John Adams

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.

Italian technology firm Nexi has dedicated about $15 billion over the past two months to shore up its position in the European payment processing market, a local burst of consolidation that exists inside a larger wave of similar mergers globally.

As futuristic as real-time digital payments can be, the concept is almost like a blast from the past for FIS’ Raja Gopalakrishnan.

President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has cleared uncertainty over White House policies that impact fintechs and payment firms, revealing clues as to how the regulatory environment will be different in 2021.

Real-time payments carry a trove of valuable data for supply chains, and a way for card networks to grow beyond card-dependent revenue. The collaboration between Payments Canada and Mastercard’s Vocalink will go a long way toward both ends.

Even given the huge jump in digital transactions from e-commerce, card brands are holding out for COVID-19 vaccines as a path out of the payment declines that have accompanied 2020’s health and economic crises.

Ahead of a holiday shopping season that should focus heavily on e-commerce, Amazon is updating its rewards program to keep delivery drivers interested in handling its packages.

President-elect Joe Biden's victory over incumbent Donald Trump will end four years of Trump-led isolationist policies, but the balance in Congress is still uncertain and could stall the President-elect's agenda.