Steve Percy
President, Diolkos Commerce Solutions
Jan 2022
Let’s face it, the bank branch and sales teams have been flogging the same products for decades. Like the teacher in Charlie Brown, “Mwa mwa mwa mwa mwa”.
Wouldn’t it be nice if they could stop offering products that operate on platforms that should have long been sunset and instead were able to offer services that really change the way consumers and businesses transact ?
Wouldn’t it be nice to see banks offer new solutions and have a whole new set of products to compete with each other ?
Lets move forward. It's finally time for a real change !
Society has seen the impact that payment methods can have in changing an industry. Creative GIG solutions such as Uber et al have capitalized on low friction payments. E-Commerce Credit Card payment gateways have opened the door to home purchase and direct delivery through Amazon et al.
But there is a lot more that can be done, particularly if you provide a payment platform that can unleash capabilities that cannot be provided today. One that reduces risk for everyone and helps businesses and consumers transact with more flexibility and trust.
Let’s look at more than 20 new conversations that a banker will be able to have with their customers. One in which they are actually helping their customers improve their lives. New Payment capabilities that they have never been able to discuss in the past.
Here we go.
1. “Now, all payments will go directly through us. There is no need to give any business your personal information or payment details such as a card number, etc. No more hacking fraud exposure.”
2. “All your payments go through your accounts here and will be available 7/24 anywhere in the world.”
3. “All of your payments will execute in “Real-Time” – every payment of every type will be executed and deposited immediately.”
4. “Split POS Payment – you can pay a single payment out of one or more of your accounts at any of your Participating FI’s. No need to move funds before you pay. So pay $140 out of your account here and then $120 out of your account at another bank for a total $260 on the payment.”
5. “Shared Payment – you can share a restaurant or Uber/Cab payment with friends, a gift payment with your brothers, a bill payment with your daughter, a rent payment with a room mate, … There is no need for the business to make up separate payments for each of you.”
6. “Payment Oversight and Approval – Payments can be executed pending approval of one or more people (ex. a boss approving staff personal expenses or any other business payment) and also for Retail customers such as protecting the elderly on payment frauds over $500 without having Power Of Attorney on their accounts. Maybe you want to have oversight of a young teen who is learning to bank.”
7. “Any FI” – Participants in any single payment can bank at any Participating FI including Payors, Payees, and Approver(s). Everyone can bank at a different FI without impacting the execution of a payment in real-time.”
8. “Notes – All participants have the ability to add both private and public notes to any payment that they participate in. This gives them the ability to reference in detail the reason or other information about the payment in their own words.”
9. No Deposit - Never make another deposit so you do not have to spend any resources for this function.
10. “Instant FX – Buying online outside of the country is all executed through this FI. There is no need for routing through another FI. This also includes the best FX rates that we offer and you do not have to do anything special to make the payment. Just review and authorize it.”
11. “COD – Businesses, you can hold onto goods until the payment is received in your account. Real-Time execution allows you to see the funds immediately and receive real-time notification that can easily be integrated into your shipping processes. Split and shared payments included, release of goods or services can be linked to full or partial payment amounts. This is perfect for online e-commerce businesses that currently face the risk of chargebacks on the card networks.”
12. “Pre-Authorized Payment – As a business, your Payor’s funds are proven as good and held for release upon delivery of goods or services. This allows you to know that the customer has the funds available before you send the goods for delivery out your door.”
13. “Pre-Scheduled Direct Debits – No more PADD agreements and file submissions. Simple Setup and direct Authorization of the full series of payments by the Payor. And you can put a Termination Date if you wish to allow you to renegotiate pricing without huge expense and effort. And these can be set up for cross-border execution (example, publishers subscriptions or other electronic entertainment services).
14. “Escrow for All Business Sizes – Contractors can trust that the customer has set aside good funds for payment at job completion. Customers do not have to pay any deposit up front prior to delivery hence their risk is also reduced.”
15. “Time Sensitive – For initiatives that have a time schedule where payment funds are typically distributed and need to be aggregated at a very specific time (ex. Real-estate purchase, Car or Boat Purchase, etc.). Payments can be Pre-Scheduled to move at a very specific date and time and the transacting parties can have full visibility even if they are all participating from a different FI on the network. This includes any Approvals and full status of same.”
16. “Future-Dated for All Payment Types – If a biller allows payment terms out to a specific date then schedule the payment for real-time exchange on that exact date.”
17. “VAT Tax Collection and Instant Remittance – For businesses that need to collect and remit VAT taxes upon payment this immediately moves the funds such that they do not have to manage the calculations and separate remittance offline. This service provides full reporting down to the payment level and supports reversal services for payment refunds.”
18. “GIG Payroll Deductions – GIG Workers can carve out and independently save separate portions of their payment earnings immediately on every executed payment to use in purchasing "Social Safetynet" services and Income Tax Remittances. This is in addition to carving out the GIG Company portion and any VAT that applies.”
19. “Prepaid Payments for All Business Sizes (no physical Cards or Coupons, easy implementation)
· Small businesses can now gain access to pre-committed sales without an expensive infrastructure investment. We can run it all for you. For example, you can offer this to a parent supporting a student so their child can buy food specifically from your shop only, hence assuring the parents that their funds are spent properly.
· And this can be offered in multiple jurisdictions if you’re an international business including auto-FX exchange.”
· And this doesn’t have to be for only POS. It can be used for eCommerce or Bill Payments
· Oh, and by the way, if the full amount is not redeemed then the remaining funds can easily be returned to the paying sponsor, wherever they bank.
20. “Guaranteed” Payroll and Government Disbursements – guaranteed to deposit into the correct account of the person banking at a Participating FI in any jurisdiction including Auto-FX. Deposit confirmation can be returned for full reconciliation, sign-off and reporting purposes.”
21. “Charity Collections – Instant setup with the addition of the government issued registration number for correct identification by any donor. The service provides the ability to fund every donation initiative to the exact target level. No over collection to explain and then manage.”
22. “Loyalty Program that can be applied to all Payment Types (no Membership Cards, easy implementation)
· No investment in any platform. You initiate and run the program yourself though the bank.
· integrated into the same front-end payment for all types so you can offer point award or point redemption , including partial redemption in combination with cash/fiat currency at the time of sale
· Shared Award (split award amount to partial payment participants such that over-awarding is avoided)
· Purchase and Sale of Awards such that top ups to cover a redemption is possible or buybacks to close out a program
· IFRS Liability management including real-time funds movement at the time of award and redemption is completed. This is provided to all participating business partners offering the program”
23. “Token Program for All Payment Types (no Membership Cards, easy implementation)
· No investment in any platform. You initiate and run the program yourself though the bank
· Tokens/Coupons purchased directly from the Payors own FI.
· Redemptions are integrated into the same front-end payment process such that the option of token redemption, including partial redemption in combination with cash/fiat currency at the time of sale
· IFRS Liability management including real-time funds movement at time of purchase and redemption to all participating business partners offering the program
Frankly, the flexibility in the platform will allow all kinds of new creativity in payment and product/service delivery within and across jurisdictions. A lot more fun for everyone in the future.
Exciting times.
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