This is not original content, but I wanted to commemorate the end of an active year in payments. The Atlanta Fed’s Blog Portals and Rails has a great list, so why reinvent the wheel?:
As the year draws to a close, the Portals and Rails team would like to share its own Top 10 list of major payment-related events that took place in the United States this year.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized Dodd-Frank 1073 money transfer rules.
- The payments industry experienced increased regulatory scrutiny of third-party processors and high-risk business customers.
- Major global ATM cash-out fraud attacks—including many U.S. ATMs—totaled $45 million.
- FTC issued a proposal to ban telemarketers from using remotely created checks and payment orders.
- Debit networks sought a compromise on an EMV interface—while there is little movement on the issuance of EMV cards.
- The newly designed $100 bill with additional security features was released.
- Several major data breaches occurred, and identity theft occurrences skyrocketed. (Perhaps you are experiencing repercussions from the recent Target breach?)
- Cyber Monday online sales were up 17 percent, with phones and tablets representing almost a third of the total.
- Virtual currencies received increased public, legislative, and regulatory awareness after the U.S. Department of Justice took action to close down virtual currency operators Liberty Reserve and Silk Road.
- U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon threw out Regulation II debit card interchange fees and routing rules.
Happy Holidays everyone!