For processors, EMV has been the hot topic, as the industry looked to the liability shift last fall. But the challenge has just started, as the migration presents myriad security and compliance tasks.
Reports say the US is migrating slowly to the new chip-and-PIN payment method with MasterCard reporting 46% of Americans had not received Chip-and-PIN cards and only 41% of merchants had installed terminals to accept them. But as takeup of the new system increases, so will the importance of new compliance measures set up by EMVco – the consortium that manages EMV standards.
We predict a double edged sword for vendors in 2016 – they will have to make sure they comply with EMVco standards for all payment methods - including contact, contactless, mobile and tokenization.
At the same time security for card-not-present payments needs to be as tight as possible, as industry opinion predicts fraud moving towards these types of transactions due to the EMV liability shift.
But that's not the only challenge for the year ahead, as the processing industry tackles the different ways in which young consumers use financial services.
In the 2015 Banking Industry Growth Strategy Survey, Bank Director found 60% of banking executives felt they didn't have the right products, services and delivery methods to address a “decidedly untraditional digital generation.”
In the payments space, as the number of millennials taking out loans, buying houses and signing up for auto finance increases, organizations that offer 'generation Y' their preferred payment method will gain a competitive edge. This means offering them a path of least resistance at the payment stage – which means offering digital payment channels such as online portals, mobile and automatic interactive voice response.
With the disruptive influences of a changing regulatory landscape and millennials' payment preferences, Financial technology will continue its rapid development.
The U.S. is the global leader in Fintech investment according to
Financial technology will be developed to support traditional and non traditional channels in order to appeal to the widest possible customer range in 2016.
David Yohe is head of corporate marketing at BillingTree.
