John Adams

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.

One area of certainty in the 2020 election is the momentum for legalizing cannabis, as a string of ballot box victories makes it harder for banks to avoid working with dispensaries and other legal marijuana businesses.

As the presidential voting count waged deep into the night on Tuesday, the fate of fintech, financial services and payments regulation hung in the balance.

Control of Congress was still in play late Tuesday, as the Democrats retained control of the House of Representatives while neither party gained the necessary seats to control the Senate.

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.