8 Big Reveals from Mobile World Congress and Beyond

February 26, 2016 11:38 AM

Delegates use the Gear VR (virtual reality) headset, manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co., at the Samsung Unpacked launch event ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016. Mobile World Congress, an annual phone-industry event organized by GSMA Ltd., runs from Feb 22 to Feb 25. Photographer: Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

Several major announcements took place at 2016's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but just as much activity was happening outside of the event. These big reveals demonstrate the increasingly global and digital nature of the payments industry.

Patrick Collison, co-founder and chief executive officer of Stripe Inc., speaks during a keynote session at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. Mobile World Congress, an annual phone-industry event organized by GSMA Ltd., runs from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25. Photographer: Pau Barrena/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Patrick Collison

Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

Stripe Announces Atlas

"The promise of the Internet is that geography should be largely irrelevant," said Stripe CEO Patrick Collison (pictured). To turn that promise into reality, Stripe and its partners are launching a service called Atlas, which allows international online businesses to incorporate as a U.S. business entity in Delaware and obtain a U.S. bank account and tax ID number.

A worker demonstrates fingerprint payment security on the Samsung Electronics Co. stand at the Mobile World Congress in this arranged photograph Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. Mobile World Congress, an annual phone-industry event organized by GSMA Ltd., runs from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25. Photographer: Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

Samsung Pay Spreads

Samsung Pay remains a standard feature of Samsung's flagship phone line, with the announcement of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Samsung also confirmed that it would bring its mobile wallet to other countries, including the U.K., this year.

Dan Schulman, president and chief executive officer of PayPal Holdings Inc., gestures as he speaks during a keynote session at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Mobile World Congress, an annual phone-industry event organized by GSMA Ltd., runs from Feb 22 to Feb 25. Photographer: Pau Barrena/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Dan Schulman

Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

PayPal Partners with Vodafone

PayPal's new partnership with Vodafone is about more than just mobile payments. It's also a sign that PayPal is paying more attention to the potential of NFC, a technology it has largely avoided in its earlier mobile wallet efforts. (Pictured: PayPal CEO Dan Schulman)

Customers use mobile devices inside a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop in New York, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Starbucks Corp. is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings report following the close of U.S. financial markets on January 21. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Starbucks Supports Chase Pay

JPMorgan Chase's investor day took place during Mobile World Congress, and the bank had some major mobile news of its own. Chase is placing some big bets on its upcoming Chase Pay, which Starbucks has agreed to support as a mobile payment option.

A worker demonstrated facial recognition security features on the MasterCard Inc. stand at the Mobile World Congress in this arranged photograph in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. Mobile World Congress, an annual phone-industry event organized by GSMA Ltd., runs from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25. Photographer: Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

Pau Barrena/Bloomberg

MasterCard's Mobile Vision

MasterCard showed off "selfie" authentication for mobile wallets, but the card network's vision for mobile goes well beyond the phone. Its new pact with WISeKey brings MasterCard tech to Bvlgari and Hublot luxury watches.

Customers wait in line outside the Apple Inc. store during the sales launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus at the IAPM shopping mall in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. The latest models, following last year's hugely popular design overhaul that added bigger screens, may not match the success of previous releases, according to analysts. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Apple Pay's Plan for China

Apple Pay is looking to carve out some ground in China where rival Alipay's userbase exceeds the population of the entire United States but to get there, Apple seems to have made some concessions. Chinese banks would reportedly pay half the fee that Apple receives from U.S. banks. (Pictured: Apple Store in Shanghai, China)

Holding canada flag screen smart phone. There is a route for hand and finger.

Capture Création

Interac Goes In-App

Canada's debit network knows that the future of payments goes beyond plastic cards. Interac is taking steps to support tokenization for in-app transactions, thus allowing direct payments to merchants instead of its current practice of routing e-payments through consumers' bank accounts.

A battery accessory for the G5 smartphone, manufactured by LG Electronics Inc., sits on display at a news conference ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016. Mobile World Congress, an annual phone-industry event organized by GSMA Ltd., runs from Feb 22 to Feb 25. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

LG Pay Delay?

LG's new G5 smartphone was loaded with features, but the rumored LG Pay was not among them. However, the device is designed to support modular add-ons, including a VR headset and a dedicated camera grip, so it's possible LG Pay could be added through this feature someday.