After learning of a new Illinois state law that prohibits interchange assessments on sales taxes and gratuities, and the likelihood that other states will follow with similar laws, we asked members of The Green Sheet Advisory Board to explore the repercussions of such laws. We wanted to know: 1) the likely impact of scattered state laws immediately and long-term on merchants, consumers and payments enterprises; 2) the feasibility of implementing such legislation; and 3) the effectiveness of lawmakers' attempts to prevent rising payment-acceptance costs and how payments professionals can collaborate for better legislation.
This issue's lead article contains the first portion of their responses. You'll also find additional expert perspectives on a range of issues within these pages. These include a discussion of what we are really talking about when we talk about "smart data," since data in itself isn't really smart; a reminder that whether you're brand new to the payments business or a payments veteran, it's essential to avoid doing business with bad actors that can forever taint your reputation; why merchant level salespeople, who have been telling merchants to meet customers where they are for a long time, need to meet merchants on every channel, including social media; and Visa's desire to enable a solution where instead of storing a single payment token, a credential is stored, and you can select your payment method at the time of the transaction.
The news we've highlighted includes the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow a North Dakota merchant to sue the Federal Reserve over debit card interchange caps, even though the merchant opened after the statute of limitations had expired; Target's announcement that it no longer accepts personal checks at the POS, citing "extremely low volumes"; Discover's proposed $1.2 billion settlement in a class-action lawsuit with merchants and acquirers alleging overcharges due to "card product misclassification" from 2007 to 2017; and the Consumer Bankers Association contesting of a Wall Street Journal article suggesting bankers are overreacting to a Federal Reserve proposal to reduce debit card interchange fees.
You also find herein details on events sponsored by the Prepaid Press, the PCI Security Standards Council, Money20/20 and PayTech women, along with profiles and updates on recent milestones in our sphere.
To send us news of your latest developments, please email a press release to press@greensheet.com. For questions and comments, drop us a line at greensheet@greensheet.com. 
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
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