Best of Q1 2017: Top five articles

1.The evolution of gift card fraud

Stephen Ufford, CEO of Trulioo examines the trends and evolution of gift card fraud and how merchants can aim to prevent the transactions. 

Blockbuster introduced the first gift card payment infrastructure in late 1994, issuing what was similar to paper-based gift certificates first and then replacing them with gift cards after they became too easily counterfeited with the introduction of colour copiers and printers. Gift card fraud has since come a long way, and criminals have gotten savvier along with the progression of technology.

2. What millennials really think about mobile banking

No demographic is targeted quite so frequently as millennials. Not since the baby boomers has a generation been subjected to such scrutiny. Academics study them, and businesses want to sell to them.

But instead of talking to them, what about talking with them? What about giving them a voice to speak about what they really want, not what marketers think they want?

3. Trends and questions for international payments in 2017

The international payment industry has grown and evolved tremendously in the last few years. An industry that was traditionally considered very archaic and monotonous has suddenly turned “sexy”, thanks to companies like Transferwise, Currencyfair, Azimo, and World Remit.

These companies have managed to secure some serious funding very early on, and even more funding in later rounds. To date, they have raised more than $350m combined. Most importantly, these companies have not only taken investors by a storm, they have also managed to grow their businesses very quickly and have become serious competitors in the remittances space.

4. Mobile payments: A long way to grow [Infographic]

Digital payment methods are transforming the way we pay. With an increasing number of consumers turning to digital banking as a way to manage their finances, mobile payment systems need to keep up with the pace of innovation.

A new study on the ‘Future of Money’ found that nearly half of fast-growing companies now offer in-app purchases and payment abilities.

 

 

 

 

5. The opportunity with APIs and how to control the dynamic payments ecosystem

In this guest post, Anthony Walton, CEO of Iliad Solutions explores the development of APIs and how their potential for innovation could be stifled by cultural and technological problems.

APIs are one of the most talked about topics in the industry. They present a new way of working which can speed up development and increase the amount of features and applications available to new product development teams, as well as exposing services to partners, and even in some cases competitors. I believe that APIs are going to be among the key trends which split the payments community between the true innovators and those too cumbersome to grow, who will increasingly lag behind and become extinct.

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