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The 2021 ETA Star Awards, presented at the Electronic Transactions Association's Strategic Leadership Forum, held Sept. 27 to 29, 2021, recognized leading payment brands for highly adept approaches to business continuity during COVID-19.
Award recipients Celero Commerce, Homebase and NCR Corp. were nimble, flexible and adaptive, stated Jodie Kelley, chief executive officer at ETA. "It was a pleasure to acknowledge the ETA Star Award – Response to COVID-19 honorees for the important work they did to adapt and help their customers engage in commerce in new ways and to support their employees and their communities during the pandemic," she stated.
Mastercard is throwing its clout behind buy now pay later (BNPL). It launched a new platform that allows banks and other lenders, as well as mobile wallet developers, to offer BNPL wherever Mastercard is accepted. BNPL is a burgeoning market that traces its origins to two 20th century phenomena: installment payments and layaway plans. But rather than having to pay in full prior to taking possession of purchases, BNPL customers take instant possession then pay for their purchases over time, generally in weekly or bi-monthly installments.
It's an interest-free loan, as long as the borrower keeps up with payments, which usually post to their debit cards or get pulled directly from their checking accounts. Interest in BNPL has grown during the pandemic, with cash-strapped consumers drawn to the ease of paying over time without adding costs or fees.
Escalating threats posed by third-party service providers and emerging technologies have prompted governing bodies EMVCo and the FDIC to reassess risk mitigation and security strategies, according to recent reports.
EMVCo's updated 3DS software and the FDIC's request for comment on third-party risk management reflect emerging omnichannel and interoperability trends in ecommerce and financial services, financial experts noted. EMVCo's enhanced 3DS version 2.3 expands support across digital channels and offers card-issuer tools designed to quickly identify fraud, stated Robin Trickel, executive committee chair at EMVCo.
Cryptocurrency is emerging from the shadows, according to The Crypto Divide, published Oct. 6, 2021, by The Strawhecker Group. Researchers surveyed 600 SMB owners about their thoughts on cryptocurrency acceptance and found perceptions ranged from low awareness to rejection, noted Jared Drieling, senior director of market intelligence and insights at TSG.
"We found that merchants that do not accept crypto have a variety of nuanced reasons," Drieling said. "Some are closed off to the payment method entirely and see it as something only used by criminals. Others had a low awareness of the payment method in general but might be open to it should their customers start asking about it." 
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