With its acquisition of Montreal-based Mobeewave, Apple has placed a long-term bet on where it sees the payments industry headed.

Banks are utilizing an array of overlay services to address historical market challenges, such as the continued use of checks among businesses that do not have the information or capabilities to send digital payments.

The major card networks have heavily invested in broader services as transaction processing loses its luster, a strategy that’s provided a ray of hope as retail and travel industries remain sidelined.

Apple Inc. has acquired Mobeewave Inc., a startup with technology that could transform iPhones into mobile payment terminals, according to people familiar with the matter.

MoneyGram International's digital transformation came at just the right time, considering walk-in traffic at MoneyGram locations in certain regions of the world was stymied for months by the coronavirus pandemic. But for many people, digital is still no replacement for the human touch.

Cross-border payments do not and should not exist in a vacuum, says Veem's Marwan Forzley.

If bankers have learned anything from treading a pandemic, it’s that providing personal services at the moment of need has become even more essential than it was before, says Jack Henry's Tede Forman.

Apple Card helped push services-category revenue to new heights for Apple, which reported double-digit growth in its product and services segments for the third quarter of 2020.

As demand for secure and seamless digital payments increases, financial institutions must prioritize a digital-first payments strategy that incorporates the latest trends, says CSI's Matt Herren.

Mastercard reported a sharp decline in payments in its most recent quarter, but some digital seeds it planted before the coronavirus pandemic are already bearing fruit.