Dimitri Akhrin founded IRIS CRM in 2010 with the goal of delivering advanced business management solutions to the payments industry. On Jan. 18, 2022, news broke that the company had been acquired by NMI. The Green Sheet connected with Akhrin to learn about IRIS CRM's evolution and the key benefits arising from joining forces with NMI.

read more

The Federal Reserve Board's discussion paper on a U.S. central bank digital currency, published Jan. 20, 2022, drew rapid-fire responses from the Electronic Transactions Association, Merchants Payments Coalition and Independent Community Bankers of America. The paper examined current and emerging digital payments schemes as well as the potential economic impacts of a CBDC on the U.S. payments ecosystem, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell.

read more

Emboldened by Amazon's public threat to pull the plug on Visa cards issued in the United Kingdom, a group representing U.S. retailers is urging U.S. policymakers to "find a way" to help bring down interchange fees.

read more

BEM Europe UAB disclosed Jan. 20, 2022, that it obtained an electronic money license from the Bank of Lithuania, granting the company permission to launch Benker, a new kind of financial institution that will be run entirely on blockchain technology.

read more

On Jan. 18, 2022, two high-profile acquisitions dominated payments industry news: NMI acquired IRIS CRM and Celero Commerce acquired Omega Technology. While transaction details were not available at press time, financial advisors and payments industry analysts suggest these mergers reflect growing interest in delivering fast, secure, simple and personalized solutions.

read more

Amazon pressed the hold button on its decision to stop accepting Visa credit cards issued by UK banks. Amazon disclosed the decision in a Jan. 17, 2022, email to UK customers, although it left open the possibility that it might follow through on its threat at a later date.

read more

On Jan. 14, 2022, the National Retail Federation released the numbers that retailers and service providers have been waiting for, placing 2021 holiday sales in the record books with sales volumes of $886.7 in the November through December period, a 14.1 percent increase over 2020. The 2021 growth compares with an average 4.4 percent holiday sales growth over the previous five years.

read more

Consumer interest in buy now pay later programs has exploded in recent years, and now credit reporting agencies are taking notice. Equifax, one of the three main credit bureaus in the United States, heralded what it said is the industry's first policy for including these short-term financing alternatives in calculations of consumers' credit scores. The new policy is expected to kick in during the first quarter of this year.

read more

Discussions between Apple and the Korean Communication Commission may soon bring relief to third-party app developers in the form of lower transaction fees and broader checkout options, reported TechCrunch journalist Kate Park.

read more

Amendments to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) may help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) survive post-pandemic challenges, government sources noted. The sweeping revisions include an Employee Retention Credit (ERC), designed for SMBs that kept employees on the payroll despite their own economic hardships.

read more

The Electronic Transactions Association's 2022 Legislative and Regulatory Policy Priorities, published Jan. 7, 2022, in three distinct documents, encourages Canadian and U.S. state and federal lawmakers to craft policies that support innovation. Describing the payments industry as "innovative, dynamic, competitive and highly regulated," the documents share insights on industrywide efforts to make payments safe, secure and financially inclusive.

read more

While banks, businesses and regulators continue to grapple with issues around the future of cryptocurrencies, consumers, it seems, are more inclined to act. New research suggests a majority of consumers who own cryptocurrencies (67 percent) are willing to make mobile wallet purchases using their crypto assets.

read more

2021 retail holiday sales exceeded analyst expectations by a margin of 8.5 percent, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, a monthly report featuring visually enhanced metrics highlighting emerging trends. Designed to help business owners identify emerging trends, the reports cover numerous sectors, including restaurants, lodging and total retail, Mastercard stated.

read more