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Letter from the editors

n their ongoing assault on interchange, mega
retailers brought the term "swipe fee" into the
American lexicon and succeeded in getting the
I Durbin Amendment tacked onto the 2010 Dodd-
Frank Act, legislation devised to curb excesses that
led to the Great Recession and prevent future reckless
behavior in the financial sector. It was not the aim of
Dodd-Frank to transfer wealth from financial institu-
tions to major retailers, but data indicates that is what
occurred after debit card interchange was capped.
Researchers have found that instead of passing on
their savings to consumers as they had promised,
most retailers merely pocketed the savings.

"Interchange" isn't as catchy a term as "swipe fee,"
and as it has grown in complexity, it has become
more difficult to understand and explain, especially
to those outside of the industry. Given interchange's
central role in payments, however, it is imperative to
gain clarity on it. This issue's lead article is the first
in a two-part series that covers interchange basics
and explores how it has influenced the payments
ecosystem, global markets, and acquirer and merchant
relationships.

Adding clarity to other issues of importance to payment
professionals, industry experts who contributed to
this issue have discussed trends emerging in a time
of rapid change, shared insights on how to recruit
experienced agents, identified legal issues related to
cybersecurity, offered honest feedback on a major
industry tradeshow, pointed out the importance of
securing FAFSA data, and called for more vigilance in
safeguarding the payments system.

News briefs share highlights from recent breaking
news stories, including settlement of a surcharging
lawsuit brought against Visa and Mastercard in
Canada, the appeal of bitcoin to cannabis merchants
during a time of uncertainty on the federal front,
a potential overhaul of Dodd-Frank and gutting of
the CFPB, global cybersecurity trends, new malware
targeting Internet of Things routers, international
cooperation to apprehend 73 cyber-criminals, and
Flywire's addition of PayPal to its payment options.

Also inside you can read about a disturbing new tactic
used in account takeover fraud; view new product
and company profiles; and catch the latest notices of
business expansions, new funding, data breaches,
individual and company honors, product launches,
industry research, partnerships, acquisitions,
executive appointments and more.
We will welcome your thoughts on interchange. How
did you first learn about it, and how do you talk about
it to your merchant customers now? Let us know at
greensheet@greensheet.com.

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