Payment processing

Blockchain reclaims proof of trust and allows users to reassign the data management role to a decentralized network guided by autonomous and immutable code, writes IIya Pupko, chief architect at Jitterbit.

Fiserv’s $22 billion deal to acquire First Data creates pressure to scale core banking and payment processing that may force further industry consolidation.

Small businesses short on cash can use advances from Fundbox to buy products from online suppliers.

Proposals that would have financial firms monitor or refuse to finance certain firearms purchases are misguided, putting the onus on unelected corporations.

Jason Oxman is leaving his CEO position at the Electronic Transactions Association to become the president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, a position he will assume in late February.

Midsize banks have much smaller security budgets, less mature security programs and less robust controls than their bigger counterparts, writes Leigh-Anne Galloway, cybersecurity resilience lead at Positive Technologies.

While the transaction will lower the cost of servicing First Data’s massive debt, the fintech and processing giant will be more complex and ponderous, writes Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures.

Bitcoin is marked by wild value swings that would preclude robust usage for retail payment, but that’s not stopping companies from moving crypto closer to the point of sale.

The Federal Reserve has suggested it could join the market for instant interbank payments, but private-sector entrants would be better.

American Express’ ambitious multi-merchant rewards program, Plenti, failed last year, but it wasn’t a total loss. FIS took several lessons from Plenti that it’s applying to its own evolving payment card rewards program.