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ReadersSpeak

Presidential election's impact on payments was criticized across the indus-
try as it attempted to hold pay-
W e've heard from several readers who would like to hear what ments companies liable for the
payments industry leaders anticipate the impact the Nov. 8 fraudulent actions of their cus-
presidential election will be on our sector. This matter is natu- tomer merchants. This is akin to
rally of interest to all parties on the payments chain, and we will a computer manufacturer being
cover developments as they occur. We, at The Green Sheet, expect that after accountable for a hacker commit-
President-elect Trump takes the oath of office in January 2017, his actions will ting a crime.
give us much to report on, and we will follow this story as relevant develop-
ments occur. • The Consumer Financial Protec-
In the meantime, the payments industry experts at The Strawhecker Group tion Bureau will likely be tar-
interviewed pundits and industry experts to get an initial impression of what geted for reform by changing the
changes the election might bring ? including potential positives, negatives and current Executive branch report-
unknowns. They published their initial findings in a paper titled "Election ing structure. Previously held
Impact on the Payments Industry ? TSG's Take." unaccountable to Congress, the
The following excerpt, quoted verbatim, lists the potential positives TSG CFPB will be held with a tighter
researchers found: leash. While many actions of the
• Wall Street's rally, particularly for national and regional banks, over the group have been seen as sensible
and needed, others have been
last 48 hours likely occurred because the president-elect's transition team seen as misguided, stifling some
has stated that the 2010 Dodd-Frank will be dismantled. This has been fur- payments companies.
ther buoyed by his encouragement of an interest rate hike which has given
major bank stocks fuel for a rally in price. • One of the platforms of President-
• With a new Attorney General set to be named, it is likely that Operation elect Trump's was to curb federal
Chokepoint will be shut down by the Justice Department. The operation regulation, which would indicate
that further Durbin Amendment
8 pricing regulation on credit cards
is unlikely.

• The implications of Republicans
holding the House, Senate, and
Executive branch on tax policy
are potentially very impactful.
For example, strategies over how
payments companies structure
themselves will be top of mind if
the corporate income tax rate is
indeed lowered to 15 percent, as
Trump has proposed. Further, if
this lower rate is indeed enacted,
the reinvestment of this windfall
into the market will likely lead
to explosive growth, ultimately
driving up consumer spending –
the lifeblood of the economy and
the payments industry.

The paper's full text is posted at http://
bit.ly/PaymentsImpact.

What do you think
is in store in 2017?

Are you optimistic about your
business prospects for 2017? We'd
love to hear what you expect the next
several months will bring and what
you're planning to do to thrive in
our always changing environment.
We will welcome your thoughts at
greensheet@greensheet.com.