How far ahead do you look when strategizing for your own business and for your particular corner of the payments biz? And have you mapped out a plan and taken appropriate action? Visa and Mastercard are stellar examples of companies that look toward the future not only to respond to what they expect will unfold, but also to shape it. One example is their approach to person-to-person (P2P) payments.
For many in the payments industry, P2P payments are of little consequence and are thus given little thought. Over the past few years, however, the two major card brands have launched several initiatives intended to drive more P2P payments to their networks. Visa is signing up banks, processors and technology companies for Visa Direct, a card-based platform that promises to deliver P2P transactions almost instantaneously. Mastercard is advancing pilots in Africa and Asia that support micro- and small-merchant acceptance of contactless payments using Facebook Messenger.
How the P2P sector might tie into payment businesses is explored in this issue's lead article, which delves into the state of P2P payments and what is likely to happen next. As ISOs and merchant level salespeople, you probably don't have the research and development chops of a card brand, but you can plan to shape the future, as well.
Our contributing writers also have your future in mind. Have you thought of using video in your marketing? How well are you training your sales staff? Are you offering merchants a full suite of business services that goes beyond payments? Do you understand the distinctions between surcharge and cash discount programs? These and other questions are addressed within these pages.
News briefs present highlights from recent new stories posted. Among them is the launch of the Merchant Sales Podcast. If you haven't listened to the first episode yet, it's available at www.greensheet.com directly below Breaking Industry News. Other stories are on the TLS 1.2 deadline, growth in nonbank finance, a spike in crypto theft, digital-forward dining and more.
And, of course, you'll find company and product profiles, as well as updates on numerous recent developments and milestones within individual companies and in the payments business overall.
Is there a topic you'd like us to address in a lead story? What about in our education and views sections? Please let us know at greensheet@greensheet.com, and do continue to send your press releases to press@greensheet.com. 
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