Fintech

Sourcemedia's annual PayThink conference is always productive and informative, and this year's event was no exception.

It seems that every year, at least since Apple Pay launched in 2014, it’s the “year of the mobile wallet.” And each year, like clockwork, the banks end up disappointed in the lack of traction in mobile wallet usage and adoption.

Wells Fargo has numerous mobile banking and card account apps in the works, including Control Tower and Greenhouse, and those will inform its Pay with Wells Fargo project, according to Beverly Anderson, the bank's executive vice president of cards and retail services.

China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is partnering with Saxo Payments Banking Circle, a European B2B payments platform specializing in online cross-border transfers.

Colin Walsh, Varo Money's CEO, learned a lot from his first stab at deposit insurance. Lesson one: Work with one regulator at a time.

With increased scalability, more and more consumer products can be verified and monitored every second, writes Vlad Trifa, chief product officer at Ambrosus.

Even among the experts in the payments industry, people still use cash. Banks can't ignore this, according to Paul Amisano, senior vice president for enterprise digital and payments strategy at BB&T.

If a merchant seeking to avoid credit card fees turned to cash discounting, it was at least partly because the other option — putting a surcharge on credit card use — was complicated and illegal in many states.

Western Union plans to begin soliciting potential suitors within weeks. No decision has been made and Western Union may decide to keep the business.

The Mass.-based credit union is the latest to drop its federal charter in favor of state oversight.