Dear Subscriber,

PaymentEye recently caught up with Visa Europe’s head of Contactless, Nick Mackie, to discuss the technology, the potential of wearables and the future of cash. Elsewhere, Barclays has rebranded its FinTech accelerators, and Align Commerce’s recent funding shows a continuing trend of Blockchain technology attracting heavy investment and interest from the payments industry.

Recent research found that 94% of banks see small and medium-sized businesses as vital. So why do 70% of these businesses have no contact with their bank relationship manager, and how can the financial services rebuild loyalty with this important sector?

With recent figures revealing that contactless technology is becoming more and more popular, PaymentEye caught up with Nick Mackie, head of Contactless at Visa Europe, to explore the reasons behind the technology’s success and how it will evolve in the future.

Barclays has decided to rebrand its current London and Manchester accelerators from Escalator to Rise, a network of physical spaces and a virtual global community that focuses on the future of FinTech.

Blockchain technology has in recent times been attracting a significant amount of interest from large financial institutions and venture capitalist firms, as Blockchain payments company Align Commerce secures a $12.5m Series A funding round.

Blenheim Chalcot and portfolio company Contentive acquire HR Directors Business Summit and Pan European HR Summit from World Trade Group (WTG)