Banks Need A Change in Perspective
Short bullet point blog (My issuer friends just put me on the 10 most wanted.. but I’m really trying to help).
ApplePay is Bank Friendly
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Category Archives: Identity
eCommerce Acquiring – Beyond Tokens – The Next Big Wave of Improvement
Short Blog
© Starpoint LLP, 2025. No part of this site, blog.starpointllp.com, may be reproduced or retransmitted in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner.
Adyen was the largest network “tokenizer” and realized the benefits through enhanced authorization rates and reduced fraud. As I explained in Tokens and Binding 101, this history of tokens in payments is long, with each stakeholder maintaining an ability to tokenize. While all token strategies protect data, network tokens differ in RULES, binding (to a customer and device) and acceptance. For example, Visa’s Cloud Token Framework (CTF) and Mastercard’s Digital Enablement Services (MDES) address 6 key areas:
Wallets and Privacy
I’m on a brief vacation celebrating my 28th anniversary and deep in thought (pic below). What am I thinking of here on the beach? Wallets, Networks, Trust and Privacy.
The Case for Separating Wallets from Identity Providers
As digital identities continue to evolve, one of the most important debates centers around who controls and operates the wallet that holds these identities. Specifically, should wallets be separated from authorities that legally issue “identity”—commonly known as Identity Providers (IdPs)? This issue is particularly relevant in countries like India and Europe, where digital identity initiatives have made significant strides, yet their approaches raise important questions about privacy and control.
Continue readingWallets and Networks: The Backbone of Digital Transactions
Stimulating community discussion is the #1 reason I write this blog. The intersection of payments, banking, and technology is evolving rapidly, and I’m fortunate to engage with great minds like Dave Birch and new friends like Simon Taylor. Dave’s recent post on crypto predictions got me thinking about a topic I keep coming back to—wallets and networks.
As a former banker, I’m naturally more skeptical about FinTechs disrupting the core of banking. Consumer behavior is incredibly difficult to change, and financial services are among the most competitive industries in the world. If there’s one concept where my perspective diverges from many thought leaders, it’s the power of bank networks (read more). These networks are the foundation of financial transactions, and they continue to define the way money moves.
Winning in Network of Networks: Collaboration
Networks, Value Assembly and Organizational Structures
Bull Case For Visa and Mastercard
Very Long Blog. 4 Page Exec Summary. Feedback appreciated. This blog has been my “blocker” as I’ve iterated over the last 7 months. I’ve thinned this down from 31 pages (which no one would read) to 23. No I will never write something this big again.
The thoughts below are an update to my 2016 Small Wins, where I outlined how the forces that have driven scale, and shaped organizations, are atrophying (Transaction Cost Economics, asset intensity, information intensity, finance… etc). Paul Graham’s calls this change Refragmentation, I call it Transformation of Networks.
It’s as if the gravitational constant (the big G) is changing and new forces are driving the formation of new networks influenced by a rapidly evolving world of “weak links”. Information intensity has moved beyond “tweaking” 100 yr old business models to transform the design of industries, communities and people.
Whereas the 2016 blog was more about the “possibilities” enabled by tech, this blog is about the reality of how things will evolve.
© Starpoint LLP, 2024. No part of this site, blog.starpointllp.com, may be reproduced or retransmitted, in whole or in part, in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. Also see our Legal/Disclaimer (this is a highly opinionated and partially informed blog).
Google Secure Payment Authentication (SPA)
Read First – Blog on SPA from Checkout.com
Background Reading – June blog eCom politics and Scenarios, and Identity, Authentication and Risk
What’s the big news here? SPA allows Google to stand at par with ApplePay in providing the best-authenticated checkout experience. Google looks to have taken TWO MASSIVE pieces out of the authentication process: 1) 3DS handshake (putitting in Cryptogram and 2) A step up from the Issuer (possibly – a significant portion of this blog). This is a generational improvement and massive simplificaiton of the current 3DS flow.
The mobile platform is key to authentication and Google is the preferred partner of every bank, merchant and network. Their challenge in SPA? Doesn’t seem Checkout.com coordinated with the networks on SPA (ie liability shift OR step up). I think it will get worked out as the quality of this innovation is just fantastic.
As I wrote in June, ApplePay 2.0 plans to cross the chasm from mobile only to desktop (as announced at WWDC). Google is proving that they have the same capability, as Chrome makes up about 10-12% of eCom and over 30% of guest checkout at most retailers; they are positioned well (particularly in Android markets).
Continue readingeCom – Politics and Scenarios
Frank Young – Contributor
What are banks talking about this week? How did Apple’s announcement impact them? While 15bps on 2% of eCom GDV is a nuisance, 15bps on 15% of eComm GDV is an earthquake.
Apple Wallet “2.0” in iOS18 – What’s In It?
Winners: Consumers, Merchants, Banks, Networks and Affirm
Losers: Branded PayPal and Venmo
Apple’s WWDC is on Day 2. Today we will see significant enhancements to ApplePay and Wallet in forthcoming iOS18 (to be released this fall). Here are the highlights in order of impact.
1 – ApplePay in eCom
ApplePay will be supported in every browser. This will be a game changer and dramatically increase payment volume flowing through Apple wallet (and their platform). Just last week, the WSJ published a great piece on why retailers hate that consumers make large purchases on their computers. Apple will expand ApplePay to support all browsers AND provide a major upgrade in experience, security and fraud.
Continue readingPart 1 – Identity Models, Government and Governance Structures
This is a big topic, and I’ll get a few things wrong. My mechanism for correcting my viewpoint is this blog, where this community gives feedback. It’s the reason I write. I won’t get into the tech weeds in this blog series. When there is a need to drill down on a standard or tech, I’ll provide a link to documents providing an overview. The insight I’m attempting to provide surrounds the evolution, economics and value chain implications of various models.
Why read this?
Identity is the key shaping force across many domains (including payments) because:
- ID touches “everything”,
- ID is the “primary key” in trust, risk, contracts and value exchange
- ID is core to a well-functioning government (voting, taxing, regulating, …etc).
This breadth makes it challenging to sift through ID-related announcements and assess the implications. Thus, I’ve created three identity communities for my taxonomy:
- Government – Working to define identity as part of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). DPI has three legs: identity, payments and data exchange.
- Commercial – Platforms, Banks, Healthcare
- Web3/Blockchain/Social – Jack Dorsey is the unofficial spokesperson.
These communities find alignment in technology but are working toward different end goals with significant philosophical differences across communities, particularly regarding the role of government and near-term objectives. These differences surround the definition of trust, authority and governance structure, which is the focus of today’s blog.