Webinar Replay & Assets
From Reactive to Proactive: Payment Strategy
Thank you for joining us for our webinar on creating a proactive payments strategy.
We’ve got you covered if you missed anything or want to revisit key insights. Below, you’ll find the replay as well as content and assets we think you may find useful!
If you have additional questions or want to explore how Optimized Payments can help refine your payment strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out – we’d love to help!
Webinar Replay
Q&A From the Webinar
During our webinar, there were a few questions we weren’t able to answer live. Below you’ll find our panelists thoughts.
Is there any meaningful reason why crypto should be used for mainstream domestic payments?
There is no meaningful reason for crypto to be widely adopted for mainstream domestic payments. The main barriers are speed, cost, and complexity:
- Transaction Speed & Scalability – Traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard process thousands of transactions per second, while most cryptocurrencies (especially Bitcoin and Ethereum) operate much slower due to their decentralized nature. Even Layer 2 solutions like the Lightning Network introduce additional complexity and adoption challenges.
- Cost – Contrary to the perception of “low-cost” transactions, crypto payments often incur network fees, volatility risk, and conversion costs. When factoring in payment processors who manage KYC, AML compliance, and crypto-to-USD conversion, the total cost can be as high—or higher—than traditional payment rails.
- Lack of Consumer & Merchant Adoption – Merchants and consumers are accustomed to stable, widely accepted fiat payments that offer fraud protection, chargebacks, and rewards—all of which are either missing or much harder to implement with crypto.
- Regulatory & Compliance Challenges – U.S. regulations require strict adherence to AML/KYC rules, making crypto payments more complex for businesses. Maintaining compliance adds operational overhead, reducing its efficiency.
The only meaningful use cases where crypto has an advantage are cross-border transactions (reducing FX fees and banking delays) and niche industries where access to traditional banking is restricted. But for mainstream domestic payments, existing payment networks remain faster, cheaper, and more user-friendly.
In the hospitality industry we see a large amount of chargebacks across many markets in the 3rd party OTA booking area. Specifically from fraudulent cards where we charge as no shows that end up being disputed. How can we be proactive about these situations?
To proactively reduce chargebacks from fraudulent third-party OTA bookings, especially no-show disputes, focus on prevention, verification, and dispute management:
1. Strengthen Fraud Prevention
- Require Stronger Authentication: Work with OTAs to enforce 3D Secure (3DS) for better fraud prevention.
- Use Risk Scoring & Velocity Checks: Flag high-risk bookings based on IP mismatches, booking velocity, and disposable emails.
- Pre-authorization Holds: Validate card details before check-in, especially for high-risk reservations.
2. Improve Verification & Booking Policies
- Enhance No-Show & Cancellation Terms: Require customers to confirm bookings or make non-refundable deposits.
- Collect More Cardholder Data: Work with OTAs to pass billing address, email, and phone number for fraud checks.
3. Strengthen Chargeback Defenses
- Capture and Retain Evidence: Store IP addresses, timestamps, and device fingerprints for disputed transactions.
- Use Compelling Evidence for Disputes: Include booking details, no-show policy acknowledgment, and prior correspondence.
Is this new wallet announced by X going to get any serious traction?
The partnership announced with Visa today leverages debit cards as a funding source and facilitates P2P payments via Visa Direct. This is exactly the same as Venmo…there’s nothing new or innovative.
Why is it not the responsibility of a merchant to notify a consumer who is paying for a subscription that they are not using? Yes, it will hurt their revenue but the subscription economy is at risk if the behavior is not ethical and professional.
I have a customer-centric opinion but I’m not an executive at a subscription company where I’m responsible for revenue targets. This is a hard question that I think each merchant must answer for themselves.
What concerns do you all have with AI using cross-merchant data to optimize acceptance, fraud prevention, and disputes management?
Privacy and data protection risks are probably the biggest concern here. Making sure to have the appropriate consents and rights of use of the data and ensuring full anonymity are key. And ensuring you have a strong data governance framework is equally important.
Should BNPL purchases be factored into consumer's credit scores?
Yes, but with customer notification and transparency. BNPL is a credit product, and the accumulation of multiple BNPL purchases can significantly impact a user’s creditworthiness and financial health. Proper reporting ensures responsible borrowing, but consumers should be clearly informed about how BNPL transactions affect their credit scores
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