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ReadersSpeak
Will Plaid unseat the big guys? ment card rails, won't the major card
companies seek to limit awareness
ight after Plaid launched its payments partner and implementation of Plaid's eco-
ecosystem, some industry observers said this system.
could completely transform how certain transac- Jeffrey Lamb
R tions are carried out. Does this mean account- Merchant Level Salesperson
to-account transactions will become commonplace at our
favorite stores' brick-and-mortar POSs and online checkout Jeffrey,
pages? Will a tiny Plaid logo be displayed along with the big players—Visa,
MC, PayPal and others? Since A2A transactions bypass the traditional pay- Thank you for your inquiry. Plaid's
technology makes it easier for peo-
ple to grant permission for banks
and fintechs to access their financial
information. Plaid is not a payment
processor. It's unlikely Plaid's logo
would mean much to shoppers. Peo-
ple will be looking for Plaid's part-
ners at checkout, including familiar
names like Square, Stripe and SoFi.
Merchants want to offer a good se-
lection of payment options to their
customers. Secure A2A transfers
look like an excellent addition that
some shoppers are bound to favor.
Visa did intend to acquire Plaid, but
the U.S. Department of Justice nixed
that deal on antitrust grounds. The
DOJ, in its complaint, alleged that
Visa is a “monopolist” in online
debit, and that Plaid is developing a
competitive payments platform. Ac-
cording to the DOJ, the acquisition
"would have enabled Visa to elimi-
nate this competitive threat to its on-
line debit business before Plaid had
a chance to succeed, thereby enhanc-
ing or maintaining is monopoly.”
Visa and Plaid denied this claim but
said to fight it in court would have
been too costly. In any event, Visa
and Plaid will likely thrive as com-
petitors that continue to evolve. Plus,
credit card payments aren't going
anywhere; numerous cardholders
will stick with them, enjoying the
protections and rewards they offer.
Editor
New payment options
Are your merchant customers ask-
ing for additional payment-accep-
tance options like A2A transfers? If
so, what new types of payments are
most in demand? Please send your
thoughts on this and other compel-
ling developments in payments to
greensheet@greensheet.com.
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