John Adams

The card brands have blocked Russia's large banks from their networks in response to the Ukraine invasion, a move that may dramatically limit retail transactions and cash availability at ATMs.

With tensions high between Russia and the West, Synechron is looking to develop a real-time kill switch that can shut down a malware threat. The company’s PayTech Accelerator is also focusing on the opportunity for banks in buy now/pay later lending.

The firms are working to make this subset of cryptocurrency — which is designed to avoid wild swings in valuation — easier to adopt and more useful for routine transactions by focusing on "last mile, or user experience layer," says Jeremy Allaire, Circle's CEO.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among the world leaders pushing for a ban, and U.S. President Biden was grilled about the possibility during a press conference where he announced sanctions in response to Russia's military action in Ukraine.

Billing is becoming part of faster payments, a development the bank contends makes paper-based B2B payments "unsustainable" for businesses facing equipment and staff shortages.

Marqeta COO Vidya Peters and Plaid COO Eric Sager discuss their plan to bypass the use of microdeposits — small transfers that are used to verify identity when linking accounts — to improve speed and security for consumers.

The private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners, which agreed to pay $1.8 billion to acquire the money transmitter, is the latest in a long line of potential buyers.

Apple's planned update for accepting contactless payments on its handsets is as disruptive as it is inevitable. Companies like Ingenico, which makes point-of-sale hardware, have strategies in place to build on the tech giant's platform without sidelining their own devices.

The money transmitter's $1.8 billion acquisition by Madison Dearborn Partners removes the need to appease investors on a quarterly basis, freeing up the company to invest in a long-term transformation of its technology.

Mobile payments got an early start in parts of Africa more than a decade ago, but the continent's overall banking infrastructure lags far behind, creating a void for companies like AZA and WorldRemit to fill.

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.