Happy Friday and welcome to our weekly global payments news roundup. Lots of insight and business intelligence including what consumers are thinking, which retailers have had e-commerce success during the pandemic, new research reports, COVID-19 updates, fintech news, and much more news you can use.
McKinsey: Global consumer sentiment – Situation “normal”, whatever that is
McKinsey’s new research report, with insight on shifting consumer sentiment over a five-week timeframe of the global pandemic in 42 countries is an eye-opener. Researchers gauged consumer sentiment between the week of April 2 through the week of May 3 and what they found was consumer sentiment varied greatly across countries impacted by COVID-19. Overall, consumers were tentative and not overly optimistic leading into May. “Consumers increasingly expect a lengthy impact on their routines and finances, and most report a reduction in income over the past two weeks,” the report said. Read more…
Coronavirus stimulus check consumers are paying their bills and clinging to cash
If you were one of the fortunate 150 million or so US citizens to receive a $1200 COVID-19 Relief Check in April, you probably spent it paying bills according to research from payments platform PayNearMe. The company tracked millions of payments made by consumers between March 1 and April 17 on its payments platform. The number of payments made rose dramatically, up 40% compared to historical volumes, and debit card and ACH payments jumped nearly 50% above expectations days after the stimulus program direct deposits began. Read more…
Real-time payments are seeing rapid uptake during the pandemic
Recently, The Clearing House’s (TCH’s) real-time payments (RTP) network has seen a speedy increase in the number of new payment originators sending business-to-business (B2B) payments worth thousands of dollars, according to Steve Ledford, TCH’s SVP of products and strategy, per PaymentsSource. TCH, which is owned by several major banks, believes it may double the number of US banks and credit unions on its RTP network, which currently works with approximately 30 financial institutions (FIs), over the next two months. Read more…
Pandemic could fuel 1 in 4 European bank branches to close in next three years
Twenty-five percent of bank branches across Europe — or 40,000 branches — are expected to close in the next three years, as the coronavirus pandemic fuels a shift in customer habits, according to a Kearney study. The study also projects 70% of account opening, deposits, and consumer loan applications will happen digitally in the next three years. This projection anticipates an acceleration of an existing trend, as 35% of bank branches in Europe closed over the last 10 years. Read more…
Consumer purchase and fraud trends shift with reopening
Fraud prevention and payments leader Forter is closely monitoring the buying trends of consumers and the incidence of fraud during the pandemic and looking ahead to the future. Forter’s May 2020 report on e-commerce purchase trends provides both hope and strategic intelligence for online merchants and sellers. Despite some fraud challenges, there are some positive product sector purchase trends and we’ve got a quick overview to guide you on new fraud prevention info and sales opportunities. Read more…
How Fitz Frames uses mobile-first to beat e-commerce and COVID-19 challenges
It’s one thing to start a business as an entrepreneur and survive the first year. It’s an even bigger badge of success to have launched your online business as a mobile-only enterprise and then thrive and grow despite the COVID-19 crisis. Meet Fitz Frames, a unique, fashionable, family eyewear maker and online seller that’s navigated the typical startup challenges by being smart, focused, mobile-first, and quick to adapt to new opportunities. Read more…
The Future of Finance: Passwordless, frictionless, contactless
In the age of pandemic disease, it’s difficult enough to predict what tomorrow will bring, let alone the longer-term future. There are a few key trends already well underway in the world of financial services that appear to offer a pretty clear indication of where this sector is headed. In fact, COVID-19 may actually be accelerating these trends. The future of digital financial services can perhaps best be understood with the maxim “less is more”. That’s because it’s going to be passwordless, frictionless, and contactless. Read more…
Who’s thriving with e-commerce sales during the pandemic?
There’s lots of chatter and noise about the importance of e-commerce and how merchants are doing with online sales during the coronavirus crisis. If you needed any proof that e-commerce will be critical for every business going forward, we’ve got highlights of the latest research that shows who’s winning and there are a few surprises from Kohl’s, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Wayfair, and Amazon. Read more…
Fintech in America: Lessons from across the pond
It is uncharacteristic for the US to lag behind anyone when it comes to technology. But when it comes to consumer fintech, the US still has practices that would seem backward across the Atlantic, such as the inconsistent availability of contactless mobile wallet payments, or having to pay wire transfer fees, or the convoluted minimum deposit requirements and overdraft fees associated with personal accounts. So why is the US lagging? By investment measures, the scale of US fintech far outstrips that of the UK: $17.3 billion dollars to $4.9 billion. With this in mind, it’s something of a surprise that the UK is seen as a leader in this space. Read more…
Reserve Bank of Australia mulls payment cost change for merchants
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is looking into the possibility of a reduction in the cost of electronic payments for both merchants and consumers. According to a speech delivered by assistant governor Michele Bullock, the central bank could use its regulatory abilities to improve the payment plans offered to merchants in the wake of a drop in ATM and cash usage. Bullock says that ATM withdrawals in Australia had fallen by 30% from March 2020, and by more than 40% when compared to the same period in 2019. Read more…
Fintech: Redefining responsible business practice in payments
The last few years have seen a revolution in how business thinks about itself. A business doesn’t just serve its shareholders, it serves a community. It has responsibilities to its employees and its customers but also its suppliers and even the environment. One of the most critical, and under-appreciated, elements of responsible business is the commitment to the supply chain. The coronavirus pandemic is putting unprecedented pressure on supply chains and ruthlessly revealing their shortcomings across the world. Now is a better time than ever to redefine our notion of sustainable business practice. Read more…
LET’S CONNECT