The status of EMV-chip migration, online and card-not-present fraud mitigation, and frictionless payments were among the hot-button mobile and digital commerce topics explored at the 10th Annual Payments Summit.

The overarching theme of the Payments Summit, a Secure Technology Alliance event, which until recently had been associated with the Smart Card Alliance, centered on the wave of change rushing throughout the payments industry.

“You need to provide clear value to the merchant and the consumer, or [innovations] won't be adopted,” Marc Keller, head of FI strategy and partnerships for Samsung Pay, said.

The key drivers, according to Keller, are convenience, value and usability. Visa SVP of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Shiv Singh shared a similar vision, mentioning the need for invisible transactions, a frictionless consumer experience and equal support for brand awareness, product development and innovation as keys to success.

In addition to this common theme of mobile and digital commerce, sessions touched on EMV chip technology, card-not-present fraud, contactless and mobile payments, and the importance of the consumer payments experience.

Here are some of the session highlights:

The migration to EMV chip technology in the U.S. is making continued progress. Jared Drieling, business intelligence manager at The Strawhecker Group, reported 52% of merchants today are enabled to accept chip payments. George Peabody, partner at Glenbrook Partners, also stated 81% of credit cards, 46% of debit cards and 63% of all cards in the market are chip cards. Peabody predicted that by 2020, 90% of transactions would involve transactions using a chip card at a chip-enabled terminal.
With online fraud being a global concern, many sessions focused on online fraud causes and ways to mitigate this type of fraud in the U.S. To better understand the rise of card-not-present fraud in the U.S., Susan Pandy, director of payment strategies at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said it isn't accurate to place all of the blame for CNP fraud on the chip migration. She also pointed to a number of other factors, such as the rapid growth in e- and m-commerce transaction volume and dollar amount as significant contributing factors. Christopher Justice, CEO of CenPOS, looked to learn from experiences in other countries such as Canada, where he said CNP fraud rose 233% within five years of the country's chip migration.
Attendees addressed the question: What's the importance of a frictionless transaction experience in mobile and contactless payments? Melissa Fox, senior manager of payments strategy and innovation at First Annapolis, shared research showing mobile payments are on an upward trajectory, with adoption up to 75% in January 2017 from 40% in May 2015. She also noted frequency of use was increasing, with one in three Apple Pay users using it weekly or daily. Additionally, 36% of merchants are equipped with a contactless-capable terminal, and of those, 28% have activated them, according to Drieling. In the case of mobile payments, Marianne Johnson, SVP of network and security solutions products and innovation for First Data, said there has to be a strongly apparent value for both the merchant to be willing to accept the mobile payment and for the consumer to be willing to use it. Speakers concluded that there's still work to be done within the industry to overcome the barriers of adoption. “Changes in the payments industry take time to take hold,” Fox stated. “The mobile payment industry is poised for growth.”

The Princeton Junction, N.J.-based Smart Card Alliance recently announced it is changing its name to the Secure Technology Alliance and expanding its charter to include a broader range of security and privacy-enhancing technologies.

Instant Insights /

Payments Summit Highlights Evolution of Transactions

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