When it comes to making payments online, the convenience and ease of use of digital transactions have made them increasingly popular, and even essential, in today’s environment. Continuing with our Fintech in the Caribbean series, Eldred F Garcia, of First Atlantic Commerce, (FAC) gives us an excellent primer on credit card payments. He also outlines the main types of payment fraud that FAC’s customers have been experiencing, and suggests how Caribbean MSMEs can participate more fully in the digital payments space, noting their limited resources.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music and Stitcher!

It is virtually undeniable. Credit cards have become a more convenient way to shop and make payments. Although cash still predominates across the Caribbean region, credit card take-up and use have been growing steadily, especially since the pandemic, when in-person interaction had to be limited, which in turn adversely affected the ease with which cash transactions could be made.

However, this rise in online and electronic transactions globally has also led to an increase in digital payment fraud. Digital payment fraud can occur in various forms, including phishing scams, identity theft, and unauthorized access to accounts, but ultimately results in the unauthorised use of an individual’s payment information to make purchases or transfer funds.

In this Podcast episode, we explore the world of digital payment fraud, an area that many of us are unfamiliar with, but to which we are continually exposed.

 

Eldred F. Garcia

Introducing our guest

Eldred F Garcia is the Senior Vice President of Business and Partner Development at First Atlantic Commerce and PowerTranz. He brings 25+ years of experience in the payments industry through banking, consulting, the major credit card brands, processors, 3rd party vendors, and on the merchant side as well. Eldred’s focus has been primarily on the payments industry and, more specifically, on emerging technologies and fraud prevention.

While at Visa, Eldred was responsible for cardholder authentication in e-commerce for Latin America and the Caribbean region.  Eldred also directed the Latin America and Caribbean region for TowerGroup, a research and consulting firm in Boston owned by MasterCard, Accertify, a fraud prevention company owned by American Express, and EPX, an international payments processor.

On the merchant side, Eldred owned and operated a restaurant & entertainment establishment where he launched the first “Hot Zone” in partnership with the local city and a fortune 500 telecommunications company. Eldred served in the City of Miami’s Technology Advisory Board and with the United States Secret Service MECTF and ADFIN Groups and was head of the EMV Readiness Committee.

Eldred holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business and Management from Florida International University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Barry University.

 

Insights into our conversation

If there is any key takeaway from the conversation with Eldred, is the fact that cash is overwhelmingly popular in the Caribbean and is credit cards’ main competitor. Although people think that it is cheaper to use cash, actually, it is more expensive to create, maintain and. Also, if it is lost or stolen, often it is untraceable. Credit cards and other digital forms of payment are not only cheaper, but are also more secure, which increasingly are more likely to thwart the effort of criminals.

In our conversation, the depth and breadth of Eldred’s experience in digital payments is evident as he is able to trace the evolution of credit cards from the 1950s to the present day and so help us to contextualise the current payment landscape and how digital payment fraud fits into that construct. It was also great to learn that digital payment solutions geared toward Caribbean Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are affordable, effective and secure, are coming to the market. In a business environment in which over 70% of businesses are MSMEs, having payment products and services for that substantial, but often overlooked, segment of the market is essential for the growth of Caribbean economies.

  1. To start off, help us to understand the world of credit card payments with a quick primer.
  2. What are the main types of fraud that FAC’s customers have been experiencing?
  3. How might Caribbean MSMEs participate more fully in the digital payments space cognisant of their limited resources?
  4. How might we address the challenge of poor telecoms connectivity in order to ensure that our digital payments services work when needed?

 

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Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  E. Garcia; Towfiqu barbhuiya (Unsplash);   Pixabay (Pexels);  Anna Tarazevich (Pexels); Pixabay (Pexels)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez