Michael Moeser

Square is changing an earlier ban on cannabis payments and is conducting a pilot, raising the possibility that cannabis merchants may get greater access to banking and payment processing.

Payment processors and fintechs are rapidly consolidating in a series of M&A deals, and Canadian payments company Nuvei is making its bet via a $889 million deal to acquire SafeCharge.

Mastercard is making a niche play in the hot point of sale financing market, teaming with Dividio and lastminute.com to offer installment loans at checkout.

A year after trying to save faltering payday lender Wonga, Balderton Capital is investing in the other side of the model by leading a $19 million Series A funding round in Wagestream, a U.K. startup that provides flexible payroll technology to avoid payday loans.

While the European Union positions itself as one common, homogeneous market, the reality is that the European e-commerce market is very diverse with both leaders and laggards.

Amazon led a Series G funding round worth £475 million (about US$575 million) with three other investors for London-based food delivery company Deliveroo.

American Express has agreed to acquire Resy, a restaurant reservation booking and management platform.

As new stadiums are being launched across a variety of sports around the globe with the latest entertainment options, older stadiums are using technology and premium culinary offerings to stay competitive and keep their fans engaged.

Petal's getting aggressive with its incentive marketing by approaching consumers with limited credit histories, and it's betting artificial intelligence can handle the higher risk.

Germans' devotion to cash is waning, as payments cards edged out cash for total transaction value in German retail sales in 2018.

Dutch bank holding company ING Group and its venture capital arm, ING Ventures, joined three other VC groups to fund a €14 million (about US$ 15.75 million) Series B investment round for the Czech-based mobile credit payment app Twisto.

Fingerprint Cards AB delivered its billionth fingerprint sensor to the market, aided by a recent deal with Gemalto to provide sensors for its biometrics credit and debit cards.

While the payment volume from smart wearable devices may not have achieved the initial euphoric predictions, things are about to change for the better as several market dynamics have shifted.

Much like Visa's CEO, Mastercard's top executive is viewing the recent mergers in the payments industry as a chance to build partnerships rather than a competitive threat.

Vocalink, a Mastercard unit, is partnering with Saudi Payments, a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority to launch real-time payments in the kingdom.

The restaurant food delivery market is booming, as it caters to America’s growing desire to get on-demand meals for a dine-at-home lifestyle. This trend is influencing how restaurant orders are placed and paid for.

Marqeta has launched a digital banking solution for European fintechs and signed three customers to use it: Aplazame, Morning and Yapeal.

Citcon has completed a Series B funding round that included a $5 million strategic investment from East West Bank. The cross-border QR code payments processor will also be adding Catherine Zhou, executive vice president and head of consumer banking and digital banking at East West Bank, to its board of directors.

Mastercard is calling for a global consumer digital identity bill of rights to be adopted by businesses, governments and regulators as it prepares to launch a digital ID management service later this year.

Uber is a lot more than a ride-sharing app — it is also one of the most disruptive forces in payments.