Yes, the weekend has arrived! We don’t know about you, but it was a busy week for PYMNTS, given all the news coming from the worlds of payments and commerce. Review our coverage, including stories about Stripe’s chargeback protection plan, the latest on open banking progress, a big investigation into crypto and the latest on the emerging ecosystem of predictive retail.
Top Performers
Stripe Launches Chargeback Protection Service
Stripe said the new service is based on Radar, its tool that prevents fraud and protects against future chargebacks. With Chargeback Protection, businesses on Stripe are automatically reimbursed for the cost of a disputed charge and any associated fees. That’s in addition to the safeguards Stripe offers customers against fraudulent charges.
Mastercard Launches Open Banking Platform to Further API Standards
Lead, follow or get out of the way – that seems to apply to the rise of open banking, which promises more financial services innovation, along with greater financial transparency and flexibility. While nothing is inevitable, and even the best plans are always in danger of stalling or being derailed, the energy behind open banking is gaining steam. The latest evidence of that comes from Mastercard.
Visa, Western Union Team to Speed Global Payments
In a year that has been marked by mega mergers in the payments space (linking networks, technology and a continuum of products and services), several themes dominate: scale, digital, real-time and cross-border. To that end, Visa has entered into a new strategic partnership with Western Union to expedite the movement of money globally – and digitally – across a range of use cases.
MoneyGram Works to Restructure Debt; Could Seek Buyer
MoneyGram International reportedly is looking at alternatives for the payments company, including a sale. Reuters reported that in addition to exploring strategic alternatives, the company is currently working to restructure its outstanding debt, which was at $902.8 million as of the end of September.
Why Search and Logistics Will Shape the Future of Retail Payments
The two most powerful forces shaping the future of retail payments have nothing to do with payments – at least at first glance. Ironically, they are also the two things that shaped the modern payments landscape as we know it today, as it grew up and got wired over the last 60 years – and why that playbook is being disrupted by players decades their junior with market caps that rival or even dwarf their own.
Trackers and Reports
The eCase for Liberating $190B in Rental Security Deposits
Around the world, banks and FinTech firms are addressing challenges associated with enabling fund disbursements in real time – and some markets are developing real-time networks faster than others.
Why AI Is MIA in Most FI Fraud Departments
In the old days, forged checks were the biggest problems that bank fraud departments had to manage. Today, financial institutions (FIs) face a barrage of cyberattacks from hackers operating around the world, continuously shifting their tactics. It is no wonder that fraud prevention is one of the problem areas that FIs hope artificial intelligence (AI) can help resolve.
Fun, Cool and Otherwise Notable
Feds Investigate QuadrigaCX’s $195M Crypto Mystery
A slew of regulators and investigators reportedly are looking into QuadrigaCX’s shuttering of operations earlier this year. The roster of investigators includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Can Predictive Retail Really Take Off?
The need for toilet paper helps tell the story of predictive retail, which is looming on the horizon. Amazon already has a significant patent, and its fulfillment operations are setting the stage for this new digital technology tool and process.
Alexa’s Future as a Built-In Roommate
What if an apartment came with a roommate who would never steal food, never invite guests and would under no circumstances leave dishes in the sink – but would manage the calendar, call an Uber, order groceries, turn lights on and off, play just the right song at just the right time and tell jokes on demand? That’s a pretty significant upgrade to the normal roommate arrangement – and one that apartment complexes like Brandon Place in Oklahoma City are hoping will be attractive to residents.
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