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.

As digital wallet strategies begin to fall into place for more large banks, many smaller banks are feeling the pressure to develop apps of their own.

Barclays threw out security questions for telephone banking access this week and began using voice recognition technology, representing a step in an industry-wide move to eliminate passwords and challenge questions.

TouchID, facial recognition, behavior patterns, knowledge-based authentication, SMS codes – the means of authenticating continue to proliferate. The smart minds in security have yet to settle on one which is the most effective.

Prague-based CSOB has launched the first mobile wallet for Near Field Communication-based mobile payments in the Czech Republic—already a bastion of contactless payments—with plans for e-commerce payments down the road.

The mega-banks behind Early Warning's clearXchange network provided a huge base to push the speedy processing necessary for digital payments—but even the biggest banks don't blanket the country as well as Visa and Mastercard.

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.

Wells Fargo's embrace of Near Field Communication technology is rapidly approaching at least one milestone — a customer experience that does not require a card to use an ATM or pay in a store.

Swedish mobile payments company Seamless has steadily diversified the range of contactless payment technologies it supports in the hopes that it will be able to provide an entry-level platform for any financial institution's mobile wallet strategy.

The linchpin of the federal government's payday lending proposal is a credit-reporting system for small-dollar loans created by the private sector, but the kinds of companies that could create it haven't stepped forward.

India-based rail line Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC) and mobile payments company Mobikwik have added a feature enabling passengers to order and purchase food that’s delivered directly to trains along the route.

Few companies can claim to have created a wildly successful mobile wallet app. Even fewer can claim to have done it twice in a row.

The League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates (LSCU), which serves credit unions in Florida and Alabama, and the New York Credit Union Association (NYCUA) said they have "amicably agreed" to suspend a previously planned collaborative partnership between the two entities.

Banks should assess a customer's full financial picture before deciding to sell a debt to a third-party collection agent.

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.

More mobile wallet consortiums failed last month, with two folding in New Zealand and Canada, escalating doubts about the prospects for cooperation among competitors in mobile payments.

The private equity firm GTCR is interested in fintech companies looking to disrupt the status quo, so long as they have proved themselves and are paired with managers who have a long track record of success.

DMI Inc., a mobile technologies software developer based in Bethesda, Md., has announced a collaboration with Cambodia-based mobile banking provider Wing for a mobile app enabling consumer and commercial funds transfers within the country.

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.