David Heun

The turning point was Apple Pay, which Discover did not support until September of 2015, nearly a year after the mobile wallet's launch.

As consumers adopt mobile wallets or in-app payments, it leaves some acquirers and merchants struggling to keep up — especially if their current point-of-sale systems struggle to handle multiple software programs and apps.

The concept of Smart Cities — which use mobile payments, global positioning and related technology to streamline parking, transit, building access and traffic — is deeply intertwined with the development of payments technology and regulation.

As the concept of smart cities — urban settings undergoing a digital transformation through "internet of things" technology and connected platforms — evolves, so too will the concept of making a payment.

Quicken and U.S. Bank are launching a co-branded contactless credit card that will integrate with Quicken's personal finance software and mobile app.

Any future machine-to-machine environment calling for communication and transactions will surely include a consumer's option to make payments through such a network. That turns any home or business into its own complex network of devices, routers, sensors, passwords, communication coding and private credentials.

Blockchain may have received its most exposure as the distributed ledger technology at the foundation of cryptocurrency exchanges, but its use cases are advancing into other data-driven or supply-chain industries pursuing the Internet of Things.

Atlanta-based Global Payments is working with startup InVision, a design company that works with companies like Google and Netflix, to design a portal that will allow merchants to quickly work with banks or customers to reconcile and troubleshoot transactions, including addressing disputes and chargebacks.

PayPal is using Venmo's fast growth to power several initiatives, but the app suffered a damaging fraud surge early this year, showing it's not immune from enrollment fraud that challenges the entire P2P sector.

Payments processor Elavon has agreed to provide Belgium's leading postal operator with payment acceptance services at more than 650 locations.