One Year Later: How Demonetization Has Impacted India

This month marks the first anniversary of demonetization in India, and it has undoubtedly changed the country forever. When I visit India, I increasingly see micro-transactions conducted via mobile phones. Cash is still used, but I see less and less of it with each visit. We are in the middle of a true paradigm shift – and India is poised to become a global leader in new types of payment acceptance.

Unlocking the True Value of Immediate Payments

Immediate Payments must be part of an open banking strategy

The question that most banks are asking themselves, as real-time payments schemes gather pace in different markets around the world, is, “How do we enable real-time, digitally-enabled payments in the best possible way?”

To answer that question, banks need to consider FAST payments in the context of the Hierarchy of Payment Needs.

The Recipe for Instant Payments Success

How do you or can you realize instant payments? This is the question on everyone’s lips across the payments industry, and nowhere more so than in Europe, where the looming deadline for PSD2 (January 2018) has some scrambling to catch up. But how can payments players ensure success for their immediate payments plans within this short timeframe?

Three Ways to Build Your Business Case for Real-Time Payments

In the UK, faster payments are well established, and we have seen new innovations as well as new businesses being built since May 2008. In Singapore, which went live in 2014 with its Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) scheme, we are starting to see similar innovations. And we can expect similar seismic shifts in payments innovation for years to come, as Instant Payment schemes in Europe and Real-Time Payments in the US go live, ubiquity increases and real-time payments become the new normal.

What Banks Can (And Should) Do to Prepare for the Launch of Pan-European Instant Payments

The pan-European Instant Payments scheme (SCT Inst Scheme) launches in November 2017, offering banks throughout Europe the opportunity to create real-time services for their customers. I spoke with Domenico Scaffidi, principal solution consultant for ACI Worldwide, about what banks can – and should – be doing to prepare for the launch of the scheme.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Omni-Channel Day

I have been proclaiming for some time that ‘omni-payment’ is the missing element in many retailers’ full omni-channel customer service offering. What I mean is that many retailers offer their goods and services in-store and through various digital channels, but payments are often still processed by different systems and operate in silos. There are downsides to this isolation, and challenges to overcome in consolidating payments systems.

Security, the New Payments Ecosystem and the Need to Educate the Consumer (Or Ask Them to Unclog Your Sewer!)

When it comes to any payments ecosystem, you must remember that we are talking about MONEY. More importantly, people’s money (like yours and mine). In any conversation in this space, secure is something that is assumed. A consumer simply won’t use a new system if they don’t believe it is secure. Unless of course it’s free Wi-Fi. As we have seen, folks are willing to do almost anything to get free access on their devices, even agreeing to clean toilets! (This was a real thing… one hotspot operator added it to their Terms of Service fine print). When we talk secure, it’s important that we keep this in mind: secure is not just a piece of the Hierarchy of Payment Needs, it’s an integral part of it, which is why it sits directly on top of the foundations. Without this layer, the whole ecosystem collapses.

Three Reasons Why Corporate Banks Must Invest in New Security Measures

The New Payments Ecosystem brings great opportunities, if banks can mitigate the new risks and threats that arise. Real-time and open payments enable a wealth of new revenue streams; however, the potential for growth must be balanced against maintaining payments security. They cannot break the bank.

The Growing Strategic Importance of Instant Payments [Webinar]

Financial institutions already recognize the potential of instant (or immediate) payments in the real-time, open banking landscape, however many are still determining the best path forward as they juggle new regulatory requirements and the evolving demands of customers.

Learning Lessons From Large Scale Breaches

At this point, there’s no ignoring it: our financial security is compromised daily. And no doubt, many reading this wouldn’t hesitate to recount all the breaches they have been a part of as consumers; merchant breaches in which replacement cards forced you to update your linked accounts, or data compromises where personal information was stolen and identity theft protection was provided, forcing you to consider freezing new credit originations.