February, 2022

• 1 February

  How Processors Can Cash in on Cash

  

  Lost in much of the conversation about digital payments, particularly since the onset of the pandemic, is what to do about the cash merchants take in. The Brink’s Co., which has been hauling and securing cash since 1859, says it has an answer, and in January it announced it also …

January, 2022

• 1 January

  Payments 3.0: Digital Bank Currencies: Are We Truly Prepared?

  

  The birth of cryptocurrencies and the digitization of payments have led central banks worldwide to consider launching their own digital dollars. These central bank digital currencies (CBDC) could either supplement or replace government-issued cash as legal tender. Proponents say the tokens could offer benefits to citizens, governments, and businesses, while …
• 1 January

  Security Notes: Staying a Step Ahead of Quantum

  

  A typical textbook enumerates the three main attributes of money: store of value, unit of account, and medium of exchange. Overlooked is one other attribute: a social lifeline, owing to two other, undermentioned attributes—money is universally desirable, and money creates a bond between two strangers. In this column, I focus …
• 1 January

  Fintech Apps’ Thirst for Data

  

  Consumers have relied more heavily on payments apps and other fintech technologies since the onset of the pandemic, but few are aware of how much control these apps have over consumer data, according to a recent survey released by The Clearing House Payments Co. In fact, consumer confidence in the …

December, 2021

• 1 December

  Payments 3.0: The Pendulum Swings in Washington

  

  The regulatory pendulum is swinging again in Washington, and while the changes might be predictable, they are not always optimal for consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau got a new director when Rohit Chopra was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 30, and the Biden Administration has nominated a new …
• 1 December

  Security Notes: Cyber Oil: The Undefeatable Equalizer

  

  I’m closing my series on quantum computing and payments with an introduction of the underlying vision, pregnant with a bouquet of shining scenarios for a level playing field in cyber territory. Quantum computers are surprisingly non-deterministic in that they are governed by probability. The lottery they play on runs on …
• 1 December

  PayPal, Venmo, Amazon, And the Super App

  

  PayPal Holdings Inc.’s big news in November was that U.S. users of its Venmo wallet will be able to pay with Venmo on Amazon.com Inc.’s massive marketplace and on the Amazon shopping app, starting in 2022. The news comes as the latest development in a long effort PayPal has engaged …

November, 2021

• 1 November

  Payments 3.0: The Chips are Down. So Are the Cards

  

  Wallets could be a lot emptier by this time next year, and it will have nothing to do with the spending capacity of consumers. As Digital Transactions reported in September (“Out of the Chips”), a pandemic-driven shortage in computer chips is hitting the payments industry. Now, as cards expire, issuers …
• 1 November

  Security Notes: Quantum Money: Good News, Bad News

  

  Quantum entities are fundamentally offensive to our experience and intuition. They are like a four-dimensional physical universe. We can’t imagine a world with length, width, and height plus a fourth dimension. But we can handle this notion mathematically. The same is true for quantum entities. The illustrious Richard Feynman, one …
• 1 November

  Specialized Players Claim a Rising Share of Merchant Acquiring

  

  Despite a temporary setback at the start of the pandemic, merchant acquiring is getting back on a growth track that will see revenue expand at an 11.3% annual clip through 2025, nearly equaling the 11.8% rate chalked up from 2015 to 2019, according to a report and forecast released last …