A recent article on the Bloomberg website appears to have caught the attention of many investors. It was concerned with all the myriad of options on how consumers can pay for what they've bought. The old stand-by credit cards were followed by debit cards and now all sorts of apps and cryptocurrencies have and are entering the playing field every day! The article entitled: "Retailers Embrace Payment Apps to Sidestep $90 Billion in Swipe Fees" said: "Retailers have been trying for years to escape the clutches of the credit-card companies, which this year will levy more than $90 billion in swipe fees on an industry already struggling to navigate the shift online. Some believe the answer lies in payment apps. While shoppers have largely shunned mobile payments offered by third-party providers like Apple Inc., retailers are trying to persuade customers to embrace the technology by dangling discounts and other perks. Several chains, including Walmart Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Kohl's Corp., have had some success by baking the apps into their loyalty programs—and more than half of companies surveyed recently by the National Retail Federation said they've implemented "branded digital wallets" or are considering it. Active Companies in the industry include NetCents Technology Inc., Fiserv, Inc., PayPal Holdings, Inc., Pareteum Corporation, HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
Retailers are increasingly bypassing Visa and Mastercard by tapping into the Automated Clearing House network, which was set up by U.S. banks more than 40 years ago to replace checks and send money electronically between bank accounts around the country. Consumers and businesses now send nearly $50 trillion each year over the network, compared with the roughly $15 trillion sent over Visa's and Mastercard's networks.
