Digital payments

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many industries conduct business — and that's especially true of the legal cannabis industry, which was already struggling in the U.S. to find the best way to handle noncash payments.

Walt Disney Co. has at least temporarily cut several reservation and incentive features tied to its closed loop payment system, revealing the complexities of mixing health guidance with tourism.

Innovating is tough even in ordinary times, but during the coronavirus pandemic many payments startups had to dig into deeper reserves of creativity and resilience to meet expectations.

Many of the payment innovations of the past decade got an early start in Canada, building a base of users and habits the nation hopes will make the pivot to post-coronavirus commerce easier than other markets.

The coronavirus pandemic has made paper money literally a dirty word, causing a rush to digital payments that may be too fast for Western Union and MoneyGram to keep up with as separate companies.

As Erez Ben-Kiki and his wife tried to move her yoga business online — conducting classes via Zoom — they discovered that the process of monetizing such classes was surprisingly awkward. Ben-Kiki, CEO and co-founder of 2Key Network, spotted a gap in the market.

People who order groceries for delivery may be using digital payments or a plastic card to pay for their food, but the person picking up the groceries may be making a separate payment at the point of pickup — and in the process, influencing the global shift toward contactless payments.

Even digitally savvy organizations face a vexing dilemma when sending emergency funds: The neediest recipients often have little other option than to receive paper checks.

Many companies are postponing product rollouts until the economy improves, but the Samsung Money debit card could be better suited for spending habits during the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus shutdowns have tossed businesses into disarray in numerous ways, most notably the tricky transactions that come with operating a restaurant as a drive-through for the first time.

Like a lot of operations, such as small businesses, hospitals and suppliers, St. Joseph Episcopal Church in Queens Village, N.Y., found out it was not as “online” as it thought.

As many countries and U.S. states now begin to lift stay-at-home orders, fraudsters too are being unleashed to return to familiar targets such as bank branches, ATMs and retail stores.

The coronavirus pandemic has had an immediate impact on a wide swath of consumer spending habits and payment choices — some of which may remain in place for some time after the crisis subsides — as certain categories such as travel have fallen to the wayside and others such as grocery stores have risen as more consumers eat meals at home.

As credit card chargebacks accumulate during the coronavirus crisis from consumers seeking reimbursement for canceled trips and events, PayPal is extending an olive branch to merchants.

In the works for months, Mastercard Track Business Payment Service rolls out Tuesday with the goal of improving efficiency around corporate buyer and supplier payments at a time when these processes are uniquely constrained by the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus has taken a massive toll on suppliers, and emerging invoice methods are getting thrust into the mainstream to rescue cash-strapped businesses.

U.S. card issuers aren’t getting the full benefit of the contactless phenomenon because of their slower contactless card rollout strategies.

A mix of consumer debt and economic anxiety is shining a light on firms that offer alternatives to revolving credit. This, in turn, creates a chance to further tie financing directly to checkout.

One of the selling points behind multi-account payment cards is the ability to shift spending on the fly or shortly after shopping, such as to fund a recent purchase with loyalty points. During the pandemic, this feature may become a key financial management tool.

The businesses that are open now are providing clues for payment hardware makers on how the retail landscape will look once the pandemic clears.