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In an ever-changing landscape, keep ahead of the curve with insights and industry news from Optimized Payments.
Latest Industry News
A Decade of Payment Industry Changes
Over the last decade, the card payments industry has undergone significant changes, fueled by technological advancements, changing consumer behavior, and increased competition. From the rise of mobile payments to the adoption of contactless cards, here are some of the...
Hidden Impact of Inflation on Card Processing Costs
Flashback to March 2021 – the U.S. Government had just issued its third, and largest, round of COVID-19 stimulus checks. March’s issuance of $1,400 quickly followed the $600 second round issued in January 2021. This $2k infusion of cash into American’s checking...
The Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II Final Ruling
Author: Alan Vickness Cheers from merchants could be heard from the rafters in anticipation of the opportunity to reduce debit card processing costs, because on October 3, 2022, the Federal Reserve Board finalized the updates to Regulation II concerning the routing...
NACHA rule for WEB Debit entries takes effect on March 19. Are you ready?
In an effort to reduce fraud, Nacha is moving forward with implementation of a rule enhancement for authentication of account numbers that are accepted for the first time by merchants. The rule was first slated to take effect a year ago, but Nacha agreed to extend the...
Visa Makes Minor Concessions to Planned April 2021 Rate Updates
As with everything else, COVID has taken its toll on the payments industry. We have seen restaurants, hotels, travel agencies, and retail volumes plummet due to lockdowns and customer behavior. For many industries, COVID has increased volumes in their higher cost...
The Evolution of Square
I read an article in The Financial Brand recently that talked about Square's growing ecosystem threating the future of banking. I admit this had me intrigued, so I did a little digging to better understand the article's position. If you don't know much about Square,...
