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Merchants need to ensure they are poised and ready for a growing market of digital consumers, write Michael Mertz and Rich Wheeler from CardConnect.

Cybersecurity systems, as sophisticated as they are, are clearly not doing the job. And maybe they never will, given that in the end the effectiveness of those systems can be overridden by workers inside the organization, writes Tal Vegvizer, director of research and development for Bufferzone.

For payments to keep up, merchants need to focus on the shift to subscriptions and the true personalization of processing, writes Suneera Madhani, CEO and founder of Fattmerchant.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau featured in three of our most read articles of last year, while two others were about the disruptor Ripple. Other highlights included our annual Women in Banking package, the aftermath of the Equifax data breach and news of Amazon's possible banking plans.

Finding a perfect candidate could be tricky. Because the New York Fed oversees banks and operates in markets, someone with Wall Street experience is ideal — yet at the same time, it’s important to find a candidate who isn’t beholden to the banks. Some advisers are pushing for a woman or a minority to be appointed.

While interest from the West has so far been tepid in the region, this is an opportune time for fintech investors to look at participation in the Southeast Asian market, writes Alexander Koles, CEO and founder of Evolve Capital Partners.

Alison Burns feels like a broken record every time she has to give the same spiel to prospective merchant clients: Before you invest tens of thousands of dollars in a new point of sale system, know what you’re getting into first.

People are spending more time in messaging applications, and merchants need to be visible in that venue, writes David Nunn, head of Braintree Europe.

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.

From the identity of bankers in the 21st century to the regulatory turmoil in Washington to the huge impact of technology on the industry, readers expressed an array of strong opinions about what happened in 2017.

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.

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.

Rita Lowman recently joined the bank from C1 Financial, where she had been chief operating officer.

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.

By deploying voice biometrics, organizations including large banks, government agencies, telcos and retailers can not only make the process of authentication easier, but also can protect their customers’ identities from being compromised in the case of a hack, writes Brett Beranek, director of product strategy at Nuance.

Davis, who stepped down as CEO a year ago, will retire as the company's chairman and as an employee at the end of 2017. Umpqua will then become one of the few publicly traded banking companies with a female chair.

Major retailers accept bitcoin, and BitPay reports that it will process more than $1 billion in payments this year. Even McDonald's is reportedly considering that it will accept bitcoin payments, writes consultant Collin Canright.

It was a good year for CIT’s Ellen Alemany and JPM’s Sandie O’Connor, but Arjuna Capital’s Natasha Lamb hopes next year will be better. Mary Mack gets a bigger role at Wells Fargo, and Zoe Cruz gets a new one at Ripple. Plus, is Harvey Weinstein really Meryl Streep’s fault?

Analytics can customize experience for consumers and allow consumers to customize the experience for themselves, writes Matt Wilcox, senior vice president of marketing, strategy and innovation for digital banking at Fiserv.