John Adams

As the pandemic and economic downturn take their toll on consumer spending, the card companies are relying on scale, partnerships and subsidiaries to turn consulting, security and fast technology deployment into new and sustainable revenue streams.

The concept marries digital ID to the trend toward making the car’s internet connectivity an e-commerce lane.

Visa has seen tepid returns of payments volume as economies reopen, but the renewed virus cases and government responses have created an extra layer of uncertainty — particularly for cross-border transactions and travel.

Even as consumers shift more spending away from cash and the market for personal travel picks up, the coronavirus pandemic is still exerting a heavy toll on Mastercard's consumer and corporate spending.

Amy Coney Barrett will assume a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, just as it prepares to hear a case on the Affordable Care Act that could toss years of advancement in health care payments into disarray.

The 2020 election could draw the most voters in history, along with a record haul for campaign contributions, with fundraising thus far favoring Democratic candidates both generally and in the finance and technology industries, which cover most financial institutions and payment firms.

Several large mobile point of sale projects are hitting the market at once to reach financially troubled retailers, with JPMorgan Chase making use of a three-year-old acquisition to push back against the technology firms that have been gobbling up small-business clients.

As merchants and consumers increasingly favor contactless payments over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Visa is removing obstacles to contactless acceptance.

Visa on Monday made an investment in Global Processing Services, which powers the payment rails for several challenger banks and fintechs. It's similar to a January investment Mastercard made in Marqeta, an open API card issuing and processing platform.

With the U.K. careening toward a no-deal Brexit in the midst of a health crisis and economic downturn, the government is suggesting a breakup with the EU could defray the costs of cash usage and access.

Even before the pandemic, retailers were pushing terminal makers to adjust to new trends on the fly. Technology cycles have become even shorter now — if there even are development cycles anymore.

Drive-thru is almost synonymous with fast food, but for some quick-serve chains — like Subway — a past emphasis on in-store dining meant a much sharper pivot when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Swedish point of sale credit company Klarna put itself in the awkward position of apologizing and trying to explain marketing emails to surprised and angry consumers, a misstep for a firm whose credit card alternative has found major traction during 2020’s crises.

As the House of Representatives enters the 2020 election season, the outcome stands to encourage or rein in a group of technology companies that are encroaching deeper into financial services.

Connected devices have become a popular way for retailers to mitigate human contact, turning forward-looking projects into near-term necessities. To keep this transition on track, NCR is using Microsoft's cloud.

The pandemic has caused a massive shift in corporate expenses, turning the company dime upside down as plane tickets give way to home office equipment. It’s a complication for those who track, approve and pay for these expenses, requiring a new approach in the back office.

Paytm’s decision to open its own app store after Google forced developers to use its billing system was a predictable move, as is the potential for fintechs to steal payment volume from the technology giants.

Control of the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance in the upcoming election, with the outcome determining the direction of laws and regulations that can have a profound impact on financial services, technology, fintech and payments innovation.

The optometrist Benjamin Thayil offers an alternative form of financing for consumers who may be wary of large credit card bills or shocked at the idea of paying for an entire eye treatment all at once.

There’s no PSD2-style law requiring banks in the U.S. to share data with third-party payment apps, but the market is progressing as if there will be one, leaving some smaller banks at a disadvantage.