Marketplaces and Platforms
Marketplaces and platforms enable commerce, by connecting remote buyers and sellers. By embedding payment acceptance in their solutions, they make it easy for businesses to accept payments from their customers, often across a wide range of payment methods. These capabilities can come in different flavors: end user visibility, digital wallet capabilities, additional payments adjacent features, and multiple settlement and disbursement options are variations to consider. The three major capabilities that these solutions have to solve for are:
1. Onboarding (which includes regulatory compliance considerations)
2. Payment Acceptance
3. Payouts to End Users
Platforms and marketplaces also have to manage multiple types of risk compared to a traditional merchant, which requires decisions about risk sharing, fraud vendors, operational structure (in-source vs outsource) and how a risk control strategy should be developed.
This enabler role offers opportunities and challenges. To perform it well, marketplaces and platforms often come to us with questions like:
How do we respond to upcoming or newly implemented regulatory changes?
What strategic payments plays are our competitors doing?
What role are we obligated to play in fraud and risk management? What role should we play?
What could we do to make payments a source of revenue?
Are we working with the right partners? Do we have the right contracts in place?
How we can help
Assessments
of current operations, of partner performance, of market opportunities, and of regulatory environments
Research
qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method research and analysis
Strategic advisory
Education
Marketplace & Platforms Case Studies
Resources
Articles
Glenbrook shares our perspectives on activities in the industry.
Payments Post #17: Cutting Costs
In this Payments Post, we discuss the DOJ bringing a lawsuit against Visa that alleges the company operates an illegal monopoly in the debit card space. Does the argument have merit in our non-legal minds? And if so, what could the DOJ’s move mean for an evolving payments landscape?
Payments Post #16: The Apple Drops
It’s time for another edition of Payments Post and (surprise!) we’re thinking about the Visa Flexible Credential again. Now that Apple has plans to open up the NFC chip and Secure Element to third party developers, we’re scratching our heads. Who benefits from this newfound NFC access? What opportunities can fintechs unlock? How will conventional financial institutions react? And to tie it all back, does the VFC still matter?
Payments Post #15: BNPL Battles
In this month’s Payments Post, we revisit the prime use case for Visa Flexible Credential (VFC): BNPL. How are buy now pay later providers positioning themselves in the current environment, how are consumers using their tools, and how are regulators and issuers responding?
Podcasts
Glenbrook speaks with industry leaders to share a variety of perspectives on the latest payments trends and activities.
Episode 253 – Glenbrook Partners: 2024 Payments Industry Trends Wrap Up
The Glenbrook partners reflect on key trends and challenges in the payments industry that shaped 2024 – from generative AI, open banking, the evolving regulatory landscape, and the rise of fast payment systems worldwide. And you can’t get the Glenbrook team in a “room” without discussing ongoing fraud implications, orchestration in merchant payments, and the progress of tokenization. Tune in to hear insights from our industry experts on these themes and more as we wrap up the year and look towards 2025.
Episode 252 – Testing, Testing, 123: Payments has evolved in the past 20 years, what about payments testing? with Steve Semelsberger, Testlio
Steve Semelsberger, CEO of Testlio, joins Yvette Bohanan and Drew Edmond to discuss the evolution of quality management alongside payments testing.
Episode 251 – Bridging the Communication Gap Between Treasury and Payments with Debopama Sen, Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions
Debopama Sen, Head of Payments at Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, joins Glenbrook for this episode to explore how treasury and payments professionals can collaborate on opportunities presented by the evolving payments landscape.
News
Glenbrook objectively curates the news to keep you abreast of important daily headlines in payments.
Pix Adds NFC Scanning, Device Biometrics to Brazilian Digital Payments Platform
"Brazil’s pioneering instant payment system, Pix, is taking a step forward with the introduction of Pix by Approximation, a feature enabling contactless payments verified by biometrics. The system, set to roll out by February 28, 2025 and was developed in conjunction...
The Future of Payments Experiences for Sports Fans
"The sports world is chasing ever more spectacular live experiences. Are payments emerging as the MVP? A new generation of stadiums are being built around the world, and they are centering on the fan experience, offering first-class amenities, retail options and...
The Clearing House Raises Its Real Time Payments Cap to $10 Million—a 10X Increase
"The Real Time Payments network operated by The Clearing House Payments Co. said early Wednesday it will raise its transaction limit to $10 million, a tenfold jump from the current $1-million cap. The new limit will take effect Feb. 9, following a 60-day notice period...
Ready to see how Glenbrook can support your marketplaces and platform company to be as efficient and effective as possible?