Faster payments, which enable the quick settlement of transactions, are attracting greater interest from US financial institutions, businesses, and consumers, creating new challenges and opportunities for payments incumbents.

Blockchain is attracting enormous interest on the back of surging cryptocurrency valuations and increasingly high-profile payment integrations. But as a real payment currency, blockchain-based cryptocurrency still must overcome many hurdles before it can truly disrupt the space.

B2B, C2C, and B2C payments all stand to gain from shorter settlement times, which offer greater financial flexibility and control. Faster payments’ speed also provides valuable transparency for firms, which benefit from the certainty of immediate payment.

The mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) space has grown in popularity over the years, thanks in large part to three key players that are propelling immense growth in both users and payment transaction value.

Top 10 countries for real-time payments

Though still in the early stages of rollout, 5G technology could bring about positive changes to the retail industry, as retailers seek to maintain their digital transformation efforts and bring consumers safely back into stores in 2021. Retailers will use their IT investments in 5G to enhance the customer experience, both in-store and online.

People across generations are pivoting to paperless

On today's episode, we discuss whether HBO Max can break into the top four streaming services, what to make of the Academy Awards' ratings, the effect Amazon could have on live sports, whether people will pay with their palm, how NBCUniversal's Peacock is doing, the crazy things that happen in far away galaxies, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting Oscar Orozco, analyst Blake Droesch, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman.

The pandemic accelerated payments industry digitization across the entire landscape, as merchants turned to ecommerce to keep doors open, consumers eschewed cash in favor of electronic and contactless payments, and payments technology providers rapidly developed and launched new solutions to keep up.

Buy now, pay later solutions are quickly gaining adoption as consumers look for new financing options and merchants aim to drive sales. But the industry is still unsettled as a number of firms are battling to lead the space, while card networks and issuers are looking to get involved too.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of mobile payment platforms (used at point-of-sale), as Americans sought out retailers offering contactless services. As a result, user and transaction value growth have accelerated.