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American Express and Global Payments Inc., the US-based payment processor, announced an agreement that will enable Global Payments to deliver payment solutions, including processing, settlement, and reporting services, to American Express small merchants in the UK.

The move is likely another effort by Amex to build its small business and international segments, which have become increasingly important in the wake of the firm's Costco portfolio sale. For context, the Costco portfolio represented 8% of the firm's $1 trillion billed business in 2015. 

Amex has been reaching into small businesses in a number of ways as part of a move to grow.

• OptBlue: Amex has been working to extend relationships with small businesses through its OptBlue program, which makes it easier for these merchants to accept and use Amex cards. That program has been successful, and the firm has seen growing billed business among small- and medium-sized merchants.
• Working Capital Terms program: Amex is offering small businesses an opportunity to loans through its relatively new financing option. Working Capital Terms loans range from $1,000 to $750,000 and are approved within a minute with no need for collateral. By giving merchants more than just traditional payment options, Amex can attract more business users. 

The move could help Amex use international gains as a way to grow and catch up. Amex has been pushing global small business initiatives to get wider acceptance, which could give it a more diverse portfolio and added revenue streams. This includes extending its OptBlue service into Canada, forging partnerships to bring Amex to small business merchants in Mexico and Germany, and even becoming a partner with Apple Pay to offer the service in Australia.

By partnering with Global Payments, Amex is building a relationship with a major global payment processor that could expand Amex's reach much further — Global Payments operates in over 38 countries, processing billions of transactions for over 1 million merchant locations. And that could help the firm in a broader sense as well, since Amex is dwarfed by competitors like Visa and MasterCard in terms of its share of global payment volume.  

Amex is a heavyweight in the payments ecosystem, but there are still dozens of other moving parts such as acquirers, merchants, processors, and more that make up that ecosystem.

Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.
• Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.
• Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.

In full, the report:

• Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.
• Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.
• Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.
• Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more.
• Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Financial services firms maintain their faith in the potential benefits of blockchain, with firms operating in securities services the latest group to express their belief in the technology in a new survey conducted by Deutsche Bank.

The study, which surveyed 200 institutional investors, banks, financial sponsors, brokers, and sovereign wealth funds, found that 87% of respondents believe that blockchain technologies will have a significant impact on the securities services market.

Here are some of the study's key findings:  

• 78% of respondents think blockchain will be actively used within six years. Given that financial services firms have historically been slow in implementing new technologies, this could be considered surprising. However, we think it illustrates the belief that firms have in the potential of the technology to drive increased efficiencies and cost savings.
• Systems failure and market disruption is the risk blockchain technology is most likely to mitigate, according to 48% of respondents. That's because blockchain technology can be used to eradicate single points of failure, where one part of a system fails and takes the rest down with it. A decentralized, distributed ledger system by nature does not have a single point of failure because there is no central authority, and transactions must be verified by multiple network participants. 
• 38% said blockchain could lower the costs of providing securities services by more than 20%. Cost reductions through the use of blockchain in securities services are most likely to occur in the area of settlement because blockchain technology was foremost designed to enable and automate record-keeping. It therefore has the potential to make current settlement processes more efficient and reduce the possibility of human error — both of which could significantly reduce costs. 

There are still hurdles to overcome before we see widespread adoption of blockchain in securities services. That includes the need for real-world examples of blockchain delivering the benefits it promises and a network of users committed to the same system. In order for these hurdles to be overcome within the six years that industry players expect, firms will have to work together, as it seems unlikely any one entity will be able to create a system acceptable to all. 

Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. The technology could cut costs by up to $20 billion annually by 2022, according to Santander.

That's because blockchain, which operates as a distributed ledger, has the ability to allow multiple parties to transfer and store sensitive information in a space that’s secure, permanent, anonymous, and easily accessible. That could simplify paper-heavy, expensive, or logistically complicated financial systems, like remittances and cross-border transfer, shareholder management and ownership exchange, and securities trading, to name a few. And outside of finance, governments and the music industry are investigating the technology’s potential to simplify record-keeping.

As a result, venture capital firms and financial institutions alike are pouring investment into finding, developing, and testing blockchain use cases. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, have begun researching the technology in-house, or have helped fund startups with products rooted in blockchain. 

Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on blockchain technology that explains how blockchain works, why it has the potential to provide a watershed moment for the financial industry, and the different ways it could be put into practice in the coming years.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Spending on capital markets applications of blockchain is expected to grow at a 52% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2019, according to Aite Group, to reach $400 million that year.
• Banks and major financial institutions are working both collaboratively and independently to develop blockchain tech. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, like R3 CEV or Chain. And many are investing in the technology on their own as well.
• Putting blockchain to use for real-world transactions is likely not that far off. If working groups' tests are successful, firms could be using it to transact real value as early as the end of this year and we could see widespread industry application within the next few years. 

In full, the report:

• Examines the funding increases that are pouring into blockchain
• Assesses why blockchain is becoming so popular and what factors are driving up increased research and development
• Explains in full how blockchain technology work and what assets make it valuable and vulnerable
• Identifies pain points in the financial industry and profiles how various firms are using blockchain to solve them
• Demonstrates the challenges to mainstream adoption and their potential solutions

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of blockchain technology.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Unocoin recently launched its first ever Application Programming Interface (API) to drive global commerce while boosting digital currency...

The post Unocoin’s New API Marks “Exciting Times” for Blockchain Innovation in India appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

PwC Australia sheds light on the origins and utility of its newly launched digital asset service Vulcan.

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The post Bitcoin Buying Gets a Boost with New Blockchain-Coinify Partnership appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

New York bitcoin exchange Gemini has announced a series of new API offerings aimed at automated traders.

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