Contactless payments: Should the UK raise the limit?

According to the Merchant Transact 360 report, created by The Payment Institutions Association, payments are evolving faster than ever and the next 12 months will redefine how merchants interact with customers. The report highlights a clear shift. Payments are no longer a back-office function, but a strategic differentiator. Among the top trends shaping the UK and European markets there’s: ✔️ Open banking continues to gain ground, with account-to-account payments becoming a mainstream alternative to cards. ✔️ Instant payments and payment orchestration simplify operations and reduce costs for merchants managing multiple channels. ✔️ Mobile wallets are redefining customer experience, while biometrics and AI-driven fraud prevention raise both security and personalization standards. ✔️ BNPL regulation, tokenisation, and PSD3 reforms are forcing businesses to adapt — balancing innovation with compliance. From Toqio’ team, we see these trends as clear signals that embedded and contextual finance will be essential to keeping payment experiences relevant, fast, and trusted. 👉 Find further information here: https://lnkd.in/dbYYQ_Xu

Digital payments processor Checkout.com submitted its application for a banking charter to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, the company said Friday. The U.K.-based firm is seeking Georgia’s merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter to facilitate its U.S. expansion and gain direct access to the payment networks of behemoths Visa and Mastercard. https://lnkd.in/eMwJzPeG

Digital payments processor Checkout.com submitted its application for a banking charter to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, the company said Friday. The U.K.-based firm is seeking Georgia’s merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter to facilitate its U.S. expansion and gain direct access to the payment networks of behemoths Visa and Mastercard.

💰 Your transaction is approved instantly — but the money doesn’t move instantly. Why? Because after authorization, the settlement cycle begins — a nightly dance of data files between networks, issuers, and acquirers. Here’s what really happens 👇 1️⃣ Outgoing Files (from Acquirer → Network) Every acquirer collects the day’s approved transactions and sends them to the network in a structured file — often following ISO8583 or proprietary settlement formats. These files include: Transaction amounts 💵 Merchant IDs 🏪 Network & interchange fees 💰 Currency & timestamps ⏱ 2️⃣ Network Reconciliation The network validates, enriches, and aggregates all files from thousands of acquirers worldwide. It calculates interchange, fees, and settlement positions for each issuer and acquirer. 3️⃣ Incoming Files (Network → Issuer & Acquirer) The next step: networks send back incoming files to each participant — one for the issuer (to debit cardholders’ accounts) and one for the acquirer (to credit merchants). Each file represents the financial settlement and balancing instructions. 4️⃣ Clearing & Funding Finally, banks settle through their accounts at the settlement bank or central bank, depending on the scheme. The result? ✅ Merchant paid. ✅ Issuer reimbursed. ✅ Network reconciled. But this whole process — from file generation to funding — takes time (T+1, T+2, or more). ⚡ The “instant approval” you see at the POS is just step 1. The real money movement happens later — in structured, automated file exchanges that run the world’s payment rails. 👉 Question for you: Do you think the future will replace batch file settlement with true real-time clearing across all networks? #Fintech #DigitalPayments #PaymentSwitch #PaymentNetworks #CardPayments #Mastercard #Visa #Clearing #Settlement

Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly eyeing Curve for a potential £120 million acquisition, and it's clear there's more to this than meets the eye. This isn't just about acquiring a new payments technology, it's about potentially reshaping the very concept of a bank account. Experts like Tom Hay from PSE Consulting suggest that the biggest draw for Lloyds is Curve's multi-funding flexibility. This can empower customers to choose different funding sources for different transactions, all from one account. Imagine paying for your groceries with debit, flights with credit, and everything else with BNPL options seamlessly. Lloyds won't just be offering another digital wallet—it could redefine how we think about managing our money. Why does this matter? The competition in the digital wallet space is fierce with giants like Apple Pay and Google Pay setting high standards. But by leveraging Curve's unique capabilities, Lloyds could offer a flexible, all-in-one solution that brings added value to their customers and differentiates them in the market. https://lnkd.in/epei5b-S #fintech #digitalwallet #paymentsindustry

Account-to-account (A2A) payments powered by instant payment infrastructures and open banking APIs are set to gain strength globally. As these systems rise, many are asking: what becomes of traditional card schemes if/when A2A becomes the default method of digital payment? https://lnkd.in/dYKSJEKn

Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly eyeing Curve for a potential £120 million acquisition, and it's clear there's more to this than meets the eye. This isn't just about acquiring a new payments technology, it's about potentially reshaping the very concept of a bank account. Experts like Tom Hay from PSE Consulting suggest that the biggest draw for Lloyds is Curve's multi-funding flexibility. This can empower customers to choose different funding sources for different transactions, all from one account. Imagine paying for your groceries with debit, flights with credit, and everything else with BNPL options seamlessly. Lloyds won't just be offering another digital wallet—it could redefine how we think about managing our money. Why does this matter? The competition in the digital wallet space is fierce with giants like Apple Pay and Google Pay setting high standards. But by leveraging Curve's unique capabilities, Lloyds could offer a flexible, all-in-one solution that brings added value to their customers and differentiates them in the market. https://lnkd.in/e44Xssim #fintech #digitalwallet #paymentsindustry

Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly eyeing Curve for a potential £120 million acquisition, and it's clear there's more to this than meets the eye. This isn't just about acquiring a new payments technology, it's about potentially reshaping the very concept of a bank account. Experts like Tom Hay from PSE Consulting suggest that the biggest draw for Lloyds is Curve's multi-funding flexibility. This can empower customers to choose different funding sources for different transactions, all from one account. Imagine paying for your groceries with debit, flights with credit, and everything else with BNPL options seamlessly. Lloyds won't just be offering another digital wallet—it could redefine how we think about managing our money. Why does this matter? The competition in the digital wallet space is fierce with giants like Apple Pay and Google Pay setting high standards. But by leveraging Curve's unique capabilities, Lloyds could offer a flexible, all-in-one solution that brings added value to their customers and differentiates them in the market. https://lnkd.in/e44Xssim #fintech #digitalwallet #paymentsindustry

Instead of innovating payments, the new breed of QR/A2A payment schemes too often think of their system as a “primitive” form of card payments. Or, they treat payment merely as an enabler for their ambition of becoming a virtual bank. There is too much data, too much functionality and not enough effort to make the payment process better. In this post, I want to make the case for removing data from QR payments. In my view, the principles of any new payment system should be: “Payment moves money efficiently, anonymously and conveniently (for the customer). Use of account information is kept to a minimum. There should be no personal data.”

ACH, wire, and RTP transactions have long lagged behind card data — inconsistent formats, missing context, and unreliable merchant details make it hard for teams to build unified experiences across payment types. That changes today. Spade’s enrichment now extends to bank transfers, bringing clean, structured merchant, category, and location data across rails - all through a single API. This launch gives product and data teams a unified view of payments, enabling better authorization decisions, smarter rewards, and richer customer insights - no matter how the money moves. Read more about how Spade is making transaction enrichment consistent across rails: https://lnkd.in/eSgA24is