PaymentsJournal

Listen to the FULL PODCAST: https://lnkd.in/d3AvUXMZ The holiday season is here, bringing with it a host of celebrations. From office parties to family gatherings, shoppers are navigating an evolving landscape of gift-giving traditions. In our latest podcast episode, we dive into how consumer trends, new technologies, and the timeless appeal of gift cards are shaping the way people are gifting this season. Sarah Kositzke, Director of Research, and Jonathan Soffin, VP of Global Brand & Product Marketing at Blackhawk Network (BHN), chatted with Jordan Hirschfield, Director of Prepaid at Javelin Strategy & Research. They discuss the results of BHN’s Holiday 2024 Shopper and Gift Card Insights, the trends driving holiday gift card purchasing, and the accelerating momentum of the prepaid industry.

More enterprises are adopting commercial credit card programs to streamline their financial operations, leveraging tools and simplify transactions while improving control and oversight. To gain deeper insights into how various players in the space compare, Javelin Strategy & Research released its 2024 Commercial ePayables Scorecard. The scorecard guides commercial enterprises in assessing potential ePayables partners, comparing current vendors, and understanding the technology, key benefits, and sample use cases. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dvQKy9-2 #payments #ACH #commercialpayments #ePayables #commercialcard

The success of options trading on @BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) serves as yet another signal that cryptocurrencies are here to stay as a viable investment class. The ETF traded 73,000 options contracts within its first 60 minutes on the Nasdaq market, ranking it among the top 20 most active nonindex options, reports CNBC. The crypto firm Grayscale Investments reacted quickly, offering its own bitcoin ETF options the very next day. Read more: https://ow.ly/3CzU50UbSXq #crypto #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #cryptoETF

A senior U.S. Treasury official expressed concerns that establishing a cross-border payments system outside a transparent regulatory framework could pose risks to economic stability, potentially leading to international ramifications. Brent Neiman, Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the U.S. Treasury, was particularly concerned about the potential for misuse of improperly regulated systems for money laundering and fraud. Read more: https://ow.ly/kkvf50UbSHE #payments #crossborder #risk #BRICS #BCBPI

REGISTER NOW: https://ow.ly/bipv50UbS6Y A transformative demographic shift is on the horizon for the United States. As baby boomers age and millennials establish themselves with their preferred financial services providers, new consumer populations—especially Gen Z and new-to-country individuals—are growing rapidly.  But as these populations attempt to use the financial system to build their lives—from applying for a car loan to getting approved for a new apartment to signing up for government benefits—they too often find themselves locked out of the modern economy.  Join us on Dec. 3 to hear from Joshua Linn, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Socure and Christopher Miller, PhD, Emerging Payments Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. #banking #inclusion #unbanked

In some cases, physical and digital formats are combined to create compelling user experiences. IKEA, for instance, leverages augmented reality to help customers visualize furniture in their homes, enhancing a predominantly physical experience with a digital twist. Similarly, companies like Chatbook enable users to create physical photo books from photos stored on smartphones or social media platforms, blending a primarily digital experience with a tactile component. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7WcjdWP #retail #merchants #physical #digital #userjourney CompoSecure

Fraud always seeks the path of least resistance. In the world of payments, hackers look for vulnerable spots to exploit. The rise of artificial intelligence introduces yet another layer that criminals can manipulate and enhance their methods. Juan Alberto Funes Carniago, CFE, Director of Fraud and Decisioning Products at Mastercard and James Wester, Co-Head of Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research, discuss best practices organizations can use to maintain effective fraud mitigation strategies and stay ahead of evolving threats. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eRniFnGa #payments #fraud #AI #friction #digital Jacob Jegher, Brian Riley, Jordan Hirschfield, Albert Bodine, Ryan Cole, Don Apgar, James Wester, Christopher Miller, PhD, Craig Lancaster, Ben Danner, Matthew Gaughan, Suzanne Sando, Jennifer Pitt, Kevin Libby, Justin Hamel, Sandy Park, Christopher Lascano

Just in time for the holidays, Google is updating the artificial intelligence engine behind its visual search tool Google Lens, aiming to help shoppers make more informed decisions at brick-and-mortar retailers. According to Google 72% of consumers use their smartphones in-store to find the right item at the right price. However, over half of these shoppers still leave the store empty-handed. The goal of the updates is to allow consumers to take a picture of a product and instantly access reviews, information on similar products at the same retailer, and price comparisons with other nearby merchants. Read more: https://lnkd.in/enA_YKjq #holiday #shopping #AI #retail #merchants

A payments platform grappling with fraud losses grew frustrated when its risk scoring system failed to differentiate effectively, leaving every transaction in the same neutral-risk category. Even high-risk transactions slipped through undetected. The organization then turned to a collaborative intelligence network that was focused on flagging suspicious email accounts. This shift led to a 327% increase in fraud detection. Read more: https://ow.ly/Av4a50UbcZ4 #payments #fraud #collaboration

Driven by AI, deep fakes represent a new frontier in fraud. There has been a 3000% increase in deep fake fraud over the last year and 1200% increase in phishing emails since ChatGPT was launched. Synthetic voices have been around for decades. They used to sound like a hollow robot, but recent advances in technology have allowed voices to be cloned from just a few seconds of audio. They are so realistic that fraudsters were able to use a deep-fake voice of a company executive to fool a bank manager into transferring $35 million to them. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMzi9MMQ #payments #AI #fraud #deepfake #fraudmitigation Fiserv