Kate Fitzgerald

OMA Emirates, a UAE-based payments provider, has acquired India-based MobiSwipe Technologies, a mobile payments provider launched in Mumbai in 2012.

LG is rethinking its strategy around LG Pay and its newest smartphone, the G6, won’t include a mobile payments feature when it’s unveiled later this month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

As chat technology advances, making a purchase could be as easy as typing "Buy, Robot." Several banks and fintech companies are developing ways to advance chatbots for commerce and customer service.

ModoPayments is fresh off a string of new customer implementations with COIN, its payment "hub" approach for merchants and banks, and it's already looking ahead to bigger prospects with the emerging Internet of Things (IoT).

Mastercard has partnered with Kenya’s government and several large national banks on the rollout of a chip-and-PIN enabled prepaid card targeting unbanked Kenyan citizens.

Certain cash-strapped consumers expecting a tax refund this year will be waiting longer than usual to get their funds because of a new IRS rule, prompting American Express Co. to expand the channels available to taxpayers looking to get their refund quickly through its Serve prepaid card.

Consumers can use Apple Pay at 36% of U.S. merchants now, up from 16% a year ago, according to a new report from Boston Retail Partners (BRP).

Wirecard Card Solutions is taking over as the issuer of Bread4Scrap, a prepaid card program used by U.K.-based Payment Card Solutions (PCS) to distribute funds to scrap metal dealers.

Los Angeles-based California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) has upgraded its mobile app to consolidate payments and loyalty features, including the ability to order and pay at the table at the company’s 197 U.S. locations.

Payments increasingly are the anchor connecting diverse business functions, including in the commercial trucking industry, where tools built into fleet card apps are helping to cut costs and paperwork for fuel taxes, workplace safety and other functions.

Little-noticed during India’s cash-crunch late last year — triggered by the government’s demonetization of about 80% of its currency — was Samsung Pay quietly testing the waters in India with an eye to opening up vital new digital payment options in a nation that relies heavily on cash for everyday transactions.

Digital goods have long been a staple of e-commerce, but many consumers are still not accustomed to using digital wallets to buy low-ticket items. Mastercard hopes to change that by dangling in-store and online deals this month with a live promotion tied to TV's Grammy Awards.

Green Dot Corp.’s move to buy UniRush, the biggest independent prepaid marketer in a steadily consolidating industry, is the latest sign that remaining stalwarts with reloadable cards will need to look in new directions for growth as acquisition targets dwindle.

The first smartwatch in Google's Android Wear lineup supporting NFC payments will soon be available from South Korea’s LG, according to reports.

Any Costco credit card customers befuddled by the fact that they’ve got a state-of-the-art contactless-enabled EMV card in their wallet — and yet Costco itself doesn't accept EMV in stores — may soon see that disconnect end.

The U.K.’s Barclaycard and VocaLink are joining forces to roll out Pay by Bank, an app enabling Barclaycard customers to make purchases on a mobile device without entering payment card details.

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has introduced real-time payments leveraging blockchain technology from Ripple, providing a new approach for the bank’s UAE-based customers to send and receive payments across borders.

Spark ATM expects the deal will help expand services offered to local banks and retailers in South Africa and other markets in the region.

The initiative would add payments to the country's national identity system, but the government wants more time to review Mastercard's proposal.

The bank's next big challenge is to find a place where the emerging technology best fits its needs.