John Adams

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.