David Heun

Trying to figure out Apple's intentions with mobile payments based on the technology giant's patent approvals is akin to assembling Ikea furniture without instructions. Some parts clearly fit, others not so much.

Google has changed the rules about how issuers get into its mobile wallet, and American Express is the first to vocally and vehemently oppose Google's new setup. The outcome of this dispute could decide who controls transaction data in mobile payments.

Starbucks' $25 million investment in Square says a lot about the mobile payment provider's appeal to larger merchants — but the coffee chain's decision to leave out some of Square's technology also speaks volumes.

Starbucks' $25 million investment in Square says a lot about the mobile payment provider's appeal to larger merchants — but the coffee chain's decision to leave out some of Square's technology also speaks volumes.

Bank of America Merchant Services is launching a Web portal to allow its merchant clients to offer daily deals through search engines, social media sites and other online forums.

GoPago's sales pitch is meant to make terminal manufacturers and independent sales organizations cringe: it is offering free hardware to support a cloud-based mobile payments system to small merchants, with no wiggle room on transaction fee pricing.

Companies establishing virtual currencies may not capture the imagination of consumers right away, but their technologies should catch the attention of traditional debit card issuers.

Continuing its push to make it easier for consumers to make payments in their own country's currency while traveling, Planet Payment, Inc. has extended its Pay in Your Currency service to merchants in the United Arab Emirates.

No one affiliated with the Isis mobile payment initiative is saying exactly when the first testing in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas will begin, but the venture is steadily tying its remaining loose ends.

Authentication technology provider Natural Security SAS is preparing a global launch of its secure payment card system based on contactless smart card and biometrics technology.

Bloggers and tech reporters have been quick to give Visa a swift kick in the pants for the failure of a point-of-sale system at London's Wembley Stadium during Olympic soccer matches this week. But Visa says, and Wembley Stadium has acknowledged, that the breakdown at the stadium occurred on a system that Wembley owns and operates.

Long after the 2004 unveiling of the Payment Card Industry data security standard, many merchants remain unaware of it and know little about the threat data thieves pose, says Bill Farmer, CEO of Mako Networks.

Payments security providers and mobile card reader vendors alike will watch with much interest from the sidelines as iZettle AB tries to resolve its restrictions from Visa Europe for processing Visa transactions in the company's core market.

Starting today, the mobile payments company iZettle is saddled with a major restriction in not being able to accept Visa transactions in parts of Europe. Its problem serves as an example to rivals in the U.S. and overseas.

Juan Benitez, the new chief technology officer of Braintree Inc., expects to play a key role in the continued growth of the online and mobile payments provider.

With payments players studying closely every move Apple Inc. makes, reports out July 27 that the computer giant will buy biometrics developer AuthenTec Inc. sparked speculation about the potential payments capabilities of the iPhone 5.

Having Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. reject a proposal for ATMs in the chain’s more than 600 restaurants because modern technology didn’t fit its general-store motif may have been the best thing that could have happened to Supreme ATM.

Rollerblading may not be an Olympic sport, but it will play an important role for Spire Payments as it serves London clients in the Olympic Traffic Exclusion Zone during the summer games.

As various mobile payments companies jockey for position in the growing carrier billing market, Payvia, which was established two months ago, stresses that it has a strong history.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has expanded the global reach of its payment cards while also preparing to provide new technology to clients in the Single Euro Payments Area who will soon deal with far more cross-border payments.