Cards

Alma Bank in Long Island City, N.Y., will integrate technology from Diebold that allows for cardless transactions at automated teller machines.

Credit card networks and issuers have done a poor job in explaining the implications of the just-passed Oct. 1 deadline for moving to EMV chip-and-PIN cards, leaving many small businesses confused, lawmakers said Wednesday during a hearing on Capitol Hill.

When Cumberland Farms said this month that it had processed $1 billion worth of gas via its decoupled debit card over the course of nearly three years, it was the latest example of the power of the decoupled debit card. And yet, other than Target's RED card, decoupled debit has barely moved beyond the convenience and petroleum segment.

Rules set by Visa and MasterCard suggest that by the start of this month, ideally, banks would all be issuing EMV-compliant cards and retailers would have the technology to accept them. If one party is supporting EMV and the other is not, the delinquent entity will have to cover the cost of any fraud that ensues.

In Canada, there is no Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay. But there is a Royal Bank of Canada mobile wallet, despite the bank being challenged to explain why it has been so aggressive on the mobile scene.

Oct. 1 was an important day for U.S. merchants. It marked the deadline for retailers to upgrade their point-of-sale terminals to EMV-compliant machines. Afterwards, merchants that don’t support payment cards with embedded chips will be liable for in-store fraud.

A year after its launch, Apple Pay has infiltrated numerous banks and merchants and two generations of Apple handsets. But its actual usage isn't close to living up to the hype.

Like most financial institutions, First Financial Credit Union was not an Apple Pay launch partner. And because of that, it was able to deploy Apple's mobile wallet with just $2,500 in marketing costs.

When Samsung Pay launched in the U.S. on Monday, it did so on schedule but with less issuer support than had been expected, with only Bank of America, Citi, American Express and U.S. Bank announced as participants.

As Uber-like business models perpetuate, bringing more contractors into a world where their job functions are handled primarily through a mobile app, there are still some pain points for which plastic is well suited.