Sunil Joshi

If you’ve been paying close attention, you realize that the once mundane world of cross-border payments is innovating at warp speed. International trade, global commerce, and remittances have never been more exciting! A recent G20 mandate has challenged financial institutions to improve cross-border payments by making them faster, cheaper, more transparent, and accessible. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has responded with Project Rialto. Project Rialto aims to improve instant cross-border payments using wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs). It explores the potential of wCBDCs to enhance speed, efficiency, and transparency by integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) technology into traditional financial systems. Pretty awesome, right? Well, it depends on who you’re speaking to. Here are the facts: There are two types of CBDCs: wholesale and retail. The promise of CBDCs, in general, is to optimize outdated financial systems and promote financial inclusion, especially in emerging economies. Countries like the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria have already introduced CBDCs, and more than 100 countries, including my homeland Ghana, are exploring their benefits. There are concerns: While promising, wCBDCs raise issues around increased surveillance and control by central banks, cybersecurity risks, and the complexities of integrating wCBDCs into existing systems. The reliance on decentralized solutions also presents uncertainties regarding regulatory compliance and the interoperability of diverse financial networks. Ultimately, the future of cross-border payments is at a crossroads, balancing innovation with careful consideration of the potential challenges ahead. Different economies are driven by different motivations, fueling the global interest in this transformative financial technology. #Payments #CBDCs #Blockchain #Innovation Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eHJX-yev

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As the July 1st deadline draws close for credit card bill payment through BBPS- Banks are not too perturbed as ~70% of credit card bill payments are made through interbank transfers and autodebit instructions. In fact only 8 out of 34 credit card issuers are enabled on BBPS. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank which are among the largest issuers are yet to integrate. While an extension of the deadline has been requested by third party players like Phonepe who are already on BBPS- the RBI is yet to respond on the same. In the meanwhile if you are in the 70% who use interbank like me you can rest easy :-) . For the rest, you might need to figure out alternate methods for credit card billpayment after July 1st. https://lnkd.in/dR4fR-gx #payments #regulatory #fintech

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Cash usage is not an “either-or” but an “and-and”. Providers in the payment ecosystem will not successfully solve the payments ecosystem with a digital-only mindset. Availability and acceptance of cash will remain critical for financial inclusion amongst the vulnerable segments - it’s not just a cost consideration but a social imperative to make sure we don’t leave fellow South Africans behind. https://lnkd.in/dY8gsM94

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Ever noticed those sneaky hidden fees in credit card processing? For #merchants, understanding the difference between processing levels—Level I, II, and III—can make a significant impact on transaction costs. Qualpay simplifies this by capturing the extra transaction data needed to qualify for lower interchange rates. Here’s a quick rundown: ➡️ Level I: Basic info, for general consumer transactions—easier but higher fees. ➡️ Level II: A bit more detail, perfect for #B2B transactions with lower fees. ➡️ Level III: The most data-intensive, ideal for #B2G and B2B payments with the best savings. Through Qualpay’s Savings Challenge, we’ll analyze your processing statement to ensure you’re set up to capture the most savings possible. Because sometimes, a few extra details can lead to serious cost reductions. Ready to optimize your savings? Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g9RXxye5

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Here's what remittance businesses need to know about leveraging real-time payments (RTP), its current adoption across different regions, and how to make the most of them. Read now! https://lnkd.in/g6UCAt_s #CrossBorderPayments #RealTimePayments #InternationalPayments #FedNow #SEPA #RTP #FasterPayments #UPI #IMPS #fintech #netremit #macroglobaluk

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Pay by Bank ≠ Open Banking Payments. ❌ ACH, Direct Debit, Fedwire, Zelle, RTP, FedNow, and paper checks are all “technically” Pay by Bank. It can be a source of confusion for merchants and consumers. Here’s some clarity… Open Banking + Pay by Bank = Open Banking Payments. ✅ I know because, well, I invented it. hashtag #TrueStory And it’s a very strong pairing. 💪 👍 Open Banking technology provides bank-grade ID verification + rich consumer data for fraud prevention. 👍 Pay by Bank enables low cost for merchants – no intermediaries – and high amounts & velocity limits. The end result is an incredibly simple, safe, guaranteed payment alternative to high-cost credit/debit cards. I’d challenge anyone who doubts the usability and safety of Open Banking Payments through Trustly. + I’d caution consumers + merchants against taking advice about Pay by Bank from large card issuers. Why? They have a real conflict of interest due to their approaching $200 billion in annual card revenues! 🤯 If you work in payments and want to gain some independence from the card networks, let’s connect. I can show you another way. Guaranteed. 😀

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I didn’t have time to write about that earlier but this is one of the biggest product releases I have seen in payment industry. What is the best part of it? Consumers are at the center of it all. At the annual Visa Payments Forum in San Francisco, Visa unveiled new products and services that will revolutionize the card and address the future needs of businesses, merchants and consumers and the financial institutions that serve them. The product I like most is Tap to Everything This year, new ways to “tap” on a mobile device will become an integral part of the Visa experience. Tap to Pay: Any device can now be a POS device Tap to Confirm: Easily authenticates identity when shopping online Tap to Add Card: Enhances security when adding card into a wallet or app Tap to P2P (person-to-person): Allows money to be sent between family and friends There are six billion mobile devices in the world providing consumers with a versatile NFC enabled device primed to be “tapped.” At the end of 2023, Visa’s tap to pay penetration reached 65% globally, up two times the penetration we saw in 2019, cementing tap as one of the best commerce experiences today. Another cool product is Visa Flexiable Credential A Visa study found that more than half of card users want the power to access multiple accounts through a single credential. The Visa Flexible Credential will allow a single card product to toggle between payment methods, putting the power of choice in the hands of the consumer. Now people can easily set parameters or choose whether they use debit, credit, “pay-in-four” with Buy Now Pay Later or even pay using rewards points. Visa Flexible Credential is live in Asia and will be launching with Affirm later this summer in the U.S. Visa Payment Passkey Service Built on the latest Fast Identity Online (FIDO) standards, the Visa Payment Passkey Service confirms a consumer’s identity and authorizes online payments with a quick scan of their biometrics like a face or fingerprint. When shopping online, Visa passkeys replace the need for passwords or one-time codes, enabling more streamlined, secure transactions. #VPF2024 #Payments #Visa

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You've Heard Of BNPL - What About SNBL? Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has been one of the success stories in payments over the past decade. But what about Save Now Buy Later (SNBL)? A way to benefit from spreading payments over time without taking on debt, it offers flexibility to both consumers and merchants.  Here's how SNBL works: a consumer commits to a purchase with a specific retailer, makes an initial payment, and then continues to add funds to an account. The total amount added to the account is expected to match the value of the goods they intend to buy. In short: 💰 Consumers enjoy potential cashback or additional rewards with SNBL payments. 🛍 Retailers benefit from increased sales, particularly in markets with limited access to formal credit. 📈 Businesses can share the benefits of purchases with their customers. 🗑 SNBL, like BNPL, typically results in higher total purchase values for online and in-store shoppers. In my interview with Payments Culture, I delve deeper into LayUp's offerings and our SNBL mission. Special thanks to Matt Jones for the feature! Read it here: https://bit.ly/3w7KvPG

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My career in payments is now old enough to buy beer and one of things that was true twenty+ years ago and is still true today: most payment processors provide terrible support. This is especially true for payment processors that power embedded payments for software platforms. What most payment providers fail to realize is that the platform has put their own name, brand, and reputation on the payments product and any provider error or delay reflects poorly on the software platform. Every time a payment provider makes changes to a merchant or a payment or a deposit and doesn’t give the platform notice or the ability to relay that change... it feels like a breach of trust. Embedded payments isn’t just an API or a white-labeled portal, it also (should) include tools to equip the platform to serve their customers in real-time. A good embedded payments provider will give you webhooks to listen to status changes for all entities (merchants, payments, deposits, etc), penny-perfect deposit reports that include ALL the detail required to make the deposit make sense (payments, refunds, fees, etc.), and give you the ability to send custom metadata so users can quickly put these activities in context. No guessing, no surprises, and no waiting. It's your data, these are your merchants, and you need to know what’s happening right now. Not 48-72 business hours later when you receive an answer to your support email.

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💯🎯 Outstanding analysis that provides us fintech and sponsor bank Compliance and Risk Officers the answer key to our next independent audit or supervisory exam, while continuing to responsibly grow recurring revenue and the customer base. #banking #fintech #compliance #riskmanagement #regulatoryaffairs #revenuegrowth #customercentric

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Instant payments are poised to boost digital payment adoption. The recent launch of Aani in the UAE and similar platforms across other GCC countries marks a significant step towards instant payments. It will be interesting to observe how these platforms will transform the merchant payments ecosystem. #digitalpayments #instantpayments #aani #GCC #merchantpayments #payments #digitaltransformation

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American Express and Knot Team Up to Simplify Adding Card-on-File Payment Information American Express and Knot, an Amex Ventures portfolio company, have teamed up to launch a new pilot feature that simplifies adding payment information at select merchants. The feature rolled out as a limited pilot for select American Express customers to enable them to seamlessly add their payment information for some of their favorite merchants, including Bloomingdale’s, Hilton and Macy’s, to enjoy a continued smooth checkout experience. How it Works Knot is a fintech company specializing in card-on-file management. It offers a user-friendly solution for customers to automatically add their card-on-file at select merchants. With Knot, Amex can enable its customers to update card-on-file information instantly, enhancing convenience and decreasing friction experienced by merchants by requiring no technical integration.  The new functionality is possible because of two technologies working together. One is Knot’s CardSwitcher™, which lets customers change their payment methods easily with different merchants without the need to enter their Card. The other is American Express proprietary technology, which enables customers to share their payment data securely with their permission.  Relationship Between Amex and Knot The new functionality is the result of a collaborative innovation process between American Express and Knot, which began with an initial Series A investment from Amex Ventures in 2023. Amex Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of American Express, seeks to invest in early-stage startups that can help American Express accelerate innovation and create value for its customers and partners. Through its investment in Knot, Amex identified an opportunity to use the startup's technology to solve a common pain point for Card Members and merchants and worked closely with Knot to develop and launch the functionality.  For example, an Amex Card Member that has purchased items previously at one of the select merchants in the past, but not saved down their Card for future transactions can now easily do so when prompted. By utilizing the functionality, future transactions for the customer and merchant will occur more seamlessly.  “At Amex Ventures, we believe in more than just investing capital – we believe in helping founders validate product-market fit and scale their business through partnerships,” said Matt Sueoka, SVP and Head of Amex Ventures. “Our new functionality with Knot is a great example of how collaboration with portfolio companies can lead to meaningful commercial opportunities. We’re proud to work alongside innovative companies like Knot to bring new solutions to our customers and enhance the value of American Express membership.” 👉 Subscribe for more news https://lnkd.in/d94JgWBU #fintech #payments #cards

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How do we find opportunities among so many payment companies? What do they do exactly? 👇 The diagram below shows the payments ecosystem. 🔸 Steps 0-1: The cardholder opens an account in the issuing bank and gets the debit/credit card. The merchant registers with ISO (Independent Sales Organization) or MSP (Member Service Provider) for in-store sales. ISO/MSP partners with payment processors to open merchant accounts. 🔸 Steps 2-5: The acquiring process. The payment gateway accepts the purchase transaction and collects payment information. It is then sent to a payment processor, which uses customer information to collect payments. The acquiring processor sends the transaction to the card network. It also owns and operates the merchant’s account during settlement, which doesn’t happen in real time. 🔸 Steps 6-8: The issuing process. The issuing processor talks to the card network on the issuing bank’s behalf. It validates and operates the customer’s account. I’ve listed some companies in different verticals in the diagram. 👉 Quite a few companies offer digital wallets. Can you find a place for wallets in the ecosystem? — 👉 If you like my FinTech posts, please follow Hua Li and click the 🔔 on my profile to receive updates. #systemdesign #payments #fintech .

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Walmart-backed fintech One introduces buy now, pay later as it prepares bigger push into lending. The move puts One in direct competition with Affirm, the exclusive provider of installment loans for Walmart customers since 2019. There are signs that One is making a deeper push into lending beyond installment loans. "Walmart intends to offer its branded credit cards through One in the future,” Capital One said last year in response to Walmart’s suit. “With One, Walmart is positioning itself to compete directly with Capital One to provide credit and payment products to Walmart customers.” One has obtained lending licenses that allow it to operate in nearly every U.S. state, according to filings and its website. The company’s app tells users that credit building and credit score monitoring services are coming soon. https://lnkd.in/eC-iKjeB #digitalbanking #corebanking #bankingsolutions #payments #fintechsolutions #digitaltransformation #fintech #baas #neobanks #challengerbanks #embeddedfintech #creditunions #communitybanks #embeddedfinance #nichebanking #bnpl

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Visa Expands Push-to-Wallet for Virtual Cards Across Commercial Solutions Ecosystem "These new capabilities underscore Visa's commitment to innovating the B2B payment landscape, ensuring that businesses have access to secure and efficient payment solutions,” said Gloria Colgan, SVP and Global Head of Product for Visa Commercial Solutions. “By enabling push-to-wallet for virtual cards across our commercial products, we are making it easier for our clients to manage their finances in a digitally native environment." https://lnkd.in/dYzDsfsq David Thum Jack Forestell Darren Parslow Suvi Bisnath Tim Chambers Alan Koenigsberg Stefanie Weber #fintech #finance #banking #paytech #payments #fintechnews #paymentsnews

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So many #VSaaS platforms that we speak with are struggling to figure out the quintessential step one of #Fintech: Payments For those who are succeeding with their #Payments, they are interested in what is next for their #EmbeddedFintech. In this short #Blog, we lay out the fundamentals of how to look at expansion. The Preczn Inc team can help go beyond the blog post to put you in a position to grow and earn strategically. #BlogPost #FintechStrategy #Strategy

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🔹 Stripe Teams Up with Fifth Third Bank’s Newline 🔹 🌐 Stripe has teamed up with Fifth Third Bank’s embedded payments unit, Newline, to expand its embedded financial services offering. This collaboration marks a significant step forward for both companies in the fintech space. 💳 Newline, an API platform, enables companies to integrate payment, card, and deposit products directly with Fifth Third Bank. Later this year, Newline’s technology will power Stripe Treasury, allowing software businesses to offer embedded financial accounts to their customers. 📈 Fifth Third Bank states that this partnership enhances Stripe’s ability to deliver compliant embedded money movement solutions for their platform clients and end users. Last year, Fifth Third Bank acquired Rize Money, emphasizing that embedded payments are central to its treasury management business. 🚀 This collaboration further accelerates Stripe’s growth as a provider of embedded solutions and financial infrastructure. This week, Stripe also announced an agreement to acquire Lemon Squeezy, enhancing its capabilities in automating sales tax compliance, payments, subscriptions, billing, and more. What do you think about Stripe’s expansion in embedded financial services? #Fintech #EmbeddedPayments #FinancialServices #Payments

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If a merchant decides to unbundle payments and begin routing them between PSPs, a payment orchestration provider is likely the first place they'd look. Touting freedom, speed, and simplicity, these providers often sell merchants on many big promises and expectations. However, the reality is that orchestration alone often falls short. Here is what merchants can do about it: https://hubs.la/Q02zkN5W0 #paymentorchestration #paymentprocessing

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