Retailers

Visa announced Quick Chip four months ago, but until today the card brand has not had a place to showcase its faster EMV technology to merchants who feel burdened by the EMV payment process.

At its launch in 2004, ThankYou had its own separate identity, customer base and website from the rest of Citi – even logging into the program was difficult.

Bots have slowly begun to creep onto the online payments scene, and they could offer a whole new, simpler way to part with our cash.

Whether it is EMV, NFC, HCE or TSP, there is certainly no shortage of acronyms within the payments ecosystem. And this is one trend that is here to stay.

The payments and financial technology world is moving ahead at high speed. But an acquirer may feel like the only one on the road obeying the speed limit while other companies zoom ahead.

In the first half of 2016, the payments industry had its most active six months of merger-and-acquisition activity since the second half of 2014.

First Data Corp., the payments processor that went public last year, climbed after posting second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates.

European Union regulators recently passed new rules for shielding data from cyber criminals. Every company that operates in or does business with EU citizens must comply, which is virtually every mid-to-large sized company in the world.

Many times, bitter rivals must set aside their differences for the common good. This has happened a lot in recent years as the payments industry adjusts to the fast pace of innovation.

The regulatory winds swirling around acquirers and independent sales organizations are so swift, those who can't stay abreast of the changes are likely to get blown away.