ATM usage is headed the way of the payphone

The availability of ATMs may have peaked at 470,000 units scattered across the U.S. in 2019, with a fall-off since then to 462,000 in 2020 and an estimated 456,000 last year, a spokesperson for research firm Euromonitor International said in updating its report on financial cards and payments in the U.S. 

Kendrick Sands, Euromonitor’s head of Consumer Finance Research, expects that downward trend to continue.

The automated tellers are disappearing in tandem with banks closing local branches. The banking strategy pivot comes as digital banking and payment alternatives become more widespread.

Get the full story HERE. 

Key Steps on the Road to Digital Modernization in Corporate Banking

In this episode of Truth in Data, PaymentsJournal highlights key steps on the road to digital modernization in corporate banking.

Digital Payments - US still in the Dark Ages

Even though the US is home to both Silicon Valley and Wall Street, yet it has long seemed in the dark ages on digital payments.

Just consider that until 2018 card purchases still required hand signatures, 15 years after Europe switched to chip-and-pin. Then the cosy credit-card duopoly, consisting of Visa and Mastercard, works with the banks to issue cards, with the result that there has been too little competition and sky-high profit margins. 

The key to making payments more competitive in the US is to create a new network of financial plumbing: a “real-time” interbank-payment system that will permit near-instant and cheap transfers.

Read more from The Economist -Fintech comes to America at last

 

PYMNTS study on the digital shopping experience

An overview of the recently released PYMNTS study on the digital shopping experience as told by a census-balanced panel of 2,170 consumers and 500 merchants in the U.S.

Digital Payments: The Evolution of Currency

Over the last decade, the digital payments landscape has undergone a structural shift. Consumer behaviors are changing—moving towards contactless and cashless transactions. Meanwhile, as the magnitude of COVID-19 grows, these trends have only accelerated.

Examine the digital payments ecosystem, explore its history and innovative technologies, and how it continues to grow as a solution of choice for trillions of dollars of transactions each year.

Follow this LINK.

Libra Cryptocurrency could be in danger, as Mastercard, Visa and Ebay pull out

Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra took a major hit last Friday, when Mastercard, Visa and Ebay left the Libra Association, who supervises the project. Stripe and Argentina-based Mercado Pago have also left the initiative.

On Monday, the companies who are part of the Libra Association will formalize their participation in the initiative. Companies such as Visa and Mastercard may have second thoughts, as global regulators have raised concerns about the project.

Earlier this month, PayPal also left the Libra association. The departures mean that Libra no longer has the support of any major digital payment company.

Despite these setbacks, Dante Disparte, the head of communications at the Libra Association, has said that "We are focused on moving forward and continuing to build a strong association of some of the world's leading enterprises, social impact organizations and other stakeholders" and that membership of the association may grow and change over time.

Last Wednesday, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said that Libra should not be developed in the European Union and said, "it should not be the role of a private company to try and get a sovereign currency like a sovereign state."

Valdis Dombrovskis, the Executive Vice President-Designate of the European Commission, also said this week that Libra needs to be tightly regulated to preserve monetary stability and to prevent money-laundering operations.

In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said earlier this year the cryptocurrency raises "many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, and consumer protection." Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has also said that the currency could be used to finance terrorist operations, and that it represents a "national security issue."

Libra was unveiled by Facebook in June, and was touted as a digital currency that can be managed from one's phone. The cryptocurrency is particularly directed at the 1.7 billion people on the planet without access to a traditional bank account.

What is the settlement-gap?

The settlement gap - the delay between a payment being made and it reaching its destination, or, put simply, the inability of a platform to facilitate instant payouts is a real problem for the gig-economy. Cash-in-hand transactions are a major factor in trade services. Without the ability to digitally replicate them, gig-economy platforms do not necessarily add enough value and incentive to ensure loyalty from their users.

Read more HERE.

Allocate your remaining 2019 Budget towards 2020 training

Working in the financial services field, the end of the calendar year can always be a bit stressful. There are a number of reasons for this, but one of the biggest is the “use it or lose it” paradigm that exists around budgets year-over-year. If you do not use the funds that have been budgeted, it is logically be assumed that you did not need them, and it will therefore not be allocated for the following year.

When this happens, one of the best ways to save your remaining budget is to allocate some of those left over funds by booking some of the next year’s training for your team before the current year-end. Whether it is a course, a conference, or something else, it is a great way to use the funds in a manner that supports the individual, the department, and the organization.

If you find yourself looking to book 2020 professional development opportunities with your 2019 budget, check out our course offerings at https://citadeladvantage.blogspot.com/p/public-course-schedule.html

If you are looking for online training check out our offerings at https://citadeladvantage.blogspot.com/2017/11/on-line-training-courses.html

Don’t forget to consider In-house training and the benefits that it brings. Get the low-down on In-house training at;

• Why training in-house makes sense - https://citadeladvantage.blogspot.com/p/in-house-training.html

• Benefits of In-house training - https://citadeladvantage.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_71.html