Research

New research from Mercator Advisory Group examines developments in the U.S. commercial card market. Outstanding balances on U.S. consumer credit cards haven't increased much from the lows reached in early 2011, and the slow rate of economic expa...

Smaller merchants are making use of new powers granted to them by the Durbin Amendment to steer customers into lower-cost payment choices, which may be a sign of things to come.

New Mercator Advisory Group report identifies niche business segments around the actual settling of payments. Many new entrants are seizing on business opportunities around the core transaction process, deriving revenue from value-added services...

As smartphones and tablets become increasingly cost-effective and powerful, mobile POS (point of sale) acceptance is posing a growing threat to traditional terminal-based solutions and vendors. Mobile POS provides all the existing functionality ...

Around the world, cash remains a significant consumer payment instrument, but as the 21st century shopping experience evolves, consumers who use cash exclusively or almost exclusively will be disadvantaged as goods and services increasingly move...

Contactless cards have been teetering on the edge of the debit card market for the past decade. Merchant acceptance is far from ubiquitous. Issuers "attempts to quell consumers" fear of account data being stolen appear to be ineffective. Mobile ...

U.S. issuers and acquirers continue to address impending fraud-liability deadlines for EMV migration. But on another technology front, are we closer to knowing whether a clear direction for mobile payments will emerge?

Canada, the eleventh largest global economy, has a population of 34.5 million along with one of the world's most developed banking markets featuring significant penetration of banking services and high consumer satisfaction. Debit cards are used...

U.S. cardholders are confused about those new chip cards they got in the mail. A modest stream of EMV cards is making its way into U.S. cardholders' wallets. Cardholders may think that's great, but for all the wrong reasons. Issuers who are putt...

New Mercator Advisory Service report explores scoring products and emerging modeling techniques. This report by Mercator Advisory Group presents research that will help payments industry participants understand the basics of credit scoring and s...