The Federal Trade Commission's consent order, Docket No. C-4795, issued May 30, 2023, will provide more debit card routing options to merchants, even for Mastercard debit transactions, FTC representatives stated, calling the move a victory for merchants that upholds the Durbin Amendment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

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Months after ChatGPT infiltrated copywriting and editing, a new study suggests AIs and digital assistants may soon make cold calling a thing of the past for exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers and their financial advisory teams. Jointly conducted by Blackwater Search & Advisory and FLX Networks, the research is based on interviews with ETF issuers in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

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Small merchants north of the border will soon benefit from lower credit card interchange—a move the Canadian government said will save those businesses $1 billion over five years.

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Is it legal or plausible for a processor to claw back residual revenues paid to sales channel partners over a period of three years or more? An April 2023 CardConnect Corp. memo titled "Agent Partner Notice" suggests the answer is yes. Addressed to certain CardConnect sales channel partners, the memo outlines the company's efforts to balance its books by recovering overpaid residuals from as far back as 2018.

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Encryption and tokenization provider Bluefin uses advanced cryptographic solutions to protect payments and sensitive data. The company's technology stack includes solutions for contactless face-to-face, call center, mobile, ecommerce and unattended payments and data in the healthcare, higher education, government and non-profit industries. The Green Sheet discussed the role of PCI-certified point-to-point encryption (P2PE) with Brent Johnson, CISO at Bluefin. Following are interview highlights.

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The European Union has just approved a sweeping set of cryptocurrency rules, placing the 27-nation block at the forefront of cryptocurrency regulation. The Markets in Crypto Assets, or MiCA, approved by the European Parliament in April, got the green light from EU finance ministers on May 16. The rules are expected to begin taking effect in phases beginning in 2024. "I am very pleased that today we are delivering on our promise to start regulating the crypto-assets sector," Elisabeth Svantesson, minister of finance for Sweden, said in a statement. "Recent events have confirmed the urgent need for imposing rules which will better protect Europeans who have invested in these assets, and prevent the misuse of the crypto industry for the purposes of money laundering."

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In March 2023, Runa conducted research to understand what motivates consumers to join or leave a loyalty program. After polling 900 loyalty program members in Germany, UK and United States, researchers found traditional loyalty product and service offerings failed to meet customer expectations, with 64 percent of respondents stating they would abandon current loyalty programs that make earning rewards complicated or difficult.

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The Green Sheet joins the Southeast Acquirers Association in remembering payments industry veteran Derek Vowels for his team spirit, humor, boundless enthusiasm and numerous contributions to our industry. We appreciate the outpouring of remembrance and support during this difficult time.

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Whether you're solving financial crime or searching for the right marketing lingo, AI-powered solutions tirelessly support a range of payments industry sectors, financial analysts have noted. And some payments industry leaders are suggesting that OpenAI will fully inhabit the workplace in the near future, coexisting with Microsoft Office, email servers and business management software.

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Lenders servicing the small and midsize business (SMB) community have seen an uptick in SMB lending fraud, according to a new study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Based on a survey of 147 bank, credit union, fintech lenders and payment processing risk managers between September and October 2022, researchers found an average year-over-year increase of 14.5 percent in SMB lending fraud, up from 6.9 percent the previous year.

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Multinational payment processing company Nexway is on the hook for $650,000. The money is slated to be paid to U.S. consumers defrauded by off-shore tech support scammers that used Nexway to gain entry to the credit card networks.

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Payments industry analysts, executives and business leaders hailed TRANSACT 23 as the Electronic Transactions Association's "best ever" annual conference and expo. In on-site interviews with The Green Sheet, held April 24 to 26, 2023, at Atlanta's Georgia World Conference Center, experts commented on the event's theatricality and breadth, noting it encompassed multiple facets of modern day commerce.

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