Merchant

The payments and financial technology world is moving ahead at high speed. But an acquirer may feel like the only one on the road obeying the speed limit while other companies zoom ahead.

In the first half of 2016, the payments industry had its most active six months of merger-and-acquisition activity since the second half of 2014.

First Data Corp., the payments processor that went public last year, climbed after posting second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates.

Banks should assess a customer's full financial picture before deciding to sell a debt to a third-party collection agent.

European Union regulators recently passed new rules for shielding data from cyber criminals. Every company that operates in or does business with EU citizens must comply, which is virtually every mid-to-large sized company in the world.

Many times, bitter rivals must set aside their differences for the common good. This has happened a lot in recent years as the payments industry adjusts to the fast pace of innovation.

The regulatory winds swirling around acquirers and independent sales organizations are so swift, those who can't stay abreast of the changes are likely to get blown away.

In the last decade, customer loyalty has extended beyond the bank to include an array of non-bank solutions for financial management, payment and lending.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's debt collection plan is likely to put pressure on banks and first-party creditors to provide better documentation on consumer debts that get transferred to debt buyers and collectors. While the proposal does not cover banks and first-party creditors, some experts said banks will be on the hook for providing better information.

Payment Data Systems (PDS), a San Antonio, Texas-based payment solutions provider, has introduced a streamlined approach for mobile app developers to enable payment acceptance from all Apple Inc. mobile devices.