Organizations turn to fintechs for payment solutions that are as efficient and seamless as the transactions they facilitate. However, behind these smooth interfaces lies a labyrinth of challenges. Security concerns, regulatory compliance, and constant technological upgrades are just a few of the hurdles fintechs must navigate to provide what appear to be simple solutions. For […] The post Making a Complex Payment Situation Simple for Your Customers appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
With gift card spend projected to reach $267.3 billion by 2028, it’s clear that gift cards are an influential force in the market. And the rise of digital gift cards, a trend that continues to gain momentum, is opening up new avenues to engage younger generations. During a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Blackhawk Network’s (BHN) Sarah […] The post Building Brand Advocacy Through Gift Card Programs appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
Reconciliation is an essential aspect of the accounting process that improves transparency, maximizes decision-making, and ensures regulatory compliance. However, many merchants and payments organizations still rely on inefficient processes that can result in errors, financial losses, or violations. In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Nick Botha, Global Payments Sales Manager at Autorek, and Don Apgar, Director […] The post A Single Source of Truth: Automation’s Impact on Payments Reconciliation appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
The United States is a unique banking market, with more than 11,000 financial institutions and some of the most stringent regulations in the world. With the launch of FedNow last year, The Clearing House’s RTP network, and a new messaging standard in ISO 20022, U.S.real-time payments have finally arrived. There’s only one problem: The infrastructure here […] The post Getting the U.S Banking Market Ready for Instant Payments appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
The end-of-the-year flurry of holiday shopping is a classic example of business seasonality. As fraud professionals have long observed, fraud activity also follows seasonal patterns, with seasonal upticks and slow-downs. The challenge has been reacting to seasonality with precision in real-time, instead of just recognizing them in the rear-view mirror. And new data shows that […] The post Seasons of Fraud: How Fraud Patterns Shift Throughout the Year appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
Now that the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard 4.0 has gone into effect, merchants have a year to conform to the 63 new or updated requirements. With many moving parts to the standard, some businesses may struggle to understand their compliance obligations. Simultaneously, they also don’t want to risk creating friction in the customer […] The post The Clock Is Ticking on PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance: Is Your Business Ready? appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
Though most people still refer to prepaid products as gift cards, that term has almost become a misnomer in today’s payments industry. Prepaid cards do so much more than carry gifts—not just for consumers but also for issuers. Savvy businesses use them to drive more consumer spending while increasing brand loyalty. To that end, Fiserv […] The post The New Strategies Driving Digital Gift Cards appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
The banking industry infamously divides itself into silos to address different aspects of the business, which can be problematic for customers who think they are dealing with a single entity. This can be especially difficult during onboarding and security checks, when different silos at the bank ask repeatedly for credentials. In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, […] The post Reducing the Friction in Bank Customer Onboarding appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
As awareness of the dangers of identity theft grows, it’s important to highlight a particularly insidious threat: stealing children’s identities. Although children have very limited financial activity, this ironically makes them appealing targets for fraudsters. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, 1.7 million children had their personal information stolen in 2021-2022, resulting in nearly […] The post A Silent Threat: Protecting Children From Identity Theft appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
Even though the number of checks written continues to decline, mail theft remains on the rise. Beyond the theft of checks directly from mailboxes, there have been instances of stolen mail trucks. The ease of modifying checks allows criminals to simply wash and modify the payee’s name. Q2’s positive pay system, used by roughly 550 banks […] The post Positive Pay: An Underused Tool for Fighting Check Fraud appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
The evolution of digital card management has given financial institutions new opportunities to cultivate enduring customer relationships. By making consumers’ lives more convenient and complimenting physical cards, so consumers have the options that work for their lives at a particular time, issuers can foster ease of use and brand loyalty, leading to decades-long relationships. In […] The post FIs Are Building Long-Lasting Relationships Through Digital Card Programs appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
As fraud related to artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly sophisticated and accessible, many legacy lines of defense are no longer able to effectively protect financial institutions and their customers. Financial institutions need to take a more proactive approach to fraud. By collecting and analyzing real-time data and using AI to identify patterns, FIs can quickly […] The post Fighting Financial Fraud When the Bad Guys Are Armed With AI appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
The rise in e-commerce fraud, combined with consumers’ increasing willingness to file chargebacks, has left issuers and acquirers scrambling to shore up their dispute management processes. With a complicated process that varies depending on the payment network involved, chargebacks have become a huge operational challenge for many merchants. In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Cheryl Fitzgarrald […] The post New Approaches to the Persistent Problem of Chargebacks appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
Successful companies must constantly change to preserve their success, but digital transformation may be the most radical overhaul most of us will ever see. For organizations to make this transformation a success, getting employees on board and fully engaged is a requirement. As the head of Corporate Strategic Planning and Management for Wells Fargo, Amy […] The post Turning the Ship Around: Insights for Navigating Digital Transformations appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
While fintechs and banks may have once been seen as competitors, their relationship has grown over the years. With market shifts and evolving customer needs, new models of working together have emerged, expanding customers’ options and opening doors for new ways of fintechs and banks to work together in mutually beneficial ways. A recent PaymentsJournal […] The post Fintechs and Banks: How the Partnership Is Evolving appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
As businesses strive for innovation, efficiency, and scalability, the path to digitization is fraught with challenges. It’s a journey that requires addressing outdated processes, adopting new technologies, and most important, gaining buy-in from leadership and colleagues. In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Reetika Grewal, Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Transformation at Wells Fargo, and […] The post Navigating Digitization Through Strategic Fintech Partnerships appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
With the Clearing House’s RTP network and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow, the demand for instant payments continues to grow from consumers and small businesses. How can businesses best accelerate this process? Debbie Smart, Senior Product Marketer at Q2, and Keith Gray, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the Clearing House, sat down with Elisa Tavilla, […] The post Preparing Your Organization for Instant Payments appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
As anti-money-laundering challenges escalate and new liability shifts loom on the horizon for 2024, fintechs must be prepared. Proactive measures are crucial for establishing a firm foothold in the fintech landscape. Reactive approaches will only leave businesses vulnerable to attacks and financial losses. In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Matt Herren, Director of Product Management at […] The post Fintechs Can Navigate the Waves of Prosperity with Proactive Fraud Prevention appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
The term “fraud” has become a catch-all for some financial institutions, which sometimes downplay these occurrences as mere nuisances rather than genuine threats. However, the stark reality is that fraud has given rise to a multitude of attack methods, each carrying its own nuances and varying degrees of impact on customers and financial institutions. […] The post Outsmarting First-Party Fraud with a More Proactive Solution appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
As real-time payments expand globally, financial institutions confront the challenge of modernizing their legacy systems to meet the digital expectations of their customers. The positive aspect is that there’s no need to overhaul core systems. Instead, modern software can relieve core banking systems from real-time demands. During a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Carlos Netto, Co-Founder and […] The post Beyond Rip and Replace: Alternatives for Modernizing Core Banking appeared first on PaymentsJournal.