies.”

“The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) to explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The (DFCRC) is a 10-year, A$180 million research programme funded by industry partners, universities and the Australian government, through the Cooperative Research Centres Programme. The project intends to test a general-purpose pilot CBDC issued as a liability of the RBA for use in real world, pilot implementations of services offered by Australian industry participants. The central bank will be exploring any compelling use case for both wholesale and retail CBDCs through this project.”

“Pay.UK and fifteen of the UK’s banks and building societies have decided to shut down the Paym payments system due to diminishing transaction volumes.   Paym was launched in 2014 and will close down for good on 7 March 2023 as its design can no longer keep up with the current evolution in payments technology and services. According to the official press release, UK consumers are shifting towards newer forms of mobile payment and access to faster payments through online banking.  As for the closure process, Pay.UK will maintain a close relationship with the banks and societies involved in order to minimise any disruption for current Paym users. Moreover, the banks in question will maintain an open line of communication with their customers before the closure date to make them aware of the changes and what it means for them.”

“Shopify Inc., Canada’s largest e-commerce company, announced Tuesday that it will start selling new hardware for brick-and-mortar retailers, as it attempts to recover from an overly aggressive bet on the speed at which the economy would move online.  The device, called POS Go, resembles a smartphone and will allow retailers to provide wireless checkout anywhere in store, while also allowing merchants to view analytics and data on such things as sales, inventory and product information.”

“Prophius today announced the launch of its PayContactless solution certified by Mastercard – a contactless acceptance solution that turns any NFC-enabled Android device into a physical point of sale. This move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small and micro enterprises in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and other key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa while supporting consumers’ preference for safe and seamless digital payment. PayContactless leverages Mastercard Tap on Phone, a simple and cost-effective digital payment technology developed for micro and small businesses and tradesmen who tend to operate in a cash economy due to the costs and complexity of obtaining traditional point of sale devices. The solution turns Android smartphones into secure payment acceptance devices for contactless cards, mobile wallets and even smartwatches — with no additional equipment or set-up costs.”

“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has renewed its commitment to digital ID, topping up its investment in the space as part of a total package of $1.27 billion in support for global health and development projects. The latest funding commitment includes $200 million for digital public infrastructure, which includes digital ID and civil registry databases. The announcement accompanies the sixth annual ‘Goalkeepers Report,’ which assesses progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and acknowledges that by most indicators, the world is well behind the pace needed to achieve them by 2030. UN SDG 16.9 sets a goal of universal legal identity by 2030, including birth registration. Efforts to meet that goal have been tied to digital identity programs around the world, in large part due to the obvious impracticality of registering a billion people without ID to legacy analog systems, and the limited value of any such system.”

“Building on their broad and long-standing relationship, NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a global enterprise technology provider, and Circle K, one of the largest convenience store brands in the U.S., have activated NCR’s Allpoint Network at more than 3,500 Circle K stores across 30 states. This expansion will bring customers more convenient and surcharge-free financial solutions via thousands of new Allpoint ATM access points. Circle K and NCR’s expanded relationship creates another financial destination for the more than 60 million cardholders who have Allpoint access across leading digital, traditional and neo-bank issuers. The activation of the Allpoint Network at Circle K is part of NCR’s efforts to expand access and deliver a wider portfolio of services to customers exactly where and when they want them.”

“Worldline, a global leader in payment services, announces an agreement for the acquisition of a 40% stake in Online Payment Platform B.V., an online Payment Service Provider with a dedicated payment solution for marketplaces and platforms. Transactions through marketplaces and platforms make up approximately one third of the European e-commerce volumes and are expected to increase to more than half in 2025. Business and consumer habits across the globe have undoubtedly evolved during the Covid-19 pandemic. From accelerating e-commerce trends and the transition from cash to digital payments, to encouraging innovative companies and disruptive entrepreneurs to launch new platforms, whilst existing retailers were stimulated to create their own marketplaces.”

“Facebook Pay is officially being renamed Meta Pay for users around the world, the company announced on Wednesday. Meta kicked off the rebrand in the United States in June, and is now making the change globally. Starting today, users will see the rebrand roll out across Meta’s products in nearly 200 countries. The company notes that the change to Meta Pay is a brand name change only, and that current product features and the overall user experience will remain the same. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously noted that although the service will remain the same, the rename represents Meta’s first step toward creating a digital wallet for the metaverse. He said his vision for a digital wallet in the metaverse will let users securely manage their identities, what they own and how they pay.”

“Recurly , Inc . , a leading subscription management and billing platform for high-growth brands, has announced an agreement to acquire LeapRev, a global revenue recognition and forecasting solution. This acquisition will create a single source for subscription management, recurring billing, and revenue management that empowers Recurly customers to better focus on driving growth among increasingly complex and evolving revenue accounting and reporting standards.”

“The Safaricom split story has always been a hot discussion topic among lawmakers, and other people with vested interests in the matter. The story, while highly disputed by Safaricom’s internal teams and top leadership, with former CEO the late Bob Collymore once saying that the company must never be punished for being successful, was linked to the fact that Safaricom is too big and can be better run if its mobile money product M-PESA was spun as a separate entity from carrier business. The assessment that Safaricom was too huge a company to compete fairly with smaller operators has never been explicitly stated, although an examination done by British firm Analysys Mason determined that the vast majority of the carrier and mobile money business tipped the scales in Safaricom’s favour. The evaluation had been done thanks to ICT regulator the Communications Authority’s blessing. It is Analysys that first fronted the idea of splitting Safaricom back in 2017.”

BTRS Holdings Inc., a B2B accounts receivable automation and integrated payments leader, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by EQT X fund, part of EQT, a leading global investment organization, in an all-cash transaction valuing Billtrust’s equity at approximately $1.7 billion.

“The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first Sri Lankan Bank to introduce card acceptance through Android smartphones, allowing its merchants to conveniently and cost effectively accept card payment transactions, changing the landscape of the digital payment industry in Sri Lanka with this state-of-the-art low-cost technology. The Bank has announced that it is providing this facility in collaboration with PAYable Pvt Ltd. one of Sri Lanka’s leading fintech and digital payment solutions providers, and has integrated its payment system with PAYable SoftPOS, also known as PAYableTAP, which was developed in partnership with Mastercard and Worldline, a technology company that provides digital payment platforms to the financial sector. This solution converts any NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a payment acceptance terminal.”

After launching a digital rouble early next year, Russia plans to use the currency in mutual settlements with China as it seeks to reduce Washington’s global financial hegemony, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Monday.

Russia, like many countries, has been developing digital money over the last couple of years to modernise its financial system, speed up payments and head off the threat of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin gaining influence.

“The payments industry considers 2022 to be the make-or-break year for the market. With stocks now largely depleted, the exact extent of the chip shortage impact is being felt. Global technology intelligence firm ABI Research forecasts payment card shipments to reach 3.029 billion in 2022, a slight drop from the 3.11 billion shipments in 2021. The payment cards market has proved more resilient to the effects of the pandemic and ongoing chip shortage than initially anticipated, particularly when compared to other smart card verticals, such as SIM cards. The industry should begin to see additional capacity becoming available at the end of 2023. However, recovery will not match issuance levels seen in pre-COVID years. Growth will be limited compared to previous expectations due to a continuation of chip supply constraints, increases in component, material, and supply chain costs as well as consumers looking to reduce spending and debt where possible, owing to the global rise in inflation and energy costs which will contribute to lower transaction volumes in the near future.”

“Today, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) took a historic step in support of U.S. government efforts to crack down on illicit finance and enhance transparency by issuing a final rule establishing a beneficial ownership information reporting requirement, pursuant to the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The rule will require most corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to report information about their beneficial owners—the persons who ultimately own or control the company, to FinCEN. Designed to protect U.S. national security and strengthen the integrity and transparency of the U.S. financial system, the rule will help to stop criminal actors, including oligarchs, kleptocrats, drug traffickers, human traffickers, and those who would use anonymous shell companies to hide their illicit proceeds.”

“The Swedish, Norwegian and Israeli central banks have launched a project with the Bank for International Settlements to test international retail and remittance payments with central bank digital currencies, Sweden’s Riksbank said on Wednesday.”

“Bank of America announced the launch of QR sign-in for CashPro, a development that makes it easier for companies to access their payments, cash management and trade finance operations. The bank’s 500,000 CashPro users now have the option to sign into the website using their mobile device by scanning a QR code and their biometrics via the CashPro App, replacing the need to manually enter password credentials…Mobile authentication is a natural extension of the ubiquitous worldwide adoption of mobile devices and the increasing comfort clients have in using them for business purposes. QR sign-in is powered by patented technology that allows a mobile device to be used as a method for computer authentication. It is the first of a series of enhancements for CashPro aimed at reducing the reliance on traditional forms of user credentials and making the user experience simpler and more secure.”

“Ghana’s introduction of a a 1.5% tax on mobile money transactions in May 2022 has been watched closely by policymakers across Africa. The proponents of the electronic transaction levy (e-levy) argue that taxes on mobile money — commonly referred to in Ghana as MoMo — present an opportunity for cash-strapped governments to raise funds in the complex post-pandemic context. In Ghana, the “e-levy” has been linked to the current administration’s “Ghana Beyond Aid” strategy for reducing aid dependence. Taxes on MoMo, in Ghana and elsewhere, have also been justified as a way to “capture” those working in the informal economy, who are perceived as being untaxed. Critics have pointed out, however, that informal workers (who make up 89% of total employment in Ghana) already pay a range of fees and taxes. Therefore they may be disproportionately affected by this new tax.”

“Despite the growth of digital payments, cash remains a vital payments instrument, as we have frequently discussed in our posts. And people often get their cash from ATMs, as we’ve also mentioned here a few times. At a recent conference, we learned more about the latest technologies in the next generation of these machines and in the software that goes into the machines, and heard updates on policies and crimes that Independent ATM deployers (IADs) may encounter. Here are some of the key takeaways from the conference…”

“Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, discussed the need for the approval of Congress for a digital dollar and its timing. He was talking today during a Banque de France conference. “We will need approval from both the executive branch and Congress to move ahead with a digital currency,” he said. “So we see this as a process of at least a couple of years where we’re doing work, building public confidence in our analysis, in our ultimate conclusions, which we certainly haven’t reached yet.” This could be interpreted as a decision on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) coming in two years. That makes sense because he mentioned that the FedNow instant payment system is expected to come online in around a year, which seems a little later than May to July timeframe previously mentioned. An additional year will allow time to assess the impact of FedNow on a CBDC decision.”

“Buy now, pay later services (BNPL) are growing by leaps and bounds, but the lightly regulated industry could end up causing more harm than good for consumers, according to a new U.S. government report. The BNPL lenders offer consumers the option to pay for purchases in interest-free installments over a relatively short period; four payments in six weeks is common. That kind of financing is popular with people who don’t have access to traditional forms of credit, and the lenders will offer increasingly larger borrowing limits if borrowers exhibit solid repayment behavior. The services are designed to be easy to use and are often seamlessly integrated with online checkouts, making it almost too easy for consumers to sign on for a new loan. Unlike banks and credit-card companies, however, the BNPL lenders run only limited credit checks, and they don’t know if new users already have loans on rival services. A report by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released last week warned of the risk of “loan stacking,” where individuals risk getting in over their heads by taking out loans from multiple BNPL companies.”

“The Bank for International Settlements – BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank of Thailand, People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of The UAE announce the successful completion of the first CBDC pilot involving four jurisdictions and real-value transactions. Previously known as Project Inthanon-LionRock, the project was renamed as “m-CBDC Bridge” to explore the capabilities of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in facilitating real-time cross-border foreign exchange payment-versus-payment transactions in a multi-jurisdictional context and on a 24/7 basis. The m-CBDC Bridge project also explored business use cases in a cross-border context using both domestic and foreign currencies.”

“Chase, the largest co-brand card issuer in the U.S., and DoorDash, the local commerce platform, today announced plans to launch the first-ever DoorDash credit card, with Mastercard as the exclusive payments network for the new card. The DoorDash Rewards Mastercard will allow cardmembers to unlock benefits and earn rewards on purchases both on and off the DoorDash platform… The DoorDash Rewards Mastercard is a World Elite Mastercard® and will offer customers rewards and perks to provide even more value, selection and convenience, including complimentary 24/7 concierge service and access to Mastercard Priceless® Experiences. The new co-branded card expands the current relationship between all three parties.”

“Car IQ®, an innovative provider of vehicle payment solutions, today announced it has joined Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program, speeding up the process of integrating with Visa, a world leader in digital payments. As a Fintech Fast Track partner, Car IQ can more easily leverage the reach, capabilities, and security that VisaNet, the company’s global payment network, offers.   This new offering will give Car IQ the ability to extend the reach of its payment solution that provides fleet customers an easier, more secure way to pay for fuel, parking, and more. Car IQ Pay’s proprietary technology simplifies the payment process by allowing any vehicle to connect directly to a merchant and pay for services without using a credit card. Car IQ validates the vehicle when it arrives at a fueling location, approves the source of funds and turns on the pump. Once fueling is complete, Car IQ Pay enables the vehicle to pay for the fuel and verify the fuel was received. Car IQ’s fleet customers will be able to add their vehicles to their bank accounts, to pay for fuel, EV charging, tolling, parking, insurance and more while merchants and vendors will be able to accept payments from Car IQ Pay. Car IQ’s new identity verification technology ensures the vehicle can be trusted to transact and enforces specific fleet restrictions to mitigate fraud.”

“A vertical luxury brand and a snowboarding product brand are easing the process of mobile checkout for both customers and store associates. Vince, a banner of Vince Holding Corp., and Burton Snowboards are now offering the “Tap to Pay” feature on iPhone mobile payment feature on its NewStore associate app. Tap to Pay on iPhone is available to U.S. retailers that use Adyen as their payment service provider. The service requires retailers to use iPhone XS, or newer devices, with iOS 15.5 or later, to run Tap to Pay on the NewStore associate app. Vince and Burton can now accept contactless payments — including physical debit and credit cards, as well as Apple Pay and other digital wallets — through the NewStore associate app.”

“Ant Group said on Monday it would help four Asian e-wallets, including the Philippines’ GCash and Malaysia’s Touch’n Go expand into South Korea with its cross-border payment service Alipay+, as travel restrictions begin to lift across Asia. The move will allow users of e-wallets that use Alipay+, including GCash, Touch’n Go, Thailand’s TrueMoney, and AlipayHK to pay at over 120,000 merchants using their local mobile payments apps when travelling in South Korea, the Chinese fintech giant said in a statement.”

“Nacha released a report on its latest Risk Management Framework today, providing a new strategy for industry participants in both the ACH Network as well as other payments systems to address new and persistent frauds that increasingly make use of credit-push payments. Common examples of fraud scenarios that target credit-push payments include vendor impersonation, business email compromise and payroll impersonation, which result in money being sent out from the accounts of bank account holders. These frauds are significant, with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reporting that in 2021 there were $2.4 billion in losses due to business email compromise-style frauds. Nacha’s strategy identifies three themes in payments risk management and areas of focus for new initiatives.”

“Apple Pay Later is facing some “significant” setbacks that could delay its launch until next year, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The feature is Apple’s version of a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service, letting you make a payment through Apple Pay and then pay it back in four installments without interest. Apple said its Pay Later feature would arrive with iOS 16 when it first announced the program at WWDC in June. But now that iOS 16 is out, Apple Pay Later hasn’t made an appearance, and the fine print on Apple’s iOS 16 page vaguely says it’s “coming in a future update.” As Gurman points out, Apple Pay Later is the only unreleased iOS 16 feature on the page that doesn’t include a timeframe for when we might expect its rollout. Other features, like key sharing and no-setup Siri shortcuts, are listed as “coming later this year.””

“Visa, one of the world’s leaders in digital payments, has announced its participation in the Canadian expansion of instant transfers, Square’s solution for rapid merchant settlement. Square’s instant transfers are enabled by Visa Direct, a VisaNet processing capability helping transform global money movement and enables real-time2 funds delivery directly to financial accounts using eligible card credentials.” Square’s instant transfers allow businesses to access their funds quicker than the next business day, typically the current default setting for Canadian businesses. With instant transfers, Square merchants can link an eligible debit card and start transferring funds instantly to an external bank account with the click of a button.”

“Nedbank, the South African financial services group, recently secured a “village” in the Ubuntuland metaverse which reportedly measures 12 by 12. By securing the village, which will be used to showcase African creativity, Nedbank is said to have become one of the first financial institutions on the African continent to embrace the metaverse. According to a Bloomberg report , the financial services group has partnered with Africarare, the creators of Ubuntuland. Remarking on Nedbank’s entry into the metaverse, Khensani Nobanda, the financial giant’s marketing and corporate affairs executive, said that her organization chose to secure space in the virtual world because it wants to create experiences for its clients that “go beyond banking.””

“Brazil’s central bank on Monday said it would set a 0.7% limit for interchange fees for prepaid cards, which are offered by fintechs in free digital accounts, in a setback for the booming sector in Latin America’s largest economy. The central bank had put the issue out for public consultation last year, but its proposal suggested a maximum rate of 0.5% for both debit and prepaid cards, which would be even more damaging to fintechs. Banks’ debit card interchange fees, which currently have to comply with a joint weighted average calculation of 0.5% and maximum value per transaction of 0.8%, will now be capped only by 0.5% per transaction. An interchange fee is a charge a merchant pays to the card-issuing bank every time a consumer swipes their card. The changes will take effect from April 2023, and will also standardize the settlement term for debit and prepaid card transactions.”

“The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first Sri Lankan Bank to introduce card acceptance through Android smartphones, allowing its merchants to conveniently and cost effectively accept card payment transactions, changing the landscape of the digital payment industry in Sri Lanka with this state-of-the-art low-cost technology. The Bank has announced that it is providing this facility in collaboration with PAYable Pvt Ltd. one of Sri Lanka’s leading fintech and digital payment solutions providers, and has integrated its payment system with PAYable SoftPOS, also known as PAYableTAP, which was developed in partnership with Mastercard and Worldline, a technology company that provides digital payment platforms to the financial sector. This solution converts any NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a payment acceptance terminal. To enjoy the convenience of this facility, merchants simply have to download the PAYableTAP app, register with Commercial Bank, and perform Tap and Pay transactions by simply allowing cardholders to tap their NFC enabled credit or debit cards on the screen of the device to make payments. The first of its kind in Sri Lanka, the SoftPOS solution is built on cutting-edge, secure digital payment technology and is one of the easiest to use, the Bank said. Commercial Bank certified this new technology with card schemes, and the Bank guarantees the security of the smartphone POS transactions to be the same as traditional POS transactions.”

“FintechCashier’s new banking business model and future services are promising. Yes, you heard right, FintechCashier is to release its first “Lite Label” Banking-As-A-Service subscription that allows it to manage the Merchants/ Affiliates/ Customers/ Acquirers and Prepaid issuing all from Backend solution. The whole covid-19 pandemic is over and FintechCashier came out of it stronger than ever. This cutting-edge technology research and development phase is at their fingertips now from launching their newest service. The London-based FintechCashier proudly announces opening up the complete range of digital banking possibilities to its customers via a significant subscription model in response to a huge increase in demand for BaaS services throughout the world.”

“The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. today announced it has acquired Linga, a point of sale (POS) and payments solutions firm providing an industry-leading, cloud-based restaurant operating system. The acquisition of Linga and its technology will further expand PNC’s digital resources and enhance the bank’s capabilities to better serve its hospitality and restaurant industry clients. “This acquisition reflects our continued commitment to expanding our corporate payments capabilities, as well as investing in the solutions and tools our clients need to run their businesses more effectively,” said Emma Loftus, executive vice president and head of PNC Treasury Management. “Leveraging Linga’s proprietary solutions and PNC’s competitive treasury management platform, we will be able to provide our restaurant and retail clients with the tools they need to keep up with ever-changing consumer expectations.”

“Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics company, and Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, have partnered to launch an exclusive co- branded credit card, powered by Visa. With the Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card, consumers will get 10% cashback across all Samsung products and services round the year. As an additional point of delight for consumers, the 10% cashback offer through Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card will be over and above existing Samsung offers, on both EMI and non-EMI transactions.”

“ChargebackZero is partnering with Ethoca, a Mastercard company, to help merchants minimize chargebacks, lower consumer transaction confusion, and share details of confirmed fraud and dispute information. As part of the integration, we would prevent chargebacks using an alert mechanism. These Chargeback alerts are like a warning signal of an impending chargeback. The alerts enable merchants to identify and resolve customer disputes via near real-time communication with the customer’s issuing bank. Businesses receive notifications through the ChargebackZero dashboard that combines multiple forms of alerts from various card issuers with unique Chargeback zero dispute management tools.”

“The average cost for a merchant to accept a card payment has declined over recent years. However, consumers are making more payments with cards than ever before, which is raising total payment costs for merchants. Smaller merchants also face notably higher card payment costs per transaction than larger merchants. To strengthen competition and help reduce the cost of accepting card payments, the Reserve Bank wants all merchants to be able to choose which card network is used to process debit transactions – a functionality known as least-cost routing (LCR). While considerable progress has been made, the payments industry has more work to do to provide and promote LCR. The Bank is taking further action to ensure that LCR will be available for all merchants.”

“The reporting of buy now pay later (BNPL) purchases to credit agencies, a suggested regulatory policy for the industry, may be a flawed concept according to the CEO of Zilch. In an interview with UKTN, Zilch CEO Philip Belamant said that despite it being considered in the government’s upcoming BNPL regulatory framework, the reporting of BNPL purchases to credit agencies is not the best way to encourage consumer protection. The UK has been working towards a regulatory system for the industry amid concerns that consumers are being put at financial risk by not understanding the terms of purchasing with BNPL. The government outlined its BNPL regulatory proposal in June, although it is yet to legally implement it. The proposal includes reporting BNPL purchases to credit agencies, potentially affecting the credit rating of customers. In doing so, the use of BNPL will be treated in a similar fashion to more traditional loans.”

“Have you ever deposited a check online or received money through services like Zelle and have to wait days to see that transaction show up in your bank account? A new bill in the U.S. Congress might end that frustration. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen introduced the Expedited Funds Availability Act on Thursday. The legislation would require banks to make money from check deposits and other financial transactions available immediately, including on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays.”