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that combined digital assets have lost $400 billion in the stay high or even rise. With the rapidly changing payments
last seven days, JEC Chair Don Beyer, D-Va., expressed landscape around the world, we will continue innovating
concerns about price volatility. "The mainstreaming of on behalf of customers to add and promote faster, cheaper
digital assets is laying the foundation for huge swaths of and more inclusive payment options to our stores across
the economy to invest in this market," JEC Chair Beyer the globe."
said.
Experts link new tech, new threats
"Increased crypto market volatility or a digital bank-run In addition to threats of phishing, malware, identity
could disrupt more mainstream financial institutions like theft and compromised log-in credentials, experts have
pension funds or mutual funds. And the underlying assets identified new threats stemming from emerging payment
can create significant consumer protection issues given technologies and discussed ways to safeguard payments
existing patterns of financial fraud, hacks, and market while also making them more convenient for shoppers.
manipulation."
Clash of titans Amazon and Visa Sam Ranieri, founder and CEO at Reach, mentioned
that early cross-border solutions redirected ecommerce
Amazon is taking on Visa over interchange fees. The shoppers to payment pages, typically a less secure, less
ecommerce giant divulged on Nov. 17 that it will no longer seamless approach than API-driven models.
accept Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom
as of Jan. 19, 2022. "The cost of accepting card payments "The premise of cross-border used to be accommodating
continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to the international shopper," he said. "Today, we need [to
provide the best prices for customers," an Amazon treat] international shoppers as if they're local and give
spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Green them the same user experience as if they were buying [a
Sheet. product or service] down the street."

"These costs should be going down over time with
technological advancements, but instead they continue to