Gig economy

Companies that rely on contract work also depend on diversifying revenue streams, a cycle that will repeatedly place fresh stress on an already complicated payroll system.

Despite the fervor over mobile wallets and banking, one day consumers may never need to open a dedicated bank or payment app.

Uber’s corporate existence has jumped from one PR crisis to another, but the company has always been lauded for how seamlessly it handles payments. Until now.

Executives from four companies—Worldnet co-founder John Clarke, Payrailz CEO Fran Duggan, CardFree CEO Jon Squire, and Sionic Mobile CEO Ron Herman— view Uber and Amazon as drivers of the shift to an "unattended" retail experience that removes human interaction from the process of making a payment.

Uber’s latest app update adds a stored-value account that incentivises riders to dive deeper into the Uber ecosystem — and away from their bank or mobile wallet provider.

Debit push payments proved an essential component of the ride-sharing boom, with many drivers opting to pay a fee for immediate funds throughout the day to cover fuel and other expenses. And the technology is finding fans in other niches as well.

Generation Z and later groups will increasingly demand alternative salary options, including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to David Johnson, founder and CEO of Latium.

While a significant amount of press has been made about providing faster access to payments for Uber and Lyft drivers, as well as workers in the gig economy, there is an underserved community of millions of Americans who work in low-wage jobs living paycheck to paycheck.

Founded in 1971, First Data may not have the glow of being a trendy startup. Green Dot, founded in 1999, is in the same boat. But under the hood both companies have done much to keep up with the innovators.

PayPal can combine its payment service, Braintree and Hyperwallet for a variety of use cases for online marketplaces and gig economy workers.