Long gone are the days when the payments industry flew under Washington's regulatory radar, when "swipe fees" had yet to be coined by a coalition of huge, corporate retailers, when merchants and consumers had little awareness of the acquiring side of payment processing, and when "square" merely referred to a type of rectangle, not an early disruptor of the status quo. Our industry moves so rapidly that the innovations occurring routinely are breathtaking and inspiring. Amid all of this, overburdened regulators are making earnest attempts to protect consumers, often without the requisite knowledge to make truly informed decisions.
Such is the state of regulation in our sphere today. With the benefits promised to consumers by the Durbin Amendment to the 2010 Dodd Frank Act not actually realized, industry advocates have endeavored to educate lawmakers and the public and are better prepared to confront new regulatory initiatives that could cause more harm than good. This issue's lead article delves into what federal regulators—who have only a partial understanding of how the pieces of the payments puzzle work in tandem—are targeting right now and what the repercussions might be if informed voices from the payments and fintech sphere are not heard.
We pride ourselves on giving informed professionals in our sphere a place to share their knowledge and expertise. Among the subjects they explore herein are fraud trends to watch out for in 2024, the need for payment startups to develop effective PR strategies that help them stand out from the crowd, why a new type of bank charter is gaining appeal in the industry, and how AI can speed AI innovation needed to combat cyberfraud.
In the news, we've highlighted a report from the U.S. Faster Payments Council on fraud trends and mitigation opportunities that urges increased efforts to combat faster payments exploitation; the increasing prominence of gift, loyalty and rewards programs in consumer transactions; controversy over P2P payment oversight; J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study, which revealed heightened dissatisfaction among small and midsize merchants with their service providers; why reduced debit caps will likely be bad for banks and consumers; and a New York State law mandating more transparency in surcharging.
We hope you'll also enjoy the updates, profiles, reviews and other features included. Please let us know at greensheet@greensheet.com, and share your news via press release to press@greensheet.com. 
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