Economies, global and domestic, are both interconnected and interdependent. Routine perturbations like economic slowdowns and recessions illuminate those dependencies as pain in one sector spreads to an adjacent one. COVID-19, and the global economic, social, and political reaction to it, put these linkages in high relief. The COVID-19 pandemic’s disruptive impact on global trade, national […]
COVID-19 and the Income Domain
The Income Domain consists of payments to individuals for salary, benefits, rebates, and expense reimbursements. In the U.S., these payments are made primarily via direct deposit through NACHA’s ACH system, and to a lesser extent, paper checks and payroll cards. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread business shutdown, and as a result, caused mass […]
COVID-19 Will (Finally!) Force B2B Digital Adoption
Despite decades of payment industry efforts, businesses have remained stubbornly dependent on checks. Back office processes (and personnel) can be remarkably change resistant despite being mired in paper, regardless of the size of the business. At Glenbrook we believe the Covid-19 pandemic is a watershed moment for B2B payments. B2B supplier payments – invoiced, accounts […]
Merchant Payments Operations: Payment Processing
When Glenbrook is Assessing a Merchant’s Payments Operations, the goal is to understand whether the payments environment functions in a way that optimally supports their existing business needs as well as any future requirements. To do so, one of the major Key Assessment Areas that we address is the technical architecture and services a merchant […]
Celebrate and Congratulate Carol Benson
Carol Benson, one of my fellow founders of Glenbrook Partners, is retiring at the end of June, following our other founder, Scott Loftesness, who retired four years ago. It seems like only a few years ago (certainly less than 20) that the entire company fit in one car with room for my dog sharing the […]
The P2P Domain Gets a Big COVID Push
We have seen relatively immediate and significant effects in payments within the P2P domain, particularly during the economic shutdown, but it will likely persist beyond it. We expect that the convenience and safety of electronic P2P transfers will guide many users toward a permanent behavior change. Further, cost barriers are falling away: the cost of […]
Will Billers Push Harder for Digital Payments under COVID-19?
As a result of the sweeping stay-at-home orders and shutting down of nonessential businesses, Americans are facing record unemployment. Consumers are struggling financially and those who were living paycheck to paycheck, and many others, are having trouble paying their bills. These individuals have to make difficult decisions and prioritize their spending, which often means groceries […]
Remote Commerce Domain Takes Center Stage
Expansion Under COVID-19 The Remote Commerce domain is home to e-commerce, many mobile payments, and the venerable mail-order, telephone-order method (MOTO). The growth in transaction volume in this domain has been nothing short of phenomenal accounting for a: 56 percent of overall U.S. retail sales growth in 2019 47 percent increase in U.S. sales forecasted […]
Point of Sale Domain – The Pain at the POS
The POS Domain is Synonymous with the Retail Industry The POS Commerce domain is the land of brick and mortar retail, representing the majority of retail activity. Despite the steady double digit annual growth of the Remote Commerce domain, the POS Commerce domain was responsible for some 84% of retail sales in 2019. That said, […]
The Payments Industry Impact of COVID-19
Series Introduction COVID-19’s impact on the U.S. payments industry and domestic economy is profound. Multiple reports from the U.S. Department of Commerce, merchant acquirers and PSPs indicate the extent of the pain even at this early stage of this pandemic-induced recession. For the over thirty million U.S. citizens suddenly without jobs and income, with many […]