We are frequently invited as guest speakers on topics related to payments. Here you will find our latest appearances.

Podcasts

The Converge podcast hosted our CEO Thomas Müller where he delved into the EPI's plans to establish a new European payment network. Discover among many topics the changes in the EPI’s vision and the need to establish robust consumer protection policies as it expands across Europe.

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🎧 The European Payments Initiative (EPI): Bridging instant payments across the bloc

Learn about the operational challenges and risks associated with compliance with payment networks like Visa and Mastercard and find out how to simplify this process and make it more manageable and efficient.

Scheme Compliance

One of the core aspects of card payments is to comply with license rules (

) of international payment networks (e.g. 

. Such responsibility is usually taken care of by a so-called scheme compliance manager or a team of scheme compliance experts, depending on the bank’s size.

As implied by the term, scheme compliance entails a critical responsibility: to avoid non-compliance leading to interoperability issues, non-compliance assessments, and financial losses due to not optimal interchange or scheme fees. In extreme cases, overlooking compliance requirements can cause fines and lead to a loss of the scheme licence for a bank.

Scheme Compliance Process and Related Problems as of Today

Despite the importance of the process, today’s approach is often inefficient, time-consuming and important requirements are easily overlooked.

There is vast potential to improve this process in the digitalisation age and gain control over the scheme compliance with minimal efforts. At Rivero, we have done this with our product, kajo, and now enable our customers to do it differently.

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6 Improvements for a New Approach to Card Scheme Compliance

In this section, you can read featured success stories from banks that have leveraged our products.

Success Stories

Viseca’s goal is to provide best in class services for partner banks.

One of the essential services that Viseca is offering to its partner banks is back-office operations, from customer service to fraud and chargeback handling. What is critical for Viseca is to bring efficiency and excellence to these operational processes to provide best in class services to their partner banks.

Fraud and chargeback handling is becoming more and more challenging.

Fraud and chargebacks handling are among the core back-office operations, often neglected when it comes to innovation. Chargeback is one of the fundamental payment processes established by payment networks like Mastercard, Visa, and Amex to protect cardholders in cases of fraud or when there is a problem with the merchant fulfilment of the cardholder’s purchase.

It is becoming more and more difficult for issuers to process an increasing volume of chargebacks driven by the launch of e-commerce capable modern debit cards (Debit Mastercard, Visa Debit) and the overall increase in e-commerce transactions.

According to Nicolas Glück, Senior Risk Specialist at Viseca Payment Services SA, it was nearly impossible to improve the chargeback process with their previous application. He added, “the application was not being further developed and optimized according to our needs, which is no longer in line with today’s requirements in the digital age”.

Modern SaaS solutions help to bring continuous improvements to the chargeback process.

“When looking for a replacement for our existing application, what made us decide for amiko and Rivero as a partner was the trustworthy, creative and engaging relationship that we experienced with Rivero early on. We were actively involved in prioritising functionalities and features that add the most efficiency to our process. The Rivero team was very supportive and flexible to take our needs and priorities into consideration and involve us in such discussions from day one,” Nicolas Glück said.

“Two main factors tipped us in favour of amiko. Firstly, amiko, as a SaaS solution, does not require management and maintenance on our side nor does it require integration with our payment processor. Secondly, having a SaaS solution updated regularly with new features and functions without any effort on our side is completely new in the chargeback world. We realised that such a SaaS solution not only reduces efforts on our side but also removes the need for typical lengthy and costly change requests that we were used to”. Patrick Dessouslavy, Head Operations Risk Management at Viseca Payment Services SA

From an integration point of view, Thomas Herzog, Senior Program and Project Manager at Viseca Payment Services SA, said: “It was the easiest project I have had so far, which is not very typical in our domain. The Rivero team is well-informed about our business and our needs; the project materials and documents were well-prepared. I have never had the experience of having all documentation and information needed to start a project, and that made it very easy for us”. He added that “usually, if you are working with providers of software/SaaS solutions, the technical documentation is available but typically what you don’t have, is the business view. However, in this project, Rivero provided us early on with the business documents and information that was very helpful for us to do our part internally”.

Riccardo Botti, IT Project Manager at Viseca Payment Services SA, added that “getting amiko up and running on the IT side went very smooth and with minimal effort on our side. The solution architecture is designed in such a way that it reduces the IT effort on the issuer side. All we needed to do was to set the configuration and spin-up one server with internet connectivity in our data centre”.

For Viseca, it was important that the launch goes smoothly and the team can get up to speed with amiko quickly. According to Fabio Sulzberger, Head Fraud Operations at Viseca Payment Services SA, “the go-live went very smoothly. The Rivero team was very responsive to resolve any small issues”. Nicolas Glück added, “we had never experienced such a level of communication and responsiveness. Whenever we reported a small issue, it was fixed on the same day or at the latest the next day”. Fabio Sulzberger continues, “everyone in my team is pleased working with amiko; they found the product efficient and user friendly, and they appreciate that they can communicate their wishes for new features and functionalities. Rivero has also been diligent in collecting the team’s feedback and suggestions and putting them on the product roadmap”.

Concerning the product roadmap and future features, Nicolas Glück says that “What I appreciate is that we have an excellent overview of the product roadmap. We know what features are being developed now and what is next on the roadmap, and we can communicate our priorities to Rivero.”

We do not stop in the back-office. The next step is cardholder self-servicing!

Continuous improvement is key to Viseca. “Our partnership with Rivero just started. As a next step, we are looking forward to launching self-servicing to our customers via Viseca’s strong digital channels, “one app” and “one portal”. I am personally very much looking forward to having automation as part of the chargeback handling process. That, together with the cardholder self-servicing, will bring much-needed efficiency to the process and change the chargeback world,” said Nicolas Glück.

“amiko has opened up new doors for us by enabling us to offer digital services in further operational domains, such as handling insurance claims”. Patrick Dessouslavy, Head Operations Risk Management, Viseca Payment Services SA.

Patrick Dessouslavy continues that with Rivero, Viseca will bring more innovative solutions and best-in-class services to their partner banks and their cardholders.

Viseca’s goal is to provide best in class services for partner banks.


Viseca Amiko Success Story

Discover the Effortless & Speedy Integration with a SaaS Chargeback Product — Amiko

Learn about the operational challenges and risks associated with the fraud & dispute process for banks and explore strategies and best practices benefitting both banks and their cardholders.

Fraud & Disputes

Inefficient dispute management might be impacting issuers more than you think. Keep reading to find out how and share your thoughts with us in the comments 👇

Disputes pose significant challenges for card issuers which are important to understand in order to develop streamlined, customer-focused processes that are effective & efficient. Here are the key challenges:

: Dispute management can be an incredibly resource-intensive process for issuing banks. From investigating disputes to gathering evidence and communicating with various stakeholders, it requires significant manpower and time. The increasing volume of disputes and complexities can overwhelm existing resources, leading to delays and inefficiencies in resolving cases.

: Disputes pose a considerable financial risk for issuing banks. When a dispute arises, the bank must initiate an investigation and potentially provide provisional credit to the cardholder. This financial exposure can be significant, especially in cases of large transactions or widespread fraud. Managing and mitigating this risk is vital to protect the bank's bottom line.

: Disputes can have a detrimental impact on the cardholder experience. When a customer notices an unauthorised transaction or experiences a billing error, they expect a swift resolution. Delays, miscommunication, or a lack of transparency during the dispute process can lead to frustration, erode trust, and tarnish the bank's reputation. Ensuring a smooth and customer-centric dispute management experience is paramount.

: Effective communication with cardholders throughout the dispute management process is crucial. However, maintaining clear and timely communication can be challenging, especially when multiple parties are involved. Delays in providing updates, insufficient or confusing information, or a lack of responsiveness can exacerbate the cardholder's concerns and prolong the resolution process.

It's essential for issuing banks to adopt innovative solutions that streamline and enhance their dispute management processes. Investing in technologies to automate and streamline the process can help reduce manual efforts, improve cardholder experience, and expedite dispute resolution.

Inefficient dispute management might be impacting issuers more than you think.

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Dispute Management and the Challenges Issuers are Facing

Gain exclusive insights into the evolving world of payments that are reshaping the banking sector and enhancing customer experiences.

Thought Leadership

The European Payments Initiative (EPI), in its ambition to unify Europe’s fragmented payment landscape, recently acquired iDEAL, a successful payment system entrenched in the Dutch marketplace since 2005.

As the project expands across Europe, aiming to provide a ‘unique, European-grown instant payment solution’, it faces a multitude of areas to consider — and among them, compliance and fraud dispute management are paramount.

Scheme compliance is the linchpin of any payment ecosystem, enforcing interoperability and maintaining consistent consumer experiences. It’s the underlying structure that ensures the harmonious functioning amongst all participants in the ecosystem. International payment networks, like Visa and Amex, have established scheme compliance to keep participants apprised of updates and requirements. Weekly bulletins, accessible portals, and strict deadlines are all part of their robust compliance machinery.

Scheme compliance, managing fraud and disputes

However, for the EPI, replicating such a complex operation will be challenging, requiring tremendous coordination and collaboration among various stakeholders. It will be interesting to witness how EPI creates and implements a process that keeps every participant aligned with evolving rules and protocols, thus ensuring a seamless consumer experience.

Alongside scheme compliance, managing fraud and disputes is another area that the EPI will need to consider. With e-commerce transactions on the rise, consumer protection is becoming increasingly important. Consumers need assurance that they are safeguarded against mishaps, whether it be a failed delivery, a defective product, or a cancelled service.

At present, most account-to-account payment methods lack defined rules or guidelines around consumer protection. Contrastingly, the likes of Visa and 

 have developed robust protection frameworks. As cardholders, their customers can dispute transactions, provide evidence, and potentially get reimbursed if things go awry. Such protections not only provide peace of mind to consumers but also foster the adoption of these payment methods.

The need for the EPI to adopt best practice

Will EPI emulate such best practices? It remains to be seen whether it will establish clear rules and guidelines to ensure consumer protection, regardless of the specific bank a customer is associated with. Providing a consistent, well-regulated dispute resolution process across all participating banks is crucial, giving customers the confidence they need to adopt this new payment method.

Taking iDEAL’s example, which operates as an account-to-account payment system in the Netherlands, EPI must build a common framework for all European countries. If a customer encounters an issue while using iDEAL today, the bank’s response varies depending on the case and institution. Under EPI, such ambiguity should be eliminated, creating a payment scheme that provides uniform protection and liability parameters, fostering trust among its users.

Another aspect under the umbrella of consumer protection is fraud. The increasing cases of unauthorised transactions using stolen credentials pose a significant challenge to any payment scheme. While disputes might arise from issues with purchased goods or services, fraud-related disputes are an entirely different beast, requiring careful consideration and swift resolution. Taking examples of card payments, Visa and Mastercard fully protect consumers in cases of fraud (with the so-called zero-liability policy).

Balancing act: convenience, security and consumer protection

EPI needs to have a well-articulated strategy to handle fraudulent transactions, providing clear guidelines to banks on how to manage such cases while also guaranteeing consumer protection. Striking a balance between convenience, security, and customer protection will be a delicate act, but one that is essential to EPI’s long-term success.

In conclusion, as EPI embarks on its journey, evolving from iDEAL’s existing network, it faces the significant task of creating a scheme compliance framework and consumer protection program that can rival those of established international players. It’s not just about providing a pan-European payment solution but also about ensuring a safe, secure, and reliable service for consumers across the continent. Ultimately, the success of the EPI efforts depends on consumer adoption – which will be very much influenced by seamless operations, ease of use and a sense of security.

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European Payments Initiative compliance and dispute considerations: the road ahead

News

Leveraging Rivero's scheme compliance management solution, Kajo, Cornercard is able to digitalize its compliance process, ensuring efficient scalability with guaranteed quality control. Kajo significantly reduce the time and resources needed for Cornercard to stay compliant with the evolving rules and requirements of payment networks.

You can read the full press release published on 

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Cornercard Digitalises its Card Scheme Compliance Processes with Rivero

In this episode our founders discuss how Rivero helps banks streamline payment processes such as card payment chargebacks and scheme compliance management.

In this episode our founders discuss how Rivero helps banks streamline payment processes such as card payment chargebacks and scheme compliance management.


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🎧 Breaking Banks Europe

Advancements in generative artificial intelligence, and in particular large language models (LLM) such as ChatGPT, have simultaneously caused mass excitement and concern about their impact on each and every industry. As an industry that has already dipped its toe into the field of AI, payments is a little-discussed yet key testing ground for the real world implementation of LLMs.

Where can we find artificial intelligence in payments today?

A decade ago, data intensive processes in payments were mostly managed by rule-based systems. As machine learning became more feasible and increased efficiency across the card payments value chain - from fraud detection to customer onboarding - rule-based systems were gradually augmented with machine learning throughout the payments industry. 

The current pace of innovation in machine learning will be significantly increased by the introduction of LLMs, as the general benefits of ChatGPT and its competitors are realised. This will include assistance for software developers as they implement new payment applications, support for product teams as they refine business models for new payment products, and much more.

Large language models driving innovation in unexpected domains

Payment operations might experience a seismic shift when LLMs enter the card payments value chain, especially in sections that have remained unaffected by artificial intelligence thus far. 

A great example of LLM’s impact on payment operations is how issuers interact with their cardholders. Currently, issuers use a combination of chatbots directing cardholders to helpful resources and humans handling all decision making. Recent advancements in LLMs will enable issuers to utilise advanced chatbots and other automated customer service channels to perform actions upon the request of cardholders, acting as agents capable of executing decisions. 

Ambitious banks, traditionally a role filled by neobanks, will further leverage the capabilities of LLMs by utilising enormous training data sets and constant improvement from past interactions with cardholders to build virtual agents that act as the designated decision maker. This could include making authorization and onboarding decisions, increasing credit limits and handling disputes.

Another exciting area would be LLM’s text understanding capabilities; LLMs are able to analyse and make decisions based upon a larger and more diverse set of data and within a shorter period of time than a human can. If implemented cautiously, generative AI could bring about a significant decrease in the rate of escalated complaints and time spent by cardholders. 

Barriers for artificial intelligence to overcome

Predictability and explainability remain significant hurdles in the path of AI and its adoption across industries. Predictability is achieved once an LLM produces the same output when prompted with a certain set of inputs, whereas explainability is achieved once an LLM’s output can be explained in a way that makes sense to a human. 

Financial institutions are required to demonstrate to auditors how every decision was taken, making the current absence of predictability and explainability a fatal flaw for LLMs in the payments industry. This predicament was encountered by the insurance industry in the past decade; AI-driven agents demonstrated better accuracy than human operators, but insurance firms were not able to move the virtual agents into production due to regulatory shortfalls.

Artificial intelligence, already in use throughout the card payments value chain, has demonstrated its value in the payments industry. The leap taken by ChatGPT and other LLMs demonstrates great potential to vastly improve many payments processes, but previous challenges persist: banks and their regulators aren’t yet ready for the implementation of advanced AI.

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The Impact of ChatGPT and Large Language Models on Payments

Are traditional payment methods losing ground in Europe? And how do the competitive positions of major international card schemes look like?

Cards continue to lead in Europe, with debit in the lead:

What do you think about these trends? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: The annual review of payment data from 33 European countries, by 

Are traditional payment methods losing ground in Europe? And how do the competitive positions of major international card schemes look like?


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The European Payments Landscape

Simplifying payment operations for banks — scheme compliance, dispute management, fraud recovery and industry trends.