Editor’s Letter: Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
When I left the office in August to go on maternity leave, I knew I would be missing some big developments in the industry. In fact, I joked with my colleagues that the CFPB would release its prepaid account rules the day I went into labor. It seemed like a cosmic certainty.
It turns out the rules took longer to incubate than my son. I almost made it back in time for the big reveal on Oct. 5. Like many of you I’m still sorting through the final rule trying to determine what its short- and long-term implications will be for prepaid and products like mobile wallets that now are considered prepaid accounts. Stay tuned to Pay Gov as we dive in with the legal experts to guide the way.
The most shocking headline I read on my return to work was the court ruling that the CFPB structure was unconstitutional. Yet, when I dug deeper, the decision doesn’t really seem to change much for the businesses subject to the CFPB’s supervision, rulemaking and enforcement. Perhaps the outcome of next week’s election will change things, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that no matter who holds the power after Nov. 8, the cost of doing business in payments is going to keep going up in 2017. That will hold true no matter where in the world you operate. The cost of keeping up with shifting regulation and security threats, while simultaneously meeting client and consumer demands for speed, simplicity and rewards only has one trajectory—up.
The exciting part about being in the payments industry is not these challenges. It’s how companies will find ways to meet them. I wasn’t able to make the trip to Las Vegas this year for Money20/20, but from the stories I’ve read, companies are hard at work. That’s good news for me because it means we’ll have no shortage of topics to write about. But what I’m most looking forward to seeing now that I’m back in the office is what the game changers will be. Really. Will we finally have a killer payments app or a mobile wallet with significant usage?
When you ask about game-changers, everyone has opinions and many people are quick to raise their hands, especially to ask for funding. But I’m eager to get beyond the hyperbole and see what’s really shaping the future of payments. That’s why we’re putting together a blockbuster special section for the 2017 issue of Pay Magazine on Game-Changing Payments Tech. If you’ve got technology that has or will make a real difference in how consumers, businesses and others pay, we want to know about it. And even though it may be too tough for political candidates to do, we will be asking you to back up your claims.
Last night the Cubs proved—after a long and grueling fight—that the narrative can change. New winners can be crowned. Who in payments will come out on top in 2017? Will it be you?
I look forward to telling the tale.
Loraine DeBonis
Editor-in-Chief
Paybefore
[email protected]
