The IPA recently held its first Fintech Elevator. The online event gave participants a chance to make industry connections and win a membership in the Innovation Payments Association. 

In this episode, we talk with the founder of one of our winners, Invest Sou Sou, about how being more social with our household finances can lead to greater success. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Fonta Gilliam was a diplomat who have worked in a number of countries around the world. She saw a different approach to managing money than what is common in the United States. She believes that getting people to share more about their finances will help them achieve their goals. 

To this end, she founded Invest Sou Sou, which offers financial institutions a platform that their customers can use to create social networks to help them reach goals. The use cases can range from individuals saving to buy a house to groups savings towards a common goal. 

Rather than offer the product directly to consumers, Gilliam found that her reach would be increased by creating a product to help banks attract and retain customers by offering them this value added service. 
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You can learn more by visiting the company’s site at: https://investsousou.com/. If you want to create a Sou Sou wallet of your own, visit: https://investsousou.com/elementor-55/how-sou-sou-works/.

What inspired you, and Netspend, to get involved with the Innovative Payments Association? 
The IPA is an impactful organization with a solid track record of accomplishment. They are a vocal, and influential, advocate for the industry and prepaid customers, both at the state and federal levels. At Netspend, a part of the Global Payments family, we have an obligation and commitment, to help the IPA, lend our voice to industry-wide matters and be advocates for the broader payments industry, as well as our clients and customers. In today’s rapidly changing environment, it’s important now, more than ever, to stay proactively engaged and to be conscious, and respectful, of how the prepaid industry impacts Americans each and every day.  I believe IPA’s mission, and vision, represents sensible rules, enthusiastic promotion of payments innovation, open communication and most importantly, high industry integrity. 
 
How does your membership in the IPA assist your professional and organizational goals?
The IPA has provided the opportunity for me to talk with peers across the industry. Setting competition aside, we hold collective discussions on the challenges our businesses are facing and how we need to work together, in a unified manner, to address regulatory issues our industry faces. Proactive engagement is fundamental with the upcoming election, and we welcome IPA’s leadership representing the industry, with one voice, regarding the role of prepaid within the payments ecosystem; but, also on behalf of the end consumer.
 
What future accomplishments do you hope to achieve with the IPA? 
My personal goal for the IPA is to assist them in growing, and diversifying their membership base by encouraging new payment organizations to join and encouraging them to bring their own perspectives and insights, to the table to help drive the industry forward.  Now is the critical time to build on our solid foundation and establish new solutions in preparation for a post-pandemic world.  We can only raise the bar in terms of expectations and success if we work together to learn, and share, from each other and our respective business models.  I look forward to continuing to work with my peers and enhance the reputation of our industry with regulators across the payments landscape and with American consumers. 
 
What’s one thing - either payments-related or not - you learned in the last month?
Despite all the challenges of the pandemic, I’m continually impressed by our team’s resilience, engagement and commitment to come together to address our new reality.  Additionally, I’ve been encouraged with how active the IPA has been to ensure our customers are treated fairly, from both state and federal agencies, during the essential economic stimulus window.  Amidst all the challenges and confusion, the IPA has stepped up their communication and lobbying efforts and have been a practical, vocal, and balanced advocate for our industry when it matters most to US households. 
 

In the latest episode of the IPA Payments Pod, Brian Tate, the IPA’s CEO, and our members talk with Brian Brooks, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency. 

In a wide-ranging discussion, they talk about regulating during the COVID19 pandemic and beyond. Looking to the future, they discuss fintech charters, small dollar lending, and digital dollars.

The Comptroller also brings up the social justice issues that the country has been facing. He describes how the OCC has launched a new effort “Project REACh,” to address structural issues that affect the ability of Americans to build wealth. You can learn more here. 

This is an edited version of the audio portion from the IPA’s Summer of Learning session. The IPA will be holding a ‘Day of Payments’ training day on August 19 and its first Fintech Elevator pitch event for start-ups on August 26. 

Interested in becoming an IPA member and helping to shape the future of payments? Reach out today and talk to us about the benefits of joining. 

COVID19 has led to speculation that the pandemic could be the catalyst for the arrival of the cashless society, but research suggest that our assumptions on how the pandemic is shaping payments may need revisiting.

Stay-at-home measures and pandemic fears have led to an increase in online shopping. At the same time, some brick and mortar merchants are refusing cash as a defense against germs. Nonetheless, consumers haven’t abandoned cash just yet. 
Rachel Huber, senior analyst in payments at Javelin Strategies and Research completed a study on the health of cash for ATM provider Cardtronics in late 2019. Given the pandemic, the company thought that she should do another survey to see how the pandemic changed things. 

To give you a sneak preview, it might be too soon to call it a day for cash payments just yet. And our assumptions about who is using cash and why may not be correct. In looking at cash in the context of other payments, Huber learned a few things about contactless adoption as well. 

You can hear about how things are playing out in the episode and find the complete study online. 

Interested in becoming an IPA member and helping to shape the future of payments? Reach out today and talk to us about the benefits of joining. Go to www.ipa.org  to learn more.

Listen to this episode now. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today filed its motion for summary judgement in the PayPal case. This filing comes in response to PayPal’s own motion for summary judgement from May. In brief, the Bureau is urging the Court to deny PayPal’s motion for summary judgement and to consider its motion for summary judgement. The Bureau also defends the Prepaid Rule in its entirety and argues that PayPal’s challenges distort the governing statutory framework, the Bureau’s reasons for adopting the Rule, and the scope of the Rule itself, and asks the Court to reject them. 
 
Specifically, the Bureau lays out the following arguments in defense of the Prepaid Rule: 
 

• Congress delegated the Bureau broad authority to promulgate rules to ensure that consumers understand the terms and conditions of financial products so that they can make informed financial decisions.
• The Rule easily satisfies the Administrative Procedures Act’s requirement for reasoned decision making.
• The Bureau thoroughly considered the benefits and costs of the Rule in compliance with its statutory obligations
• The Rule’s disclosure requirements are entirely consistent with the First Amendment.

 
In addition, the Bureau argues that even if the Court concluded that some of PayPal’s challenges had merit, that would not warrant the wholesale invalidation of the Rule that PayPal seeks. The Bureau, therefore, requests that if the Court rules one portion of the rule is invalid, the court should “sever and affirm” the remainder.
 
PayPal will now have the opportunity to file a reply in support of its motion for summary judgment and opposition to the Bureau’s motion for summary judgment, which is due by August 21, 2020. We will discuss this development further our Monthly GRWG call, which will take place on Thursday, June 9th at 2 PM ET.

The COVID19 pandemic has created new challenges for individuals, businesses, and government agencies as they try to manage money and deliver payroll or benefits. 

Prepaid cards have filled gaps for a variety of payments, and in this episode Lori Breitske and Jerry Uffner, from payments processor FIS, explain how. They talk about how prepaid has been used for everything from school lunch benefits to payroll. They also cover how new developments will create payments innovations that will yield benefits beyond the current crisis. 

This podcast contains an edited extract of the audio portion of a Webinar presented by the IPA and FIS. 
You can find a video of the full Webinar at our site or on our YouTube channel.

Interested in becoming an IPA member and helping to shape the future of payments? Reach out today and talk to us about the benefits of joining. 

As countries struggle to help their citizens deal with the economic fallout of the COVID19 pandemic, many are finding that prepaid cards and accounts offer a fast and convenient way to support people. 

The pandemic has shifted the payments behavior of governments – through the way they disburse funds and the way they look at different payment types – as well as the behavior of individuals. Now the question is, what changes will last beyond the pandemic and what will the future look like?

We have pulled together an international panel to try to answer some of these questions. In this episode, we talk with Jennifer Tramontana of the Canadian Prepaid Providers Association, Matthias Spangenberg of Prepaid Verband Deutschland, Diane Brocklebank of the Prepaid International Forum, Kevin McAdam of Global Processing Services, and Brian Tate of the Innovative Payments Association.

We cover how prepaid cards have been used to distribute benefits in various countries. We talk about the regulatory response to the crisis and prepaid’s role in relief. We also cover the future of payments in general and the future of cash in particular. While the world is in constant flux, it is safe to say that more things change, the more some things will stay the same. 

To learn more about the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization, visit: https://cppo.ca/
To learn more about the Prepaid International Forum, visit: https://prepaidforum.org/
To learn more about the Prepaid Verband Deutschland (German Prepaid Association) , visit: https://www.prepaidverband.de/en/
To learn more about Global Processing Services, visit: https://globalprocessing.net/
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Interested in becoming an IPA member and helping to shape the future of payments? Reach out today and talk to us about the benefits of joining. 

The COVID-19 pandemic presented the payments industry with challenges that had never been seen before and that required immediate responses and solutions. The IPA is proud to say that the payments industry stepped up to help local, state, and the federal governments distribute emergency funds during our current national emergency. Whether it was ensuring that Economic Impact Payments and state unemployment benefits were safely and quickly delivered to those most in need during this national emergency or continuing to keep prepaid programs operational in the midst of a shift to a work from home culture on the turn of dime, the prepaid industry showed why it continues to be a trusted product for consumers, businesses, and government agencies. 

While the industry worked hard to effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IPA also worked hard to support the industry’s immediate response as well as ensure that the IPA was continuing to advance the long-term priorities of the industry. The IPA wanted to take a moment to highlight the Association’s efforts to support the industry since early March.

IPA Comment Letter in Response to FDIC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) on Brokered Deposits – In the NPR, which was first released in December 2019, the FDIC proposed that payments companies be able to apply for an exemption to the FDIC’s brokered deposits regulations. This exemption could help lower the costs for deposit insurance for prepaid deposits, which means prepaid and other similar transaction accounts will continue to be attractive to consumers. 

IPA Comment Letter in Response to the CFPB's Request for Information (RFI) to Assist Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Protection Law – In late March, the CFPB issued an RFI to assist the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law. The CFPB’s Prepaid Rule regulates prepaid cards, digital wallets, and peer-to-peer payments. Given the important role the CFPB plays in regulating the payments industry, the IPA submitted comments in late May that highlights the industry’s response to the COVID-19 and recommends rule changes that could be beneficial to consumers. 

IPA Comment Letter in Response to FDIC Request for Information (RFI) on its Sign and Advertising Rules – In February, the FDIC issued an RFI seeking input regarding potential modernization of its sign and advertising rules to reflect that deposit-taking via physical branch, digital, and mobile banking channels continues to evolve. As innovation in the payments industry has accelerated, it is important the FDIC understands the myriad of new avenues that banks acquire deposits and what effect their regulations have on both banks and those who place deposits with them. 
In addition, the IPA took immediate action after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic to support and bolster the industry’s response. Notably, the IPA sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in April on the IRS’ web tools (Non-Filers and Get My Payment). The IPA’s letter urges IRS to update its online portals and clearly list prepaid cards as a viable option (alongside checking and savings accounts) in regard to receiving Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to reduce public confusion and significantly reduce the time for Americans without traditional banks accounts to receive much needed financial support. 

This is just a snapshot of what the IPA has been hard at work on over the past few months in the policy arena. We also continue to engage in conversation with regulators, legislators, and their staff informally to ensure that they are aware of what is going on in the industry and ways that the industry continues to serve Americans. 
Outside of the policy arena, the IPA continues to assist our members in their efforts to combat fraud and provide our members with new educational resources. The IPA’s Financial Crimes Task Force meets regularly to exchange information and coordinate with law enforcement. If you would like to learn more about or join the Task Force, please contact Ben Jackson, IPA COO, at bjackson@ipa.org.

The IPA has additionally worked hard to bring IPA members new educational resources. In May, the IPA released an updated version of its Prepaid Glossary. The Glossary is designed to give an overview of the most common terms used by the prepaid card industry. It includes definitions of the types of prepaid card programs, common transaction terms, and high-level definitions of several regulatory concepts. 

The IPA’s focus on educational resources also includes webinars. Earlier this month, the IPA hosted our Virtual Compliance Bootcamp. The IPA will also host a virtual happy hour for our annual award ceremony on July 7th. Looking ahead, the IPA is working to bring exciting new webinars throughout the rest of the summer as part of our Summer of Learning series. Please stay tuned for more updates on these upcoming webinars! 

Thank you for all you do and for your continued support for the IPA. If there is anything we can do to support your efforts further, please don’t hesitate to contact me at btate@ipa.org.

The economic effects of the COVID19 pandemic are far reaching and will last longer than the pandemic itself. These affects are rippling through financial institutions’ portfolios as borrowers feel pressure from lost wages and the economic slowdown. 

Despite moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures, it is not clear that these will last long enough to let the economy recover enough to prevent a wave of defaults.

But companies don’t need to stand by as problems ripple through their client bases and portfolios. As the IPA noted in an earlier blog, companies do not need to wait for government action to alter their policies to help their customers. Resources exist to help companies find aid for borrowers who need to regain a solid financial footing.  

In the latest episode of the IPA Payments Pod, we talk with Rochelle Gorey, the co-founder and CEO of SpringFour, a fintech that helps lenders find assistance for borrowers in financial trouble. We talk about how Springfour provides resources for call centers and online customer services and the business case for connecting customers to vetted nonprofits and government agencies that can provide aid. 

To learn more about Spring Four, visit: https://springfour.com/

Whether it is using outside resources like SpringFour or making internal policy changes and resource decisions, companies should take control of their own destinies and look for ways to help their customers and clients weather the storms that everyone is facing right now. 

Originally posted here.