Visa

Companies behind the most popular U.S. credit cards said they are severing ties with extremist organizations that incite violence after they came under pressure to stop providing ways for white supremacists groups to raise funds.

Mastercard and Visa have also opened development centers in India, where digital payments are growing quickly.

Visa's recent leading of a $25 million investment round in Marqeta is an unusual move for the card network, which has most recently focused its investments in merchant acquiring technology companies.

New entrants don’t pose a disruptive threat to the incumbent cohort of issuers, credit card networks and acquirers primarily because the incumbents — Visa, Mastercard and First Data — are prepared to compete in all segments of the market.

Cash and checks are still the most transparent and predictable form of payment for grocers, writes Mark Horwedel, CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group.

Visa has led a $25 million investment round in open card issuing platform Marqeta, and the two companies will collaborate on consumer and commercial payment projects.

The incumbents, such as Visa, Mastercard and First Data, are prepared to compete in all segments of the market, writes Subhajit Das, a visiting research fellow at the Christensen Institute from Tata Consultancy Services.

Visa is developing its first international transaction processing centers — one in the U.K. and one in Singapore — on the heels of other moves to accelerate digital payments growth globally.

Visa’s efforts to expand its mobile payments service mVisa in developing nations reached a milestone this month in Nigeria, the first country where banks are enabling cross-border payments with the QR code-based mVisa technology.

Visa has extended partnerships with PayPal in the U.S. and Asia to Europe to encourage digital payments. The strategy has helped boost the card network's earnings.