Research

Financial institutions are seeing rising losses from first-party fraud, yet many still struggle to detect it before the damage is done. Traditional controls confirm who the customer is, but not how they behave. This report examines the gaps in d...

Co‑branded credit cards thrive when financial institutions and consumer brands join to create value neither could deliver alone. When designed well, these partnerships fuel customer acquisition, deepen loyalty, and generate major revenue streams...

Kraken didn’t gain a Fed account to mimic existing banks. It gained one to rebuild core payment architecture. This report breaks down how direct access to Fed settlement layers, coupled with dollar rails, alters the risk stack for payments and r...

Enterprise innovation has moved beyond labs, demos, and culture theater into a disciplined, business-anchored capability. Based on interviews with innovation leaders across payments and financial services, this report examines how accountability...

Consumers, regardless of age, are using AI to research personal and business-related purchases. Some are even allowing AI to buy the products with no need to visit a store or website. Merchants should build a deeper understanding of this decisio...

Ten years after the Federal Reserve set the U.S. faster-payments agenda in motion, the market is beginning to show what fit-for-purpose adoption looks like in practice. This report examines how real-time payments, Same Day ACH, and other faster-...

Zelle’s growth in its nearly decade of existence has made it a central P2P feature in U.S. banking apps, but the overall user experience still lags behind what consumers have come to expect from third party platforms. Despite strong adoption, cu...

Small businesses are leveraging peer-to-peer apps for business purposes, and PayPal and Cash App are excelling in this space. Banks must not grow complacent. They should be competing by offering services like Zelle and tap-to-pay.

Independent sales organizations (ISOs) are evolving as payments and point-of-sale technology become more complex. Once primarily focused on selling payment terminals, today’s ISOs serve as trusted advisors, helping merchants navigate advanced PO...

There’s been an intriguing shift in gift cards, which are no longer simply given by others. Consumers are buying prepaid cards for themselves to take advantage of companies’ rewards, make online purchases, and control their spending. Businesses ...