Technology

In theory, all parties benefit when consumers have their choice of payment options, but the deluge of new technologies has led issuers to respond in ways that could create lasting frustration for consumers and merchants.

Kwik Chek Food Stores' new technology for updating gas prices at the pump also pushes those price changes to motorists using its mobile payment app, a feature that gets customers engaged with the retailer long before they pull up to the pump.

The Weve joint venture is breaking up, with Telefonica O2 buying out the U.K. telcos that joined it four years ago in planning a country-wide mobile payment system.

Home Depot Inc. plans to enable Apple Inc.'s mobile-payment platform at its more than 2,000 stores, making it the largest retailer to accept Apple Pay.

After the early exuberance surrounding Apple Watch, banks and vendors are ramping up testing of bank apps on other wearable devices and everyday objects, preparing for a day in which most everything is connected to the Internet.

Visa is providing merchants with an online information and resource center to prepare for their transition to using chip-enabled credit and debit cards.

Because biometrics can't be reduced to a single hash (a number generated from a string of text), providers that store biometric information must rely on the security of their encryption keys for safekeeping of data that can't be revoked.

PayByPhone is bringing mobile payments to parking meters in cities around the world, and the vendor argues that its platform will attract consumers that don't want a different app for every city they travel to.

A big problem holding back mobile payments is a "chicken-and-egg" issue that Apple Pay's U.S. rollout and pending debut in Europe can reverse.

Wallaby Financial, a company that makes an app to help consumers determine which cards provide the best rewards for each purchase, has agreed to market the Wocket Smart Wallet device to its customers.