Disruptors

Visa has accumulated a 9.99% stake in Square, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, giving a boost to the mobile point of sale company, which has faced challenges recently.

Much of the growth in wearable technology is happening without an eye to enabling payments. This is prompting many companies to find a way to add payment capabilities to wearables without forcing users to buy an entirely new device.

Silicon Valley companies like Marqeta, Stripe and Braintree cut their teeth on the open network concept, creating a place for themselves at the table of future embedded payments, instant card issuing or instant credit.

The honorees, selected by the editors of PaymentsSource, are responsible for businesses and innovations as diverse as the payments industry itself.

There have never been so many foundational changes at once in this industry, Murray said. It’s imperative that everyone in it stay on their toes and be “prepared to change direction at any moment.”

A consortium of Swiss banks hope the country's reputation for banking, technology and smartphones will give its financial institutions a commanding position for in-store and in-app payments.

Rather than partner with a startup, 45-year-old Equitable Bank in Canada created a separate brand, EQ Bank, to acquire customers who are ready for an account without a debit card.

For the first time in its nearly 60-year history, Visa is inviting third-party software developers onto its network with the goal of advancing digital commerce.

The Canadian bank's U.S. wealth management arm is moving toward a hybrid digital-human advice platform, partnering with BlackRock's FutureAdvisor to add robo tools for its 1,900 advisers.

Blockstream, a tech startup that employs several core developers of the bitcoin protocol, has raised $55 million in venture capital to develop its sidechain technology and expand its global operations.