Merchant

The credit union stalwart purchased Mirador, which is heavily dependent on bank relationships. The challenge now is keeping those clients in the fold.

With Brexit on the horizon, the volatility of the U.K. financial market has created an increased demand for more flexible financing among small and medium-sized enterprises. But a decade on from the 2008 financial crisis, the loans available for SMEs are still restricted by regulations on the total amount of capital that banks must hold.

Fintechs and banks are both pursing the market, which much adjust to handle the larger volume, according to Nufar Segal Bareket, a general manager at Jifiti.

Germany-based Wirecard is working with Google to enable users of Wirecard’s boon mobile app to pay at any French merchant that accepts Google Pay as it becomes available in France.

Vipps International, a Norway-based payments service operated by a coalition of more than 100 Norwegian banks, is the latest to collaborate with China’s Alipay mobile wallet in a partnership to capture more payments from Chinese tourists.

CUNA Mutual, a service provider to credit unions, recently bought Mirador, which is heavily dependent on bank relationships. The challenge now is keeping those clients in the fold.

Credit and debit cards often overshadow prepaid gift cards, but the tables get turned during holidays, particularly as people get gift cards for themselves.

While fraud is a year-round concern, credit unions need to be extra vigilant during the holiday season.

There are barriers to overcome before we will see widespread adoption as a payment option, yet the path is viable, says Jared McClure, co-founder and COO of CrayPay.

Mobile banking, e-commerce integration, loyalty and rewards schemes and even IoT payments all link to cards. That’s a lot to ask of a back-end system, writes Rune Sorensen, a product manager at Nets.