Tag Archives: payment
Inogic acquires Dynamics 365 CRM apps for tax calculation, recurring billing and payment reminders from Rockton Software
We are glad to share this news with our community friends that we have recently acquired three value added apps from Rockton Software that will assist in the billing and tax calculation for Dynamics 365. As you know, accounting within Dynamics 365 CRM is something that organizations have been craving for since long and thus with the acquisition of these apps automating recurring billing and subscription in Dynamics 365 CRM will be made possible and thus enabling our Partners to improve productivity and offer end-to-end solutions for their clients.
The motto behind acquisition of these apps was to provide complete accounting and billing solutions to sales and service industries under the header of our organization. We were already offering accounting services to the industries with QuickBooks integration, however, these three apps can also perform standalone using custom entities to record transactions. The apps acquired by us are – Software Management, Tax Processing and Recurring Billing.
Let’s delve deep and understand how these apps function to improve Dynamics 365 productivity:
It was developed keeping specifically VARs in consideration. This apps manages software billing and license management and also works for any organization that tracks monthly billing. It also offers flexible billing schedules, payment reminders and penalty calculation. Apart from this, it also helps in automated invoice generation at the click of a button. Also, it helps in sending invoices to entire Accounts Payable team or a single contact.
As Dynamics 365 users always crave for a feature to calculate tax within CRM, Tax Processing has been developed to calculate taxes right within CRM. This automation of tax calculation enables calculating taxes whenever a new quote/order/invoice is created. Taxes with Tax Processing can either be manually or with AvaTax from Avalara. This eliminates the manual calculation of tax and ensures accuracy while calculating taxes.
With Recurring Billing Manager the process of billing can be automated with support for creating billing on daily, monthly and annual billing plans. Invoices are automatically calculated for billing plans and overdue for invoices are created along with penalty for unpaid invoices. With flexible and automatic billing schedules, the task of billing is streamlined and made easy for the users.
Thus you have seen how with the help of these apps we will be able to incorporate accounting and billing in our CRM. With these apps the users can act more freely without the stress of calculating taxes manually, scheduling bills at intervals or generating invoices/penalty.
So it’s now time to get going quickly. Download the apps for a free trial of 15 days from the links mentioned above or email us at crm@inogic.com for a quick demo.
[Webinar] Collect Cash Fast! Payment Processing with Work 365
![crmnav [Webinar] Collect Cash Fast! Payment Processing with Work 365](https://www.crmsoftwareblog.com/wp-content/uploads/crmnav.jpg "[Webinar] Collect Cash Fast! Payment Processing with Work 365")
Work 365 is built for Microsoft CSP Partners to scale and grow their cloud business. Built on Dynamics 365, Work 365 helps you to deliver exceptional Customer Service, Increase Profit Margins, and Streamline Accounting and Sales.
Using the Work 365 Billing Automation Platform, CSPs can transform their way of doing Subscription Billing and Invoicing completely.
Work 365 includes -
- Billing automation and Subscription Management for Direct and Indirect Microsoft partners
- Self-Service
- Invoicing and Payments
- E-commerce Capabilities
Join us to learn about Payment Processing and cash collection capabilities in Work 365.
Agenda: Building recurring revenue means being able to invoice on flexible schedules including Monthly, Annual and sometimes quarterly terms. Generating frequent invoices requires a fast and efficient way to collect cash!
Date: 16 Jan 2020 at 11 AM EST
Register Here:
Work 365 Payment and Invoice Integration for CSP Automated Billing
When it comes to billing, invoicing and payment collection, there’s more involved than just sending out an invoice.
To scale the business service providers, must tackle several tasks seamlessly:
- Provision and bundle services and offerings
- Pro-rate based on usage and providing usage metrics
- Invoices Creation
- Delivery of Invoices
For many IT services companies including Microsoft partners, billing reconciliation and payment collection is a manual task that can take upwards of 10 hours a month for just 15 recurring customer invoices. This effort grows significantly based on the volume and types of services provided.
There is coordination between the accounting, sales and operations teams to collect all the data necessary to just generate invoices accurately. Not only does it take a lot of time and is error-prone, but also requires using several different systems to complete tasks.
Streamlined Accounting Process
Work 365 tackles these issues by becoming the all-in-one service option for cloud providers and partners. For whoever looking to scale their business and automate the sales and billing systems to deliver better service, with accurate invoices on time every single time.
Work 365 can integrate with Accounting systems like QuickBooks, Xero and Business Central as well as payment gateways to directly accept payments from automatically generated invoices.
Deep Dive: Work 365 Integration with QuickBooks Online
Work 365 invoices are automatically generated. The invoices can then be Auto-Synced into your accounting system or synced using a one-click function with Work 365.
In case, if there are multiple companies or accounting systems synchronized with CRM, Work 365 system allows the configuration and setup for more than one accounting systems.
The invoice is synced to QuickBooks automatically or with a single click and all the details along with product information, pricing and descriptions are all passed over to the accounting system.
The invoice line items reflect the Work 365 automatic license proration for previous mid-term license changes, as well as the full upcoming billing cycle.
The cash can be applied to the QuickBooks invoice and the status will update automatically in Work 365. These invoices can also be visible through the Work 365 Self-Service portal.
With these integrations, Work 365 allows users to collect payments and sync any invoice, any product, service or subscription within the system.
Flexa Launches Crypto-Based Payment App
Flexa on Monday launched a new digital payment network that uses cryptocurrencies to cut processing costs, eliminate fraud and preserve users’ privacy.
The network uses Flexa’s
Spedn app to process consumer transactions at cooperating merchants. The new payment platform makes it possible to spend Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and the Gemini dollar (GUSD) at any of the merchants currently accepting payments on the Flexa network.
Flexa partnered with
Gemini, a regulated and secure cryptocurrency exchange and custodian based in New York City. Every Spedn digital wallet is fully insured on Gemini’s New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)-regulated infrastructure.
The app allows consumers and businesses to spend cryptocurrency in real stores instantly without worrying about volatility, according to Flexa cofounder Trevor Filter. The company sees the new payment platform that handles cryptocurrencies as the future of digital payments.
SPEDN
The existing payments infrastructure is broken, according to Flexa. Alternatives to cash, such as credit and debit cards, are expensive for merchants and prone to fraud.
Instead of bolting cryptocurrency payments on top of debit cards, Flexa built new connections with merchant point-of-sale terminals nationwide.That network bypasses the existing payments infrastructure and pushes cryptocurrency-based payment authorizations, called “flexcodes,” directly to merchants.
The first retailers on board include GameStop, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Caribou Coffee, Jamba Juice, Bed Bath and Beyond, Lowe’s, and Crate and Barrel.
The safety and reliability of cryptocurrency payments depend on the parties involved in the transaction, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
“The volatility of crypto prices and high-profile failures and scams befalling some platforms have made commercial usage a tough sell,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “Flexa, through its partnership with Gemini, claims to have fixed those problems.”
Differing Views on Digital Payments
Flexa’s main commercial pitch for cryptocurrencies is that traditional payment systems are broken, overpriced and insecure, while blockchain-based systems offer superior security and efficiency, and they cost sellers and buyers less than standard credit cards, noted King.
However, the viability of crypto is itself a concern, he pointed out. Conventional payment systems are based on and follow the rules of accepted, state-backed currencies.,
“So if things go south, sellers and buyers have formal recourse. That underlying infrastructure doesn’t really exist for crypto,” King warned.
Cryptocurrencies are the root of the payment platform rather than actual currency, explained Chris Morales, head of security analytics at
Vectra. They are not stable and are traded like assets as the price has wild fluctuations in value every day.
“From a technical perspective, making a transaction is not a big deal. The risk might be in disputing charges, though, as there is no authority for payment resolution like you would receive with a credit card,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
The pros and cons of the new system fall in line with the acceptance of cryptocurrencies. Trust inthe seller and the ability to recoup funds are the biggest concerns for online transactions, Morales said.
“There is a sense of security with backed and insured bank funds,” he noted. “This is non-insured money, and once it leaves your wallet, it is gone.”
How It Works
Retailers in the Flexa network configure their existing point-of-sale scanners to recognize payments from its cryptocurrency app. The customer holds up the app for scanning as with other digital payment systems.
The store cashier does not know the customer is paying with cryptocurrency. The merchants receive a real-time payment in the form of their choosing, either crypto or dollars.
Spedn generates a QR code when scanned at the checkout register. The merchant receives immediate payment in dollars, and the equivalent amount of cryptocurrency is debited from customers’ cryptocurrency wallets in the Spedn app.
Flexa uses its own cryptocurrency, FlexaCoin, to secure each transaction before it is approved by the originating coin’s network. The Flexa Network Protocol works as an intermediary for each payment. The Spedn app lets users spend four types of crypto: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Gemini Dollar.
After immediately paying the merchant, Flexa goes through the slower process of taking payment from the buyer’s cryptocurrency wallet. The network assumes the risk of not receiving the cryptocurrency from the buyer’s wallet. Flexa uses the FlexaCoin currency as collateral.
Overcoming Challenges
The challenges that come with getting this new digital payment platform adopted are due to the complexity of onboarding, said Avani Desai, president of
Schellman & Company. If you want to open a bank account, you can walk into a branch and easily open up an account. If you want to open a crypto exchange account, you have to go through a lot more hoops.
“If you are not technically savvy, it can be daunting. You need to understand cryptography, hashes, provide personal information, all online. That is a deterrent to many people since it is not the usual. Therefore, we see a lack of adoption,” she told the E-Commerce Times.
Every new innovation or invention comes with its fair share of legal, security and privacy concerns. Cryptocurrencies are no exception, Desai added.
Currencies and payment systems are among the most conservative and highly regulated businesses globally, noted Pund-IT’s King. So offering to replace them with something new and largely untried will be difficult, at best.
However, Flexa’s advisers include many people with deep experience in traditional, large-scale finance and retail. Plus, Gemini is working to meld the benefits of crypto with the stability of traditional currency.
“In other words, Flexa appears to be making a serious run at creating a workable, sustainable alternative to traditional payments. It’ll be interesting to see where the company goes with this,” said King.
Crypto Underpinnings
Cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology and are decentralized to enhance security, explained Schellman & Company’s Desai.
The virtual nature of the blockchain technology necessitates the need for utmost privacy and security. Blockchain is the technological spine of the crypto world. It can help prevent mega-hacks, she said.
“The ever-growing popularity of cryptocurrencies is attributed to distrust towards traditional markets and the need to establish a new financial system,” Desai continued.
With more individuals and companies adopting cryptocurrencies, there is a need to put up additional firewalls so that the privacy and security of investors continue being safeguarded, she cautioned. The mass adoption of cryptocurrencies is an indicator that they are gaining mainstream acceptance and, therefore, the onus is on developers to implement tighter security mechanisms.
Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open source technologies. He has written numerous reviews of Linux distros and other open source software.
Email Jack.
Best Practices for Implementing Payment Controls that Protect Accounts Payable
Posted by Scott Siegler, Content Marketing Manager, MineralTree
Fraud attempts are only getting more elaborate, especially in the world of B2B payments. Whether you are a large corporation, small business, nonprofit organization or even a political campaign, payments fraud is on the rise. The AFP’s annual survey reveals an increase in the prevalence of fraud for the fifth consecutive year, with 78 percent of businesses impacted by fraud last year.
Photo: Association for Finance Professionals
B2B payments fraud is also getting attention from IT teams as it becomes more common. In fact, 85 percent of security professionals are not confident their companies have deployed sufficient technology to protect against payments fraud.
If you’re wondering why B2B payments specifically are facing escalating levels of fraud, look no further than the way businesses handle accounts payable today. Not only are accounts payable (AP) teams leaving room for error by entering invoice data manually and trying to juggle dozens of invoice approvals over email, but they also continue to rely on the riskiest payment method available — paper checks — in spite of very accessible alternatives.
Why Common Attempts to Mitigate Fraud Risk Fail
Most businesses have taken some measures to establish controls against payments fraud, but as we have learned, fraud risk is a tough lion to tame. This task requires more than an AP manager’s divided attention.
Common tactics companies deploy to attempt to protect against fraud include:
Checking the validity of invoice amounts by forwarding invoices through email to department heads who are working with the corresponding vendor.
Manually comparing invoices to their corresponding purchase orders.
Writing checks throughout the week and having the CFO sign them all en masse.
In theory, these practices are all good ideas to keep the accounts payable process secure, but they are challenging to maintain, especially as invoice volumes go up. If your AP approvals live in Outlook, it’s really easy for invoices to fall through the cracks and never get paid. It’s also easy to forge invoice approvals and very difficult to organize documentation of all approvals for quick access during audits. And when the final approval for a payment depends on the signature of a CFO, every batch of payments hinges entirely on the availability of the CFO (i.e., a lot of potential for bottlenecks).
Simple ways to effectively mitigate fraud risk
In spite of the complex approaches to mitigating fraud risk that people have employed so far, there are a few simple options companies can start taking advantage of today.
1. Transition to electronic payment methods
Unlike paper checks, electronic payments make a lot of sense for accounts payable teams to utilize because they mitigate fraud and increase efficiency.
First, electronic payments like ACH transfers add layers of security by encrypting payment data that is in transit. Virtual card technology goes a step further by employing tokenization, restricting each payment to a one-time use credit card number for a fixed transaction amount. In addition to improved security, electronic payment methods expedite the payment process across the board. More efficient payments open up the potential for you to take a more strategic approach to your payments, seeking opportunities to gain extended working capital benefits.
2. Segregate duties in the payment process
The same principle of checks and balances that keeps the United States government under control is a must-have in your accounts payable process. Segregation of duties is as simple as setting up a process where one person is responsible for queuing up business payments and another person is responsible for approving those payments before releasing the funds.
Has it ever made sense to give one person total autonomy over money coming in and out of a company’s bank account?
3. Automate accounts payable
While automated accounts payable has been an unfamiliar concept to businesses up to this point, many are realizing the opportunities it provides for greater security and efficiency and reaping the benefits.
An automated accounts payable process embeds payment controls — like the aforementioned segregation of duties — into the AP process and establishes them as simple and repeatable processes:
Segregation of duties: AP automation solutions designate separate roles in the accounts payable process by creating separate login credentials and separate dashboards. Not only does this make it incredibly challenging to forge approvals, but it also preserves receipt of all approvals in one central location for easy access at any time.
Dual-factor authentication: AP automation solutions require dual-factor authentication to decrease the probability of account takeovers. Every time someone logs in, they are required to not only enter their password, but a verification code delivered via email or text message, as well.
Auto purchase order match: For those businesses that leverage purchase orders, AP automation can take the pain out of matching them to corresponding invoices by doing it automatically and flagging any that are mismatched.
With these controls in place, it’s much easier to protect and sustain your AP process, even as you continue adding vendors on a monthly basis.
by NetSuite filed under
Shopping Cart for Dynamics CRM Portal with Payment Gateway
Offer products and services from any CRM entity for your clients to purchase from CRM Portal using Dynamics Shopping Cart module. Add items to basket, and proceed to Checkout for payment. Solution includes:
CRM Shopping Cart Configuration Wizard (FREE) – Step by step Wizard to configure Dynamics CRM portal to display products or services as shopping list, view prices and product’s details read from CRM, and download product’s related documentation.
Credit Card Payment Gateway – your client can now pay with credit card for products and services purchased online.
When purchasing process is completed two new records are created in CRM:
Payment record – stores the client’s details.
Basket record – stores the item purchased online.
Download Trial Version and FREE (no strings attached) Portal Store – Configuration Wizard
.
3 Things Banks Can Do to Tackle Push Payment Fraud
In August, the UK’s Financial Ombudsman joined the debate on authorised push payment fraud. They argue that banks are not taking enough responsibility for this kind of fraud and say banks should not take the default position that their customer has been negligent. This follows the announcement by the Payment Services Regulator that they intend to require banks to compensate their customers in some cases – the consultation paper on their proposal is due out soon.
The pressure for banks to tackle push payment fraud is mounting – and even if liability isn’t transferred wholesale to the banks, the scope for bad publicity and loss of reputation is significant.
While industry bodies look to redress the balance between bank and customer, it must be remembered that the banks are victims as well. Clever fraudsters have a wide variety of increasingly sophisticated techniques and technology to help them commit these crimes. They have access to a real-time payments scheme which means they can access the proceeds of their crimes and quickly remove them out of the reach of law-enforcement.
Banks are not powerless to tackle the issue. In addition to the measures suggested by regulators and industry bodies, here are three areas they can focus on:
1. Transaction Risk Analysis
For many years card issuers have deployed real-time transaction risk analysis for credit and debit cards. There is a wealth of functionality available to them through solutions such as the FICO Falcon Fraud Platform. This same technology can be effectively deployed to assess the risks inherent in push payments. While some banks already use transaction risk analysis for push payments, to be truly effective in stopping this fraud they must:
- Work in real-time. Customers expect payments they have initiated using UK Faster Payments to be fast if not instant! Deploying fraud analysis that slows the process is likely to be unacceptable to customers and won’t stop fraud in a real-time payments system.
- Apply risk analysis to payments leaving accounts AND to payments arriving into accounts. While it is intuitive to analyse payments as they are initiated it may in fact be equally or even more important to apply the same scrutiny to in-bound payments. Victims of push payment fraud have looked to the receiving bank for recompense, this is particularly the case when the fraudster has opened an account using a stolen or synthetic identity. The argument is that the banks KYC processes were at fault when the account was opened. The proceeds of push payment fraud may also be channelled through multiple mule accounts and spotting this behaviour not only stops fraud but also helps the bank to meet their anti-money laundering compliance obligations.
- Have access to the right mix of technologies – Fraud constantly evolves, this means that systems to stop it must also be agile. It is no good looking for a single ‘silver bullet’ to stop fraud. Instead you need adaptive technologies that can be layered to produce the best possible outcomes. For example if dealing with a new scenario where historical data cannot inform your fraud models then unsupervised machine learning technology that can self-learn becomes more important – when data and insight is available then accuracy will be increased by using trained models.
2. Standardised Reporting
It is generally true that if you’re not measuring then you will struggle to improve. Even if you are improving without consistent and regular reporting methodologies how will you know?
Reporting authorised push payment fraud was given additional impetus when UK Finance included rates in their 2017 report for the first time. The European Banking Authority has also tackled reporting for authorised push payment fraud in their PSD2 Fraud Reporting Guidelines. They lay out a framework for the consistent and mandatory reporting of fraud and include the reporting of fraud that involves ‘manipulation of the payer,’ in other words authorised push payment fraud. To stay ahead of the fraud and satisfy the regulator, banks must focus on how they report this fraud as a matter of urgency.
3. Mutual Authentication
A significant proportion of authorised push payment fraud happens when fraudsters trick their victims into believing that they are their bank. The techniques used are sophisticated and include spoofing of emails and SMS messages so that they look genuine – even to the wary.
As the Financial Ombudsman notes, it is not possible to lay the blame on customer negligence in such cases. The protocols by which customers authenticate themselves to their banking providers are established and consistency will be enforced through regulation such as PSD2. The protocols that banks use to authenticate themselves to their customers are by contrast inconsistent and poorly understood. This allows fraudsters to get their foot in the door and commit their crimes.
It is not an easy nut to crack, but the proliferation of these kinds of fraud means that it must be addressed. While an effective, industry-wide approach may be the best way forward, in its absence Individual banks can still act. They should look to provide consistency in their outbound customer communications and have standard and well-understood procedures by which they prove who they are.
Once they have policies in place to address how they authenticate themselves to customers, it is vital to educate their customers about it and apply it consistently. It is not just the fraud department’s responsibility – unsolicited sales calls to customers that proceed to ask the customers for security information must not happen unless the bank has first reliably proved who they are to the customer.
The pressure to tackle Authorised Push Payment fraud is coming from industry bodies, consumer advocates, regulators and customers. Banks that can tackle it will have a competitive advantage; those that don’t there will be continued bad press, loss of reputation and increased scrutiny from the regulator.
Authorised Push Payment Fraud – The Liability Challenge
Last week, the National Board for Customer Disputes in Sweden, after reviewing cases referred to them, have ruled that banks should be liable for so-called “push payment” fraud losses over a certain amount.
Authorised push payment fraud, or APP fraud, is gaining in popularity in the criminal community. Customers are being tricked into authorising payments by persuasive social engineering schemes run by criminals. These criminals have been so successful that this kind of fraud even has a nickname: hypnofraud.
Fraudsters have always targeted the weakest link in the process. As systems become more and more secure, the weakest link has become the customers themselves.
The push payment fraud trend has sparked debate at Payment Services Providers (banks and other financial institutions), regulators and consumer bodies about who should foot the bill when these kinds of schemes are successful. In 2016, a super complaint by the UK consumer organization, Which, was filed which called for the PSPs to do more to stop this kind of fraud, and to take greater responsibility for the losses when customers fall for these scams.
The question of liability isn’t straightforward, as my colleague Sarah Rutherford noted in a recent post. On one hand, customers are being tricked by highly convincing, almost hypnotic fraudsters, often posing as representatives from a bank. Whilst the industry can educate consumers about this, we can’t expect all customers to be experts in identifying whether calls, emails or SMS are genuine or fraudulent. On the other hand, if a customer withdrew cash from an ATM and was persuaded to hand over that cash by a fraudster, no one would expect the bank to foot the bill.
Whilst regulators and consumer bodies around the world make their own judgements, there is something the banks can do to reduce the scale of this problem and make social engineering scams less successful. By analysing the way each customer normally uses their account — whether transactions are authenticated by them or not — they can detect transactions that are out of character and stop them before funds disappear from accounts.
Customer behaviour profiling is a key way to detect and stop fraud from taking place, whilst allowing a frictionless experience for customers going about their daily business. For more on this, see our posts on the FICO Blog: http://www.fico.com/en/blogs/tag/fraud/.
OmniPay & Dynamics 365 for Sales: The Most Versatile Payment Platform
Users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales now have access to one of the industry’s leading payment platforms. , is already one of the most trusted payment solutions out there. The system is intuitive, versatile, and secure. Now, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales users can take advantage of everything this system has to offer.
Compliance made easy
We understand that compliance is always going to be a major concern when you’re choosing a good payment platform. With OmniPay, there is no need to worry. will help insure that you stay in compliance at all times with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards. It has built-in tokenization, which provides an extra layer of protection for sensitive credit card data. Point-to-point data encryption (P2PE) is also built in. And the “Payments As A Platform” service offers extensive payment capabilities: credit/debit and ACH payments, recurring payments, hosted payments pages for clients, Quickbooks Sync, and a host of others.
Omnipay set-up is simple, straightforward…and free
First-time Omnipay users are often surprised by just how easy the system is to set up. All you have to do is . Then, contact OmniFund to set up your merchant account and you’re set! You can start receiving credit card payments through Dynamics 365.
Dynamics 365 users will feel at home right away with OmniPay’s common sense functionality. All of your payments will be stored as “activities” in the familiar Dynamics 365 for Sales user interface and are applied against the record-keeping that your business already uses.
Omnipay offers flexible solutions
OmniPay is flexible. Does your business take prepayments against quotes? Do you receive payments against invoices only? OmniPay can be configured to support your requirements. Already integrated with a third-party ERP or other system that needs to use its own IDs for Account, Contact, Quote, Order, Invoice? OmniPay is ready to support this configuration.
OmniPay provides iron-clad security
OmniPay provides you with extra layers of security. We understand that not every user of the Dynamics 365 system should be allowed to create and view payments. That’s why OmniPay uses security roles to control Dynamics 365 records. As the business owner, you will be able to closely control which actions each user can perform.
Want to read more about the features of OmniPay by JourneyTEAM?
Call JourneyTEAM Now
Start receiving credit card payments through Microsoft Dynamics 365 with one of the industry’s leading payment platforms–OmniPay by JourneyTEAM. Our experts can help answer questions and tell you more about OmniPay features. today to learn more! 800.439.6456
For a limited time, enabling Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales to receive payments is free with this Appsource solution.
Article by: Dave Bollard – National Director of Marketing
JourneyTEAM is an award-winning consulting firm with proven technology and measurable results. They take Microsoft products; Dynamics 365, SharePoint intranet, Office 365, Azure, CRM, GP, NAV, SL, AX, and modify them to work for you. The team has expert level, Microsoft Gold certified consultants that dive deep into the dynamics of your organization and solve complex issues. They have solutions for sales, marketing, productivity, collaboration, analytics, accounting, security and more. www.journeyteam.com | 800.439.6456
Consumers Are Ready to Embrace 'Futuristic' Payment Tech
As many as 80 percent of U.S. residents support frictionless payment methods and technologies, suggests a survey of 1,000 consumers
Viewpost published this week.
Among its other findings:
- Nearly 51 percent of survey participants were paid electronically through direct deposit;
- Eighty-three percent of respondents believed paper checks would be eliminated completely within the next 20 years, and one-third expected their demise in just five years;
- Only 11 percent thought companies would continue to use paper-based billing;
- Fifty-four percent believed companies would use automatic billing via customers’ bank accounts or credit cards;
- Fifty-two percent believed payments would be made via mobile apps; and
- Twenty-one percent saw bitcoin becoming a viable currency within the next 10 years.
“New technologies in the payment arena continue to bring more digitization and simplification, great security, and collaboration, as well as notification and faster availability of funds,” said Pat McMonagle, director of payment operations at Viewpoint.
“For example, a payment through the Zelle network is much faster and more secure than a paper check,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
Keeping Payments Secure
The advent of faster payments has led to an increase in security and controls to reduce the probability of payment fraud, McMonagle said.
Based on the survey results, many consumers expect advanced technologies to keep them safe:
- Fifty percent of respondents believed fingerprint technology would be used for payment authentication within the next 10 years;
- Thirty-five percent saw facial recognition becoming a key payment authentication technology within the next 10 years;
- Thirty-two percent trusted facial recognition for securing electronic payments;
- Thirty-one percent considered retinal scanning as a viable payment authentication technology; and
- Eighteen percent expected to be using voice technologies to make payments by 2027.
Tomorrow’s Payment Tech
Virtual payments make business travel more efficient, compliant and fraud-resistant, according to
Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Virtual payments can replace corporate travel cards, the firm suggests in a recent white paper. They provide more security than travel cards as they can’t be lost, stolen, cloned or misused. They also can help companies manage costs.
Virtual payment transactions use a unique ID, so it’s easy to identify and track a transaction. All required reporting is captured as the virtual card is created, so reconciliation is not a problem. Virtual card settings can limit transactions to those that are compliant with company policy.
Carlson Wagonlit’s virtual payment offering connects to 26 banking partners worldwide, and the number of virtual cards it has created has gone up by 35 percent in the past 12 months.
Contactless payments can be made not only using cards, but also with wearables such as wristbands or rings, according to Gemalto, which offers a range of products for the purpose.
Influencers can sell directly to their viewers through various social media 
channels with Primo’s solution. Merchants and retailers using its payment infrastructure dynamically generate unique Primo QR tags that influencers can embed in photos and videos. Consumers can view and purchase items directly from their mobile devices.
That’s a good thing, as mobile payments will experience a 20.3 percent compound annual growth rate through 2021, Forrester analyst Shaurya Priya
has predicted.
The Opportunity in Voice
A chatbot engine that sits on a user’s device and doesn’t have to access the cloud is the approach taken by
Sensory.
“This embedded [artificial intelligence] chatbot solution runs completely on devices utilizing the applications processor within a smartphone or tablet, for example,” noted Bernie Brafman, Sensory’s VP of business development.
“It runs at the [operating system] level on the applications processor,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “No back-end servers are required.”
Chatbots “are expected to be a multibillion-dollar industry in the next few years,” Brafman noted.
Sensory targets apps and kiosks for financial services, retail, healthcare, and the travel and hospitality markets, among others.
Richard Adhikari has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, mobile technologies, CRM, databases, software development, mainframe and mid-range computing, and application development. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including Information Week and Computerworld. He is the author of two books on client/server technology.
Email Richard.