What shapes consumer transactions and payment technologies, and where is it going?
Any conventional wisdom about payments—how they’re made, the currencies being used, the cards presently in favor—doesn’t last long before the next wave of technology, innovation, and regulation. Javelin’s analysts conduct research at the forefront of payments, identifying the emerging trends for financial services companies and payments providers and offering insight into how they can best position themselves not just for what is current but also for what is coming.
Payments Research
Reports
Self-Checkout Retail Terminals: Benefits, Detriments, and Opportunities
New Mercator Advisory Group research examines the market for self-checkout terminals. The customer checkout process is a high priority for merchants in part because it affects the customer's shopping experience. The merchant does not want the cu...
Carrier Billing: Teeny Tiny Gets Bigger
New research from Mercator Advisory Group examines the potential market opportunities for carrier billing solutions
Core Financial Relationships After Free Checking
The loss of overdraft fees and reduction of debit interchange have put free checking on the endangered species list as financial institutions struggle to redefine the hub of their customers' financial lives.
How to Build Better Online and Mobile Bill-Pay for the Underbanked
When it comes to paying bills, too often the nation’s 37 million underbanked Americans do it using hard and costly ways: in cash, and in person, by mail, or by phoning call centers. This creates an opportunity for financial institutions, billers...
The Cost of EMV and the Credit Card Issuer Investment Decision
The EMV standard derives much of its value from its ability to prevent fraud, and European issuers have testified to the technology's effectiveness in this area. But U.S. banks are wondering, "Is the reduction in counterfeit fraud sufficient to ...
American Express and Walmart's Bluebird
The U.S. card industry sat up and took notice when American Express launched its Bluebird general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid card product in October 2012 with Wal-Mart Inc. as its strategic partner. This action signaled the card network's ...
U.S. EMV Timeline Beyond the Road Maps: How Long Will Conversion Really Take?
Mercator Advisory Group's new research report, U.S. EMV Timeline Beyond the Road Maps: How Long Will Conversion Really Take? explains the motivation for the U.S. to adopt EMV at this time and clarifies the card networks' road maps for U.S. EMV a...
International Payments Market Outlook 2013
Mercator Advisory Group expects 2013 to be a year of slow growth for the global payments market as major changes continue in the business ecosystem, regulations, and new products and services.
Update on the Small Issuer Marketplace
At the start of 2012, Mercator Advisory Group examined the small issuer marketplace and the buzz about potential new entrants buoying the segment. We concluded then that the small issuer pond was unlikely to refill; unfortunately we were correct...
Checking In on the Mobile Giants
In early 2012, Mercator Advisory Group published a report establishing five organizations as the giants of the mobile payment industry. This research note revisits the topic, reviewing the major events of 2012, and determining whether those five...