Merchant

As bitcoin's market swings steal the headlines, there are some people in the cryptocurrency industry who are trying to push the market back toward its original intent as a decentralized means of payment.

Many restaurateurs expect more from their merchant services than a paper bill at the end of the month listing the basic credit card transactions, writes Andrew Szala, a content specialist at Upserve.

The credit bureau enraged many with its response to a massive data breach this fall, but closing the company down would ultimately harm consumers.

With so much uncertainty, the only thing that's clear is how different the sector may look a year from now. Here's an overview of the leading trends in technology that will impact banking in 2018.

Companies like Target and Barnes & Noble are already making moves to streamline payments and connections with consumers, writes Robert Glazer, founder and managing director of Acceleration Partners.

Consumers’ desire to shop online is creating huge demand for distribution centers and forcing property owners to think creatively about redeveloping vacant retail space. Meanwhile, hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent rebuilding areas hard hit by hurricanes and wildfires.

Amazon dominates during the holiday shopping season because Prime offers customers benefits every day, writes Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

With the increased demand for heightened security and the increased costs, there will also be a growth in attacks from nation-state actors, writes Antwayne Ford, president and CEO of Enlightened.

Both in dollar and transaction volume, credit card use is growing at a faster pace than debit use, but one industry group predicts that overall credit union lending could decline in 2018

Getting the most detailed picture calls for a multilayered approach that leverages the most effective elements of in-house and outsourced solutions, writes Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO of Chargebacks911 and CIO of its parent company Global Risk Technologies.