Digital Payments Have More Growth In-Store Consumer cash payments rose slightly from 2020 to 2021. Cash accounted for 19% of payments in 2020 and 20% in 2021, according to the Federal Reserve. (In 2019, cash was used for 26% of consumer payments.) During the same two-year time period, use of credit cards, debit cards and mobile payment apps increased as...

The Big Shift: Consumer Power and Payment Choice A part of DCA’s mission to advance commerce by enabling innovative and measurable consumer experiences, our organization provides members with data and insights needed to stay ahead of the curve—including our annual industry survey. Our organization is pleased to offer members a recently released research study: The Big Shift: Consumer Power and...

[image_with_animation image_url=”23253″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”] Retailers Trim Sales Forecasts Large retailers including Target, Walmart and Kohls are increasing sales at slower rates than they did at the height of the pandemic. Rising rates of inflation are driving shoppers to curb purchases of discretionary items in favor of staples like groceries. DCA Insight:...

AI Helps FinTech Firms Reach More Borrowers  Fintech lenders including Pentadata Inc., OppFi Inc. and LoanSnap are helping traditionally underserved borrowers get loans. These companies feed a wider range of data and use AI to determine credit eligibility, giving more people access to the credit market. It has been crucial for these fintechs to be able to have access to...

Square Continues To Integrate Afterpay Millions of in-person sellers in the U.S. and Australia that use point-of-sale software Square can now offer shoppers the option to use Afterpay. To use the buy-now-pay-later app in person, buyers tap to pay using a mobile wallet loaded with their virtual Afterpay card—and payment is made with four interest-free installments over time. Sellers get...

Truist Buys Gamified FinTech Long Game The seventh-largest bank in the nation, Truist, purchased a mobile app—Long Game—that rewards users for saving money. Launched in 2015, Long Game had 12 bank and credit union customers prior to the acquisition. The average user saves $60 per month. DCA Insight: The investment in gamification is intended to increase Truist’s market share. Interactive...

Americans Are Spending Like It’s 2019 After a two-year decline, consumers in America are spending at levels that rival those of 2019, right before the pandemic hit. DCA Insight: Gym memberships, child care, travel, meals out, concerts—demand is high. Americans are spending money on experiences at rates close to or above pre-Covid times. At the same time, companies that flourished...

AI Helps FinTech Firms Reach More Borrowers  Fintech lenders including Pentadata Inc., OppFi Inc. and LoanSnap are helping traditionally underserved borrowers get loans. These companies feed a wider range of data and use AI to determine credit eligibility, giving more people access to the credit market. It has been crucial for these fintechs to be able to have access to...

Russia’s Financial System: Visa & Mastercard Sanctions Western economic sanctions disrupted Russia’s financial system, with one exception, the WSJ reported. Russian consumers continued to use their Mastercard and Visa cards, even though these two organizations exited the country as the war began. Why? Payments made by these cards issued in Russia aren’t processed via U.S. networks, but rather through a...

Banks Consider Zelle as Card Alternative A group of banks that own money transfer service Zelle are contemplating promoting the payment option, which competes with card networks Visa and Mastercard. The move would open growth opportunities for Zelle, which doubled its number of transactions in 2021 driven by the pandemic. DCA Insight: Collectively, banks and card networks earn billions each...

[image_with_animation image_url=”22378″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”] Farfetch Invests $200 Million Into Neiman Marcus Online luxury retail platform Farfetch Ltd. is investing in Neiman Marcus. The investment will enable the luxury retailer to expand its brands overseas digitally, as well as more closely associate its e-commerce business with its in-store experience. DCA Insight: While consumers of...

Russia’s Financial System Western economic sanctions disrupted Russia’s financial system, with one exception, the WSJ reported. Russian consumers continued to use their Mastercard and Visa cards, even though these two organizations exited the country as the war began. Why? Payments made by these cards issued in Russia aren’t processed via U.S. networks, but rather through a system developed in-country. DCA...