Identity

Payments Partners: The Identity Industry

Time to Read: 9 minutes The problem of knowing who to trust on an insecure, anonymous network has concerned me since I founded an ISP in 1995. With thousands of subscribers, it was the first time I confronted bad online behavior. As a payments geek, I’ve seen plenty of these online bad behaviors emerge across […]

Open Banking

The Open Banking Phenomenon, Explained

Time to Read: 9 minutes Highlights: An introduction to open banking, its key concepts, and implications for payments industry participants  A framework for understanding open banking principles Adoption and usage statistics   What is Open Banking and Why Does it Matter? Over the last few years, the concept of open banking has gained popularity with […]

ACH

ACH is Hot

Time to Read: 8 minutes Highlights: ACH, though a 50-year old payment system in the U.S., continues to grow The ACH ecosystem is evolving to meet modern-day needs: Nacha, the rule-making body, plans to implement a series of enhancements that address shortcomings in ACH usability Dynamic payment service providers (PSPs) and fintech infrastructure players are […]

Payments Views Risk & Fraud

Why Risk Management is a Team Sport

In today’s world, risk management and security are front and center topics for every enterprise. And because money is money, the management of payment risk and security has to be a priority.  In this chapter of our Merchant Payment Operations series, we look at top of mind payment and security risks facing today’s enterprises and […]

Cannabis Payments Views

The Latest on Cannabis and CBD Payments

Hosted as part of the Mobile Payment Conference (August 24-26) this inaugural conference brought together fintech influencers, payments experts, and providers to address issues facing financial services companies serving the Cannabis and CBD industry. Setting the Stage I was honored to kick off the workshop with an overview of the cannabis payments market. I stressed […]

Glenbrook Nicole Pinto Payments Views

COVID-19 and the Income Domain

The Income Domain consists of payments to individuals for salary, benefits, rebates, and expense reimbursements. In the U.S., these payments are made primarily via direct deposit through NACHA’s ACH system, and to a lesser extent, paper checks and payroll cards. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread business shutdown, and as a result, caused mass […]

B2B Payments Erin McCune Glenbrook Payments Views

COVID-19 Will (Finally!) Force B2B Digital Adoption

Despite decades of payment industry efforts, businesses have remained stubbornly dependent on checks. Back office processes (and personnel) can be remarkably change resistant despite being mired in paper, regardless of the size of the business.  At Glenbrook we believe the Covid-19 pandemic is a watershed moment for B2B payments.  B2B supplier payments – invoiced, accounts […]

Drew Edmond Glenbrook Merchants

Merchant Payments Operations: Payment Processing

When Glenbrook is Assessing a Merchant’s Payments Operations, the goal is to understand whether the payments environment functions in a way that optimally supports their existing business needs as well as any future requirements. To do so, one of the major Key Assessment Areas that we address is the technical architecture and services a merchant […]

Glenbrook

Remote Commerce Domain Takes Center Stage

Expansion Under COVID-19 The Remote Commerce domain is home to e-commerce, many mobile payments, and the venerable mail-order, telephone-order method (MOTO). The growth in transaction volume in this domain has been nothing short of phenomenal accounting for a: 56 percent of overall U.S. retail sales growth in 2019 47 percent increase in U.S. sales forecasted […]

Glenbrook Payments Views

Point of Sale Domain - The Pain at the POS

The POS Domain is Synonymous with the Retail Industry The POS Commerce domain is the land of brick and mortar retail, representing the majority of retail activity. Despite the steady double digit annual growth of the Remote Commerce domain, the POS Commerce domain was responsible for  some 84% of retail sales in 2019. That said, […]

Glenbrook Merchants Payments Views

Merchant Payments Operations: Organization

In Kavita Jiandani’s post Assessing a Merchant’s Payments Operations, she introduced Glenbrook’s methodology for our in-depth assessment of a merchant’s payments operations. In her introductory piece, Kavita highlights the major Key Assessment Areas we evaluate during each engagement. In this continuation, we examine the impact of the payments organization and the company’s “money team.” How a […]

Drew Edmond Glenbrook Merchants Payments Views

Merchant Payments Operations: Reporting and Analytics

In Kavita Jiandani’s post Assessing a Merchant’s Payments Operations, she introduced Glenbrook’s methodology for our in-depth assessment of a merchant’s payments operations. In her introductory piece, Kavita highlights the major Key Assessment Areas we evaluate during each engagement. In this Payments Views entry, I continue with a focus on one of the Key Assessment Areas: […]

Glenbrook Kavita Jiandani Payments Views

Assessing a Merchant's Payments Operations

I am often asked if Glenbrook Partners is a payments education company, and if I teach. My answer to both is yes. Our education programs are designed to give attendees a stronger payments foundation on which to build and refine their corporate strategies, product development efforts, and operational functions. We’re also very much a payments […]

Payments Views

Why Talk About Risk in Payments?

Let’s be honest, risk is not the first topic people gravitate to in payments. It’s much cooler to talk about open banking, fret about PSD2 implications, or ponder the pros and cons of a cashless society. Even risk managers I know tend to keep quiet about risk – especially at social events. So why are […]

Bitcoin Carol Coye Benson Glenbrook Payments Views

A Dollar by Any Other Name: Thoughts on Digital Fiat Currency

What are central banks – and governments – going to do about cryptocurrencies? I was in New York last week to better understand what central bankers are thinking about – and doing – with respect to “Digital Fiat Currency”. The workshop was part of an ITU Focus Group Program on “Standardizing Digital Fiat Currency and […]