Mastercard's U.K. Pay by Bank service has been slow to get off the ground since its 2016 launch. But Mastercard predicts Pay by Bank will see significant adoption in 2020 due to the partnerships it has established with banks and processors, and the popularity of mobile banking among Britons.

Banks, especially smaller ones, are more worried about the competitive inroads that Apple Pay, Venmo and others have made than they are about tech companies' incursions into other financial segments, according to a new survey by Promontory Interfinancial Network.

Customer interaction platform Podium has added a Payments feature, allowing businesses to use text messaging to accept funds directly from customers.

More work is needed to bring processing up to speed for digital payments, according to Neocova's Sultan Meghji and Kelsey Weaver.

Coronavirus, also called Covid-19, is wreaking havoc on the stock market, with a heightened effect on the travel industry. It could also cause a drastic change in payment habits, as consumers shift to digital channels to reduce their risk of infection from handling cash.

For real-time payments, there are national schemes to help drive adoption and enhance consumer convenience, according to Standard Chartered's Tarek Elyafi and Shantanu Vijaykumar Bhosale

With the world gripped in panic over the rapid spread of the coronavirus — and the stock market falling in response — payments companies have been left to speculate on what it all means to their operations in an increasingly global economy.

The Fed can take steps now to speed up existing networks.

Diverse local economies and a demand for mobile are boosting digital commerce, says PPRO's Steve Villegas.

Deluxe has spent many years working to diversify beyond paper checks, which are in an inevitable decline. But that diversity led to confusion.