Technology

EMV card acceptance has often been pitched as a catalyst for mobile wallets, since the terminal upgrades needed to accept EMV-chip cards could also enable contactless mobile payments. But mobile and EMV are not always on the same path.

In a new book, PayPal founder and former exec Elon Musk argues that big thinking is missing from PayPal and payment startups. Put another way, NFC and QR codes won't repair the global economy. The problem is Musk's big-picture approach is it would challenge interoperability and ultimately stagnate the very industry he's trying to save.

Apple Inc. is rolling out its mobile-payments service for select Starbucks Corp. stores by the end of the year, and will reach 7,500 company-owned stores in 2016, the coffee chain said in a statement. KFC stores and Chili’s Grill & Bar will make Apple Pay available in next year as well, Jennifer Bailey, the Apple vice president in charge of the service, said at the Code/Mobile conference Oct. 8.

Adoption of mobile payments has been slow, and it's not clear why. Some have suggested the problem is a lack of understanding among consumers. Others have questioned whether mobile payments really address a consumer pain point.

The British government and a trade association are trying to nationalize open loop contactless payments for transportation, a project of staggering scope designed to provide seamless rider transactions for buses, trains and local mass transit systems.

Mobile person-to-person payment systems are poised to grow to about 126 million adult users by 2020 with nearly 60% of all mobile device owners using the service, according to newly published data from Javelin Strategy & Research.

Fifth Third Bank has formed a partnership with cloud-based payment and digital banking provider Bottomline Technologies to provide electronic payment services to the bank’s business customers.

Samsung may have a hard time convincing users of Samsung Pay that a breach of its LoopPay technology by Chinese hackers has nothing to do with payment card data or the security of the mobile wallet.

Europe has been a clear leader in the adoption of EMV. One notable migration took place in the United Kingdom. The U.K. began the process of promoting EMV in 2002 and completed the full roll out in 2006.

The major card networks operate from a position of strength as among the first movers in providing tokenization, but they must move with the market if they want to hold that position.