What's New in Payments

UK charities leverage open banking to cut donation transaction costs

Open Banking Excellence QR code payments transfer solution

UK residents can now make charity donations using an open banking payments service that allows them to transfer money directly from their bank account to a charity’s bank account by scanning a QR code with their mobile phone, reducing the recipient’s processing costs and automatically enabling Gift Aid tax benefits on each donation... More


What's New in Payments

Visa to introduce variable interchange rates in the US

Visa is planning the biggest changes to swipe fees in a decade — Bloomberg — “The company’s interchange rates — fees charged every time a consumer uses a card — will go up or down depending on the merchant and the way a consumer pays for their purchases, according to a document Visa sent to banks that outlines the changes. Higher rates are looming for transactions on e-commerce sites, while retailers in certain services categories, such as real estate and education, will see fees decline.”


What's New in Payments

Report: US retailers must pay a premium for Apple Card transactions

Retailers don’t like paying the fees for your Apple Card — Bloomberg — “The card, marketed by Apple and backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, is designated ‘elite’, which allows it to levy significantly higher interchange fees on each swipe or tap… The cards have long irked retailers. They have no choice but to pay the higher fees for elite plastic if they want to accept any of a network’s credit cards.”


What's New in Payments

Bain & Co explains how a Bank of Amazon could save the retailer $250m a year in interchange fees

Banking’s Amazon moment — Bain & Company — “Amazon could avoid more than a quarter of a billion dollars in annual interchange fees in the US alone. This estimate is based on three assumptions: Amazon achieves the bank account penetration our consumer research suggests; 15% of its e-commerce customers pay directly from their Amazon bank account instead of through a credit card; and those customers spend at the same level as Amazon Prime customers.”