Payments

Payment professionals expect physical cards to stick around for the foreseeable future, even as mobile wallets gain traction.

Card networks, fintechs and Walmart have started major account-to-account payment initiatives in the past few weeks.

With the payments industry looking for signs of consumer distress, the credit card company says spending is starting to stabilize and it's retaining customers at a strong rate.

With two excellent real-time payments rails now available in the U.S., enabling QR code transactions is essential. The financial services industry needs to come together and establish uniform standards.

The card lender took full control of Swisscard from UBS; the Financial Conduct Authority is bringing installment lending regulations in line with other consumer financial products; and more payments news from around the world.

Section 1033 promised to increase competition in banking and improve the ability to offer novel payment methods, but experts say the regulation isn't clear enough to have a major impact.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said the bankruptcy of Synapse earlier this year highlights regulatory gaps around the state-based licensing of businesses that transfer money.

Stripe, Circle and Ripple all made deals in recent days to boost scale for a form of cryptocurrency that has struggled to reach mainstream consumers and businesses.

Deutsche Bank hired UBS' Aly Alibhai to head North American mergers and acquisitions; National Bankshares promoted Lara Ramsey to president; Apple Pay users in the U.S. and U.K. now have a pay later option through Klarna; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The credit card lender's earnings beat analyst expectations, but it also reported weakness in spending and higher late payments. Amex boss Steve Squeri said consumers are "resilient" and credit remains strong.