Hundreds of banks are supporting Apple Pay, but the cost is sparking a counter movement toward financial institutions operating their own wallets.

Startup CP Security Inc. is taking on tech giant Apple in the digital and mobile payments ring, building what CP Security calls network fabric that will bolster payments security and reduce expense.

It's hard to find a more competitive mobile wallet market than India, with 1.3 billion consumers and multiple viable wallet apps, including Freecharge, Paytm, Citrus Payment, Oxigen, Mobikwik, Zaakpay and ItzCash. But this crowd is competing for a consumer base that favors cash for all transactions.

Mobile wallets and digital currencies are providing an increasingly viable alternative to traditional card payments, prompting Visa Inc. to present a new value proposition to merchants.

While young consumers do not have a past with legacy payments methods and are most open to new innovation, most new payment systems are not adequately focused on the youth market.

Bitcoin startup 21 Inc. has revealed its plans to create a mining chip called a BitShare that would be embeddable into Internet-connected devices to continuously mine bitcoins.

Mobile devices have the potential to improve security through the use of tokenization, biometrics and account controls. But some companies have encountered recurring issues with the transition to mobile payments, and others may overlook beneficial security technologies to reduce friction.

If Verifone wants to benefit from the major card brands' efforts to operate in China, it must confront a virtual army of independent sales organizations already selling low-cost payment terminals.

Payments startup iZettle AB, a Swedish rival to Jack Dorsey's Square Inc., will start selling a credit-card reader that lets shoppers pay by tapping the device with a smartphone or bank card.

Google's reported efforts to launch a buy button within mobile search results—and only mobile search results—is the latest sign that traditional e-commerce processes may not survive the transition to mobile devices.

Mobile wallet makers are not content to stay in their own backyards. Many prominent names in mobile payments are increasingly active on foreign soil.

Samsung has decided to discontinue its Samsung Wallet service as it prepares to launch Samsung Pay.

London-based Givvit has chosen Judo Payments to enable payments within its mobile gifting app.

Southern Refreshments is updating its fleet of Georgia vending machines to include cashless options and mobile Near Field Communication (NFC) readers, a move that it hopes can boost spending.

Walgreens' vision for creating a patient-centered pharmacy combines mobile health care, digital health technologies and its Balance Rewards prepaid and loyalty system.

While Apple's taking an early incremental approach to Las Vegas, terminal manufacturer Ingenico is very bullish on the technology picking up steam with the gaming industry and its patrons.

Walmart is partnering with Alipay, the payments affiliate of Alibaba Group to accept mobile payments in 25 stores in Shenzen with the goal of having it available in all 410 Walmart stores in China by the end of the year.

More than 400,000 USAA customers, five of which are over 90 years old, have opted to use biometric traits to authenticate themselves within the bank's mobile app.

Canadian telecommunications companies Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) and SaskTel now offer their customers mobile payments through TD Bank.

Beacons—those little Bluetooth mechanisms stores use to beam ads to shoppers' phones—may someday play a critical role in payments. But the technology is still years away from being a practical alternative to cards and NFC-based mobile wallets.