Payments

Payments technology conglomerate WEX has agreed to buy two companies — B2B travel payment operator eNett and B2B payment specialist Optal — for $1.7 billion.

Alipay and WorldRemit will enable consumers to send remittances to the Alipay app to support broader use for payments and other financial services.

American Express has focused the past few years on overcoming a couple of its stigmas — that not all U.S. merchants accept Amex cards, and that younger cardholders were not intrigued by the status of holding an Amex card.

The payments industry is a hotbed of innovation, and many of its larger players are eager to claim patents on new developments.

B2B payment trends are trying to catch up with B2C payment trends but are still lagging behind, says FTV Capital's Rob Anderson.

Biometrics technology provider PopID has developed a business philosophy that tests the consumers' comfort level with facial recognition in a more casual setting.

The city would join San Francisco and Philadelphia among cities that prohibit stores and restaurants from only accepting electronic payments.

Calculating the average U.S. phone bill to be around $80 a month, San Francisco-based Digit has established a way for consumers to more easily set aside money for that expense.

Square's merchants have shown early interest in cryptocurrency payments, and if merchants accept this new concept, it could exist along with other Square services to support numerous use cases, including broader financial services.

In a move to increase the attractiveness of its Real-Time Payment network, The Clearing House is raising the transactional limit for single payments to $100,000 starting Feb. 1.