In the battle to control consumer data, Visa has made a major score by agreeing to acquire Plaid, a technology company that it could have seen grow into a competitor.

The new Karma Points card donates 10% of revenue to charitable funds established by the company that help people living on the street.

Paytm Payments Bank has issued over 3 million FASTags for the Indian national highway electronic toll system, making it the largest issuer in the country.

Samsung's upcoming XCover Pro phone, which can accept contactless payments without add-on hardware, is the first of what Visa hopes will be many devices capable of natively handling NFC payments.

In the near future, payments will be part of the shopping experience itself. Technology that lets customers pay in the fitting room – or automatically, as they walk out of a store – will likely become an everyday reality, says Wirecard's Susanne Steidl.

After getting a reprieve from a 2017 deadline, gas stations now have less than a year to upgrade to EMV security at the pump — and the card brands aren't showing signs that they will be willing to postpone this mandate another time.

The recent explosion of online shopping tools pointing users to the lowest prices for items — particularly on Amazon — appears to be making the e-commerce giant nervous.

Thailand is laying the foundations for standalone digital banks as it strives to catch up with other Asian markets that are allowing such changes, according to its central bank governor.

Banks can remain competitive in a more crowded field by offering attractive rewards through easy-to-navigate, secure microsites, says Informa Financial Intelligence's Gina DeCorla.

Concerns about security and expense have dogged payments innovation for decades, and have always faded, argues Nvoicepay's Alyssa Callahan.