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News

Polar Moment’s Payments Perspective: August 2024

Post author By user
Post date August 29, 2024

Polar Moment's Payments Perspective: August 2024

Welcome to this month’s edition, where we explore the European Central Bank’s progress on the digital euro, Visa and Mastercard’s new AI-powered fraud detection systems, and the launch of a co-branded credit card by Amazon and Barclays in the UK.

The Digital Euro

The ECB has advanced its plans for a digital euro, launching pilot programmes across several EU countries. A digital euro would be an additional payment option, alongside cash, enabling consumers to use central bank money in a digital format.

The trials aim to test the digital euro’s functionality, security, and integration with existing payment systems. Feedback so far has been cautiously positive, with participants seeing potential benefits, especially for cross-border transactions. However, concerns remain about privacy, ease of use, and how it will fit with existing banking practices.

For businesses in the Eurozone, the digital euro could simplify payments, but they will need to consider adapting to new systems and regulations. Find out more here.

Visa and Mastercard's AI-Powered Fraud Detection

Earlier this year Visa and Mastercard announced new AI-driven initiatives to enhance fraud detection in their payment networks. These advanced systems aim to identify and prevent fraudulent transactions more effectively by analysing vast amounts of data in real time.

The AI technology is designed to detect unusual patterns and behaviours, allowing quicker responses to potential fraud. This could significantly reduce the number of fraudulent transactions, benefiting both consumers and businesses.

For merchants and payment service providers, the adoption of these AI-powered tools could mean fewer chargebacks and an enhanced customer experience. However, businesses will need to ensure their systems are compatible with these systems to fully benefit from the improved fraud prevention. Find out more here.

Amazon and Barclays Launch Co-Branded Credit Card

On the 12^th August, Amazon and Barclays announced the launch of a new co-branded credit card in the UK, offering enhanced rewards for Amazon purchases. The card is designed to provide customers with greater value, featuring cashback on Amazon spending, as well as rewards for everyday purchases such as groceries and fuel.

This partnership aims to strengthen customer loyalty by integrating Amazon’s vast retail network with Barclays’ financial services expertise. For consumers, the card offers a straightforward way to maximise rewards on routine expenditures. Businesses should note the increasing trend of co-branded credit cards, which combine retail and financial services to attract and retain customers in an increasingly competitive market.

Find out more here.

For more detailed discussions and personalised advice, get in touch to speak with a member of the Polar Moment team.

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News

Polar Moment’s Payments Perspective: July 2024

Post author By user
Post date July 30, 2024

Polar Moment's Payments Perspective: July 2024

Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD3) in the European Union

The proposals for the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD3) aim to enhance consumer protection, promote innovation, and improve security in electronic payments across the EU. Key changes include stricter requirements for strong customer authentication (SCA) and increased transparency around fees. Businesses will need to update their payment systems and procedures to meet these new standards within an 18-month transition period, bringing the changes into effect in 2026. More details can be found here.

CrowdStrike's IT Outage

This month, a faulty software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike resulted in what is being termed “the largest IT outage in history.” The incident caused widespread disruptions across airlines, banks, health services, and retailers globally. This outage serves as a stark reminder of the importance of rigorous testing and robust contingency planning in maintaining secure and resilient IT systems.

Debit Card Payments on Fruit Machines

The department for culture, media and sport (DCMS) recently published its decision to lift the ban on the use of debit cards on gaming machines. In response, the amusements industry has been proposing solutions to facilitate this transition. These aim to enhance user convenience and reduce reliance on cash, while ensuring robust security and compliance with stringent anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

At the GBG conference in London earlier this month, Polar Moment director, John Rozek (pictured above), discussed these developments. He highlighted the need for the industry to adopt advanced payment technologies that facilitate seamless transactions and reduce the risk of gambling harm. He also emphasised the importance of player protection measures, such as minimum transaction times and safer gambling messaging. More insights can be found here.

More Payment Options for Pub Pool Tables

Game Payment Technology (GPT), continues to drive the amusement and gaming machine industry forward with its cashless payment solutions. Installations in Hampshire pubs, near the company’s Basingstoke headquarters, allow customers to pay for pool games via card payment terminals.

For more detailed discussions and personalised advice, get in touch to speak with a member of the Polar Moment team.

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News

Payments Perspective – June 2024

Post author By user
Post date June 27, 2024

Payments Perspective

- June 2024

Welcome to the first edition of Polar Moment’s Payments Perspective. Each month our trusted consultancy experts will share some of the key events and trends shaping the payments landscape. Read on for our highlights from June 2024.

Money 20/20 Europe: The Fusion of Humans and Machines

The theme of this year’s Money 20/20 Europe conference in Amsterdam was “Human X Machine”. It emphasised the growing interdependence between human expertise and machine intelligence in financial services. The keynote address by former French President François Hollande underscored the geopolitical dimensions of fintech innovation. As we see it, the emphasis on AI and machine learning at this event aligns perfectly with the industry’s push towards more efficient, personalised, and secure financial services.

Apple Pay's Shift: Moving Away from BNPL

Apple has recently decided to discontinue its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service, which launched in 2023. This move, made barely a year after its initial launch underscores the competitive nature of the financial services industry. Apple will now integrate instalment loan options from established providers like Affirm and Klarna directly into the Apple Wallet. Businesses should prepare for these changes by ensuring their payment systems are compatible with a variety of BNPL providers.

Mastercard's Digital Transition: Phasing Out Manual Entry

The card scheme’s decision to end manual card data entry in the EU by 2030 marks a significant step towards a fully digital payments ecosystem. This transition is indicative of the broader move towards automation and increased security in payment processing. Companies must prepare for this shift by investing in robust digital infrastructure and enhancing cybersecurity.

We hope you enjoyed this June update and look forward to more updates on the world of payments in our next edition.

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Polar Moment Customer Satisfaction Survey 2024

Post author By user
Post date March 18, 2024

Polar Moment Customer Satisfaction Survey 2024

At a Glance:

Overall satisfaction score of 10 out of 10!
100% of respondents said they would recommend Polar Moment.
Supporting The Proper Blokes Club charity.

Survey Results:

Polar Moment is committed to providing great customer satisfaction. We work hard to nurture our customer relationships and this shines through in our 2024 survey. Respondents commented on how Polar Moment provided expert advice and fulfilled all their project requirements.

In terms of overall satisfaction, every respondent scored Polar Moment an incredible 10 out of 10! All respondents said they were very likely to recommend Polar Moment to a friend or colleague. We’d be very happy to ask any of the respondents to talk to prospective clients: please get in touch if you are interested in this.

What Our Customers Said:

When asked what did we succeed on: "Agility, responsiveness and availability for support and technical advice. Offering pragmatic solutions to thorny problems and offering commercial flexibility to deliver an oft-changing road map."

Ewan Smith Red Bee Media

When asked what did we succeed on: "Pro-active approach in terms of highlighting issues that we were not previously aware of and continually chasing other stakeholders for their deliverables and updates to ensure timescales were met and costs minimised. Communication was always clear and effective."

Tanya Parker Goodbox

Charity Donation:

Every year Polar Moment selects a charity to receive a £10 donation for every completed survey. This year The Proper Blokes Club was nominated by one of our directors, John Rozek, who regularly joins the club’s walks. The Proper Blokes Club is a fantastic charity. It gives men the opportunity to walk and talk, making sure no one is alone in their struggles. We are proud to be supporting this cause.

News

Our Commitment to Climate Action – 2024 Update

Post author By user
Post date January 23, 2024

Our Commitment to Climate Action - 2024 Update

23rd January 2024

Polar Moment and the Latitude 91 group continue to strive to meet demanding environmental, social, and sustainability commitments, aiming to be the best business we can be. As members of the SME Climate Hub (www.smeclimatehub.org), we are committed to achieving net-zero status by 2050.

In Spring 2023 we calculated that our total emissions for the previous financial year were 23.1 tonnes of CO2e. This is a fifth of the average emissions for an IT industry company with a similar turnover. We reduced this in the last financial year to 12.3 tonnes of CO2e.

How Did We Achieve This Reduction?

Meeting and Exceeding Targets

In 2023, our target was to halve both direct and indirect emissions by 2025. Today, we proudly report a 47% reduction. So, we’re almost there, two years ahead of target!

This achievement clearly demonstrates our dedication to reducing our carbon footprint.

News

Polar Moment 2023: A Year in Review

Post author By user
Post date January 19, 2024

Polar Moment 2023: A Year in Review

19th January 2024

As we bid farewell to 2023, Polar Moment reflects on a year marked by achievements, hurdles, and unwavering dedication. Join us in revisiting the key projects that have defined our journey throughout the year.

Payments Facilitation and Cash Management Platform

Polar Moment developed a business transformation platform, enabling our client to become a total solution provider by expanding its cash management services to include payment card acceptance. Working alongside compliance advisor FSCom, we helped our client become an Authorized Payment Institution. We then developed a unique AWS cloud-based payments facilitation platform, including a market-leading web portal for our client’s merchant customers. Following the successful rollout of the solution, we were invited to develop their cash management platform to provide a unified cash and card solution. This encompasses the web portal, settlement, invoicing, and transaction monitoring.

Acquiring Services

A leading hotel operator sought Polar Moment’s expertise in securing cost-effective acquiring services. Leveraging our insights into market rates, we successfully assisted them in reducing costs, resulting in one of the most competitive acquiring rates in the sector.

Public Transport Card Success

Polar Moment architected and managed the development of a public transport card payment solution. This card system, akin to London’s Oyster Card, enables users to purchase transport tickets and add funds to their cards through terminals located in convenience stores. The initiative has seen the sale of over six million cards, with more than one billion passenger journeys recorded to date.

Planet – Payment App Development

Polar Moment developed a number of innovative payment apps for the PAX IM30 Android-based payment terminal. These apps allow customers to make purchases using various unattended devices (e.g. vending machines) that use Planet’s payment SDK.

GPT’s PoolPay Innovation

Game Payment Technology (GPT) is the disruptive payments start-up in the amusement industry. Latitude 91, Polar Moment’s parent company, is one of the shareholders. This year, Polar Moment developed PoolPay – a groundbreaking solution enabling players to use a single payment terminal to pay to play any of the pool tables within a pub or similar venue.

2023 has been a year of growth, collaboration, and impactful solutions. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our clients, partners, and the Polar Moment team, whose contributions made these accomplishments possible.

As we look ahead in 2024, exciting developments await. Stay tuned for upcoming projects and initiatives from Polar Moment!

News

Expert’s Playbook for Payments System Implementation

Post author By user
Post date August 21, 2023

The Expert's Playbook for Payments System Implementation: Best Practices and Insights

21st August 2023

Having spent 26 years working with payments projects across the retail sector, I’ve seen first-hand how challenging it can be to implement payments systems. There are many factors that can impact the success of a payments project. In this blog post, I’ll share my expert playbook for implementing a payments system, including best practices and key insights.

John Rozek

Polar Moment director

Understand clearly what you are trying to achieve:

Do not start by designing the solution. Start by establishing what you need to achieve as a business, and what the customer experience should be. Do not restrict this just to payments: this is only part of the story. Consider the whole user journey.

Define your project scope and requirements upfront:

Once you are clear on the desired customer experience, then you can define the project scope and requirements. Do not try and design the solution at this stage. There are many approaches for delivering payment solutions. Working with payments experts will help you understand the options available and the implications of each.

Choose a development partner with practical experience:

Payments is a complex world. Look for a development team with practical experience in working with a broad range of payment solutions. Weigh up the benefits of developing bespoke solutions against adapting existing software solutions. Work with the development team to decide which technologies are most appropriate considering your organisations standards. Also, consider cloud-based options.

Take a phased approach to development:

Payments system implementation is a complicated process that requires careful planning and execution. Taking a phased approach to development will help to minimise risk. Establish how your team will work with your chosen development partner. Decide how you are going to review the outputs throughout the development project. Set your testing strategy and agree your acceptance criteria. Know how you are going to implement the solution. Consider the benefits of piloting before rollout.

Prioritise resilience, transactions speed, ease of use, security and compliance:

Payment systems are the heart of your business. If your system is down you cannot trade, revenues are lost, and customers walk away. The user experience must be intuitive and transaction speeds need to be fast. Payment systems are a high-value target for cyber criminals. A data breach will have a massive financial impact and damage your company’s reputation. Consider how to design your system to minimise the costs of complying with PCI:DSS (payment card industry – data security standard), the standard used within the payment industry to protect cardholder data. Ensure these features are built into your solution’s design from the project outset.

Test rigorously:

Payments systems must be tested thoroughly to ensure that they work as intended and are free from bugs and other issues. Plan for comprehensive testing throughout the development process, including functional testing, performance testing, and security testing. Polar Moment’s customers welcome our advice on test environment set up and management using both virtual and physical servers. We recommend development, test, pre-production and live environments. We are expert in the leading payment test tools, including T3 from Iliad.

Plan for ongoing maintenance and support:

Once your payments system is live, it will need ongoing maintenance and support. Work with your development team to plan for ongoing maintenance and support, including software updates, bug fixes, and customer support.

Conclusion:

Implementing a payments system can be a complex and challenging process. With the right development team, you can ensure success. At Polar Moment, we have a team of developers with practical experience in working with some of the world’s leading payment vendors and processors. With ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 accreditations, we can take full end-to-end responsibility for your payments software delivery. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you implement your payments system.