The dark sky with heavy clouds converging and a violent storm before the rain.Bad or moody weather sky and environment. carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse effect, global warming, climate change.

The Role for Payment Firms in Reporting on Climate Impacts

December 6, 2023

Climate change is a growing crisis that preoccupies many people. The rate of climate-related disasters is increasing, and scientists are issuing ever more dire warnings.  […]

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The Role for Payment Firms in Reporting on Climate Impacts

The dark sky with heavy clouds converging and a violent storm before the rain.Bad or moody weather sky and environment. carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse effect, global warming, climate change.

Climate change is a growing crisis that preoccupies many people. The rate of climate-related disasters is increasing, and scientists are issuing ever more dire warnings.  […]

Artificial Intelligence Is All About People

October 19, 2023 Artificial Intelligence

  There has been a lot of hype about artificial intelligence (AI) this year, as exemplified by the success of ChatGPT and its relatives, or […]

Payments 101, Part 9: Cross-Border Payments

July 19, 2023

In this article, I’ll provide a brief explanation of how cross-border payments work, as well as where they will go in the future.

Cross-Border Payments Using Central Bank Digital Currencies

June 13, 2023 Central Bank Digital Currencies can be used for cross-border payments.

Asian countries are using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments, illustrating one of the strongest use cases.
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Who We Are

AFM Consulting LLC is a website and consulting practice dedicated to making complex payments concepts easy to understand, cutting through the jargon to get to the essentials that everyone in the industry should know. Its founder, Aaron McPherson, is a 25-year payments veteran, having worked in both research/consulting as well as the industry’s biggest financial technology provider, FIS.

What We Do

We provide research-based consulting services to large and small businesses focused on partnerships, market assessments, competitive analyses and market forecasts. We also provide training, both in-person and remote, in the full range of payments topics, all delivered in a simple, engaging style that welcomes questions and curiosity, perfect for new employees, salespeople, and others who may be coming into the payments industry from elsewhere. We also provide periodic articles on our Blog page covering topics in finance, technology, payments, and other insights we derive from our professional activities. Aaron McPherson has a long history of this sort of outreach, on his Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

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Competitive Analysis

Using market trend analysis, we identify the key differentiators in the medium term, and help you understand where you stand relative to your competitors.

transformational-strategy

Market Trend Analysis

Spearheading analysis of trends, markets, and competitive data to drive transformational strategies.

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Content Development

Impactful communication of brand identity, strategy, and market fit using the latest market research and executive insights.

strategy-development

Strategy Development

Bringing subject matter expertise, data-driven insights, and an innovator’s mindset to the collaborative work on strategy and execution

Press

Crypto’s Uphill Battle for Acceptance – Digital Transactions

Why Cryptocurrencies Still Aren’t Ready for Prime Time – Digital Transactions

A Last-Minute Presidential Ban on China-Based Payment Apps Puzzles Payments Experts – Digital Transactions

What’s in the Cards? – Digital Transactions

Scuppered Talks Between FIS And Global Payments Point to Enduring Importance of Size – Digital Transactions

Subscriptions, Online Services, PayPal, And Covid-19 – Digital Transactions

People Are Talking

“Aaron brings a depth of knowledge about the payments industry and direct experience from his prior senior strategy posts. As leader of our research team, he helped insure the delivery of quality research and took on special projects to better the group. Three significant initiatives were: (1) the increased technology and vendor comparison style studies across all of our practices; (2) the creation and adoption of the worldwide payments model; and (3) an improved internal system for measuring metrics across the teams performance. I would strongly recommend Aaron for any technical role or leadership over any technical/production capacity. He was respected across our analyst team for his industry knowledge and professional approach. I wish Aaron success in any new role he takes on!”

Robert Misasi • President & Founder

President & Founder, Mercator Advisory Group

“I recently hired Aaron for a consulting project to help my company do an assessment of the FinTech market. Aaron did a fantastic job and absolutely exceeded our expectations! From project design to execution and everything in between, he was a pro in every regard. His deep domain expertise coupled with his exceptional network of executives in the FinTech space enabled us to achieve results quickly. I strongly recommend Aaron and I look forward to working with him again as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”

Craig Harris • Founder, R&D Leader

President & Founder, Mercator Advisory Group

“Worked with Aaron at Financial Insights and found him extremely smart and thorough. He knows his topic areas completely – especially payments – and can go wide as well as deep.”

David Potterton

Director, Product Management

“Aaron is a clear thought leader in the payments systems and process market. He may also be the most critical advocate in the industry of enterprise payments and payment hub strategies, technologies, and business implications. I have sought Aaron out on numerous occasions for razor sharp thinking on market sizing, vendor evaluations, and technology trends. His insights have proved invaluable and I know first hand have guided significant decisions by major participants in the space.”

Bruce Parker

President & Founder, Mercator Advisory Group