7 Unlikely Payments Partnerships

July 29, 2016 9:58 AM

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Many times, bitter rivals must set aside their differences for the common good. This has happened a lot in recent years as the payments industry adjusts to the fast pace of innovation.

Charles Scharf, chief executive officer of Visa Inc., speaks during the Institute of International Finance G-20 Conference in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. The conference runs through Feb. 26. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Charles Scharf

Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Visa/PayPal

Not long after Visa CEO Charles Scharf tore into PayPal for attempting to be "frenemies" instead of a true ally, the companies reached an agreement on data sharing and fees. However, peace came at a price for both; the news read more like a legal settlement than a marriage vow.

Walmart/Visa

Walmart and Visa are still at each other's throats over fees and debit routing, but they can still find some common ground. This year, while the bigger issues remained unresolved, Walmart agreed to support Visa Checkout for e-commerce purchases.

A customer enters a Verizon Wireless store in New York, U.S., on Friday, July 23, 2010. Verizon Communications Inc., the largest U.S. wireless carrier, rose the most in a year in New York trading after reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates and forecasting rising profit for the second half. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Verizon/Google

Among the founders of the Softcard wallet, Verizon was the most openly anti-Google, finding reason to ban the earliest versions of Google Wallet from its handsets. But when the Softcard venture failed, Verizon and its telco partners were willing to set aside differences to support Android Pay and sell Softcard's assets to their rival.

MCX/Chase

The U.S.'s largest retailers founded the Merchant Customer Exchange with the intention of maintaining control over their customer relationships rather than hand them over to a bank via mobile wallets. Ultimately, however, the MCX merchants chose to trust JPMorgan Chase and its merchant-friendly plan for Chase Pay.

Fitbit Flex wearable electronic fitness devices sit on display at the Fitbit Inc. pavilion on day two of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. Top telecommunication managers will rub shoulders in Barcelona this week at the Mobile World Congress, Monday, Feb. 24 - 27, a traditional venue for showcasing the latest products for dealmaking. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Fitbit/Coin

Fitbit isn't in the payments business, which is why its purchase of Coin's assets is so striking. The deal gives Fitbit the chance to transform its wildly popular fitness trackers into a powerful payments wearable.

SoftBank Group Corp.'s Pepper the humanoid robot stands during a media briefing in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, May 19, 2016. Developers will now be able to build Pepper apps using Android tools, SoftBank announced on Thursday. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Mastercard/Softbank Robotics

This partnership is unusual for the simple oddity of its business model. The companies embedded the digital Masterpass wallet into Softbank's humanoid robot, Pepper, enabling the robot to accept payments while taking orders at Pizza Hut locations in Asia.

Valerie Soranno Keating, chief executive officer of Barclaycard, the consumer credit-card division of Barclays Plc, wears the company's new bPay PayBand, a wearable contactless payment device, during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Friday, June 13, 2014. The pound reached the strongest level in 19 months against the euro after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the institution may raise interest rates from a record low earlier than investors expected. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Valerie Soranno Keating

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Barclays/Apple

Barclays has invested years into the development of wearable payment technologies, including the bPay band that on some level competes with the Apple Watch at the point of sale. Thus, it was no surprise that Barclays was reluctant to join the other U.K. banks at Apple Pay's launch in the U.K. last year, but the issuer eventually pledged its support to Apple's wallet.