Payments

With one study showing consumers racking up additional credit card debt this season, some members may be eager to consolidate their balances in the year ahead.

As business flocks online, voice tech and social are just two of many innovations that will become stable stakes for merchants, says Hatch's Joris Kroese.

While there has been a general trend of paying people faster for work already performed, starting with gig workers, COVID-19 has created (or exposed) many issues that are fueling the shift toward on-demand pay, especially for hourly workers.

The simplest of mechanisms, having evolved over time, has now become a trending solution, a beacon of a brighter time and an essential service provider in an hour of need, says PPS' Tessa Unsworth.

Consumers avoiding stores because of COVID-19 have driven triple-digit sales growth of Blackhawk’s digital gift cards sold through retailers’ websites, with the final weeks of the year expected to push digital cards to a tipping point.

Data that mimics the original set is part of coronavirus vaccine trials, and also has ramifications for mapping financial services metrics, says Aite's Ginger Schmeltzer.

Safaricom Plc. is in negotiations with fund managers, investment banks and insurance companies to partner on a raft of mobile phone-based savings and wealth-management products, Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said in an interview in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

Digital financial services provider Vacuumlabs is partnering with Global Processing Services to boost mobile app-based and e-wallet features for businesses of all sizes.