Blog | Industry Insights

CNP fraud a clear and present danger, Juniper warns

U.K.-based Juniper Research projects $130 billion in card-not-present (CNP) fraud over the next five years, largely driven by seasonal opportunism and emerging mobile and real-time payments schemes. Mass migration to new payment methods without advanced authentication and risk management protections will lead to catastrophic outcomes, researchers noted. Online Payment Fraud: Emerging Threats, Segment Analysis & Market Forecasts 2018-2023, … [Read more...]

Dispute Management in the Frictionless Age

Let’s face it. Technology has spoiled us to the extent that things we couldn’t conceive as possible are now part of everyday life. Whether it is communicating instantly via text, video-chatting with loved ones across the world, or making a purchase with a swipe, tap, or click, it is much easier to get things done now more than ever. We give little thought to these modern conveniences until something goes awry, like when a frictionless transaction … [Read more...]

Chargeback Prevention and Brand Loyalty in the Holiday Season

Many merchants bank their entire year’s success on sales generated during this ultra-busy shopping season. The pressure is on to maximize sales and best practices of customer service. In addition, merchants must be vigilant in their practices to identify and stop fraud, and ensure solutions are in place for reliable chargeback prevention. From a sales standpoint, 2018 has been a banner year. According to Card Not Present, 2018 has … [Read more...]

Why American Consumers Have Been Slow to Adopt E-Wallets

At first glance, e-wallets have all the qualities needed to facilitate faster and safer transactions. As merchants continue to optimize their customers’ omnichannel marketing experiences, e-wallets have made it easy for consumers to ride the wave. Major companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Samsung were early-movers, offering digital solutions that allowed consumers to make purchases without swiping a card. Then why is it that a recent … [Read more...]

Holiday Sale Forecasts: Fraud on the Horizon

The 2018 holiday sales forecasts are in and merchants have every reason to be excited. Multiple sources predict numbers substantially higher than 2017 sales, which were robust in their own right. While merchants are understandably pumped, so are fraudsters who see opportunities to nab their unfair share of the profits. Just as merchants must promote their goods and services strategically, they need to apply similar rigor to prevent fraud … [Read more...]

The Path to a Cashless Society

If you were to peer into the payments industry’s crystal ball, would you see visions of a cashless society? Will be there a time when cash is obsolete? At this stage in the evolution of payments, it’s less a question of “if” and more a question of “when.” Before we get too ahead of ourselves, we can turn to printed media for some guidance. In the spirit of Mark Twain, let’s just say that “The reports of the death of newspapers are greatly … [Read more...]

Frictionless Payments and Transaction Disputes

As the holiday shopping season approaches, one thing is clear – e-commerce is thriving. An eMarketer Report forecasts 2018 US holiday e-commerce sales to grow 16.2% to $123.39 billion. Looking back to 2017, mobile sales accounted for 34.5% of all e-commerce sales. By 2021, mobile sales are forecasted to account for 54% of total e-commerce sales. These numbers should excite any merchant with omnichannel capabilities, but they come with a warning: … [Read more...]

Mastercard cardholder signatures now optional on cards and receipts

The lightning-fast pace of technology has dug deeper into consumers’ billfolds. Mastercard announced on Friday that signatures will soon be optional for all cardholders, not only on the card but on receipts, as well. Mastercard issuers will start distributing the signature panel-less cards in April, 2019. Having the luxury of get-it-and-go without having to sign anything offers consumers the ability to save time and deal with a little less … [Read more...]

Experts weigh in on the future of payments (Part 1): The evolving transaction

We’ve been surveying the fintech landscape as we head into Q4 of 2018. We’ve looked at the future of lending and trends in insurtech and insurance using a crowdsourced content model where we went directly to the Tearsheet community for guidance. The articles have been received well, so now we’re turning our sights to payments and what 2019 has in store for the sector. We received so many contributions that we had to split this series in two — … [Read more...]

Preventing Friendly Fraud in Holiday Sales

The big push. All hands on deck. Make or break the year. Yes, the holiday shopping season is soon upon us, and merchants are preparing to claim their fair share of sales. Deloitte's annual forecast for the holiday season predicts holiday retail sales could top $1.10 trillion this year, an increase over the $1.05 trillion in sales between November 2017 and January 2018, as reported by the U.S. Commerce Department. Often lost amid this hyper-focus … [Read more...]