U.K.

The U.K.’s Starling Bank markets itself as a digital bank that’s too modern for branches, and now it’s seeking an edge by offering a vertical payment card with all of the account details moved to the back.

The research, carried out in coordination with the all-party U.K. parliamentary group on blockchain, profiles companies, think tanks, innovation hubs and individual players in the U.K.

Mastercard and Worldpay are embarking on a strong push to promote Mastercard's Pay by Bank system, which will likely face a deluge of competition under the updated Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which took effect this year.

London-based Shieldpay will expand its reach in the U.S. this year through a partnership with AutoClassics.com.

Both PayPal and Citigroup are taking a bigger role in the market for cross-border payments, a strategy that led both companies to participate in a $50 million round in PPRO Group, a U.K.-based cross border e-payment company.

Paysafe Group will launch an in-store and online installment payment service to serve a growing appetite it sees in the U.S. and Canada.

Worldpay and Mastercard have formed a global strategic partnership, expanding the ways consumers and merchants connect for online and in-app payments via Mastercard’s Vocalink business.

The department of Transport for the West Midlands is looking at how to provide a smart ticketing system to ensure that contactless card users get the best rate on a journey.

About a month after Visa's European outage, Mastercard encountered a similar glitch for a brief period of time on Thursday.

The Bank of England, together with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, has cautioned U.K. banks to prepare for cyberattacks and technical failures.