Square

The growth and monetization of Square’s Cash App boosted the company's quarterly earnings, along with the sale of its food delivery unit Caviar.

Square has buttressed its deep-learning with the purchase of Dessa, a Toronto-based machine learning startup that specializes in advanced risk management.

Square is adding to its menu of services just as long-established competitors embed expanding payments technology into their own product mix.

The rise in food delivery options is affecting restaurants of all kinds. It's a trend driven by consumers' strong appetite for mobile ordering and payments.

Breaking into the POS credit market is nearly impossible for payment companies without cooperation, says Jifiti's Nufar Segal.

Kabbage Inc. is offering tailored loans to small businesses that have unexpected cash flow needs, hoping to grab a wider share of its clients' relationships.

Millennials especially have shunned credit cards in favor of buying even low-ticket items using a system of installment loans, often incurring little to no interest, says Jifiti's Nufar Segal.

The payments industry is a hotbed of innovation, and many of its larger players are eager to claim patents on new developments.

Square's merchants have shown early interest in cryptocurrency payments, and if merchants accept this new concept, it could exist along with other Square services to support numerous use cases, including broader financial services.

The success of Fiserv’s acquisition of First Data, FIS’ purchase of WorldPay, or Global Payments merger with TSYS rides on the companies’ ability to address merchants that are under extreme pressure.