EMEA

The $2.9 billion deal is the Georgia company's first traditional whole-bank acquisition since 2006. It is also the year's second-biggest bank acquisition.

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.

The company will no longer originate indirect auto loans outside of Florida and Georgia.

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.

When current CEO Jerry Ragan retires next month, Brian Albrecht will take over at the helm, having started with the credit union 10 years ago as a member service representative.