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IndustryUpdate

RESEARCH Jason Bohrer, director of the U.S. Payments Forum. "But
there is still much to be done ahead of us in areas like
2022 equipment, software investment growth online fraud prevention, navigating the chip shortage
and opportunities being created by the new standard for
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation reported mobile drivers' licenses, all of which created an exciting
that low financial stress, an expanding housing sector and active fall meeting for our members."
and increased federal spending on infrastructure are
expected to propel equipment and software investment PARTNERSHIPS
growth of 4.6 percent for 2022. Annual U.S. GDP growth
for 2022 is forecast at 3.5 percent, according to the foun- BestPOS software integrates with Solutran
dation's 2022 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic
Outlook, which is focused on the nearly $1 trillion equip- BestRx stated its BestPOS software is now fully inte-
ment leasing and finance industry. grated with Solutran, a health and wellness benefit
provider. The partnership allows BestRx customers to
Despite supply chain constraints, high inflation and join Solutran's S3 Retailer Network and process their
tighter monetary policy, which are key headwinds to OTC benefit cards through BestPOS. "By joining forces,
growth, as well as hiring difficulties that could dampen BestRx and Solutran have made the process quick and
industrial sector output, the U.S. manufacturing sector easy for participating pharmacies and their patients," the
should continue to expand, according to the report; how- partners stated. "Rather than having to manually process
ever, small firms are more susceptible to surging input their OTC benefits, patients can redeem their benefits at
costs and labor scarcity than large firms, which could participating BestRx pharmacies with a simple barcode
hinder smaller enterprises as 2022 gets underway. scan at checkout."

Open banking evolving in U.S. without mandate Fiserv powers contactless commerce at UBS Arena
Mercator Advisory Group reported that sharing of The New York Islanders and entertainment and sport
data permissioned by millions of account owners is venue UBS Arena at Belmont Park stated they are engag-
being used for account authentication, balance checks ing fans, streamlining food and beverage ordering, and
and gathering of transaction data, as well as to open meeting growing consumer demand for digital and
accounts; provide budgeting, savings and investment contactless payment options with the implementation
advice; and in some instances to facilitate payments. of Clover POS hardware and Bypass POS software from
Mercator's latest report, Open Banking American Style, Fiserv Inc. Supporting mobile and in-app ordering, self-
explores current developments in connected banking service kiosks, grab-and-go marketplaces, and touchless
in the United States, where, researchers found, there is order fulfillment, Fiserv implemented a fully cashless
unlikely to be a mandate for open banking, so the report payments ecosystem at UBS Arena, the partners noted,
uses the term "connected banking" to describe the shar- adding that more than 350 Clover devices enable quick
ing of permissioned data. and contactless purchasing that shortens concession
queues and allows hockey fans and concert goers to
Highlights of the report include the current market spend more time enjoying the event.
for connected banking, likely use cases, implications
for permissioned data without a regulated mandate to FSS, CSB launch Smart Cash for FIs
participate, the opportunities for financial institutions,
overview of the ecosystem supporting connected bank- Financial Software and Systems, a payment processor
ing, and the status of regulation in this market. and provider of integrated payment products, and CSB
Bank, a private sector bank in India, joined forces to
US Payments Forum predicts growth in 2022 deliver hyperlocal banking services to financially under-
served segments. Under this partnership, CSB Bank
The U.S. Payments Forum heralded the release of its lat- and FSS plan to open 1,000 Smart Cash franchisees in
est Market Snapshot, which provides an overview of the semi-urban and rural areas across India to expand finan-
state of the industry and highlights consistent growth cial services adoption among underserved segments.
in contactless payments, buy now pay later, and mobile "Financial development has long been identified as a
wallet transactions, along with the pandemic-driven crucial accelerator for economic growth, as it increases
shift toward ecommerce. The snapshot also offers clarity the level of aggregate savings, investment and employ-
from forum members regarding ongoing chip supply ment," the partners stated.
challenges, the eight-digit BIN migration, EMV L3 con-
siderations, and current Forum priorities and projects, Paysafe, OSG enable online cash payments
the forum stated.
Specialized payments platform Paysafe partnered with
"U.S. contactless payments have doubled year-over- Output Services Group, a provider of customer engage-
year, ecommerce is booming and mobile and online ment and payment solutions. OSG, which offers online
transactions have become essential for retailers," said billing and payment solutions to industries serving U.S.
consumers, will now offer the Paysafecash online cash
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