The Ten Most Popular Transaction Trends Articles of 2018

Podcasts, industry reports, guests posts, news, coverage of TRANSACT, ETA Expert Insights, committee research, features and spotlights – In 2018, Transaction Trends published a wide range of content. Here were your ten favorite pieces we published last year:

1. A Closer Look at the PayFac and Integrated Payments/Software Tracks at TRANSACT
   • “The payments industry is changing, and the emerging software space is driving the products and services offered across the ecosystem forward. The payments experience is fundamentally shifting as software developers and new, tech-driven business models are establish partnerships with legacy payments players and bring new ideas to market.”
2. Cash Handling Expenses Can Top 15 Percent and 500+ Labor Hours as Inefficiencies Permeate
   • “The average cost of cash across all retail segments is 9.1 percent, the report found, with costs reaching as high as 15.5 percent for bars and restaurants and 12.9 percent for specialty soft goods retailers. While grocery retails are the most efficient at accepting and handling cash, costs still average 4.7 percent, the report said.”
3. Contactless Payments Expand 145 Percent in Europe, Mastercard Says
   • “The expansion in tap-and-go payments technology corresponded with a marked decrease in security concerns around contactless fraud, the release said. Across Europe, there was a 24 percent decrease in concern, led by major drops in in the Netherlands (-41 percent), Spain (-33 percent) and United Kingdom (-31 percent).”
4. ETA Expert Insights: Cryptocurrency and ISOs – A Conversation with Coinbase
   • “Will cryptocurrencies ever replace dollars or traditional Card Brands in the payments space? Probably not, but there is space for multiple payment types to exist, each with their benefits.  I had a chance to sit down with Sarah Richmond and Justin O’Brien from Coinbase to discuss their view of the current cryptocurrency landscape and how it relates to the ISO community.”
5. Costco Activates Contactless Payments in US Locations
   • “Costco, the sixth most valuable retail brand in the world and second largest retailer worldwide in 2016 according to Statista, will accept both NFC-enabled cards and Apple Pay through contactless payments at its US stores, Payments Source reports. The store is also rumored to be testing a digital membership card, Payments Source notes, though Costco was not available to comment on the story.”
6. Discover, Mastercard and Visa Make eCommerce Announcement at TRANSACT
   • “During the Keynote “Driving Secure Ecommerce: Market Growth and Consumer Ease,” Mastercard EVP Jessica Turner, was joined by Amy Parsons of Discover Financial Services and TS Anil of Visa, to announce their collective endorsement of the new EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) framework. The networks will leverage EMV Payment Tokenization online to create a simple, streamlined verification and consistent digital shopping experience while decreasing fraud.”
7. Guest Post: Policy Changes to Legal Cannabis Provide Opportunity for ETA Members
   • “Not long ago, the legal cannabis industry existed squarely on the fringe. In the few states that had legalized cannabis, the use provisions were so limiting and the reach so narrow that the category did not generate meaningful sales. As a result, the industry did not command much attention. Today, things certainly have changed. The result is a flourishing and rapidly evolving landscape that ETA members stand to benefit from.”
8. Community Minded: How Two Payments Giants are Supporting Software Vendors and Developers
   • “For two of the largest acquirer/processor companies in the world—Vantiv, now Worldpay, and First Data—embracing software professionals and building a classic sense of community has been part of their business strategies for years. Creating what both companies describe as “open platforms” and mechanisms for collaboration, however, was made easier through recent key acquisitions.”
9. ETA YPP Scholar – Generation Z: The Unknown Factor
   • “To date, the payments industry has been focused on Millennial consumer habits and their impact on merchant services, all with good reason: They are an influential consumer base shaping industry norms. However, as we delve deeper into the psyche of Millennial consumerism and business psychology, we need to also be aware of a newer, lesser known, and even more revolutionary demographic stepping into the payments realm: Generation Z.”
10. Transaction Trending EP11: How Henry Helgeson, Founder of Cayan, Built a Billion-Dollar Payments Tech Powerhouse
    • “On this podcast, Henry takes listeners through the history of Cayan, how he capitalized on the early days of ecommerce to build a billion dollar payments technology company, the company’s acquisition by TSYS, and his insights into the future of payments technology.”