Faster payments

Digital wallets arguably reached a tipping point this spring when contactless payments jumped 40% in response to concerns that cash and payment terminals were helping to spread the coronavirus, says Marqeta's Vidya Peters.

Payments in Brazil are about to make a significant pivot, turning a country in which consumers rely heavily on cash and remain skeptical about payment cards into the next region to pioneer faster payments.

The U.K.’s six major banking groups are now required to have implemented the new Confirmation of Payee (CoP) scheme for Faster Payments and Chaps as part of a regulatory push to tackle the rampant rise in Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud.

Speed isn't enough. There also has to be value and new products, says Icon Solutions' Toine Van Beusekom.

Mobile and contactless payments have generated more consumer attention as ways to safely move money during the coronavirus pandemic, but there's also a growing wave of support for The Clearing House's Real Time Payments network for banks.

Faster processing is not normal, and payment companies need to add more value to capture business, says Icon Solutions' Lauren Jones.

With the stakes now higher than ever, we can expect to see a marked acceleration in payments transformation initiatives, says Icon Solutions' Simon Wilson.

The sharing economy faces its first true crisis, but the payment companies that enable nontraditional payrolls say that the best way to fuel the recovery is to simply be more creative in how people get paid.

Coronavirus has taken a massive toll on suppliers, and emerging invoice methods are getting thrust into the mainstream to rescue cash-strapped businesses.

Mortgage lenders impose steep pricing adjustments for cash-out refinancing; bankers fear massive borrower fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program; some worry the coronavirus is giving banks an excuse to spy on employees; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers is one of the most troublesome elements of the coronavirus outbreak, though prior work to declutter cross-border supply chain payments provides some hope.

PayPal is temporarily waiving fees for consumers using its app to accept government and payroll checks during the coronavirus pandemic.

With more people sheltering at home and grocery stores limiting access, Domino's is seeing a surge in demand for its pizza — and a need to pay delivery drivers their tips and wages after each shift at a time when the credit card orders outpace the cash on hand at each store.

As the market deals with the short-term challenge of getting stimulus payments into the hands of citizens, the country has a unique opportunity to put the unbanked and underbanked on a long-term path to electronic payment methods, Jim Johnson of FIS says.

Wall Street trading arms benefited from first-quarter volatility, but it may not be enough to salvage future earnings; “unprecedented volume” of customers logging into their online bank accounts creates system overload at many banks.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, it was becoming clear that the work of the past decade to establish the Single Euro Payment Area was paying off with real-time payments networks and opening possibilities for another European payments scheme.

The “hold” period has shrunk considerably, from 10 business days to typically now three, one or zero, making it harder to spot suspicious activity, says FICO's Liz Lasher.

The Fed plans to make its National Settlement System (NSS) more available. This will help Nacha broaden its settlement capabilities to new regions, writes Icon Solutions' Gene Neyer.

New features and improvements often take a back seat to security, says Entersekt's Claudius van der Meulen.

All financial institutions are now in the decision mode of being a "fast follower" and joining the Clearing House scheme, or being a "patient follower" and waiting for the Fed, writes Icon Solutions Gene Neyer.