Links in “Payment Systems”

The answer could be “yes.” According to Apple, the new Apple Pay iPhone tool, which was announced yesterday, will allow consumers to use their mobile phones to conduct transactions in a much more secure fashion than currently possible with plastic cards because no card information is shared with the merchant. [9/10/14]

Industry concerns about infrastructure changes needed to accommodate customer demand for real-time transactions notwithstanding, here's how they're doing it in the U.K. and what we can learn from the UK Faster Payments scheme. [8/8/14]

According to Cornerstone Advisors, an Arizona-based credit union and community bank consulting bank firm, bill pay usage is going to decline over the next five years. It may not become obsolete, but other less costly alternatives may cause many financial institutions to take a hard look at their current process. [7/7/14]

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve announced a new schedule of margins applicable for collateral pledged by depository institutions to secure discount window loans and for payment system risk purposes. [6/4]

In the past year alone, $507 billion dollars in payments were made through mobile devices, an increase of 40% over the previous year. Mobile ticketing apps appear to be the primary driver for the sharp increase. [4/17]

What is a mobile wallet and what is its future? [3/11]

The message from the credit union trade associations during the 3-day Senate Banking Committee hearing on data security was that the government needs to ensure consumer data is protected at each step of the payment process. Criminals will focus their energies on the weakest link in the chain, which is currently the retailer. [2/7]

According to industry sources, Apple executives have met with the major retailers and others about playing a larger role in mobile payments. While a financial institution may still the ultimate funding source, experts predict that an enhanced Apple footprint in the mobile payment market could result in brand erosion for credit unions and banks. [2/7]

Study finds more retailers accepting mobile payments, but rely on fewer fraud solutions in that channel. [2/5]

As payment systems evolve, the credit union industry needs to be a driving force in the process, rather than abdicating responsibility in favor of the Federal Reserve Banks, which would be akin to letting the government step in and mandate a winner in the VHS/BETA Max and Blu-Ray/HD-DVD wars. [1/17]