Retailers

Most retailers still don't want to accept bitcoin, but that doesn't mean they want to be left out of the cryptocurrency craze.

Merchants need to ensure they are poised and ready for a growing market of digital consumers, write Michael Mertz and Rich Wheeler from CardConnect.

Merchants have been challenging surcharge bans in numerous states on free-speech grounds. They have the wind at their backs following another court victory on Wednesday.

Cybersecurity systems, as sophisticated as they are, are clearly not doing the job. And maybe they never will, given that in the end the effectiveness of those systems can be overridden by workers inside the organization, writes Tal Vegvizer, director of research and development for Bufferzone.

For payments to keep up, merchants need to focus on the shift to subscriptions and the true personalization of processing, writes Suneera Madhani, CEO and founder of Fattmerchant.

Five more retailers have dropped out of the American Express-managed Plenti retailer coalition loyalty program, putting its status in question.

The rise of e-commerce is hollowing out shopping malls and strip centers, but it is also creating new interesting opportunities for commercial real estate developers and lenders.

Compliance checks today are not continuous or automatic, even in the largest of global enterprises. Traditionally, compliance audits are performed by organizations just once a year when, in reality, they need to be continuous in order to be effective, writes Manoj Asnani, lead of product and design for Balbix.

While interest from the West has so far been tepid in the region, this is an opportune time for fintech investors to look at participation in the Southeast Asian market, writes Alexander Koles, CEO and founder of Evolve Capital Partners.

People are spending more time in messaging applications, and merchants need to be visible in that venue, writes David Nunn, head of Braintree Europe.