Kate Fitzgerald

Australian regulations recently denied banks the right to negotiate with Apple Inc. to directly add Apple Pay to their digital apps, but the victory may do little for Apple, considering consumers in the country appear to have little interest in using mobile wallets.

As more of China's citizens engage in travel and commerce across the nation's borders, more companies want to help them pay and collect money. Many of China's dominant payment brands are extending their reach globally, but U.S. and European companies are also focused on this audience.

China-based Ant Financial is preparing to fight for MoneyGram despite a rival bid from Euronet Worldwide, based on signals the company sent today in an open letter to the money-transfer company’s management, employees and customers.

Walmart still has no Near Field Communication technology to support mobile payments in its 4,000-plus U.S. stores, but it’s added Visa Checkout as an e-commerce option, joining many new merchants that now support Visa’s streamlined checkout process.

Net Element Inc., a global payments processor with offices in Miami and Moscow, has extended support for Apple Pay to Russian consumers via its PayOnline subsidiary.

Western Union Co.’s mobile app customers can now use Apple Pay to send funds originating in the U.S. to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, including domestic bill-payments.

Ingenico ePayments is giving merchants a new way to engage consumers at the checkout by offering a choice of games enabling participants to win merchandise instead of having to pay for it.

Only 13% of an estimated 680 million iPhone users have ever used Apple Pay, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which cites data from venture capital firm Loup Ventures.

Shortly after spinning off PayPal, eBay shed another unit, the e-commerce powerhouse Magento Commerce, which is working to spread its wings beyond its core specialty of e-commerce sites.

The U.S. merchant acquirer-processor arena is so mature that the only dramatic gains typically come from consolidation, leading to even more formidable combinations that make the next phase of growth even tougher. But there are also opportunities for companies that know how to specialize.

Facebook’s WhatsApp, the Mountain View, Calif.-based messaging app with a broad global following, may be preparing to roll out person-to-person payments, beginning with its app in India.

Splitit has partnered with Magento, the open-source e-commerce platform, enabling merchants to integrate Splitit’s monthly credit payment option into their checkout processes.

Total System Services' prepaid unit, Netspend, will pay consumers who bought its cards up to $53 million to resolve a Federal Trade Commission suit alleging that the company misled consumers about accessing funds.

Today, less than 10% of all gift cards sold in the U.S. are digital. That could start to change, as the industry's heavy hitters break down the walls between their plastic and digital gift card operations to spur global growth.

Artificial intelligence is steadily making its way through the payments and financial services world. The technology's usefulness for fraud detection is clear, but there are other areas where AI can have an impact.

Samsung Pay will join the online payment options for Visa Checkout users through a new partnership between the South Korean company and U.S.-based Visa, underscoring the fluidity of mobile wallets.

Wells Fargo & Co. is expanding its ExpressSend remittance payout network in India to include Axis Bank and, beginning next month, expanding a free-transfer promotion previously available only for those sending at least $500.

Germany's Wirecard is expanding again through the acquisition of MyGate Communications, a small but fast-growing payment services provider based in Cape Town, South Africa.

It's well accepted that the earliest version of 3-D Secure was off-putting to merchants and consumers who didn't like how it added friction to the checkout process in the interest of online security. The new version of 3-D Secure wants to avoid the same pitfall, and merchants are cautiously optimistic.

The next phase of India’s national digital payments initiative begins next month when 20 banks launch Aadhaar Pay, an app enabling merchants to accept payments on smartphones from consumers using biometric authentication.