As Finextra pulls the shutters down on 2014, we take a look back at our most popular news stories, videos, features and blogs over the course of the past year. The site will re-open for business on 2 January 2015.
Top news stories of 2014
January
UK banks sign up to Zapp mobile payments
Five major UK financial services firms have committed to rolling out mobile payments technology from Zapp, enabling customers to make in-store and online purchases from within their banking apps.
February
Visa and MasterCard to cut ties binding banks and telcos via Host Card Emulation
Visa and MasterCard have announced support for Host Card Emulation, a cloud-based mechanism for hosting NFC applications outside the Secure Element that effectively removes the need for bank reliance on telcos in implementing mobile payments.
March
Putin vows to build Russian rival to Visa and MasterCard
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will set up its own payments system after MasterCard and Visa cut off services to several of the country's banks in response to US sanctions.
April
Apple expected to announce support for NFC and mobile payments
Anticipation is mounting that Apple is finally about to join Google in adopting NFC for payments on its mobile devices and up-coming smartwatch.
May
Finextra Future Money provokes strong views on fintech innovation
Fraud is good, Pingit is rubbish and Swift will be dead within three years. There was no shortage of controversial and provocative views at a lively Finextra Future Money conference this week at Canary Wharf's Level39.
June
Are you ready for the banking app store?
Within the next two years, 25% of the top 50 global banks will have launched a banking app store to improve app discovery, user experience and collaboration, says Gartner.
July
Why Google Bank won't happen
Google won't launch a traditional bank because of the associated costs and regulation, but these hurdles won't stop the firm from redefining the future of financial services, according to a new Forrester report.
August
Wall Street banks turn to messaging startup as Bloomberg alternative
A group of Wall Street banks, led by Goldman Sachs, are on the verge of buying a stake in instant messaging firm Perzo as they prepare to break free of their reliance on Bloomberg.
September
Surprise! Apple makes payments play
After weeks of rumour, hype and speculation, Apple has made its long-awaited entry into the payments business with a compelling mix of NFC technology, tokenisation, biometrics and must-have mobile form factors, including the new iPhone 6 and forthcoming Apple Watch.
October
RBA warns Australian banks not to backtrack on payments modernisation
The Reserve Bank of Australia has warned that it will be "duty bound" to use its regulatory powers should the nation's banks fail to deliver on promises to modernise the country's payments infrastructure.
November
Banks accused of failing to report true scale of cybercrime
Treasury Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie is to question banks over allegations that they may be under-reporting instances of bank fraud because they don't want to frighten people.
December
Payments modernisation seen as top priority for banking industry
More than two-thirds of banks plan to modernise their payments systems to accommodate demand for mobile and immediate payments and head off competition from disruptive competitors, according to data from Ovum.
Most commented
Why Ebola might kill cash
Surprise! Apple makes payments play
The end of verification? Visa Europe posits new age for payment security
Payments modernisation seen as top priority for banking industry
Security worries could hamper take-up of Paym P2P m-payments
Videos
The future of payments
Using data to service the customer and merchant
Attitudes to core banking transformation in Europe
Smarter security practices for financial services
The sweet spot of transaction banking
Most watched Webcast
Next generation corporate banking
Blogs
Africa, ApplePay and the iPhone 6: Resistance is futile
Why Square Wallet failed, and why Coin card is next...
20 Dollar Smartphone - what does it mean for mobile banking?
Card present goes Ecommerce
Cutting Through the Hype: The Truth about BLE Beacons