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The US payments landscape is in the middle of a structural shift. The launch of the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service in 2023 marked the first major upgrade to national payments infrastructure in decades. It offers real-time settlement between financial institutions, operating every day of the year. For banks, processors, and fintechs, this development signals a turning point in how money moves and…

For more than a decade, fintech startups have chipped away at the traditional banking model. What began with niche products — like mobile payments or peer-to-peer lending — has grown into a fundamental reimagining of the banking value chain. Fintechs now compete or collaborate across nearly every segment of financial services. Their influence is forcing incumbent institutions to rethink how they c…

Optimizing payment acceptance rates is crucial for merchants and payment providers alike. Authorization rates, particularly for card-not-present (CNP) transactions, vary significantly across regions and networks. For instance, in the United States, CNP authorization rates have declined to below 87%, the lowest among major markets, as reported by VisaNet data Visa Corporate. Such declines can resul…

Cross-border payments remain one of banking’s most inefficient processes. A wire transfer between countries still takes three to five business days. Costs average $45 per transaction. Multiple intermediaries handle each payment, creating opacity and operational risk. These pain points explain why financial institutions invest heavily in blockchain solutions. Private blockchain networks offer a dif…

Chargebacks were originally designed as a consumer protection tool. When a customer spots an unauthorized or problematic transaction, they can request their bank to reverse it. This process has value, but it also creates opportunities for abuse. Chargeback fraud occurs when cardholders dispute legitimate transactions to avoid payment. It is often called first-party fraud or friendly fraud. The sca…