The mobile point of sale pioneer Square has done much to expand its product range to stay competitive, and a few of those efforts have made the company more of a direct threat to banks.

The mobile point of sale pioneer Square has done much to expand its product range to stay competitive, and a few of those efforts have made the company more of a direct threat to banks.

Mastercard is cracking down on merchants who bill consumers for unwanted subscriptions when a free trial offer ends — but by limiting the rule to physical goods, it's leaving a lot of potential consumer goodwill on the table.

In sectors such as health care and B2B, digital communication is rapidly shoving paper processes to the side, according to David Yohe, vice president of marketing at BillingTree.

For the U.S. to move forward, education will be required to teach users how to utilize new technology to manage their finances, says Katy Gibson, vice president of product applications at Envestnet Yodlee.

The large core banking software vendors are already criticized as large and slow-moving. Consolidations like these are only likely to make them more so.

The large core banking software vendors are already criticized as large and slow-moving. Consolidations like these are only likely to make them more so.

The numbers behind Fiserv's deal to acquire First Data are huge, particularly considering each company's existing tonnage still makes consolidation the best play when faced with nimble fintechs and mobile startups.

Credit unions and smaller banks can differentiate themselves by returning to the passion for personal service that first anchored their success, and payments are central to this strategy, according to Deborah Matthews Phillips, managing director of payment strategy at Jack Henry.

Just a few years ago, tech companies imagined a world where Bluetooth beacons would push alerts to consumers' smartphones as they walked by a store or navigated its aisles. The tech isn't gone, but it's become more subtle in how it's being used.