Opinion

The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders

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  • A female doctor and senior patient discuss medical records.
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    SDI Productions via Getty Images
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    Healthcare’s paper check disease

    “The persistence of paper checks for patient refunds is not just an inconvenience — it's a symptom of a larger problem that threatens the very sustainability of healthcare organizations,” one software firm CFO writes in this opinion piece.

    Seton Marshall • Oct. 8, 2024
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    Rawpixel via Getty Images
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    Who really pays for your credit card reward points?

    "While rewards may feel like a bonus for those who use credit cards regularly, they ultimately come at a cost," writes one payments executive.

    Parth Vatsal • Sept. 19, 2024
  • A person in a white t-shirt works behind the counter at a cafe.
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    Scott Olson / Staff via Getty Images
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    CFPB’s EWA rule may undo progress

    “The CFPB’s plan to reclassify EWA as a loan could accidentally backfire on the agency by driving people right back to the payday lending industry,” writes one tech trade group professional. 

    Adam Kovacevich • Sept. 5, 2024
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    Lynne Marek/Payments Dive
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    Surcharging doesn’t have to be a bad word

    “The time has come to rethink surcharging not as a necessary evil but as a strategic advantage that can benefit both businesses and customers,” writes a Billtrust executive.

    Nick Izquierdo • Aug. 23, 2024
  • A woman using a mobile phone with online transaction appl
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    marchmeena29 via Getty Images
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    Why the CFPB’s recent EWA rule is wrong

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s earned wage access rule “could outright deny EWA to the wage earners who need it the most,” writes a trade group CEO.

    Brian Tate • Aug. 14, 2024
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    andresr via Getty Images
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    Credit Card Competition proposal should become law

    “In the aftermath of the CrowdStrike outage, Congress and state lawmakers should look for opportunities to build backups and redundancies into critical online systems,” writes a payments consultant.

    Dan Swanson • Aug. 2, 2024
  • Booth and sign for Federal Reserve payments services at Nacha conference in May 2024.
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    Lynne Marek/Payments Dive
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    How to speed up FedNow adoption

    “Interfaces need to be standardized to ensure a consistent and reliable payment experience for businesses and consumers,” writes one payments software executive.

    Ani Narayan • July 26, 2024
  • Cyberattack and internet crime, hacking and malware concepts.
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    Techa Tungateja via Getty Images
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    Fighting deepfakes via payments

    “Since many of these deepfake software services accept credit cards, payments providers are on the front lines of detecting these companies,” writes one corporate compliance officer.

    Alan Primitivo • June 12, 2024
  • Graphic of digital money transfer symbols overlaid on a map of the world
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    ArtemisDiana via Getty Images
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    CFPB seeks to thwart cross-border junk fees. Now what?

    “Putting these regulations into practice is challenging, and the success of such regulatory measures largely hinges on enforcement,” writes a Wise executive.

    Rina Wulfing • May 30, 2024
  • Person taps credit card at payment terminal
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    Mykola Pokhodzhay via Getty Images
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    Let’s avoid legal patchwork for credit card surcharging

    “All parties in the payments ecosystem would benefit greatly from state laws that provide clarity and consistency between jurisdictions,” write two legal professionals.

    Jonathan Razi and Keturah Taylor • May 23, 2024
  • The exterior of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau building
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    The image by Ted Eytan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    CFPB should reconsider prepaid rule

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should revisit its rule affecting digital wallets, peer-to-peer payments and prepaid cards, writes one fintech group leader.

    Brian Tate • May 17, 2024
  • Man paying with mobile phone
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    Photographer unknown via Getty Images
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    Pay-by-bank holds promise

    “The value proposition of pay-by-bank is clear: merchants win from drastically lower payment costs and consumers win from lower prices,” writes one fintech executive.

    Eric Shoykhet • May 3, 2024
  • A three-dimension rendered image of global connection lines across a satellite image of earth
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    DKosig via Getty Images
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    Why financial institutions should embrace ISO 20022

    Adopting ISO 20022 payment standards can help U.S. banks and credit unions unlock richer data and stay competitive in the global financial marketplace.

    Sylvie Boucheron-Saunier • April 26, 2024
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    CFPB’s new late fee cap charts ‘a better way,’ says Sunbit CEO

    “The credit card industry should take a page from innovators, instead of relying on yesterday’s fee models,” argues the CEO of the payment tools provider.

    Arad Levertov • April 16, 2024
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    AndreyPopov via Getty Images
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    Digital wallets must take hold in B2B

    “Digital wallets, once primarily associated with consumer transactions, have now firmly established their presence in the B2B realm,” writes an industry manager.

    Lakshmi Sushma Daggubati • April 12, 2024
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    South_agency/E+ via Getty Images
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    EWA shouldn’t be regulated like loans

    “Attempts to regulate EWA as credit threaten worker access to this innovative and consumer-friendly financial tool,” writes one earned wage access industry CEO.

    Darcy Tuer • April 5, 2024
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    Benson Ibeabuchi via Getty Images
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    Fintech founder backs Google, Apple

    “It’s easy for giant app companies to pick fights with Apple and Google, but when billionaire companies fight about who gets richer, it’s usually the little guy that loses,” writes CashEx’s CEO.

    Kingsley Ezeani • March 15, 2024
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    Retrieved from Flickr/frankieleon.
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    Discover deal may trigger more competition

    The merger at least raises the possibility that there won’t be two card networks that dominate the future of tokenized transactions, writes one fintech lawyer.

    Ravieshwar Singh • Feb. 28, 2024
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    anyaberkut via Getty Images
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    CFPB open banking proposal will be crucial

    The agency’s open banking proposal is a step in the right direction, but details of the policy will shape how the market develops, a regulatory adviser writes in this op-ed.

    Jonah Crane • Feb. 8, 2024
  • An image of a hand holding a smart phone with the DoorDash homepage.
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    Permission granted by DoorDash
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    Where will embedded payments flourish in 2024?

    There are three areas where embedded finance is a good fit, and they are characterized by high volume and frequent payments, writes one industry executive.

    Julio Gomez • Feb. 5, 2024
  • A person displays their open wallet and cards
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    Joe Raedle / Staff via Getty Images
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    Congressional card bill won’t yield benefit

    If it were to pass, the Credit Card Competition Act proposal would result in additional costs without any gains, argues one payments industry consultant.

    Ken Musante • Jan. 22, 2024
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    Retrieved from X on January 11, 2024
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    X gains money transmitter approval in Utah

    X has been collecting money transmitter approvals in recent months to launch peer-to-peer payments in the app.

    Andrew Hutchinson • Jan. 17, 2024
  • An image of the Alabama State Capitol.
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    DenisTangneyJr/iStock via Getty Images
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    Why payments to government agencies should be easier

    “Increasingly, government agencies — and the people they serve — need a payments system that is connected across departments and jurisdictions,” writes one payments executive.

    Sloane Wright • Oct. 23, 2023
  • A food delivery worker is shown on a scooter
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    Spencer Platt / Staff via Getty Images
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    Now’s the time for national EWA legislation

    “Instead of state-by-state regulation, federal government guidance must be updated and clarified,” authors of a recent working paper on earned wage access write.

    Marshall Lux and Cherie Chung • Oct. 11, 2023
  • Open banking
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    anyaberkut via Getty Images
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    What the CFPB’s open banking push means for financial institutions

    “The narrative often centers around consumer empowerment, but let’s not overlook the advantages it holds” for financial institutions, writes an executive at financial connectivity company Atomic.

    Andrea Martone • Oct. 3, 2023