John Adams

The U.S. card brands plan to acquire European firms for security and subscription payments, while Bank of America seeks new markets for its virtual B2B business and JPMorgan Chase's blockchain unit gains ground.

The payment protocol, years in the making, includes more information for transactions, aiding real-time processing, international commerce, risk management and overall accuracy. But it also requires a lot of work.

The scuttled acquisition deal with TD Bank challenged the executive management team at First Horizon to come up with a plan to calm investors' and customers' nerves.

As the company bolsters artificial intelligence-powered point of sale and battles other fintechs and the card networks, getting a boost with distribution has become a major priority.

If the government forces the card giant to reduce control over security gateways, firms that sell debit processing and adjacent payment tools to banks such as FIS and Fiserv could cash in.

Interchange fees and financial incentives for merchants, banks and mobile wallets could come under pressure if the government forces the card brand to alter its policies.

Canada and Australia de-emphasize government-backed digital currency projects while Morgan Stanley and BTIG criticize Global Payments' strategy as the processor's stock slides.

By enabling instant settlement for bank payments at checkout, the retailer is adding speed to an option that reduces card transaction fees. But getting consumer buy-in may be a challenge.

Merchants and card networks have battled over interchange rates for years. How will the next president change the fight?

Regulators in two countries are strengthening rules requiring banks and merchants to accept paper, while a majority of Canadian payments are now tap to pay.