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.

  1. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized Dodd-Frank 1073 money transfer rules.
  2. The payments industry experienced increased regulatory scrutiny of third-party processors and high-risk business customers.
  3. Major global ATM cash-out fraud attacks—including many U.S. ATMs—totaled $45 million.
  4. FTC issued a proposal to ban telemarketers from using remotely created checks and payment orders.
  5. Debit networks sought a compromise on an EMV interface—while there is little movement on the issuance of EMV cards.
  6. The newly designed $100 bill with additional security features was released.
  7. Several major data breaches occurred, and identity theft occurrences skyrocketed.
  8. Cyber Monday online sales were up 17 percent, with phones and tablets representing almost a third of the total.
  9. 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.
  10. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon threw out Regulation II debit card interchange fees and routing rules.

And as we head into 2014, here are a few payments-related topics we will be following closely:

  • As regulators continue to monitor developments in the virtual currency market, will the usage of virtual currency as a legitimate medium of exchange expand among the merchant community?
  • Will 2014 finally be the “Year of the Mobile Payment” as stakeholders have yearned for over the last several years? What progress will be made in addressing the awareness, security, and education aspects of mobile payments?
  • With online and mobile commerce showing no signs of slowing down, what authentication solutions will be most widely adopted to prevent a rising tide of card-not-present fraud?
  • How will merchants and card issuers deal with EMV implementation?
  • What effects will the regulatory attention on third parties and high-risk businesses have on the due diligence practices of financial institutions?

Wishing you all happy holidays and a fraud-free 2014!

Photo of David LottBy David Lott, a retail payments risk expert in the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Atlanta Fed