Cheryl Winokur Munk

Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC and others are increasingly using sustainable and recycled materials for manufacturing

Westpac, Capital One and JPMorgan Chase are offering savings accounts and debit cards to children below 10, using financial literacy to get an edge in building consumer relationships.

The payment option has grown beyond underbanked consumers. For issuers, a $1 trillion market is at stake.

The big box retailer's move comes amid a broader decline for the traditional payment option.

The tech giant is enabling users to pay by holding smartphones together, potentially cutting into the market for Zelle, PayPal and Venmo.

Fizz offers a card that enables undergrads to slowly build a debt record based on healthy spending habits, providing an alternative as regulators pressure how financial services are marketed to that demographic.

In the U.S., the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors caused a sharp reduction in cash use. But with paper bills still accounting for nearly a fifth of all payments, the option is still far too entrenched to risk extinction.

Retailers like Walmart, Target and Dollar General are changing the ways they collect payments in person. This, in turn, could influence payment habits, but it is unlikely to slow the overall momentum of digital transactions.

While apps are still a popular way for customers to order and pay, other options are emerging because they're a natural fit for restaurant patrons, many of whom are already heavy users of text, social media and voice technology.

International e-commerce is booming these days and so too are the opportunities—and challenges—for payments players.