The Signal

Signal?Notes & Observations: Lots of good data recently on the growth of non-cash payments, more on fighting check fraud, a real interesting card approach from Target, a good mindset reminder, of course a mention of real time payments via FedNow, and how AP can come to the rescue. Enjoy…

Recent payments data in…

The Federal Reserve Payments Study: 2022 Triennial Initial Data Release

Core B2B payments areas include ACH, check, card.?The value of core noncash payments in the United States grew faster from 2018 to 2021 than in any previous FRPS measurement period since 2000.?Having increased at a rate of 9.5 percent per year since 2018, noncash payments value reached $128.51 trillion in 2021 (table 1).?This rate of increase was more than twice the rate of increase in the previous three-year period (2015 to 2018) and more than three times the rate of increase from 2000 to 2018. The 2018 to 2021 increase in value reflects, in part, increases in the average value of each of the components of core noncash payments (ACH, check, and card payments).

Keep it safe…

Protection from check fraud in a digital world

Something as simple as a check printer can actually make a difference.?Deterrents that guard against physical forgery and alteration can add necessary security to printed checks, but businesses often overlook their older printers as significant security vulnerabilities in the check-printing process. Many check printers in use today run firmware that is obsolete and unsupported, creating significant risk for data theft or alteration as checks are printed.

Merchants might love it…

The Future of Payments is… Red?

Target has a card solution which bypasses interchange and pulls directly from a bank account, via ACH debit. It adds meaningfully to their bottom line.?But what is extremely interesting and has compelled me to scan every Target 10Q for years, is specifically the Target RedCard debit card, on which more than 11% of Target’s revenue flows. After being connected, the card simply pulls money directly from your bank account, which allows Target to avoid paying the interchange, or swipe, fees that are the bane of all card-accepting merchants.

Think about it…

Learn The Elevated Way Of Thinking

It’s not just about exploring your thoughts; it’s about how you’re thinking.?Just by asking this one simple question, I could transport myself so that I could see things differently. I was able to take myself out of an experience, and after a few minutes, whatever I had been feeling would go away. I started to see a separation between what was actually happening and how I was thinking about what was happening. I could watch what my brain was doing and change how I thought about things.

Slow start…

FedNow won’t bring ‘tidal wave’ of change

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The July launch will get a lot of buzz, but it will be a while before meaningful real time payment adoption occurs between RTP and FedNow. A lot of education still needed.?The future of real-time payments should be similar. A critical mass of customers will only be incented to move to instant payments if they are more affordable, secure, and usable than other options, i.e., ACH, cards, or wires.

AP to the rescue…

3 Ways AP Can Help Businesses Weather an Economic Storm

CFO’s focusing in on better AP solutions. By rooting out inefficiencies in the AP process, CFOs are looking to do more with less, being able to continue a successful operation as companies are attempting to reduce headcount. They have also recognized how little control they previously had over corporate spend. They are working to rein in unnecessary expenditures while knowing how much the organization is spending, who is spending it, and who they’re spending that money with.

“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”.?Chinese proverb