ISO & Agent

Due to growing consumer expectations for 24/7 digital access and real time decisions, some organizations such as financial institutions and merchants have reduced the more stringent manual application review processes in order to open accounts quickly, according to Michael Lynch, chief strategy officer at InAuth.

Midsize banks have much smaller security budgets, less mature security programs and less robust controls than their bigger counterparts, writes Leigh-Anne Galloway, cybersecurity resilience lead at Positive Technologies.

While the transaction will lower the cost of servicing First Data’s massive debt, the fintech and processing giant will be more complex and ponderous, writes Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures.

Those of us who have found ourselves in roles as stewards of the public trust in this sector are finding agreement in a variety of protocols that bridge even the stodgiest savings account with the coolest app-based e-wallet, writes Bryan Woods, president of Spend Inc.

The question for lawmakers is how to work together to make sure as many people as possible are able to take advantage of the opportunities provided by innovation, writes Brian Tate, president and CEO of the Innovative Payments Association.

Protecting P2P and mobile transactions will mean employing fraud protection measures at enrollment and on an ongoing basis, throughout the customer and payment life cycle, writes David Barnhardt, executive vice president of product at GIACT.

In sectors such as health care and B2B, digital communication is rapidly shoving paper processes to the side, according to David Yohe, vice president of marketing at BillingTree.

Consumers are looking to Instagram and other social networks over traditional branding, according to Acceleration Partners' Robert Glazer.

For the U.S. to move forward, education will be required to teach users how to utilize new technology to manage their finances, says Katy Gibson, vice president of product applications at Envestnet Yodlee.

Local payment methods cater to the technology and user-experience needs of specific regions, says Steve Villegas, vice president of partner management at PPRO.

Credit unions and smaller banks can differentiate themselves by returning to the passion for personal service that first anchored their success, and payments are central to this strategy, according to Deborah Matthews Phillips, managing director of payment strategy at Jack Henry.

Although most consumer-facing financial institutions now offer mobile applications, that doesn’t mean that they are ready for a world where smartphones are the primary point of contact with their customers, writes Rune Sorensen, a product manager at Nets.

Fragmented and manual AML processes pose a challenge to many institutions, contends Edmund Tribue, risk and regulatory practice leader for NTT.

New York’s BitLicense regulation, which has resulted in only four license per year, is due for an informed revamping, argues Phil Berg, a lawyer at Otterbourg.

U.S. companies have a leg up on international competition. Yet, many retailers are opting to focus on domestic customer bases, claims Steve Villegas, vice president of partner management at PPRO.

FIs can free their IT team to focus on more profitable projects, reduce the risk of fines and ease the administrative burden of audits, writes Sean Ventura, chief information security officer at Atmosera.

Thin margins and lengthy payment cycles can make cash flow challenging, but the payment terms of an invoice can ease some of that pain, contends Brandon Spear, president of MSTS.

It may seem shortsighted, but online retailers need to be laser focused exclusively on what has traditionally worked to maximize online sales, writes Devaraj Southworth, co-founder and CEO of Thirstie.

By adding device, cryptographic keys and behavioral ID, fake biometrics become harder for crooks to use, according to Bimal Gandhi, CEO of Uniken.

A machine learning-driven analysis can aid with risk, financial performance and fraud prevention, according to Anant Kale, founder and CEO of AppZen.