What shapes consumer transactions and payment technologies, and where is it going?
Any conventional wisdom about payments—how they’re made, the currencies being used, the cards presently in favor—doesn’t last long before the next wave of technology, innovation, and regulation. Javelin’s analysts conduct research at the forefront of payments, identifying the emerging trends for financial services companies and payments providers and offering insight into how they can best position themselves not just for what is current but also for what is coming.
Payments Research
Reports
Mobile and Prepaid Opens New ‘POS-sibilities’ for In-Store Retail
The growing popularity of the digital realm has fundamentally altered the nature of the POS, as brick-and-mortar retailers have had to embrace elements of mobile and online channels in order to remain competitive.
Checking vs. Prepaid: Threat or Opportunity?
The dynamics of the card-issuing business — and, in turn, those of the banking industry — have changed dramatically in recent years as an array of economic, regulatory, and governmental factors and initiatives have combined to drive expansion in...
Global Mobile Retail Payment Initiatives 2013
Mobile retail payments based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology are probably this year's most talked about topic in both the payments industry and the mobile telecommunications industry. NFC is rapidly becoming a standard feature in mo...
Tween Cards
When teen heartthrob Justin Bieber signed on to promote a prepaid debit card created by BillMyParent, the profile of "tween Cards" got a big boost. Cards and accounts targeting underage consumers and their parents have had a slow start in the ma...
Payment Acquiring and Merchant Services in Canada 2013 Update
Over the past five decades, the Canadian payments market has evolved into one of the premier international markets for foreign expansion. Not only do Canada's proximity and cultural similarities to U.S.-based firms assist in transnational expans...
Global Citizen ID Initiatives
Around the world, governments are looking to modernize national identification cards, which historically have provided only basic physical and geographic information about individual civilians. With the improved technology available in chip-base...
Credit Card Reward Programs: Balancing Loyalty and Profitability
New research from Mercator Advisory Group examines U.S. issuers' reward products and strategies
2013 U.S. Commercial Card Market Update
New research from Mercator Advisory Group examines developments in the U.S. commercial card market. Outstanding balances on U.S. consumer credit cards haven't increased much from the lows reached in early 2011, and the slow rate of economic expa...
Field Notes on Merchant Payments Steering
Smaller merchants are making use of new powers granted to them by the Durbin Amendment to steer customers into lower-cost payment choices, which may be a sign of things to come.
Business at the Periphery: Opportunities Around the Transaction
New Mercator Advisory Group report identifies niche business segments around the actual settling of payments. Many new entrants are seizing on business opportunities around the core transaction process, deriving revenue from value-added services...