Letter from the Editor: Back in Action
It’s been a little more than a month since I returned to work after maternity leave—the twins are great!—and it’s a wonderful time to be back. The nomination deadline for the 2015 Paybefore Awards is tomorrow. (Yes, there’s still time for you to enter, but hurry!) And, although everything that goes into this annual celebration of excellence can be daunting, it’s also a fabulous way to see just how far the industry has come in the past 12 months. Each year we see some familiar companies—industry stalwarts and past winners that continue to set the standard for excellence—as well as newcomers that are finding ground-breaking ways to improve payments.
During the daily rush of Pay News, we’re bombarded with information about programs and companies that claim to be the latest and greatest. During the Paybefore Awards judging process, however, companies must have something substantial to back up their claims. The best part of being a judge is getting a bird’s-eye view of the overall payments landscape, while also seeing close-ups of the programs, companies and people that are bringing the future into the here and now.
It’s an odd juxtaposition that the day before our nominations are due, the CFPB is holding a field hearing on prepaid and released its long-awaited NPRM. Today in Delaware industry representatives, consumers, regulators and consumer advocates are gathering to discuss the future of prepaid. Following the meeting and a thorough analysis of the rules, we’ll likely have some answers about the shape regulation may take for a critical part of our industry—the part that democratizes payments and enables everyone to participate in the financial mainstream. My hope is that the visionaries that make Paybefore Awards a remarkable annual event also make their voices—and those of their customers—heard, as the rules go from proposal to regulation.
Our CEO Marilyn Bochicchio is on-site in Delaware today (follow her on Twitter), and we’ll have more news as it happens. We’ll also follow-up with an in-depth analysis of the proposal to help you craft your response.
There’s never a dull moment in payments, and I’m happy to be back in the middle of the action.
Loraine DeBonis
Editor-in-Chief
