Bill Pay in the US
Given that Bill Pay is a RTP/FedNow opportunity I thought I’d provide an update into the chaos that is US Bill Pay.
Continue readingBill Pay in the US (short blog)
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Category Archives: Banking
Part 1 – US Payments Environment
Assessing the Environment and Setting the Focus (part 2 – Power of Bank Networks)
© Starpoint LLP, 2022. No part of this site, blog.starpointllp.com, may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. Please do not share unless you hold an enterprise license.
Must read FT article “How JPMC’s plan to kill credit cards split the bank”. The article discusses Jamie Dimon’s internal mandate to drive a new payment network. I was shocked with the level of internal org quotes here. In my view, Jamie is the best bank CEOs in history (based on performance and talent coming out of JPMC). As a former banker, I know how hard it is to move the ship. However, FT is wrong. Chase’s efforts ARE NOT about killing credit cards, but rather creating something much bigger.
This is a long blog..
Continue readingBank Opportunity – Binding
Big picture thoughts on a key service where banks will lead in the future
© Starpoint LLP, 2022. No part of this site, blog.starpointllp.com, may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner.
Existing businesses spend significant energy on remaking things that work. Moore’s law has justified this investment in chipmaking, as has Tesla’s investments in batteries and manufacturing processes. These area of focus are where products performance is critical to the customer and incremental capability provides differentiation. But what about banking and payments? What provides differentiation? Which investments are driving performance critical to the customer? or operational efficiencies? (see Changing Economics of Payments)
Apple Finance – ?Tipping Point?
Bloomberg beat me to the punch with their great article last night on Apple Pay Later and Apple Finance LLC (must read). Well, I was certainly wrong about one big thing in my Project Breakout blog “Apple doesn’t want to be a bank”. Quite frankly I believe even Goldman Sachs was surprised by the scale of what Apple is building. Last night I outlined the key points:
CBDCs – Growth Opportunities for US Banks
The future for a US CBDC is uncertain. While President Biden signed an executive order in March 2022 directing the government to “Explore a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by placing urgency on research and development of a potential United States CBD”, US banks seem dead against it.
This is my third blog on CBDCs, today the focus will be on the societal benefits of CBDCs, current bank resistance, and the opportunities for banks if they embrace it. The previous 2 blogs are blow and I’ll try not to repeat myself:
- Digital Dollar (March ‘21) – Inventory of Central bank efforts and drivers with key detail on China’s digital yuan.
- Case for CBDC – Market Efficiency (June ‘21) – Is focused on the benefits to the unbanked and in reducing friction in low-value payments.
Trust Assertions – Identity Will Define the Future of Payment Networks
©Thomas Noyes, May 2022
My blogs last week have me thinking about the changes going around in Identity. This will be a long blog. Typo warning.. I’m still revising.
The number one thing I look for in payments is change: volume, technology, behavior, data, …etc. Effective networks are notoriously hard to change, but they are also very resilient (see blog). Small changes in data flows, can lead to significant changes in margin and “control”. Margin and control guide both public and private investment (see Evolution of Visa and Mastercard Beyond Payments).
Identity is our most important asset — it’s literally who we are.
Our complete “identity” is known to no one, as each entity we interact with has a partial view of us based upon what we chose to give them and what they observe. How others accept and validate our identity, and how others share insight about us, is the core of payments (see Trust Networks and Authentication in Value Nets). The structure, exchange, and assertions associated with identity are defining: web3, DeFi, Crypto, CBDCs and the Metaverse. These are not separate silos, but rather overlapping ecosystems that must interact, thus the importance of bridging identity across networks/domains (see Blog – Trust is domain specific).
DeFi, CBDCs and Web 3.0
My perspective has been evolving as I work to build out infrastructure for “when Crypto grows up” in my new Company. I’m pleased to report that Accept Payments (acc3pt.com) went live this month and is expanding our private rollout as we fine tune all of the CX. Thought for the day… Its about trust..
Square in Crypto/DeFi
From Bloomberg yesterday 16 July
Why is this a great thing for Square and DeFi?
#1 Today DeFi and Crypto in Commerce (POS and eCom) are in need of a “core” that can manage either compliance and connections to existing financial services, or operate in critical mass with minimal interaction to banks (ex – custody, exchange, platform, consortium-diem).
Retail Banking’s “Blockbuster” Moment?
Last week, in his annual shareholder letter (page 28), Jamie Dimon stated “Banks have enormous competitive threats — from virtually every angle,” he said. “Fintech and Big Tech are here… big time!”
Digital Dollar – Biggest Threat to V/MA (and USD Hegemony)
I doubt if this blog will be beneficial for the crypto and CDBC experts. But for my friends, I’ve linked several very detailed articles and reports… which I’ve tried to summarize.
With respect to payments, let me start with the quote of the week
“Tom look at the pace of change in China as a model. 15 yrs ago they were cash. 7 yrs ago they were China Union Pay, Now they are Alipay/WeChat Pay.. 3 tremendous changes in 10 yrs. I believe change will happen much faster than anyone could imagine.”
– Top 5 US Retailer