Top 15 Payments Articles after Apple Pay Announcement

I spent my morning commute reviewing my Twitter feed and boy, was it flooded. Today’s payments news, needless to say, was dominated by news and analysis of Apple’s entry into the payments market, with a smattering of attention given to the latest payments-related data breach at HomeDepot. Google got one mention, Amazon none. To save you the trouble of wading through twitter for the gems, I pulled out my top picks.

 

The Apple Hype, Reaction, and Analysis

 

Apple Dazzle or Apple Schmazzle?

“[…] Apple is not trying to disintermediate the banks but, what they have done (as has PayPal and others) is laid a front-end wrap around banking to reduce the friction and the relationship.  What this means to me is that, like Starbucks and Uber apps, banks will be wrapped in layers of processing through APIs and apps by others, gradually reducing the visibility of banking to a pure utility status.”

 

Will Apple Legitimize Mobile Payments?

“Apple wants to replace the old leather wallet with its digital version. But whether the trendsetting company can kickstart the mobile payments landscape to the next level remains to be seen.”

 

 Did We Just See The Future of Mobile Payments?

“Say hello to Apple Pay. It’s the new kid on the payments block and, depending on how things unfold, it could be the new Gorilla in the mobile payments ecosystem.”

 

 iPhone, NFC & Apple Pay: How Should Banks React?

After years of speculation, Apple has finally revealed its mobile payments strategy: Apple Pay. This is good news for (U.S.) iPhone users who want to ‘tap to pay’, but what about the majority of smartphone users who are using an Android device? What about those of us outside of the U.S? And what about the banks who want to offer a solution to a wider demographic?”    

 

 Why Do You Have to Buy an iPhone 6 to Get a Working Digital Wallet? Think Different.

“Mobile payments can and should be universal. At their best, they increase access to the banking system for everyone by making payments easier. They improve commerce by making transactions quicker and more efficient, lowering costs.”      

 

 Apple Pay’s First Impressions

“The seven need-to-knows about Apple’s new iPhones and mobile payments”

 

Apply Pay Tries to Solve a Problem That Really Isn’t a Problem

“It’s a dangerous business to bet against Apple’s ability to make a product that you didn’t think you needed as part of your daily life. But “Apple Pay” looks as if it may be one of those offerings that doesn’t live up to the company’s hype.”

 

With Apple Pay, a Push Into Mobile Payments

“Times technology columnist Molly Wood says consumers may see a rise in the use of mobile payments now that the iPhone has a chip that will work at tap-to-pay payment terminals.”

 

Apple Looks to Swipe the Payments Market

Need account to read

“The California-based company has previously upended industries from music to mobile phones and, with other prominent technology companies such as Google and Facebook, is considered a threat by the biggest US banks.

 

The Future of Banking: Google Think Series

“Watch my full speech to understand the future of the banking industry and why I predicted in 2009 and again in 2011, that the smartphone would redefine the very nature of banking.”  

 

FIS Acquires Clear2Pay—Industry Implications?

“On September 3, 2014, FIS’ acquisition of Clear2Pay was announced, indicating an expected close in Q4 2014. What does this combination mean for the payments and banking industries? Is it a game-changer? How should competitors respond?”  

 

On the Home Depot Data Breach

 

ICBA Statement on Home Depot Data Breach

“This breach is yet another reminder why information sharing is vital among all participants in the payments system—better, timelier information translates into greater fraud detection and prevention on behalf of consumers.”

 

 The Truth About Home Depot’s Security Breach: Hacking Was Easy

“The fact that two massive breaches of such similarity happened just months apart indicates a major problem with the system. Gaining entry is simple.”

 

A Tiny Bit of Solace for Bankers in Home Depot Breach

“If there’s a silver lining for banks in the Home Depot data breach, it’s this: most experts agree banks are getting better at deterring card fraud.”

 

Meanwhile, in Europe…

 

Mastercard Announces Contactless Acceptance

MasterCard has announced today that it is establishing contactless acceptance as standard by 2020 for merchants accepting MasterCard® and Maestro® in Europe, ensuring that, consumers will be able to pay with their contactless cards and NFC enabled devices at all point-of-sale (POS) terminals in Europe by 2020.”