Smaller enterprises are hitting a critical turning point. As long-time owners near retirement, many are looking to exit, but potential buyers are often held back by one persistent issue—outdated systems, especially in payments infrastructure. According to data from Zelle, nearly half of small business owners over 50 have no exit plan in place, and roughly 41% said they would shut down if they can’t find a buyer. However, fewer than a third of these owners report that their bu

Organizations once had the luxury of reviewing suspicious transactions prior to settlement and clawing them back after the fact. But as both payments and fraud have accelerated, financial institutions are increasingly being pushed to move fraud prevention earlier in the payments lifecycle—ideally before a transaction ever occurs. In response, U.S. Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS)—which operates the FedNow instant payments system—is launching an API aimed at enhancing

When was the last time you used cash for a transaction? Many of us can go for months without resorting to cash for our daily business. The convenience of tapping a card is simply too alluring to consider using old-fashioned legal tender. In some areas, cash now accounts for less than 10% of all transactions. And of course, many transactions take place online, where cash is useless. The dream of a cashless society seems to be upon us — almost. Yet despite the ubiquity and conv

There has been little respite from the relentless onslaught of fraud in recent years—and there are few signs of it slowing down. The FBI’s annual Internet Crime Report found that Americans lost nearly $21 billion last year, soaring to an all-time high . At the same time, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 1,008,597 complaints, a 17.3% increase year-over-year. Perennial threats like phishing, extortion, and investment schemes were the most frequently reported

At first glance, it looks like a simple return or a routine dispute. But behind many of these transactions is a growing problem often mischaracterized as friendly fraud—a form of first-party fraud that costs organizations significantly and is increasingly normalized by consumers. Although it has sometimes been called friendly fraud, there is nothing benign about exploiting organizations’ returns processes. What’s even more troubling is that a growing number of consumers feel

Consumers aren’t just receiving prepaid cards anymore—they’re reloading them. What was once a one-time gift is increasingly being used like a personal spending account, signaling a shift in how prepaid fits into everyday financial life. In a new report, Self-Use Motivations Extend the Prepaid Payments Life Cycle , Jordan Hirschfield , Director of Prepaid at Javelin Strategy & Research, looks at the benefits of self-use and how providers can encourage it. Loading, redeeming,

With the advent of faster payments, many financial organizations have prioritized speed over fraud detection. Consumers expect instant transactions, but banks must still protect themselves and their customers from fraud. Running fraud detection in the background—analyzing contextual signals and historical data—helps strike the right balance between speed and security. In a PaymentsJournal Podcast, Diarmuid Thoma , Head of Fraud & Data Strategy at AtData, and Jennifer Pitt , S

A plumbing company and a quick-serve restaurant have little in common operationally, but both now rely on specialized software platforms designed specifically for their industries. During the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) renaissance, solutions emerged to serve distinct verticals, such as Toast for restaurants, Mindbody for fitness studios, and ServiceTitan for contractors. Although these platforms were built for niche industries, many providers have discovered a powerful reve

With increasing fraud and heightened customer expectations, merchants need a payment solution they can trust. Giving them the tools to accept digital payments can help them compete in today’s complex payment ecosystem. This is the market Visa has addressed with the recent reimagining of its well-established Authorize.net platform, one of the most trusted payment gateways for businesses. Authorize.net —already with nearly half a million users and processing $200 billion in a

Fraud is evolving faster than ever, with AI-powered scams, deepfake-enabled identity theft, and a surge in account takeovers putting financial institutions on high alert and accountholders at risk. As the most visible safeguard of the past few decades, the humble password is coming under increasing scrutiny. In a PaymentsJournal podcast, Dr. Adam Lowe , Chief Product and Innovation Officer at CompoSecure and Arculus, and Suzanne Sando , Lead Analyst of Fraud Management at Jav

Banks are no strangers to artificial intelligence. For years, machine learning and deep learning models have quietly powered fraud detection, transaction monitoring, and risk analysis. But the industry is now approaching a more consequential shift: agentic AI—systems that don’t just analyze data, but can act on it. With that shift comes a fundamental question about how much authority banks are prepared to give to machines. Trust sits at the center of the debate. Is AI ready t

Transit agencies across the U.S. are investing in infrastructure and systems to create modern and frictionless rider experiences. The popularity of contactless payments is rising in the U.S., driven by demand for convenient and secure transactions. In fact, research estimates that more than 50% of in-store transactions in the U.S. are completed with a contactless card or mobile phone tap. While widespread in grocery stores, restaurants and salons, contactless payment adoption

The rise of faster payments also means faster fraud. When money moves instantly from one domestic account to another, the sender often has little to no recourse to recover funds—regardless of whether the loss stems from fraud or simple error. The rise of artificial intelligence is coinciding with a shift toward instant payments that are increasingly difficult to stop once fraud occurs. Real-time payments put a stopwatch on fraud prevention, leaving businesses with only moment

Types of fraud like check fraud, social engineering and wire transfer fraud are common and increasingly sophisticated. Learn how your business can fight fraud and cybercrime. While today's digital landscape offers your business plenty of growth potential, it also brings greater security risks. One thing is certain: Cyberattacks are a risk for everyone, from entry-level employees to your C-suite executives. Therefore, implementing effective business fraud prevention strategies

In the post-COVID era of remote work, organizations often struggle to find meaningful ways to recognize their top performers. In-person celebrations are not always possible, and traditional physical gifts can sometimes feel impersonal or difficult to deliver effectively. In this context, digital gifting platforms have risen dramatically as a powerful tool to celebrate achievements, boost morale, and drive sales performance. Beyond their versatility, digital gift cards also pr

Scammers and telemarketers are calling businesses pretending to be your credit card processor. Most of the time, they are not who they say they are. If you ever get a call about your rates, equipment, “required updates,” or anything that sounds urgent, hang up and call us directly. We can confirm if it’s a real person from a real company. To give you an idea of how serious this is: one of our customers recently got talked into a full POS system they never wanted. The telemark

Why do you need a merchant account when starting your business? A merchant account is one of the core building blocks for your business, whether you sell online or in person. Together with your payment gateway, a merchant account enables you to get paid for the goods or services you sell. Getting your new business up and running If you’re starting an eCommerce business, you’ve probably put a lot of thought into the customer-facing website that showcases your products or servi

After a decade of constant disruption and regulatory woes, 2025 marks the year fintech finally entered an era of durable transformation. The industry’s leaders are no longer experimenting at the edges. Instead, they’re embedding innovation into the core of their operating models. What was once a race to reinvent finance has become a disciplined pursuit of scalability, resilience, and measurable value creation. Banks and fintech firms are quickly professionalizing their AI cap

When financial institutions think about protecting against new-account fraud, they usually focus on the customer who has already applied and is being onboarded. But with the fraud typologies out there now, onboarding may be too late. Fraud detection needs to start as soon as the application for an account is being filled out. In a new report, New-Account Fraud: Old Problem, New Challenges , Jennifer Pitt , Senior Analyst in Fraud Management at Javelin Strategy & Research, loo

The Better Business Bureau has issued a new warning about a scam targeting tap-to-pay chips in credit cards and mobile wallets. So-called ghost tapping abuses the near-field communication (NFC) technology embedded in contactless payment chips and digital wallets, which allows devices to exchange data at very close range. The scam can happen without the victim noticing. In crowded spaces like a festival or train stations, a criminal may get close to a victim—and sometimes eve