Merchant

The U.K. government is consulting with train operators on smart pay-as-you-go ticketing. The goal is to enable consumers to travel across the U.K.’s entire railway network by tapping in and out with contactless cards or smartphones instead of paper tickets.

Once Apple looked at the state of its existing ecosystem, it identified a space it could uniquely deliver on, and activated the partners needed to make it come to fruition — a perfect example of the concept of ecosystem enablement, argues Frank Kenney, director of market strategy for Cleo.

U.S. lawmakers are not enthusiastic about the cashless trend being driven by the likes of Amazon Go, sweetgreen, and numerous other merchants of all sizes.

StreetShares will add to its line of financing products with a credit card specifically for small-business owners with a military background.

As more national banks leave smaller communities and focus on large customers, fintechs are creating an "Uber effect" with an easier experience. Small businesses are increasingly looking to borrow money and fund their growth initiatives, and need a partner who can deliver, argues William Phelan, president of PayNet.

The U.K. prepaid gift card market is experiencing strong growth among consumers who buy them as gifts and for self-use, as well as among businesses that purchase them for customer loyalty programs and as employee incentives.

Users don’t have all the tools they need to ensure the security of their mobile devices, so it’s all the more important for providers of mobile financial services to help users by hardening mobile apps with technology, writes Samuel Bakken, senior product manager at OneSpan.

Andy Reed, who currently leads Texas People Federal Credit Union, will become president and CEO of the Dallas-based institution in May.

Digital payment innovators have shown an almost limitless propensity to home in on banks’ turf, and Citigroup is ready to strike back.

The scope of customer experience spans multiple products and services that comprise the merchant technology and payment service ecosystems, according to Paul Perry, a contributor for the technology company Relay.