ABSTRACT
In this chapter, payment services are covered in detail, across ATMs, POS (EFTPOS), RTP (Faster Payment), and the card processing models. The narrative follows the themes of origination, evolution and future prospects.
In recent years, card schemes have moved to capture the debit card market in order to address the business risk that is inherent in credit cards. Credit card transaction volume is more aligned to discretionary spend, which in adverse economic conditions is negatively impacted. Although these two card types are now similarly branded and presented/settled through the same networks, they are competing products. Which one is dominating the market; will the other survive in its current form?
An essential component of this chapter is the explanation and narrative based on the two opposing sets of rails (networks): ‘Request and Response’ versus ‘Pay Away’ often referred to as ‘Buyer Initiated’. A critical element in the narrative is fraud. ‘Request and Response’ underpins card processing, whereas ‘Pay Away’ is underpinning the RTP networks.
RTP services are the current focus for revitalization of payments, with the emphasis moving away from delayed payments to instant non-repudiated payments to satisfy a market demand in this interactive world. RTP brings its own set of challenges the industry must address.
