Payment processing

Banks have borne the brunt of the criticism from consumers still waiting for coronavirus relief funds to land in their accounts. But the industry says the lag time is the fault of the government and its antiquated payments system

Facing accusations of illegally using client accounts to move money to its U.K. headquarters from a Brazilian bank, Wise (formerly Transferwise) vehemently denied those actions and said it is the target of a smear campaign.

Payservices would use deposits largely to support its existing business. It has no plans to make loans.

Until regulatory reforms are introduced, nonbanks won’t have direct access to Payments Canada's Real-Time Rail, a situation that risks stifling innovation.

It's crucial small businesses continue to expand user experience improvements made during the first year of the pandemic, says NMI's Nick Starai.

EPI could potentially provide a bedrock for future European payments innovation. It arguably does not go far enough, says Icon Solutions' Michel Vaja.

Slow settlement on traditional rails can cause dangerous delays in moving funds, says AppBrilliance's C. Eric Smith.

Banks need to adjust their money laundering protections to comply with tough new rules in the U.S., says Genpact's Manish Chopra.

Customers and partners will view an easy and reliable payment experience favorably, says Billtrust's Justin Main.

By removing friction and encouraging interoperability, deployment becomes easier, says Fime's Reza Rhamani Fard.

Data connectivity is key to adding products and addressing customers, says Flinks' Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf.

Building the processing tech was the easy part. Finding the right mix of users and transactions posed many challenges.

Linking a variety of services to a payment account opens a new more flexible world of financial services, says Tribe Payments' Alex Ressish.

COVID-19 has pushed an increasingly popular, non-traditional POS lending product into the mainstream.

Challenger banks and fintechs can't be considered rivals, says Episode Six's John Mitchell.

Building the processing tech was the easy part. Finding the right mix of users and transactions posed many challenges.

The mass shift to remote work has blurred lines between consumer and business pay, creating a greater push for digitization, says Billtrust's Justin Main.

There's no overstating the impact the pandemic has had on travel, but there are innovative products that can help the recovery, says Nuvei's Yuval Ziv.

More people are joining the gig economy, and a major driver of this trend — particularly for those working multiple gigs — is a need for faster access to cash to meet expenses.

The COVID-19 pandemic led many locked-down consumers to stream or download more movies and video games, and this trend is leading to a rise in demand for faster data services such as 5G — a potential driver of payments innovation.