Merchant

The chip card migration took up a lot of merchants' energy over the past couple of years. As chip cards mature, merchants can and should turn to the variety of new payment options in the year ahead.

Mastercard said the decision confirms the "legitimacy" and "importance" of interchange in our payment system.

The technology complements Starbucks successful mobile technology, which includes a widely used payments app as well as rewards and order-ahead.

Host Card Emulation, which enables mobile payments without reliance on a particular handset, is driving the project in Scotland.

Congress has proposed repealing the Durbin Amendment, a move that would be costly to small businesses which have benefited from the reform.

Eastern Bank developed its own online lending platform to compete with the likes of Kabbage and OnDeck. It might now be able to cash in by licensing to other banks.

If offering a national regulation option to fintech players is the carrot, compliance with commonsense borrower protections could be the stick in promoting responsible financial innovation.

With loans of $100,000 or less, the typical bank breaks even or loses money. But one Florida community bank is betting faster turnaround times on small-business loans can help the bottom line.

Philip McHugh, a top-ranking executive with Barclaycard, will join the processor Total System Services Inc. as its senior executive vice president and president of merchant solutions, effective May 1.

The third party wallets and mobile point of sale systems are advancing, making the next year the right time for merchants to work on strategies to improve user experience at checkout.