A Look at Billeo and Online Bill Payment in the US

Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson recently interviewed Murali Subbarao, CEO of Billeo, about the status of the online bill payment marketplace in the US.

An Interview with Pariter Solutions CEO Stephanie Sturgis-Griffin

Glenbrook’s Carol Coye Benson recently interviewed Stephanie Sturgis-Griffin, the newly named CEO of Pariter Solutions, a Wells Fargo and Bank of America joint venture for ACH processing. The company, according to the press release announcing it last May, will be “the country’s largest processor of ACH payments”. Read on for Carol's full report.

An Interview with Steve Ellis, NACHA Chairman

Glenbrook’s Carol Coye Benson interviewed Steve Ellis, NACHA Chairman, recently about the use of ACH to access consumer checking accounts and NACHA's Secure Vault Payments initiative. Read on for her full report.

Knowledge-Based Authentication: There Has To Be a Better Way - Or - Why Do I Feel Like Screaming?

by Carol Coye Benson

After years of working in the somewhat arcane arena of digital identity and authentication, I’ve found my attention to what’s going on slipping somewhat. » More

Our First eB2B Payments at the Tipping Point Workshop

by Carol Coye Benson

Glenbrook, in cooperation with Forte Financial just finished our first Payments Workshop on B2B payments, called "eB2B Payments at the Tipping Point". » More

ACH @ POS

by Carol Coye Benson

I spoke last week with Elliott McEntee, President and CEO of NACHA about two current issues - NACHA's reaction to "de-coupled debits" and the progress of the Secure Vault Payments program. » More

Taxis and Payment Cards in New York City

by Carol Coye Benson

On a New York visit over the last several days, I used four taxis - and paid with my debit card each time. (New York City has recently implemented a regulation requiring all cabs to accept card payments - without minimums or added fees.)

As I paid, I asked each driver whether or not card payments were good for drivers. I got two vehement "no's", with bitter remarks about the 5% fee they pay. I got one equally emphatic "yes", with the added comment that tips were much better on airport runs. And I got one perfect New York "whatever.." with matching shrug. » More

eB2B at the Tipping Point?

by Carol Coye Benson

One of the reasons I went to the AFP (Association for Finance Professionals) conference in Boston in October 2007 was to get updated on the progress of the migration of business to business (B2B) payments from checks to electronics.

As a general statement, progress on this has been very slow. But recent acquisitions (Xign by JPMorgan Chase, Harbor by Amex) and product announcements (most recently, the MasterCard Payment Gateway) seemed to signal a change in pace.

So off to Boston I went, asking myself the question: Are there developments that will change the pace of conversion to electronics? My answer is “yes” – read on! » More

NACHA Topics Update from AFP Boston

by Carol Coye Benson

Here's an update on NACHA topics from this morning's sessions at the Association for Financial Processionals conference being held this week in Boston. » More

Monday Morning Report from the AFP Conference

by Carol Coye Benson

There are 6,000 people at this year's AFP (Association of Finance Professionals) conference in Boston, and it feels like half of them must be smashed into this morning's session on "The Retail Merchant's Customers' Payment Options: Deciding Between C21, BOC, ARC & POP". » More

Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson Reports on Chicago Fed's Payments 2007 Conference

Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson is back from this week's Payments 2007 conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The theme of this year's conference was "Competitive Forces Shaping the Payments Environment: What's Next?." Click here to read Carol's full conference report on Payments News.

A Perspective On Intuit's Acquisition Of Digital Insight

Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson had been initially skeptical about Intuit's recent announcement to acquire Digital Insight - as she says "after all, banks have had a long and somewhat rocky road with Intuit over the years and some seem to still have very mixed feelings about their basic value proposition." But Carol has recently become convinced that the new Intuit/Digital Insight business combination could provide some very real value to a bank's small business customers. Here's the report Carol filed on Payments News.

Preventing Identity Theft: Banker, Heal Thyself

By Carol Coye Benson

When President Bush signed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) into law late last year, bankers throughout the U.S. breathed a sigh of relief. Even with some fairly stringent new provisions, the permanent renewal of the FCRA’s preemption provisions -- which curtail the ability of consumer-friendly state law to override provisions of the federal legislation -- was good news for banking.

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Liability and Federated Identity: Much Ado About Nothing?

By Carol Coye Benson

As enterprises implement new identity management systems, interest grows in federated identity. For small "circles of trust," existing business relationships—and existing contractual frameworks—are sufficient to build federated networks. But with eyes everywhere cast on the opportunity to create larger circles of trust, what business frameworks will be needed to support these large-scale federated networks?

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I Can Prove Who I Am: The Case for the Positive Identity Affidavit

By Carol Coye Benson

How the Liberty Alliance and related digital identity protocols may solve the identity theft crisis.

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Digital Identity Is Not Just About Security Anymore

By Carol Coye Benson

There's a sea change happening in the world of digital identity. Suddenly, crypto-geeks and impassioned aficionados of biometrics, software tokens, and smart cards are being pushed to the side. The suits have arrived! Digital identity is no longer about security; it's now a marketing conversation.

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Fixing the Liberty Spec Before It's Too Late

By Carol Coye Benson

Like everyone else in the digital identity world, I have spent the last few days reading through the version 1.0 specifications from the Liberty Alliance. Overall, hats off! Alliance members have done an outstanding job of creating a framework for shared authentication and identity. We can (and will) argue with elements of the design—with its over-complication of simple processes and the over-simplification of complex issues. But the Alliance has commendably tackled most of the issues, and importantly not shied away from the hard problems or vulnerabilities. This has neatly set the stage for early adopters to get to work.

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