Merchant

The FIS-Worldpay merger is the largest international payments deal to date, significantly topping the recent Fiserv-First Data merger that turned heads at the beginning of the year. But the FIS deal’s strategic implications could be more interesting than the raw numbers.

Under the recently appointed Director Kathy Kraninger, the bureau has the opportunity to address numerous problems with its collection and presentation of consumer grievances.

The online lending industry has turned to the courts, Congress and now federal banking agencies in an effort, thus far fruitless, to blunt the impact of a 2015 appeals court ruling.

The companies could bring something new, such as merchant acquiring to community banks, but their merger could also cause anxiety about giant vendors.

Given the size of the deal — which includes about $9 billion of Worldpay’s debt on top of a $34 billion bid — the pressure’s on to build a global powerhouse that can counter other major fintech mergers announced in the past weeks. FIS must also emerge as a nimble rival to the startups that threaten the old order.

An initiative by Visa and Lloyds doesn't go far enough and is counterintuitive to the card network's move to reduce cash, argues Mark Horwedel, a strategic consultant to CMSPI.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors urged Sens. Mike Crapo and Sherrod Brown to establish a baseline for consumer protection in data privacy and security that would leave room for stricter state rules.

A proactive and preventive security strategy will go a long way to building consumer trust and ensuring continued loyalty, writes Maria Allen, global head of financial services for Unisys.

After forming a series of high-profile partnerships with various payments service providers, China's UnionPay International has declared its plan to challenge Visa and Mastercard’s duopoly of the U.K. card industry.

Payments software provider SpotOn Transact is partnering with terminal maker Poynt to provide loyalty, marketing and point-of-sale services in a new terminal for small and medium-size businesses.