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Letter from the editor

ew topics in payments generate as much persis-
tent tension as interchange. While consumers
increasingly expect fast, seamless and secure
F card payments, the financial ecosystem sup-
porting those transactions remains locked in an ongoing
struggle over who should bear the costs. In this issue’s
lead article, we examine the expanding legal, legislative
and regulatory battles surrounding interchange—from
state-level efforts to ban fees on taxes and tips to long-
running antitrust lawsuits and fresh challenges involv-
ing debit card caps. The debate has evolved far beyond
simple complaints about “swipe fees,” exposing the
complexity of modern payment economics and the com-
peting priorities shaping the future of card acceptance.

Our contributors also examine several forces reshaping
the future of payments. G+D's Brent Bowen describes
how debit and credit cards are evolving beyond payment
tools into trusted authentication devices. Fadl Mantash
of Tribe Payments explains why financial institutions
must treat resilience, redundancy and failure planning
as core operational disciplines rather than optional safe-
guards. George Csahiouni of Tripoli Advisors offers an
arresting look at why even highly successful ISOs can
get passed over for capital—and what to do about it. Ram
Palaniappan of EarnIn examines the role of pay timing
in workers' financial stability, while Napa Payments and
Consulting's Ken Musante explores how AI and human
expertise together strengthen merchant monitoring and
third-party oversight. Our current Street SmartsSM au-
thor, Jaki Kackert, also delves into AI, showing how ISOs
and MLSs are using automation to scale marketing and
merchant engagement more efficiently.
Our news briefs start off with the projected expansion
of peer-to-peer lending as AI, blockchain and alternative
finance gain momentum worldwide. Meanwhile, inter-
change disputes continue grinding through courts and
legislatures, with Colorado legislators targeting fees on
sales tax and merchant groups continuing to challenge
Visa and Mastercard over fees tied to fuel purchases.
In Washington, lawmakers are considering legislation
that would expand exemptions from Durbin Amend-
ment debit interchange caps for more community banks.
We also look at the Federal Reserve’s deepening focus
on payments fraud, as regulators, financial institutions
and telecommunications providers move toward a coor-
dinated public-private effort to combat increasingly so-
phisticated scams and organized criminal activity.

Do you want updates on industry milestones, new prod-
ucts and innovations? We've got you covered within
these pages. Have questions for us? Just email green-
sheet@greensheet.com. Have news about your company to
share? Send a press release to press@greensheet.com. We
appreciate hearing from you.
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