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Articles by Jared Ronski
Online and In Love: How Online Dating Merchants Risk Heartbreak
Industry-leading wedding brand The Knot recently found that nearly 20% of brides met their future spouses online in 2017. This was compared to meeting through friends (17%), college (15%), and work (12%). With the prevalence of social media, singles are much more likely to turn to online spaces to build meaningful relationships. According to IBISWorld, online dating has grown by over 11% in the past five years to become a $3 billion industry in the US.
Crypto-assets and EU regulation: to a global format
It is increasingly becoming a certainty that crypto-assets are here to stay. Also regulators are now more convinced that these will be here for the long run. Long time taken a wait-and-see attitude, there is growing consensus at European regulators to come up with EU-wide regulation. While on the one hand EU regulation could give the crypto market legitimation and encourage the adoption of crypto-assets. Doing nothing could endanger both investors and financial markets.
2019 New Year's Financial Resolutions
Happy New Year! Welcome to a brand new year, and hopefully, at least when it comes to your financial situation, a brand new you. Have you made your financial New Year’s Resolutions yet? Perhaps the better question is, only one week into 2019, have you broken your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Resolutions can be hard to keep, with many, if not most, people ready to give up by February. Financial resolutions can be even harder to keep because, well, money is a difficult beast to conquer.
Cybercurrencies and the need for regulation
Anyone with a pulse and the money to cover legal fees can issue a cybercurrency. Once the cybercurrency is created, however, brokers are needed to sell and make a market for it. Given cybercurrencies are an unregulated market, then there are few concerns over how much commission is paid to the broker. The bigger the commission, the greater incentive for the broker to sell and in an unregulated market any type of behaviour goes.
What it will take for bank branches to go away in the Fintech world
This talk has been around for years now. Ever since the very first Fintech companies attempted to start banking with different services, they have been touting on and on about the bank branch finally going away. But so far, the bank branches remain. Not only that but according to it seems like bank branches are not losing their popularity at all: US survey from 2016 reported that about 46 per cent of the people questioned had used the bank within a month, and 26% had used one within the week.
The 19 payments trends expected to make it big in 2019
Late last year, I compiled the payments trends which emanated from the SIBOS 2018 conference and which were shared across the Twittersphere by industry experts and colleagues alike. With the Christmas holidays, and 2018 for that matter, now something of a distant memory, below I reveal the 19 for 2019. APIs In an industry that loves three-letter acronyms, no three letters are seen as more strategic than A-P-I. Every RFI and RFP asks about them and every board room is discussing them.
KYC, GDPR and DLT pt1: A Rocky Road?
Several years ago Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) were going to solve all problems: from streamlining payments, to world peace! Since then, most have fallen away as not having the business case to support them, but a few use cases have stood the test of time. Know Your Customer (KYC) is one of these. There are many DLT based KYC solutions out there; in fact how those solutions have evolved over time is an interesting case study on how to re-work a business process on DLT.
New Year, New Ecommerce Strategy
With the New Year behind us and a new year in front of us, it’s time to look at ways to improve the ecommerce experience for consumers. If 2018 taught us anything, it’s that mobile and omnichannel are table stakes for merchants looking to keep customers happy and retain them over the long haul. Easier Checkouts Easy checkout is mandatory for ecommerce merchants. The goal should be to make the process as seamless as possible.
Ecommerce Tips: How To Handle Post-Holiday Returns
Post-holiday returns are a reality for merchants of all shapes and sizes. Last year, UPS projected a whopping 1.4 million returns on what it dubbed “National Returns Day,” or January 3, 2018. That number represented roughly $90 billion in unwanted gifts, totaling to nearly a quarter of the year’s returns. As ecommerce gains momentum and consumers do more of their shopping online, returns are expected to increase, too.
Modernizing The Gift Card: Take Your Incentives To The Next Level
Gift cards continue to play an extremely important role in incentive marketing. Last year alone, the North American corporate market spent over $80 billion on incentives – including merchandise, experiences, and gift cards. Everyone has used a gift card at some point in their lives; gift cards are as ubiquitous as cash or cards at modern retails stores. Though gift cards have certainly become a staple in incentive marketing, there’s one issue: they’re still exactly the same as they were in 1996.
Payment Cards on the Table: is your Infrastructure up to the Challenge?
Rune Sørensen explores the impact that sophisticated card infrastructure can have on mobile-led banking The introduction of new payment types has created a greater need for a strong, flexible card infrastructure than ever before. That’s easy for issuers to lose sight of; mobile services are new, exciting and backed by demonstrable customer demand. Fundamentally, however, mobile services rely heavily on card payments.
The Chargeback Battle Has Just Begun
The hustle and bustle of holiday shopping season is in full-swing, and with it comes the threat of a spike in chargebacks. While the excitement of increased ecommerce sales—to the tune of a predicted $119.99 billion—may glisten in merchants’ eyes, they should not forget what is lurking around after the holiday excitement calms. This increased ecommerce sales volume brings an increase in chargebacks, cutting into merchants’ profits and taking a bite out of the bottom line.
How Your Username Can Be used to Track You
You probably have a few usernames, or you might have just one that you use for every site. Either way, your user names can be used not just to identify you online, but it can also be used to track you and find out information about you. How do people track you based on your user name? They do the following: They Start with a Google Search The first thing people do to track your username is do a Google search. You will be amazed by all of the information that is out there.
How to Holiday-Proof Your Ecommerce Shop
Some experts are predicting a 15% year-over-year (YoY) increase in online sales over the 2017 holiday season. Several factors are expected to play into this growth, including the surge of mobile shopping and voice search, anticipation of heavy discounting, and a thriving economy. With a 3% GDP growth rate expected to round out 2018, consumer sentiment is nearing early-2000s levels.
Gambling on a new trend: what financial institutions are doing to impress their customers
The question of whether financial institutions (FIs) should be required by law to do more to protect their customers’ interests has been debated for several years, with many suggesting that regulations should be changed to make FIs do more. It is not difficult to see how this question has arisen: our increasingly digital world has generated a rapid increase in ways and means by which to spend money and conduct financial transactions, and we are probably just at the start of this process.
Open-Loop Prepaid Card Markets On The Rise, Studies Show
The open-loop prepaid market is booming, and all signs point to another record-setting year. The Canadian open-loop prepaid market has grown 27 percent over the last three years, according to the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization’s (CPPO) most recent annual study, which was conducted by Mercator Advisory Group.
Financial Preparedness in a Disaster
You have probably heard that it’s important to be prepared for a disaster. You might have a first aid kit set aside, food and water, or a battery-operated radio. But, are you financially prepared? It might be tough but try to set aside some money a little at a time. Even if you can put $10 a week in an envelope, it’s better than nothing. Saving change can really add up quickly, too.
Visions become Realities: Money 2020 USA and the return to the present
As a Money 20/20 series regular, arriving at this year’s show in the ever-buzzing Las Vegas, I prepared myself for four days packed with futuristic visions and startling concepts for how we might be paying in fifty years’ time. Bizarrely refreshingly, however, was the return to the near future. Or, rather, the realization that those topics once considered shiny and futuristic were now making real progress on the path to consumers.
Does Singapore need wallets?
“I’m sorry, we are just not that innovative here”, said bartender in Ritz-Carlton hotel in Singapore. “Please, I need your card, enter PIN, and now sign here too”. Yep, Singapore is no Iceland, or China, or even Moscow. For those spoilt by the ApplePay or GooglePay mobile payments, Singapore might not give you the smooth experience.
High Risk Holidays: Avoiding Termination During Peak Season
As the holidays swing into full-gear in 2018, high risk ecommerce merchants are well-advised to prepare their business for an onslaught of sales—and fraud. With an expected 15% year-over-year increase in online sales, high risk merchants are especially prone to problems arising from volume spikes, fraud spikes, and bad actors looking to exploit online businesses.
Friendly Fraud Paradox: How Technology Has Disrupted Consumers
Friendly fraud is truly a paradox. There’s nothing friendly about fraud. Friends are familiar, honest and trustworthy; fraudsters are imposters, deceitful, and fake. The misnomer makes it difficult to comprehend just how significant the friendly fraud problem is. In fact, it’s estimated that it accounts for 35% of fraud loss. In order to understand the evolution of fraud—both friendly fraud and true fraud—it can be helpful to define each.
3 Tips to Keep the Chargeback Grinch From Stealing Christmas
We’re barrelling into the busy Q4 holiday season and merchants have one big lump of coal on their minds: chargebacks. Chargeback are a costly problem—a problem that escalates during the high volume holiday shopping season. According to Lexis Nexis, every $1 of fraud costs merchants an average of $3.29—an increase of 24% over 2017. Thankfully, there are things merchants can do to prevent an onslaught of chargebacks. We’ve outlined three main tips to keep the chargeback grinch from stealing Christmas.
3 Things Ecommerce Merchants Need to Know Before The Holidays Hit
According to a NetElixer study, U.S. ecommerce sales increased by 13% in 2017 compared to 2016. On average, the holiday season accounts for approximately 20% of all retail sales, with some retailers surpassing 30%. It’s time to prepare for the holidays, not just by developing a digital marketing plan, but with technical improvements to drive sales, including an audit of website functionality that includes bug fixes and design tweaks to improve the user experience.
Another week at New Payment System Operator and another I cannot BELIEVE it moment or three
New Payment System Operator never fails to disappoint in terms of its governance and processes. Three Victor Meldrew moments in one week – that is a new record. Firstly we have an announcement that Louise Beaumont, a member of NPSO’s End User Advisory Council (“EUAC”), has taken on a role as Industry Advisor at the large Fintech Bottomline. That is a stonewall conflict-of-interest.
CONTACT Renewal Security AVG 1855687-0111 AVG tec-h SUPPORT CARE
This post is from a series of posts in the group: Digital Banking Trends Digital Banking trends and Industry Intelligence for Bankers, Fintechs, and Solutions Providers See all
What do chargebacks mean to merchants?
Chargebacks shouldn’t have to be part of the cost of doing business, but unfortunately for many merchants it is their reality. This creates a real challenge for businesses of all types, everywhere. Consumers are increasingly leaving merchants out of the dispute process, initiating a fraud-related chargeback directly with issuing banks up to 76 per cent1 of the time. In fact, issuers and merchants alike believe that it is too easy for consumers to dispute transactions.
What do chargebacks mean to issuers?
As e-commerce continues to grow in popularity, so does the risk of fraud – particularly as card-not-present (CNP) payments are on the rise. Indeed, the most recent statistics from the UK Cards Association (UKCA), found that the volume of debt and credit card purchases in the last ten years has more than doubled. In addition to growth in CNP sales, contactless cards and mobile apps have also led to further diversification of payment methods.
Why Work With Fintechs: 4 Reasons
Over 92% of German citizens have never heard of the term “Fintech”, according to a survey from explorare. Probably, a result of not having the full exposure and legacy of traditional banking institutions. However, the question here is, whether this inductive example above is just a phenomenon in Germany, or whether this lack of awareness appears deductively on a global scale.
5 Best Practices for Mobile Payments in 2018
Mobile commerce is on track to comprise over 63% of ecommerce sales in 2018, and an estimated 73% by 2021 according to Statista. It’s no wonder that top-tier companies are investing heavily into their mobile strategies. These investments are often used to improve the user experience with intuitive, fast-loading designs, mobile-first optimizations to rank well on Google, and the reduction of friction at checkout.
The gateway that opens new business for ISVs
Using an API-led integrated digital payments gateway brings new opportunities for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to capitalise on emerging business models and add value to existing clients. In today’s competitive commercial environment, innovation and disruptive ideas are changing the business model across many industries. A subscription-based approach for purchasing goods and services is becoming prevalent in business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets.
Why do Customer Identification Programs Fail in AML?
How CIPs Fail to Uphold AML and BSA Customer Identification Programs (CIPs) were put in place to reduce identity fraud for individuals and banks, but these programs fall short in complying to various Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations and their requirements due to a number of reasons.
Why You Should Start Thinking About Your Holiday Chargeback Prevention Plan Now
Chargebacks are an unfortunate fact of life for most merchants. They’re damaging and tedious, represent lost revenue, dent your reputation and can get you classified as a high risk merchant if you have too many. Many merchants don’t fully understand what a chargeback is, what they can do if they have one, and (most importantly) how to prevent them.
How AI & Machine Learning Are Transforming the Payments Landscape
As technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning become more widely available and ubiquitous, they are having a real effect on payment processes. In less than two decades, the public has both become more aware and more comfortable with using technologies like machine learning and AI in their day-to-day life. There has also been a meaningful increase in investment and adoption of machine learning and AI by companies.
5 Keys to Success for Online Merchants in 2018
Ecommerce continues to be a growing industry and can be a lucrative business endeavor for those entrepreneurs who embrace technology and are willing to keep up on the new trends that keep their online store fresh, functional, and attractive to buyers. Though online retail sales only made up almost 9% of the total retail purchases in 2017, these numbers continue to increase every year with no sign of plateauing.
Tailoring the payments experience for the $101B mobile app opportunity
This summer, the mobile app industry will turn 10. The ecosystem, led by giants such as Apple, and Google, represents a huge payday opportunity for businesses and app developers alike. In more specific terms, there is a projected $101 billion in revenue to be generated by mobile apps by 2021. For those who are looking to dip their toes in this deep pool, there are several key factors to take into account. It's no surprise that successful mobile apps are built around a positive customer experience.
eNett: The travel trade is under attack
High value transactions, rapid consumption and the sheer number of suppliers across the globe means travel intermediaries are highly vulnerable to fraud. It is without question one of the biggest threats to the sector, and our new research has revealed that the problem is costing agencies a whopping $21 billion each year. With the volume of travel increasing and a shift by consumers towards online bookings, the cost to the industry will spiral.
Trulioo: The future of KYC is mobile ID
The smartphone has changed the world, fueling new innovations and greater convenience for people around the world. From the latest app to touch ID and into the realms of voice and retinal recognition, the adoption of mobile technology has become part of everyday life. In fact, a 2017 study by Visa showed that 77 percent of European consumers have managed their finances or made a payment using their mobile device.
Nuggets: Companies are fooling consumers into giving up their data
By Alastair Johnson, CEO and Founder of Nuggets, a blockchain-based e-commerce payments and ID platform. With the compliance deadline for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set to come into force across Europe in May 2018, the rights of consumers to dictate how companies store and utilise their data are set to be strengthened. Yet while the consumer rights ethos of GDPR should be commended, I believe it is out of date before it has even come into being.
TNS Infographic: Criminals targeting POS and payments data
If any of these aspirations, either knowingly or unknowingly – as is often the case – lead you into what’s considered a high-risk industry, you will need to take certain precautions. Whether you dive in or you drift into these often treacherous but potentially rewarding waters without the proper knowledge and tools, you stand to incur exorbitant fees, imperil your customers, damage your reputation and, quite possibly, sink your business. By Jared Ronski, Co-Founder of MerchACT.
Moneyhub on winning Lloyds Banking Group’s ‘Build an Open Bank Challenge’
As Open Banking and the new Payment Service Directive (PSD2) regulations are rolled out, they are set to spark a fundamental shift in financial services. Institutions taking the changes on board are unlocking new opportunities to engage and collaborate with partners in an ‘API enabled Ecosystem’, or Open Economy. This ‘ecosystem’ has the potential to provide a huge amount of benefits and opportunities for both individuals and businesses.
A holiday hack for your e‑commerce payments stack
Jared Ronski, co-founder, MerchACT The holiday shopping season is literally upon us, and consumers aren’t the only ones wishing they had more time to prepare for the mad rush. If you count yourself among the many e-commerce merchants for whom 24-hour days are simply not long enough, we’ve got just the hack for you.
Look Beyond the Doom & Gloom of Data Breaches - PaymentsJournal
By the time you start reading this, there’s a reasonable chance that the Equifax data breach has been pushed from the headlines by another high-profile cybercrime. What is far more likely – almost certain, in fact – is that by the time you finish reading this, someone else’s data will have been compromised in a much less publicized online theft. The sad fact is that bad actors and data breaches are a significant part of the digital world in which we live.
Cryptocurrencies: What Merchants Need to Know - B2B News Network
Let’s face it: You’re not much of an ecommerce merchant by today’s standards if you’ve still never heard of Bitcoin. After all, it’s been nearly a decade since the original cryptocurrency was first used in a transaction. There is, however, no shame in admitting that you don’t have more than a peripheral understanding of Bitcoin. Or, for that matter, Etherium; or Ripple, Litecoin, Dash or Monero.
Five Payments Trends Merchants Can’t Afford to Ignore
In the fast-moving, unforgiving world of payments, it’s not enough anymore to have a peripheral understanding of the hot topics of the day. An ancient industry that in its infancy could be as simple as “making change” now rewards only those merchants who can accurately predict change – and react faster, smarter and better than the competition. To make that possible, we have identified five trends you need to understand in the near future in order to succeed.
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