Forward Features

Digital wallets have become ubiquitous, but the market faces questions about saturation and differentiation. This feature will assess trends in wallet consolidation, the emergence of super apps, and strategies for wallet providers to maintain user engagement.

As fraudsters employ sophisticated techniques, AI and machine learning are critical in detecting and preventing fraudulent activities. We’ll explore the latest advancements in predictive analytics, behavioural biometrics, and real-time risk assessment tools.

Quantum computing poses both opportunities and threats to payment security. This feature will discuss the potential impact of quantum technologies on encryption standards, the urgency for quantum-resistant algorithms, and how the industry is preparing for this paradigm shift.

As mobile wallets evolve into ecosystems encompassing payments, identity, loyalty, and lending, the battle for digital wallet supremacy is heating up across borders. This feature explores how Big Tech, banks, and fintechs are racing to become the primary financial interface for consumers. It will examine the rise of interoperable wallets, super apps, and regional alliances, as well as how customer data, UX design, and trust are becoming key competitive weapons.

Point-of-sale systems are transforming from mere transaction points to comprehensive customer engagement platforms. This feature will explore innovations in POS technology, integration with loyalty programs, and how data analytics at the POS are enhancing customer insights.

Fintech innovations are playing a crucial role in extending financial services to underserved populations. We’ll examine successful models, challenges in scaling, and the impact of mobile banking and microfinance solutions in promoting financial inclusion.

As central banks and fintechs explore programmable money, we examine how programmable payments are reshaping transaction dynamics. This feature will delve into smart contracts, conditional payments, and their implications for B2B transactions, supply chain financing, and consumer incentives.

With increasing digital transactions, establishing secure and seamless digital identities is paramount. We’ll explore advancements in digital ID frameworks, biometric authentication, and their role in enhancing customer experience while mitigating fraud.

As environmental concerns take center stage, the payments industry is under pressure to adopt sustainable practices. This feature will assess green payment initiatives, carbon-neutral transaction processing, and how companies are integrating ESG considerations into their payment strategies.

From aggregation of wallets to dynamic and personalised check-out experiences, merchants and acquirers are getting to grips with Instant and multiple payment methods to serve their loyal following.

Hot on the heels of the payments revolution in South-East Asia, the MENA region is a hotbed of mobile and digital payments innovation. We look at some key players and the progress being made, as well as the infrastructure hurdles to be overcome.

Following retail developments, the B2B space is becoming big business. How can businesses reduce friction and improve processing, cost and transparency to win out in the cross border stakes? 

It’s time for Payments Cards & Mobile’s annual and exclusive proprietary research covering all things cards and payments in the buoyant region of 33 European markets. Trends and developments? Sign up for the low down.

As the effects of the pandemic, and economic and geopolitical shocks have settled into a new normal payments climate, PCM examines what’s in store for 2025. Where are resources best directed and what innovative strategies and technologies will ring the new year changes?

BNPL has taken root, commanding redefinitions of credit scoring, regulation and lending, impacting payment volumes and values and retail behaviour everywhere. Is its popular appeal set to continue?

With government funding and policies in various states of undress, where are banks and payments firms focusing their investment? What kind of models are truly game-changing and beyond automation, can regulation really keep up?

As technology advances, the global village expands and opportunity knocks in Payments, we take a look at incoming regulatory mandates such as DORA and how in touch these are with industry developments, to support, steer or even stifle digital developments.

Fintech unicorns are scaling fast and growing across borders, and have been for some time. PCM examines the opportunities and challenges faced by such outfits, and how their growth journeys have changed over time.

As the EU’s deadline for the introduction of interoperable national payment systems based on the SCT-INST standard looms, we look at what various nation states are doing to prepare – and how much volume is already flowing domestically and across borders.

Traditionally a laggard when it comes to federal initiatives, we look at the appetite for Open Banking in the United States, and compare progress to that seen in Europe, Canada and Asia.

The next wave of fintechs won’t enjoy the same patience from their investors as seen over the last ten years. We look at steps fintechs can take to show revenue and profitability growth within short time frames.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 banking players are looking to new digital platforms and automation to sharpen their edge faced with tech giants and neobanks. We report from Europe’s banking coal-face.

The so-called “bank in a box” has survived the initial hype and is now growing in popularity. We ask why Banking as a Service is set to soar.

Fintech unicorns are scaling fast and growing across borders. We examine the opportunities and pitfalls faced by these payments phenomena.

Payment Cards & Mobile’s exclusive proprietary research for 33 European markets. This will include an overview, our top five findings from the research plus special sections on national payment schemes and Tier 2 and 3 regional banks in Europe. How are they coping with increased competition?

This feature will lead on the payments fall-out from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has up-ended long-established relationships in Eurasian markets. Based on exclusive proprietary research from Payments Cards & Mobile, we provide a snapshot of a region in the grip of epochal change.

PSPs and intermediaries of all kinds need to add more value to survive in today’s tough market. We ask who’s getting it right – and where more could be done.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has up-ended long-established relationships in Eurasian markets. Based on exclusive proprietary research from PCM, we provide a snapshot of a region in the grip of epochal change.

PSPs and intermediaries of all kinds need to add more value to survive in today’s tough market. We ask who’s getting it right – and where more could be done.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 banking players are looking to new digital platforms and automation to sharpen their edge faced with tech giants and neobanks. We report from Europe’s banking coal-face.

Fintech unicorns are scaling fast and growing across borders. We examine the opportunities and pitfalls faced by these payments phenomena.

Payments Cards & Mobile’s exclusive proprietary research for 33 European markets. This time our focus will be on national payment schemes and Tier 2 and 3 regional banks in Europe. How are they coping with increased competition?

North American and European acquirers and merchants need to better understand Asian consumers and how and where they pay. We unravel the mysteries…

The so-called “bank in a box” has survived the initial hype and is now growing in popularity. We ask why Banking as a Service is set to soar.

Embedded payments hold great promise as a means of cutting friction in the checkout process and combining transactions with other services. This feature will explore where, how and why embedded payments can drive revenue improvements.

With cybersecurity growing in importance for all players, we look ahead to the emerging threats business face over the next 12-24 months.

Indonesia boasts one of the hottest payment markets on the face of the planet. We ask why – and what’s going to happen in the new year.

Consumers are blending physical and digital payments as they look to maximise their convenience, choice and safety. We ask what this means for payments firms.

Sustainability has long been a buzz-word in business. We look at what banks should be doing to move beyond the hype and deliver on their promise to save the planet.

The financial inclusion of unbanked Africans has long been a policy concern. The last decade has seen various telecom providers turn this vision into reality – but what’s next?

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Payments by SMS and digital wallet are taking over in South-East Asia. We look at the rise of mobile payments in some of the world’s most vibrant economies.

The concept of managing your finances through mobile apps has never been closer. We ask what will happen next – and what risks both merchants, consumers and banks should consider.

As the hype around Artificial Intelligence reaches fresh heights, we take a sober look at AI’s performance in banking and payments, and ask what happens next.

Fintechs have taken a beating so far in 2023. Payments Cards & Mobile looks at what’s happening now and the prospects for what was once the brightest star in banking and payments.

As Open Banking use takes off, Payments Cards & Mobile asks whether OB service providers are likely to find themselves becoming commodities very quickly. Where is the money in Open Banking?

Payments Cards & Mobile dives into the world of UX in payments and looks at new ways to make it better.

As European growth slows in the long term and Asia becomes fully developed, investors and corporates are looking at higher-risk, higher-return markets. We look at what’s happening on the wild frontiers of payments.

Rocketing fraud is rising – but so is mistrust in government and institutions. We examine what’s next for sovereign ID – the concept of owning your own digital ID.

Variable recurring payments (VRP) are an open banking product set for launch in the UK later in 2023. We ask what they mean, what they’re for – and whether they’ll be a success.

“Challenging” doesn’t cut it for what’s been happening in Eurasian markets. Decoupling from Russia’s MIR, collapse of collaboration agreements – we examine what’s been happening in the emerging economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

After a long hype cycle, are virtual cards finally coming into their own? PCM investigates.

Are advanced data analytics really the silver bullet people say they are? We ask where better analysis can help – and examine where it can’t…

Our annual review of what’s hot and not in European payments based on our proprietary research into 33 markets across Europe. Will digital wallets continue their rise? Are cards making a resurgence after COVID? All will be revealed…

2023 will see major new legislation emerge in the US, EU and elsewhere designed to make blockchain and digital currencies more stable, secure and accessible. We look at what’s on the way.

Banks are looking at getting back into processing, and marketplaces want to start acquiring. PCM looks at how – and why – the value chain could be getting shorter in payments.

As some European banks begin to show waning enthusiasm for the idea of a European Payments Initiative, we ask whether the EPI is necessary or even relevant in today’s payments market.

The PCM editorial team sticks its neck out to make some bold predictions for 2023, including BNPL, crypto, account-to-account payments and more…

As the EU prepares its third Payment Services Directive, we consider the implications in terms of security, strong customer authentication, open banking and other areas of payments.

As digitalization continues, financial institutions are combining multiple legacy products into one digital version. We look at what can go wrong – and right – with this approach.

Embedded finance promises to combine payments with services such as logistics, inventory management and product delivery. We examine the implications for payments of what’s being hyped as a game-changing industry trend over the next decade.

We don our samba costumes to examine the dynamics of one of the world’s most innovative yet challenging payments markets.

– some commentators are starting to describe the payment card as a legacy technology, but there might be life in it yet, as biometrics and more capable chips – plus consumer preference – offer cards a lifeline. We examine the evidence.

whether by subscription, digital wallet or card, in-store or in-game, we look at what’s happening in the world of paying for tiny amounts and how to make it quicker and easier.

billed as the currency of the future, governments are gearing up to offer digital versions of their national currencies from 2023 onwards. We review the implications for banks, merchants and intermediaries.

much is being made of the advent of virtual reality environments in which consumers can shop and chat with “live” avatars. We ask what this means for payments, and if “virtuality” really is the future, or just a passing fad…

PCM digs into the world of loyalty programmes to see how they’re changing in the digital environment – and whether they’re worth it, for consumers and the companies that run them.

Request to pay (R2P) is a hot buzzword today. Consumers seem keen – we consider what banks and PSPs need to do to prepare for R2P…

as crypto usage doubles every two months and acceptance soars, new regulations are coming into play. We take a look at the emerging financial ecosystem known as “Decentralised Finance”, or DeFi – and what it means for payments.

with the political situation between Russia, Turkey and the West heating up, we dive into the fast-developing Russian and Central Asian payments markets to look at growth opportunities, especially in payments technology where some players are beating both Asia and the West when it comes to innovation.

press releases crow the good news that more than half of Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending was placed on BNPL accounts. But as the bills come in, can a huge jump in defaults be far behind? PCM asks the tough questions.

to launch PCM’s proprietary annual in-depth analysis of the European payments market, we ask how far and how fast Account-to-Account payments, digital wallets and other methods are displacing cards, even as cards continue to displace cash.

SoftPOS systems are set to become the next wave of the digital revolution as acceptance goes digital. We investigate the potential – and pitfalls – of moving acceptance from traditional terminals to digital devices.

With developed markets introducing increasingly stringent environmental regulations to protect the planet, we look at what payment systems are doing to reduce their carbon footprint and energy use.