John Adams

There's a way to manage the tricky balance between rapid digitization and the people who still need or prefer cash, and for Ram Chary it can be found in a casino.

History will remember Wednesday for the anti-democracy domestic terrorism that resulted in death, injuries and damage inside the U.S. Capitol — but did not thwart the process of confirming the presidential election. It was also a day that Georgia's Senate runoff gave much-needed clarity to the fintech sector.

The Trump administration's cantankerous relationship with China has lasted the president's entire term, often shaking up the payments and financial services landscape. With a new executive order, Trump has announced bans on more than a half dozen software firms — including payment apps affiliated with Tencent and Alibaba/Ant Group.

Several government agencies have made deeper moves into crypto oversight, leaving a trail of angry executives and unresolved political questions. And there's still no sign of a central bank digital currency, leaving the U.S. at risk of falling behind other countries in the race to support faster payment processing.

"The construction industry has been challenged by the pace of evolution and is still dominated by invoice and check payments," said Michael Praeger, CEO and co-founder of AvidXchange.

The final outcome of the November election will be decided on Jan. 5 in Georgia, with the balance of power in the Senate at stake, as well as at least two years of financial services and technology policy.

Rapidly spreading coronavirus and an unclear Brexit outcome are bearing down on the U.K., leaving the fate of London as a technology and finance hub in the air as 2020 draws to a close.

Even with the pandemic's dramatic shift to online commerce, TIAA Bank's Claudia Tabacinic says there's still room to migrate consumers, and lingering reluctance to embrace new technology.

The interior of a car or truck is a fintech frontier — one that is undergoing a trial by fire during the pandemic, including as a point of sale venue for small merchants.

Ultimately, whatever options banks and fintechs deliver for this next phase of the pandemic must appease not only the merchants but their customers as well.

Two large deals happened this week in Australia to build scale against international financial services encroachment from card schemes and cross-border financial services — a concern that's cropping up in several nations.

Ride-sharing apps always seem to be racing to be something else — or at least something more — especially given the coronavirus pandemic's impact on travel. With a banking license in Singapore, Grab can add fuel to the strategy.

E-commerce and digital finance are expanding quickly due to the pandemic, economic downturn and plans for recovery — providing opportunities for VCs that back technology that powers faster, more digital payments.

Cryptocurrency is cooking with a fall rally and lots of attention from recognizable companies like Square and PayPal. For Daniel Polotsky, any good news for bitcoin is welcome.

Investors are flocking to point of sale credit firms, which have emerged as a popular option during a time of economic stress. And market dynamics suggest more upside even as traditional payment competitors enter the fray.

Libra is distancing itself from Facebook not only through a name change, but also by attempting to draw attention toward its digital payment rail instead of the creation of alternative money.

Digital workforce collaboration apps like Slack are hot acquisition targets, particularly for a company like Salesforce, which needs to compete with enterprise technology companies while making it easy for its clients to execute an "invisible payment" that's embedded in cross-selling and marketing.

High profile companies like Facebook, Square and PayPal have brought attention to using cryptocurrency for payments — but speed is more important than buzz in getting stores to view crypto as tender, according to a group of developers who are building connections to merchants.

Companies like Affirm and Klarna have been a beacon for investors, leading to at least one multibillion-dollar planned IPO in support of a point-of-purchase lending model that could set the stage for use cases well beyond credit.

Within the payments industry, Wirecard as a brand has become almost like Enron — but an exec at Railsbank says the German processor's fall from grace masks talent and innovation that can thrive elsewhere and help forge new paths to financial services.