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Payments

Short-term & Long-term Implications of Real-time Payments

October 22, 2019

The US real-time payments network currently reaches about 50% of the population, and was on track, via private sector channels, to provide complete coverage by the end of next year, as noted in an article at Forbes.com by Ike Brannon, a senior fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation.

AI and the Resurrection of Moore’s Law

September 26, 2019

Moore’s Law famously states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, though the cost of computers is halved. A new essay on Medium.com explores how Moore’s Law had actually been “phasing out” for a period of time: Moore’s Law, one of the fundamental laws indicating the exponential progress in the…

TV News Reports “New” Mobile RDC Check Fraud Scam

September 11, 2019

The ability of fraudsters to create an image of a check is not necessarily a new technique. What is newsworthy is accessibility.

Cryptocurrency vs. Real-Time Payments vs. Checks; Which Will Win?

September 4, 2019

When Facebook announced its Libra payment system, reactions were varied, to say the least. Can a gigantic company that cannot be trusted to safeguard our heretofore private information be ready to handle cryptocurrency? PYMNTS.com wonders if another giant company, Walmart, might have a better chance to succeed in the payments field, particularly in light of…

The Benefits of Automation at Scale

August 22, 2019

As reported at McKinsey.com, an analysis by the McKinsey Global Institute (covering more than 800 jobs and over 2,000 work activities) showed that: Globally, almost half the activities employees perform—which account for nearly USD 16 trillion in wages—could potentially be automated using existing proven technologies. Automation will transform far more jobs than it will eliminate.…

Fed Leaps Into Real-Time Payments

August 13, 2019

The Federal Reserve announced last week that it is working on a real-time payments system, the biggest infrastructure upgrade embraced by the government body since the ACH system went online in 1972. At a speech in Kansas City, Mo., Fed Governor Lael Brainard confirmed what the payments industry has long awaited, and she said the…

AI: MIA In Most FI Fraud Departments?

June 18, 2019

PYMNTS.COM takes a look at the implementation of Artificial Intelligence solutions in Financial Institution fraud departments — or, rather, the stunning lack thereof: AI systems are unique, can process large volumes of data in real time and can “learn” to quickly identify suspicious financial activity. Yet, few FIs leverage this technology in their anti-fraud efforts…

Contentious Negotiations Highlight 2019 Payer & Provider Trends

May 30, 2019

HealthcareDive takes a look at changes and trends it anticipates in the coming year, mainly due to political ripples from Washington (for instance, a judge’s declaration that the Affordable Care Act is no longer constitutional) and emerging consumer preferences. Their snapshot of a few big trends for the payer and provider crowds to watch for…

SNL “Cheques” Parody Shows Checks are Alive and, Well…

April 2, 2019

Saturday Night Live debuted in 1975, meaning that if you were a member of the generation that watched the first seasons of the show, you’re in “the demographic that clings to checks.” according to the pundits. This past weekend, SNL enlightened viewers as to a few exaggerated benefits of “cheques” that we normally don’t promote…

Venmo Fraud Spike Strikes PayPal at Exactly the Wrong Time

January 15, 2019

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Venmo sustained a transaction loss rate of 0.40% in March, up from 0.25% in January, according to internal PayPal documents they reviewed. As reported in Digital Transactions: The losses sent Venmo’s first-quarter operating loss to approximately $40 million, a 40% increase over what PayPal had expected, the documents revealed.…