Welcome to the PaymentsSource Morning Briefing, delivered daily. The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
American card brands lose ground: China's huge card network
Real-time payments pick up in Europe: A real-time money transfer program in Europe is set to go live in November, reports the
Amazon's Echo exec departs:
Swiss ATM upgrades start tests: Swiss banks will shortly begin testing software under the SIX Group's
From the Web
The New York Times | Mon Jul 17, 2017 - There is an audacious economic phenomenon happening in China. It has nothing to do with debt, infrastructure spending or the other major economic topics du jour. It has to do with cash — specifically, how China is systematically and rapidly doing away with paper money and coins. Almost everyone in major Chinese cities is using a smartphone to pay for just about everything. At restaurants, a waiter will ask if you want to use WeChat or Alipay — the two smartphone payment options — before bringing up cash as a third, remote possibility. Just as startling is how quickly the transition has happened. Only three years ago there would be no question at all, because everyone was still using cash.
Huffington Post | Sun Jul 16, 2017 - Technology is changing all aspects of modern society, especially the way we conduct business. Enterprise chatbots and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are among the hottest conversation topics because both provide innovative solutions that have the potential to transform entire companies. Chatbots and Bitcoin are bound to affect companies of all sizes, especially big organizations that make international payments on a regular basis. Today’s globalized economy has allowed organizations to conduct business with international providers and suppliers. However, one of the biggest challenges has always been international payments and transactions. Involving numerous financial entities and currencies can become complicated quickly, and cross-border fees tend to be incredibly expensive.
Reuters | Mon Jul 17, 2017 - When consumers have trouble making ends meet, bills from retailers that have gone bankrupt or closed tend to go toward the bottom of the pile. The trouble for lenders like Citigroup Inc is that the debt is actually owed to them. Citigroup, the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, said on Friday that it is having trouble collecting on store-branded cards, which is leading to higher losses. To reverse that trend, the bank has been stepping up its outreach to shoppers who finance purchases from chains like Macy's and Sears with Citigroup store-brand credit cards which the bank has stood behind for more than a decade. The bank recently doubled the number of text messages it sends to borrowers.
More from PaymentsSource
Seeing a need for virtual and legacy payments worlds to better connect, Push Payments and partner linked2pay developed a real-time payments system that can function as that connective tissue.
The concept of digital payments doesn't often cross paths with the concept of robots moving autonomously through our world. But in a few cases, robots have been created to handle payments and deliver goods.
Open APIs can bring speed and flexibility to P-to-P payments, e-commerce and financial services. But there's also identity and performance risks that banks need to address, writes Rahul Singh, president of financial services at HCL Technologies.
Citigroup’s consumer banking business — fueled by credit cards — was a gem in a mixed bag of a second quarter for the New York company.
