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.

Businesses have to ensure they're not losing money on the currency exchange, and volatility in the local market could upset their earnings or pricing structures in those areas, says Rapyd's Joel Yarbrough.

The NFC Forum, the global standards body and advocacy association for the use of NFC, released the specifications to improve communication speed and the ability to use NFC in areas in which "noisy radio environments" might cause interference.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show, taking place in Las Vegas, is a showcase of bizarre and revolutionary new technologies — with a few providing glimpses into the future of fintech and payments.

Facebook Pay's relatively limited scope has raised less opposition than the company's crypto project, argues Infinite Convergence's Anurag Lal.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. and China UnionPay Co. will soon unify the mobile codes that consumers scan to pay for purchases, granting the Chinese central bank-backed network a bigger foothold in a $27 trillion payments arena.

The thinking has been that additional POS complexity is the only way to give customers what they want and streamline business operations. Yet a typical merchant uses less than 20% of the capability of their POS solution—and not often very well, says Revel Systems' Chris Lybeer.

Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project has drawn vast political pushback, but also more tangible government action as nations globally consider central bank supported digital currencies. It’s also sparking a potential bottom-up approach in New York.

Comerica Bank won another five-year contract from the Treasury Department to run the prepaid Direct Express card program despite criticism of how it handled past fraud cases and customer service blunders.

Payments security firm MyPINpad has received certification from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council for its software-based PIN entry on Apple mobile and tablet devices.

Conflict continues to mount between the card brands and merchants. Merchants say they deserve more input and actual decision-making power and that payments should operate through completely open standards in which all involved parties have had a say.