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Here, There and Everywhere – Emerging Payments in the U.S.

By Brian Laverdure posted 05-03-2018 14:11

  
Emerging payments are moving into the mainstream! At least that is what it feels like when you now see ads on YouTube and Instagram for new P2P (person-to-person) payment apps, cryptocurrency trading apps and many other novel electronic payment products. Zelle, the new bank-centric P2P platform, even had a commercial during the biggest game of the year back in February! The increased public awareness is an interesting development for electronic payments. Of course, this is not to say the public wasn’t aware of them before these recent developments, but other popular P2P services, such as Venmo, really grew by social media word-of-mouth amongst millennials and younger generations rather than relying on traditional ad campaigns. Beyond commercials, emerging payment technologies are also becoming a regular topic on cable news programs—how many times have you heard the latest and greatest news about bitcoin and Ethereum? Yet, despite this push to bring these new technologies into the minds of the public, do these ads and news shows help you understand the details of these technologies or their impact to the wider payments industry? I’m going to guess they do not. 

As an industry, we are challenged not only to educate account holders about new technologies, services and products, but also to educate ourselves to remain competitive and manage the risks and rewards of emerging payments appropriately. Pop culture and savvy marketing can go a long way in shaping the perceptions and behaviors of account holders, but they are generally not reliable sources of good information for payments professionals working in a highly complex and regulated industry that requires a deep understanding of system rules, technology and risks. Now that emerging payments are here, there and everywhere, and evolving at a seemingly break-neck pace, how can community financial institutions establish a solid foundation as a starting point into this dizzying new era of electronic payments? 

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for financial institutions – your choice will come from considering the costs and benefits of the various solutions, working with your board to determine a viable payments strategy, creating achievable and measurable goals and completing a thorough implementation plan. And EPCOR can help you to understand what’s out there so you can talk intelligently with your account holders, or help you figure out how to decide if, when and how to participate in emerging payments.

You can start by joining us on May 9 at 10 am CT for Demystifying Emerging Payments, a webinar designed to clear the air and help you make sense of all the terms and products flying around the industry today. “Emerging payments” is a catch-all term that describes any number of new developments, but there are some that are much more impactful to our membership. We will talk about the fundamentals of those important developments, such as faster payment initiatives, application programming interfaces and the interaction between Fintech companies and traditional banks and credit unions. Like building a house, starting with a solid foundation in the basics is critical before you start to make decisions about buying into new technologies or services from your core provider. 

But Demystifying Emerging Payments is also just the first step to a journey we will continue during the rest of the year. Later in May, our members in the eastern half of the territory can attend EPCOR Payments Conference - Spring 2018 in Columbus, Ohio (for the rest of you, EPCOR Payments Conference - Fall 2018will be in Overland Park, Kansas October 24-26). Our Conferences will feature many speakers addressing various emerging payments topics, like strategies for faster payments and biometric security. 

I will also host two Faster Payments Symposiums the following month: June 20 in Cincinnati and June 27 in Wichita. For those of you unable to join us for in-person events, don’t worry! In the fall, we will also offer webinars that will serve as a next step in understanding faster payments and give you more information to make informed decisions about new products and services.
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