Technology

Bankers have become more uncertain about how to serve marijuana businesses owing to confusion about which states deem them essential.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many industries conduct business — and that's especially true of the legal cannabis industry, which was already struggling in the U.S. to find the best way to handle noncash payments.

Merchants will need to adopt practices to curtail the surge in chargeback activity and protect their businesses, even after the worst of the coronavirus outbreak is over, says Chargeback 911's Monica Eaton-Cardone.

Walt Disney Co. has at least temporarily cut several reservation and incentive features tied to its closed loop payment system, revealing the complexities of mixing health guidance with tourism.

Landesbank Berlin, a major issuer of co-branded cards in Germany, has launched a contactless card with German Automobile Club ADAC as its first project with European payments services provider SIA.

Innovating is tough even in ordinary times, but during the coronavirus pandemic many payments startups had to dig into deeper reserves of creativity and resilience to meet expectations.

The challenges may seem daunting, financial institutions and fintechs must focus on identifying meaningful opportunities based on the financial priorities of consumers and businesses to help them weather these difficult times.

Recent steps that would help nonbank lenders enter the traditional banking system, like a proposal clarifying the industrial loan company charter, are needed but face strong opposition.

Many of the payment innovations of the past decade got an early start in Canada, building a base of users and habits the nation hopes will make the pivot to post-coronavirus commerce easier than other markets.

Automation and technology allow lenders to handle an evolving situation that changes by the day: adjustments are easily made to terms, timing and required data for loan forgiveness, says PayNet’s William Phelan.