John Adams

In many cases, it's as difficult to move money as it is to move products around the globe. Firms like Rapyd and BNY Mellon are trying to ease concerns that businesses have about automating payments, with a goal of reducing friction in an increasingly complex global economy.

Law enforcement officials want Visa, Mastercard and American Express to help curtail sales of "ghost guns," which are unregistered mail-order firearms that buyers assemble at home.

The U.K. fintech sees itself as a competitor to Block and PayPal's Bitcoin-trading operations, with plans to offer Americans banking services such as a savings account in the near future.

Tap to Pay on iPhone turns any of the tech giant's recent smartphones into a card reader, but since Apple doesn't provide its own merchant services, it stops short of becoming a direct threat to acquirers and payment facilitators.

The $650 million deal would add services for financial institutions seeking a faster path to upgrade their technology.

Earned wage access companies are finding that their product, which allows employees to receive a portion of their salary ahead of the traditional two-week cycle, can aid nurses and other professionals in addressing the work-life imbalance that contributes to the Great Resignation.

The upgrades merchants made to accept chip cards and mobile wallets have made it easier to add new services via software updates. NCR and other point-of-sale vendors are using these systems to support digital currencies without requiring new hardware.

Meta's departure from the crypto market removes a sizable potential competitor at the same time that nonbank issuers are bracing for tougher regulatory scrutiny.

Few banks have adopted an instant invoicing technology called Request for Pay, but more may get on board to help their customers avoid overdraft charges.

The card network hopes its enabling of digital payments could balance the scrutiny it faces over interchange rates in countries such as the U.S. and U.K.

Michael Miebach told analysts that the card network expects earnings growth despite the economic impacts of the omicron variant and shipping delays. Mastercard does not have as contentious a relationship with the e-commerce giant as Visa does, he said.

The Spanish bank introduced the installment product in Germany nine months ago, and is planning to bring it to 18 European markets this year.

JPMorgan Chase's recent purchase of a stake in the Greek fintech will allow the U.S. company to offer new services like merchant credit in Europe, where it is No. 5 among merchant acquirers.

Acquiring the earned-wage-access firm and challenger bank would further efforts by the retailer and its partners to develop a "super app" featuring mobile financial tools.

Though the retailer's threat to drop Visa in the U.K. appears to have subsided, companies like Clik2pay, Affirm and Curve have seized on an opportunity to advance account-to-account transactions, buy now/pay later and cryptocurrency.

Valuations for payment technology companies skyrocketed over the past year, pushed by a wave of public listings and record venture capital investments. Some potential acquirers are waiting for prices to cool.

The automaker plans to overhaul its online car-shopping portal, while also developing an in-car system for purchasing fuel, parking and other goods and services.

The card brands are pursuing partnerships with banks, government agencies and merchants, with a goal of building networks and services to accommodate the rise of central bank digital currencies.

If the payments company moves ahead with a digital currency rollout, its network of merchants and consumers as well as its retail-payments focus could give it the upper hand over banks, whose products are limited to cryptocurrency exchanges, wholesale payments and other specific uses.

The debut of new mobile wallets ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing is an impetus for the Federal Reserve to bring its own central bank digital currency project up to speed.