Industry

Financial Institutions Battle to Mold the CFPB’s Open Banking Plan to Benefit Themselves

Insider Intelligence

"The feedback period on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) open banking plan closed on December 29, 2023 with over 11,000 comments."

Industry

Digital Business Networks Alliance Launches to Operate US E-invoicing Exchange Network

PR Newswire

"The participants from the Business Payments Coalition's E-Invoice Exchange Market Pilot today announced the establishment of the Digital Business Networks Alliance (DBNAlliance), a nonprofit organization that serves as the legal entity overseeing the Exchange Framework."

Industry

Failed Payments Could Cost Subscription Companies More Than £102B in 2025

Recurly, Inc.

"The global subscription industry continues to grow with a projected market value of $1.5 trillion (£1.2 trillion) by 2025, but one challenge continues to impact many leading subscription companies - subscriber churn."

Industry

Big Tech Rebuffs US Consumer Watchdog Plans to Supervise Digital Wallets

Reuters

A U.S. watchdog's plan to supervise companies like Apple and Alphabet's Google that provide digital wallets and payment apps risks stifling innovation and keeping some players out of the market, their lobby group said on Monday.

Industry

Community Bankers Warn Against Raising Debit Card Interchange Fees

ABA Banking Journal

"A Federal Reserve proposal to significantly tighten the cap on debit card interchange compensation earned by banks has introduced sustainability concerns for smaller and medium-sized financial institutions that are trying to stay independent rather than merging, the members of the Fed’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council told the agency during their most recent meeting ."

Industry

Holiday BNPL Spending Shows BNPL Growth Drivers at Work

Insider Intelligence

"US shoppers spent $16.6 billion dollars this holiday season using buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans, per Adobe Analytics data from November 1 to December 31. BNPL volume increased 14% year over year (YoY)."

Industry

Restaurant Chain Institutes New Policy Deducting Credit Card Fees From Servers' Tips & Threatens To Fire Them If They Complain

YourTango

"A pair of restaurateurs is under fire for a new policy they implemented in their Kansas City and Wichita-area franchises of the restaurant chain Twin Peaks. Restaurant owners Brad and Brent Steven have announced they will begin deducting credit card fees from servers' tips."

Industry

NRF and Appriss Retail Report: $743 Billion in Merchandise Returned in 2023

NRF

"Retailers have been focused on efforts to mitigate returns, as total returns for the industry amounted to $743 billion in merchandise in 2023, according to a report released by the National Retail Federation and Appriss Retail...This year, return fraud contributed $101 billion in overall losses for retailers. Moreover, for every $100 in returned merchandise, retailers will lose $13.70 to return fraud."

Industry

Florida May Ban Most Businesses From Going Cashless

Tampa Bay Times

"..A growing number of businesses of all sizes are going cashless, requiring patrons to use credit or debit cards or smartphone apps to pay for their purchases...The Florida Legislature may slam on the brakes."

Industry

Elon Musk Says X Will Launch Payment Services by Mid-2024

Cointelegraph

Speaking to ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood in a Dec. 21 X space, Musk said he expects payment services to be fully launched sometime by the 'middle of next year,' pending the approval of several money transmitter license applications.

Industry

How Popular Are Points Payments?

Chain Store Age

"Most consumers would like to use their loyalty points to pay for in-store and online purchases, That's according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from loyalty network Engage People and The Wise Marketer."

Industry

Alternative Payments Launches Collections Assist, Revolutionizing Accounts Receivable Collections for Services Companies

Business Wire

"Alternative Payments, a fully-integrated B2B payments and checkout infrastructure company, is excited to announce the launch of its new product: Collections Assist. This product aims to streamline and enhance the accounts receivable collections process for services companies across the United States."

Industry

US ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Splurges Raise Holiday Debt Hangover Risk

Reuters

"With U.S. credit card balances at record levels and defaults rising, more shoppers than ever are tapping buy now, pay later services on key shopping days to stretch their budgets. Consumer advocates are raising red flags about cash-strapped shoppers who are adding months-long loans with rates that can top out at 36% - the maximum lenders can charge in many states."

Tags: BNPL

Industry

Governor Hochul Announces New Consumer Protection Law for Credit Card Customers Will Take Effect on December 10

Governor Kathy Hochul

"New Law Requires Credit Card Companies to Provide Consumers a 90-day Grace Period to Use Up Any Points When Rewards Accounts are Closed."

Industry

US Payments Trends Seen Gaining Ground in 2024

Tearsheet

"As we stand on the cusp of the new year, a mere four weeks away, we delve into the upcoming payment themes expected to take center stage in 2024."

Industry

Contracting for Generative AI in the Financial Services Sector – What In-House Lawyers Need to Know

Two Birds

"The financial services (FS) sector is increasingly seen as one of the key sectors at the forefront of the adoption of disruptive digital technologies."

Industry

Extend Announces Virtual-Card-As-A-Service Integration with Concur Invoice

Business Wire

Extend, a leading virtual card and spend management platform, announced it has embedded its virtual card functionality into Concur Invoice.

Industry

EMVCo and OpenWallet Foundation Announce Liaison Agreement

EMVCo

"EMVCo and the OpenWallet Foundation, the open source project fostering collaboration across industries to create reusable building blocks for secure interoperable wallets, have signed an industry liaison agreement to explore potential collaboration opportunities."

Industry

Ransomware Attack Causes Outages at 60 Credit Unions, Federal Agency Says

CNN

"About 60 credit unions in the US are experiencing outages because of a ransomware attack on an IT provider the credit unions use, a federal agency said Friday."

Industry Security

IMF, World Bank and BIS in First ‘Tokenisation’ Collaboration

Reuters

"Three of the world's cornerstone institutions - the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements - are to work together for the first time to "tokenise" some of the financial instruments that underpin their global work, a BIS official said."

Tags: Tokenization

Industry

Australian Banks Forge Unprecedented Alliance in $100m Scam-Safe Accord

Fintech Global

"This unified effort, involving community-owned banks, building societies, credit unions, and commercial banks, represents a comprehensive approach to implement anti-scam measures across the industry."

Industry

TransUnion Report Shows Fraud Attacks on Financial Industry Call Centers Rising

GlobeNewswire News Room

"At a time when commerce is increasingly conducted digitally, consumers still expect and rely on call centers to deliver timely and trustworthy customer service when they need it."

Industry

Cost Concerns Impacting the Adoption of Real-Time Payments

Electronic Payments International

"The financial burden of integrating real-time payments systems is one of the obstacles hindering businesses from delivering real-time payments."

Industry

Central Bank Digital Currency Evolution in 2023: From Investigation to Preparation

Atlantic Council

"The momentum behind Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) has remained strong in the second half of 2023. New research from our CBDC tracker shows that 130 countries are now exploring a CBDC, representing 98 percent of global GDP."

Industry

Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts

The New York Times

"Surprised individuals and small-business owners can’t pay rent or make payroll, and no one ever explains what they did wrong."

Companies Industry

NatWest and IBM Collaborate on Generative AI Initiative to Enhance Customer Experience

PR Newswire

"NatWest and IBM announced enhancements to the bank's virtual assistant, Cora, that will use generative AI to provide customers with access to a wider range of information through conversational interactions."

Tags: IBM NatWest

Industry

AI in Banking: AI Will Be An Incremental Game Changer

SP Global

"Banks are adopting generative AI, which promises earnings growth, improvements to decision-making, and better risk management. But it also comes with new risks, concerns, and costs that banks will have to manage."

Industry

Banks Increasingly Using AI to Enhance Customer Experience

Banking Exchange

"Banks and credit unions that leverage AI are more likely to believe their contact center is a meaningful contributor to their customer experience strategy."

Industry

Time for Central Bank Digital Currencies to Prove Their Worth

Reuters

"A milestone move by the European Central Bank toward launching a digital euro within a few years means the time has come for the newest incarnation of money to prove its worth."

Industry

Analyzing the Current Frenzied State of Tokenization – What Lies Ahead?

Securities.io

"The tokenized assets market could balloon to $10 trillion in this decade as traditional financial (TradFi) institutions continue to adopt blockchain technology, according to the latest report."