David Heun

Several organizations, such as Swift and The Clearing House, announced faster payments initiatives this year. Those initiatives will likely play critical roles in 2016 in helping the Fed plot ways to modernize the U.S. payments system.

Square has long enjoyed the first-mover advantage that came with democratizing payment acceptance. But as the payments industry advanced and Square's own needs became more complex, the company is more challenged than ever to stay relevant, even to the merchants who accept credit cards only because Square made it easy.

As the Federal Reserve continues its push to establish faster payments in the U.S., other organizations are developing the pieces it needs to assemble a working system.

The concept of a multi-merchant rewards program appeals to cardholders, but the widely advertised Plenti program managed through American Express has not yet reached its potential, according to new data from Auriemma Consulting Group.

MoneyGram is offering European customers the option to send funds within minutes to most personal Nigerian bank accounts.

Of all the companies in the payments landscape, few have changed as much as PayPal has in the past year. And heading into the new year, the newly independent alternative payments company is showing no signs of slowing down.

Revel Systems has opened a new office in London to facilitate its growing business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The Internet of Things is ready to take off in modern retail in the coming year, spurred by a growing connection to consumer payments.

One in every three card-present transactions globally from July 2014 to June 2015 involved an EMV-chip card, according to EMVCo.

The U.S. migration to EMV chip cards garnered most of the spotlight in 2015, but the October liability shift was just the start.