Merchant

With bitcoin in the media spotlight, everyone seems to have an opinion on the price. Few recognize the profound implications of decentralized money for the monetary system, society and government – not to mention the emerging business opportunities.

The C-1 electric car is an inventive vehicle, built by a company with an inventive marketing strategy and an inventive way of accepting payments.

When PayPal begins distributing the EMV-chip card version of its PayPal Here mobile card reader in the U.K. this year, it will follow a pattern the eBay unit established in the U.S. of targeting a narrower market than its rivals do.

First Data is offering a new way to set up its card management technology, VisionPlus, to reduce cost and the upfront work of deployment.

The chief communications officer of Visa Inc. will leave the company at the end of May as part of the card network's merger of its corporate relations and marketing departments.

The use of ultrasonic noise — silent to the human ear — in mobile payments and rewards hasn't garnered as much attention as Near Field Communication chips and QR codes, but there are a few successful implementations.

Without any clear drive to consolidate, the mobile-wallet market will remain chaotic for merchants in the near-term. But from the consumer's perspective, it won't be chaotic at all.

For PayPal, mobile devices aren't just new instruments of payment. They are also a way to attract new active users.

The card networks are reporting strong progress among issuers and acquirers in the U.S. migration to EMV-chip cards, but many retailers are still lashing out against the expectation that they upgrade their point of sale hardware.

American Express Co. is continuously trying to broadening its scope, shedding its image as a card for the elite to instead appeal to teens and young adults.