Fraud prevention today is about how quickly we can separate good customers from questionable ones and, for those doubtful transactions, use the right set of tools and data sources to optimize speed, costs, and fraud losses.

When it comes to fraud prevention, it turns out that data is key. No revelation there, but how we manipulate it, gather it, and assure its provenance is undergoing major change. What would be a revelation to fraud managers of a decade ago is the unbelievable amount of data and the wide variety of sources that we have today. It’s a flood.

The only means we have to make sense of this data deluge is through algorithmic examination. Rules engines and neural networks are staple approaches. In recent years, application of artificial intelligence and the newer incarnation of machine learning (“let the computer figure it out based on all the data it sees”) has become a hot, and effective, area for fraud prevention. Only machines can find correlations among all that data in order to identify potential fraud.

A number of firms focused on the fraud prevention problem employ techniques that gather data and then analyze it in order to provide their customers like e-commerce merchants or financial institutions with a risk score. Companies specializing in device fingerprinting, for example, gather the relevant data (think IP address, mobile IMSI number, device type, OS version, browser software version, etc.) to create a profile or “fingerprint” of that device in order to generate a history of its behavior. Threat Metrix, owned by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, is an example.

Behavioral biometric companies may take that data and layer on how the owner actually uses their device, often by looking for keystroke patterns, screen tap rhythms, the angle that the phone is held, and more, in order to build a more nuanced profile that includes how the owner interacts with the device. That richer data then feeds into analysis and risk scoring. Mastercard’s NuData Security acquisition uses this approach.

Subsequent bidirectional data sharing can provide these firms with insight into the results of their decisioning.

As these firms gain customers, they see more and more devices and develop clearer visibility into the outcome of their work. As a result, it becomes a natural step to pool or federate the data they see from all of their customers. There’s an expectation that a card account, for example, will be seen at multiple merchant clients of the fraud solution provider. These repeat interactions will improve fraud detection for all when the cardholder is a bad actor or speed the transaction of a trusted one.

Data consortia where multiple financial institutions and merchants pool their fraud and chargeback data also exist. Ethoca is a prime example.

The deeper the data pool the better, provided, of course, there’s the ability to analyze it all.

Massive analytical capability is the foundation for artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the fraud prevention space, Feedzai is a firm that applies its analytics power to data sourced from multiple provider and techniques. Feedzai, like others providers who have attained a critical mass of customers, has also invested in federation of their data to improve, for everyone, its fraud prevention results.

In an earlier episode, we spoke with Feedzai CEO Nuno Sebastiao to get us grounded in how AI and ML apply to fraud prevention. In this discussion with Saurabh Bajaj, Feedzai’s Head of Product and Nick Stanchenko, product manager for Feedzai’s Risk Ledger, its data federation program, we go further. Saurabh catches us up on Feedzai's growth and then take a look at how Feedzai works and at the data sources it uses. Nick addresses federation, its value, and the light integration required.

 

Direct download: EP84_Feedzai.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:11pm EDT

Payment Innovation Moves to the Core

When we conduct our Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp, our first graphic illustrates the three essential steps in every transaction - initiation, funding, and completion. When looked at through the lens of of the past decade most innovation has been in initiation. Consider: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, QR codes. The list is long of ways to kick off a transaction.

Funding is all about where the money comes from. Usually a bank account, often a wallet holding money. Some innovation there but not a great deal. There are only so many ways to store funds.

Completion, the last step, is the most important to many participants as it’s when the transaction completes with the final movement of money.

Five years ago, in those boot camps, I said that completion, also called settlement, is the innovation-resistant phase of a transaction. Today, everything has changed.

In the U.S., we have new services such as Zelle and Venmo that appear to the end parties to deliver instant settlement. They may use card rails or bank rails like ACH to complete the transaction. 

Two Forms of Settlement

In this discussion with Glenbrook’s Carol Coye Benson, we look at two forms of settlement: end party settlement - for example, an employer paying an employee - and then Carol focuses on the nuanced world of interbank settlement.

If you’ve heard the terms net settlement, gross settlement, or RTGS and wondered what they mean, take a listen. 

Faster Payments and Settlement

We also talk about the phenomenon of faster payments and the settlement techniques these systems employ. 40 countries around the world are in one stage or another of deploying faster payment systems that push money from bank account to bank account. It's already in the US via the Real Time Payments Network from The Clearing House and, perhaps, a competing service from the Federal Reserve. (To get an update on the Real Time Payment Network, listen to Episode 81 of Payments on Fire).

These faster payment systems vary in their capabilities. Speed and data carrying capacity are just two variables. But we have seen that when a new payment system enters a market innovative offerings can flourish, provided access to that system is encouraged by rule, regulation, or both. However, that level of openness is not guaranteed. As Glenbrook have seen in our work around the world, some systems are essentially closed by market power or operating rules. These constraints limit the network effect's benefits of ubiquity, convenience and, often, cost.

This is an ongoing challenge. In this age of fintech, banks are under pressure to innovate. As owners or participants in new systems, some may choose to limit access to their fancy new rails in an attempt to forestall competitive market entrants. Others will be “encouraged” by regulators to open up. Of course, end party choices will play a big role, provided there’s a choice available.

The New Game

Settlement has traditionally been led by major commercial banks or the central bank of each country. That model still holds. In some markets, including the U.S., we expect a push and pull for control between those two entities. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, suggests such tensions may justify  the issuance by a nation's central bank of a fiat digital currency as a counterweight to the alternative control over payments by a concentrated set of banks and processors.

Settlement innovation has created a competitive environment that did not exist before. It will be the interplay of rules, regulations, technical capabilities, end party value proposition, and market power that will determine the evolution of each country's settlement platform. In some, regulators will shape the outcome. In others, system access for fintechs and the "open banking" model will be a determinant. For all, cost effective access for end parties is critical.

So much for thoughts of a static payments ecosystem.

If you think of yourself as a payments geek or just want to get under the hood of how money really moves, Carol is a terrific guide.

Direct download: EP83_Settlement.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:34pm EDT

Restaurant payments is a complex area especially for those companies serving the mid-sized and large restaurant operator. They have different needs that extend well beyond payment acceptance but even that is a highly variable concern.

Ever notice that we pay differently depending upon the type of restaurant we’re in? It’s always been walk up and pay the central server at McDonalds. Applebees uses Presto table top devices to speed table turns, upset desserts (“that lava cake sure looks good”) and take payments. At most sit-down establishments, especially those in the fine dining segment, we still hand over our cards and the server walks away to authorize the transaction (later that night, the manual tip adjustment process determine the final clearing amount.)

For certain segments, order ahead is a priority. Order ahead dominates how pizza shop operate. Initially, that capability took market share from mom and pop pizza shops because only the largest operators in the “Big Pizza” segment could afford the necessary IT expertise. Now, mom and pop have multiple order ahead services to choose from.

But consider the complexities of integrating the order into the kitchen or at the barista’s station. Business process automation is a differentiator.

This podcast with Tim McKenna, VP of Sales, at Heartland Payment Systems, is both a deep dive into restaurant operator concerns and a revealing look into how a major payments provider has shifted its business model to serve mid-tier and larger restaurant operators.

Like Square, Heartland has realized the revenue benefits of expanded commerce services above and beyond the traditional payments revenue stream. By cross selling multiple services, Heartland expects to see 60% of its revenues coming from payments coupled with value-added services that automate the business of their customers.

If you’re interested in how the payments industry is evolving to market demands or how larger restaurant operators think about payments, Tim’s observations are well worth your time. Take a listen.

Direct download: EP_82_Restaurant_Payments.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:56pm EDT

For those of you who didn't make it to Money20/20 and want to hear the latest on The Clearing House's Real Time Payments Network (RTP), take a listen to this update conversation with Steve Ledford, SVP at The Clearing House for the RTP Network. 
 
A year ago, The Clearing House got out of the gate with its Real Time Payments Network, a wholly new payments system based on the push payment model. 
 
A lot has changed - more banks have integrated into the system and many more are in process. By the end of June 2019, over 3,000 FIs are expected to connect to RTP, most via their bank processor. B2B payments are taking place over RTP between known parties.
 
RTP Characteristics
 
Not All Things
 
TCH is not attempting to provide everything necessary for a ubiquitous push payment system. It relies on its FI participants and their processors to expose RTP capabilities to their customers. RTP hopesto have bank-friendly fintech partners use its rails through the traditional model that gives the new provider access to bank rails via a sponsor bank. 
 
Thus far, TCH has also steered clear of a native directory service, a necessary feature for broad use in P2P and C2B payments. Given the partial ownership overlap with Zelle's Early Warning Services parent banks and The Clearing House, no one will be shocked if Zelle becomes RTP's lead P2P directory provider. For that matter, few will be surprised when Zelle shifts to RTP for settlement. Of course, at least one business-facing directories will be needed for bill payments to take off.
 
It's Taking a Lot of Work
 
Connecting up a financial institution to the RTP Network requires deep integration into the FI’s core system, the software responsible for managing debits and credits. Connecting bank ledgers to any payment system is non-trivial, a fact that impacts how fast banks implement new payment rails like RTP.
 
Tell Me All About the Payment
 
A feature of the RTP network that holds enormous promise is its native use of the ISO 20022 messaging format. The standard's flexible and structured qualities--not an oxymoron--provide a major leap in data carrying capability. By representing the payment meta data, for example, ISO 20022 can support invoice information, letters of credit, and other business documents. Accounts receivable and accounts payable systems from multiple vendors will be able to communicate directly, reducing manual data input and data entry errors.
 
The RTP Push
 
In the U.S., we are accustomed to pull payment systems. We think nothing of giving our bank account information when we hand over a check or our card data when we hand our card to a merchant. We’re telling the payees where to go get their money so it can be pulled into their account.
 
RTP and Zelle are both push payment systems. Such systems are characterized by near instant funds availability to the recipient, messaging to send and receiver, and irrevocable payments. That last is very different from the chargeback protections U.S. cardholders, in particular, enjoy. While Reg E applies to the sender's transaction account, accountholder protections will also be prescribed by the FI.
 
To emulate some push payment attributes, RTP and most other immediate funds transfer systems offer a Request for Payment message type that essentially sends an instant invoice to the payer. The customer may press a Pay Now button that uses the Request for Payment Message on her screen. She then uses bank account credentials to authorize the payment. There may even be a redirect to the bank site. It's a flexible solution applicable to multiple use cases and payment initiation methods like embedded links and QR codes.
 
Instant Clearing and Settlement
 
The RTP switch runs software built by Mastercard's Vocalink unit, builder of the now 10 year old Faster Payments system in the UK. The RTP code base, however, is a new version, with native ISO 20022 messaging and an instant clearing and settlement system. That system uses a single, pre-funded account at the Federal Reserve common to all participating financial institutions. A separate ledger operated by TCH is the single source of truth, keeping track of the transfer of ownership of those pre-funded monies. Separate accounts, for each FI at the settlement bank, aren't necessary. So, instant clearing, no batch-based settlement. Lower risk, simpler management. 
 
Competition?
 
If you've attended a Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp in the last couple of years, you know RTP and Zelle have some overlapping capabilities. Zelle, however, is targeted at P2P and C2B uses cases. RTP is a set of payment rails open to whatever use cases come along. In the short term, think B2B and payroll but there's no inherent limit to where it can go. Just don't expect it to take over POS payments any time soon. The UK's Faster Payments rails have operated for a decade and have barely touched merchant POS payments.
 
Another fact boot camp attendees know is that there are two ACH operators in the US: The Clearing House and the Fed. The Fed is now floating the idea of operating an RTP analog of its own. Smaller Fish may be glad to see the Fed operate an alternate system. We'll touch on that more later but the Fed will have a lot of selling to do because, at the very least, adding a new set of rails requires a lot of integration effort by financial institutions and their processors.
 
And I thought the U.S. payments landscape was settling down. Hah! 
 
Direct download: EP81_RTP.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:06pm EDT

The payment industry’s responses to ongoing payment security are many. We have procedural approaches and technical ones. For example, we are requiring merchants to attest to their compliance with PCI security standards that themselves include procedural requirements.

Technical solutions are also called out by PCI and are, of course, being applied across the ecosystem. Encryption of payment data in flight is one approach. In the physical POS world, semi-integrated POS terminals connect directly to the acquirer’s front end instead of passing card transaction data back through the merchant’s workstation and enterprise system.

An important technique, and the topic of this discussion, is tokenization.

Tokenization is an ancient security technique. In the broadest sense, a token is just a dummy representation of something of higher value.

In cards, that means the replacement of a PAN with a number or even an alphanumeric value that represents the underlying PAN. The mapping between the two is stored in a vault with the owner restricting access to that vault. If a hacker gets ahold of a token value, it’s useless. It’s a value that, to the payments ecosystem, is gibberish.

Tokenization is used in pull payment systems where payment credentials are given to the payee by the payer so that the payee has the information necessary to go get the money. Think card numbers or the routing and account numbers on a check.

In card payments, there are two forms of tokenization: merchant and issuer tokenization. Merchant tokenization has been around for more than a decade. A response to PCI, merchants generally outsource that token vault to a third party so they no longer store PANs themselves. When the merchant needs to do a lookup or initiate another payment, the merchant sends the token to the upstream service provider who then looks up the PAN and sends it off for authorization by the acquirer.

That’s been around for awhile.

The newer innovation is what we call issuer tokens - token values that are at the heart of Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and more. These token values are real card numbers, issued by your bank, but unlike a PAN that can be used to initiate a payment everywhere, issuer tokens are expected to come, for example, from specific devices or merchants.

Every card in your Apple Pay wallet is represented by an issuer token and whenever that token is presented for authorization, data about where it’s coming from is sent along too. If the token is sent from another device, for example the one the hacker has, authorization will fail.

This approach is totally compatible with the current card payment system. No changes are needed at the merchant or the acquirer and minimal ones at the issuer.

Glenbrook will be conducting an Insight Webinar on December 13 called Tokenization Fundamentals. Russ Jones will conduct that webinar.

In this Payments on Fire podcast, George talks with Russ about issuer tokenization, its role in the Pays (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay), in e-commerce, and the need for new entities in the payments ecosystem to support tokenization. This gets complicated. There's now the need for token gateways.

Take a listen to the podcast and then sign-up for the webinar. Use the code POF80 to take 10% off the registration price.

Direct download: EP80_Session_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:03pm EDT

In the US, there’s the automatic assumption that payment cards and perhaps PayPal are the way to pay online. But if you’re an ecommerce merchant trying to sell in the Netherlands, you’d better support the domestic system known as iDeal.

Connectivity into domestic payment systems is an important and complex issue. There are over 150 such systems across dozens of countries around the world. While not all are important to a given merchant, most are important to the acquirers and payment service providers serving ecommerce merchants.

Join George and Steve Villegas, VP Partner Management and Head of US Office, of London-based PPRO Group, a company that provides white label connectivity to these domestic systems by serving acquirers and PSPs alike.

Direct download: PPRO_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30pm EDT

Knowing who you’re dealing with online is critical if you’re taking transaction risk. Digital identity is tough. To address that challenge - and it is a challenge - relying parties, those who take on risk, employ two broad categories of technology: active tools that require user interaction and passive network-based approaches.

When the user is required to explicitly provide identifying information, we use the interactive approach. The merchant or lender or website owner asks for user IDs, passwords, perhaps data generated by multi-factor authentication techniques such as biometrics, or one time passwords generated by an app or a hardware key.

If you’re an ecommerce merchant or an entity trying to sell something online - lenders included - you don’t want to ask the customer to do more than absolutely necessary to complete a good sale. Transactional friction is deadly to revenues and a main cause of shopping cart abandonment.

So, you use passive approaches that examine whatever data the customer’s device can provide. Device fingerprinting, behavioral analytics, rules engines, machine learning, and the past behavior of card numbers are among the portfolio of decisioning tools that do not interfere with the user experience.

Data is the foundation of the passive approach. In this podcast, George speaks with Ajay Andrews, Senior Director, Product, at Whitepages Pro, a data provider and analytics firm about identity verification and how the linkage of key data items influences decisioning. It turns out that particular pairs are strong indicators of potential fraud. 

We discuss where the data linkage approach fits in the overall portfolio, what drives merchants to adopt, and how the tool is integrated into automated decisioning and case management.

Direct download: IDVerification_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:04pm EDT

Alexa. Siri. Cortana. We’re talking to or at our machines. I walk into my office and say “Hey Google, what’s the weather?” or “Hey Google, when’s my first appointment?” When I’m driving in a strange town, it’s “hey Google, navigate to the [fill in the blank] hotel.”

This kind of hands-free access to information is hugely helpful and hugely popular. But there’s a long way to go toward a general purpose voice interface for every task we want to accomplish.

That said, we’re getting there. In this conversation with Central 1’s Alex Chan, we discuss the process of voice-enabling access to the high volume queries that credit union members make, i.e. balance inquiries, balance transfers, etc.

We cover what it takes to build an Alexa skill, the code that links Alexa’s natural language processing to the underlying application that executes the action.

Voice design, the process of imagining and codifying how the user interaction proceeds, is at the heart of a successful voice-enablement project. Alex takes us through that process. It sounds like fun.

While payments are a tiny fraction of today’s voice-based interactions, they’re coming along, too. Better design and broader participation is needed. As a recent (failed) demo proved, Siri can’t send me money if I’m not an Apple Pay Cash user.

Take a listen and get in touch if you've questions or comments. We'd love to hear from you!

 

Direct download: VoiceInterface_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:51pm EDT

During the Glenbrook Payment Book Camp we make clear that national payments systems are domestic by definition. Each country has its own set of systems to effect payments. We point out that national payment systems differ in many of their details. Regulation, operating rules, governance, ownership, technology, and more are highly variable.

At the same time, we also point out that major components are generally similar. An overnight, batch-based system for low-cost, low-value retail payments and an instant, irrevocable wire system for high-value transfers are typical of most countries.

Across the planet, countries are planning, designing, trialing or enjoying fully deployed immediate funds transfer systems, new ones that instantly transfer lower value payments. The UK's Faster Payments system and The Clearing House's Real Time Payments (RTP) are two examples of this system type.

Beside increased speed of payment, a second push for changes to national payment systems is the need for a richer representation of the data surrounding the payment transfer itself. Remittance data, for example, communicates what the payment is for, which invoices a payment may be covering, and what trade terms were taken by the payor. ISO 20022 is the internationally recognized method for representing this information and support for it has become a new priority not just for system operators but for financial institutions and enterprise customers.

Generally, major upgrades, never mind deployment of an entirely new system, are performed in a step-wise manner because of the critical nature of these systems, the cost, and the difficulty of herding system stakeholders through the many stages needed to achieve broad support and usage.

Undeterred by those realities, Canada is taking on a comprehensive upgrade to multiple systems over the next few years, including its overnight settlement and wire systems while simultaneously planning for its own immediate funds transfer system, codenamed Real Time Rails. Significantly, each system upgrade will include support for ISO 20022.

Payments Canada is the non-profit organization mandated by the federal government to manage, operate, and upgrade these systems.

In this Payments on Fire episode Glenbrook's George Peabody speaks with Justin Ferrabee, Payment Canada's COO about his organization's work, how its systems differ from those in the U.S., and what's ahead. It's a great conversation between payments geeks.

 

 

Direct download: EP76-Payments_Canada_JUL172018.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:17pm EDT

In this second discussion with First Data execs, George and Scott MacKay, Vice President, Strategic Solutions talk digital commerce in the automative space, both at the fuel pump and in the Connected Car.

The importance of full stack security, whether it's sole sourced or the result of an integration effort, to successful deployment of mobile commerce is a theme here.

Enabling the mobile experience at the fuel pump is complex. Petro sellers have a lot of legacy gear and the cost of upgrading that equipment is very high, a fact that has, at least, inhibited the pace of the EMV upgrade.

The richness of the mobile device's data such as device fingerprinting and back end intelligence makes it conceivable that a fuel retailer could skip EMV altogether. Maybe.

Scott also shares a look at payments and the Connected Car through the company's discussions with automobile manufacturers.

Direct download: SM_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:51pm EDT

In this, the first of a two-part podcast series with First Data executives, Ajay Guru, VP of Merchant Fraud Solutions at First Data and George discuss the impact of fraud on the merchant, what the merchant has to do to manage it, and the classes of tools and techniques available to mitigate fraud.

Ajay addresses machine learning technology's remarkable ability to identify anomalies and makes candid remarks on the necessity of human analysis to determine whether these anomalies are indeed fraud.

Other topics discussed include behavioral analysis (how we enter our user ID and password into the browser) as well as the sophistication of today's manual and automated attacks. There is still a lot of CNP fraud taking place over the phone.

There's good detail on the technology and what fraudsters are up to. Take a listen.

Direct download: Fraud_and_the_Merchant_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:48pm EDT

Online trust requires a context-based understanding of who we transact with. Attributes about us are needed to build that trust but in many transaction contexts we share more than we need to.

To pick a simple example, the law says you must be 21 to buy alcoholic beverages but our current method of proof is to show our driver's license, an unnecessary oversharing of personal information. Why show that creepy barkeep where you live when you only need to prove you were born before 1997?

In this wide-ranging Payments on Fire podcast, George and Lockstep Technology CEO Steve Wilson discuss how we share the attributes that, in aggregate, define to the online world who we are.

Steve makes the case that security and identity professionals continue to encourage the oversharing of personal data. Now that we have sophisticated network-based fraud management tools - device fingerprinting, behavioral analytics, machine learning and AI - that generate a crisp profile of our devices and our behavior, the attributes that a user must provide could be limited to just what's required and no more.

An "attribute wallet" under the user's control - yes, another role for the smartphone - might prove to be a valuable authentication enabler.

This episode concludes with Steve's report on comments made by some of the deans of modern cryptography on the threat that quantum computing represents. It sounds like good news.

Direct download: Identity_in_Context_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:38pm EDT

This episode of Payments on Fire covers two topics - payments in Atlanta and the essential challenge of online authentication and identity.

May in Atlanta - Fintech South and Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp

Everyone in the payments industry knows that Atlanta is a hotbed of activity. Coming shortly to Atlanta are two fintech-focused events that will add to the goings-on.

The Fintech South conference takes place on May 7 and 8. With great speakers - and great sponsors like Glenbrook and the Technology Association of Georgia - the conference describes itself as “FinTech South 2018 is a global exchange of insights, innovations and trends fueling tomorrow's financial tech industry.

“Attracting international companies and speakers across multiple industries, FinTech South is an opportunity to engage with 400 FinTech companies employing more than 130K employees globally, generating $72B in revenues, and processing over 118B transactions annually.”

Speakers include:

  • Kathryn Petralia, President and Co-founder of Kabbage
  • Barry McCarthy, EVP of Network and Security Solutions at First Data
  • Nuno Sebastiao, founder and CEO of Feedzai, who is also a past guest on Payments on Fire.
  • Right after the conference ends, Glenbrook will host our Payments Boot Camp on May 9 and 10.

Both events draw will attendees from all over North America. So if you want to expand your network, hear the latest at the conference and/or get smart about how payments work, come to Atlanta.

Authentication, Biometrics, and Banking

Authentication online remains one of the most challenging aspects of life online. Given the complete availability of personal data, account takeover has never been easier for the hackers. Knowledge-based authentication (KBA) asks softball questions like “what was your father’s middle name?” Easy stuff to find online. User IDs and passwords are even easier to find. We have a problem.

Strengthening the connection between an accountholder’s true identity - perhaps proven by a drivers license or passport - and the credentials that the user presents online is necessary and the topic of this Payments on Fire episode. George speaks with
Andrew Gowasack, CEO and co-founder, of TrustStamp, an identity verification company using AI and facial biometrics to create a strong, unique digital credential. For a few use cases, TrustStamp also employs a blockchain-based database.

Andrew knows all about the Technology Association of Atlanta, too. So, take a listen and geek out in this conversation about authentication, biometrics, and how to answer the online conundrums of “who are you?” and “do I trust you?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: Truststamp_TAG_FintechSouth2018_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:47pm EDT

The rise of Chinese mobile payment systems is the top global mobile payments story of the last few years. Alipay and WeChat Pay serve hundreds of millions of users with payments, loyalty programs, merchant coupons, and more.

QR codes are used to initiate many of these interactions especially within the point of sale (POS) domain. When there isn’t a legacy payment infrastructure in place, software is easier, and cheaper, to deploy than the hardware-reliant approaches used for card-based transactions.

To serve its millions of accountholders traveling around the world, Alipay is building out its acceptance footprint. In this episode of Payments on Fire, George speaks with payments industry veteran Souheil Badran about his role as president of Alipay Americas and the company’s plans for reaching US merchants in tourist hotspots and beyond.

Direct download: Alipay_mixdownA.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:05pm EDT

Mid-market financial institutions have enormously strong relationships with their banking customers. But their size makes home grown IT difficult because it is simply too hard, and too costly, to meet all the B2B finance needs of their enterprise customers.

The answer, of course, is deeper integration to third party software systems like SAP, Oracle, JDA and the growing set of fintech providers brining point solutions to these institutions.

But that’s no simple task. These FIs often run on legacy systems, generally provided by a large bank processor. Integrating software built before the cloud and APIs and these modern point applications is not easy.

Into that gap is a new company called FI Span. Led by founder and CEO Lisa Shields, the company value proposition is to act as an API orchestration platform for banks. In other words, FI Span proposes to be the glue that connects legacy code or a processor’s banking platform to the growing base of fintech point solutions in the market.

The goal of becoming a one-stop shop for new tools for these B2B-focused banks will take time and focus. Connecting up nextgen software and data to older systems demands clever approaches and a lot of spade work. Maintenance of a growing set of evolving API interfaces is non-trivial, too.

A fintech startup serving fintech startups, incumbent bank processors, and mid-tier banks has a lot of work to do. Lisa is no stranger to the start-up world; she also founded Hyperwallet. Take a listen to this conversation about the technical challenges, the business model, and the goals Lisa has for her customers and for her company.

Direct download: FI.SPAN_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:54pm EDT

“Digital cash” has been a dream of the internet age for, well, almost the entire internet age. That goal requires instant payment settlement. It’s more than just sending a message that a payment has happened; it means the money has actually moved.

In this wide ranging conversation with Laurence Cooke, founder and CEO of nanopay, he discusses the platform his firm has built to move value between parties in both real-time and, when necessary, offline modes. More distributed than blockchain systems, nanopay is designed for multiple uses cases including B2B payments using ISO 20022 representation of the payment data.

If you’re at all curious about payment security, blockchains, distributed ledgers, or the instant payment systems now being deployed, take a listen to this conversation between Laurence and Glenbrook’s George Peabody. It’s quite a story and we touch a lot of bases.

Direct download: nanopay_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:28pm EDT

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